The perseverance of Islam despite splits and divisions

 

Unity and Diversity in Islam.
Islam has suffered splits and divisions to the faith, could you explain
what these have been and why they have emerged. How is it that despite the
differences in Islam, it has been possible for Muslims of different
persuasions to feel a sense of unity?

Praise be to Allaah. 

Know, may Allaah guide us and you to the truth and
enable us to follow it, that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) did not die before he had shown the way clearly to his
ummah [nation]. There was no
major or minor matter but he gave us knowledge about it from Allaah. At
the end of the last Hajj [pilgrimage] performed by the Prophet
(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) there was revealed the aayah
[verse] (interpretation of the meaning):

 “This
day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you,
and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion” [al-Maa’idah 5:3]

 The
Sahaabah [Companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him] (may Allaah be pleased with them) adhered very closely to this
path, and thus Allaah protected the followers of Islam from splitting in
this blameworthy manner.

 They were
followed in that by the Taabi’een [the generation that followed the
generation of the Sahaabah] (may Allaah have mercy on them), but some
internal and external factors led to the emergence of some reprehensible
divisions following the three best generations. Among the external causes
of that were:

Mixing with
other, non-Muslim nations, such as the Persians, Romans, Indians and
Greeks, and contact with other religious groups such as Jews, Christians,
Sabians, Magians, Indian religions and others.

Among the
internal causes were:

Following whims
and desires, giving room to doubts, turning away from learning the
religion and sharee’ah of Allaah, ignorance, extremism, and imitation of
non-Muslims… etc.

 All of
these reasons, and others, led to some small groups splitting from the
right path which the majority of the Muslims followed, so there emerged
some groups, innovations and opinions that differed from the path of the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his
Companions, and the Taabi’een and those who followed their path.

 But we
may note that these groups and factions were in fact a discordant note
that differed from the majority of Muslims, and their followers were
shunned and opposed by the scholars, khulafaa’ [khaleefahs or Muslim
rulers] and majority of Muslims, which meant that they were contained and
their influence was prevented from becoming widespread during most periods
of Islamic history.

 The
majority of Muslims remained on the Sunni path – in general – and when
forms of bid’ah emerged among them, the scholars of truth have always
hastened to oppose them and point out their falsehood. Our Prophet
Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that
these divisions would emerge; he warned us about them and commanded us to
adhere to the jamaa’ah
[main body] of the Muslims. He said: “The Jews and the Christians split
into seventy-two sects, all of which are in Hell; this ummah [nation] will split into seventy-three sects, all of
which will be in Hell apart from one.” They asked, “Which one is that,
O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “Those who follow the path which I
and my Companions are on today.”  He
said,  “A group of my ummah will remain following the truth and will prevail, and
those who oppose them will not harm them, until the Day of Judgement
begins.”

 There are
many reasons why the Muslims have always felt a sense of unity, some of
which we have mentioned above. But the most obvious reason is that this
religion comes from Allaah and it is protected by Allaah. If any other
religion had been exposed to the wars, conspiracies and plots that Islam
has been exposed to, it would have vanished a long time ago (as we see in
the case of other religions). Every rational person will see that a belief
which for more than 1400 years has stayed exactly the same as it was at
the time of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
and is still renewing itself in the hearts of its followers (in love and
adherence) like the renweing of a flower in spring – this is the
strongest evidence that the religion of Allaah is the true religion. And
Allaah is the Guide to the Straight Path.