Islamic marriage advice and family advice

I want to accept Islam, but confused which sect I should commit to

Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him said: The Children of Israel divided into 72 sects. My community will divide into 73 sects, and all of them will be in the Hell fire save one.” The people asked him: “And which one will that be. He replied: “The one that follows what I and my Companions are upon right now.” (Tirmidhee)

Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him said: The Children of Israel divided into 72 sects. My community will divide into 73 sects, and all of them will be in the Hell fire except one.” The people asked him: “And which one will that be. He replied: “The one that follows what I and my Companions are upon right now.” (Tirmidhee)

hello my fellow muslim brothers/sisters..

i am a born christian and grew  up mainly in a strict christian family. i had the whole  bible study and christian get church  since  i could remember but i never really felt a  connection to the religion because i never felt like it made any darn sense! ..

iam a 33 year old female and im a nurse and i always loved to help people. i recently met a former colleague at my local clinic and she was a muslim and i fell in love with her culture/religion.  she taught me everything i needed to know about islam ...i have studied and researched islamic religion for about 6 months now and  i have to say learning about islam confused me about my religion even more because i started to question myself.

Basically i want to convert to islam ASAP but i am at a blocking point... im confused because  i DO WANT TO CONVERT but i dont know to what sect of islam i should commit to. My friend said that islam for shiaa is different than for sunni. she basically told me shia  people are more peacful. Although i was going convert  to shia islam first.. i wanted to be fair and  check out more options...

so my question is .. should i convert  to islam as a sunni or shia...which is better for me? what sect is the RIGHT sect.??

~ Confused Xtian

Editor's Note: Please do not call the OP to random sects or begin a sectarian debate. If you have an advise then you may post. If you have something authentic to share, you may do so.


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41 Responses »

  1. Hello ConfusedXTIAN,

    I am glad you found Islam interesting. However, you are in a dangerous situation. Your friend said: she basically told me shia  people are more peacful.

    She probably said that because she was Shia herself. But you must know that Shia and Sunni are not "two" sects. There are many divisions among these. But there is only one of all of these that is correct. There is only one that is saved.

    To be honest, you must not worry about sects as of now. Just believe that Allah is your Only God and that Muhammad is His Final Messenger. When you have accepted Islam, then learn the Religion from the right sources.

    But you have the right to know about sects in Islam. Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him said:

    The Children of Israel divided into 72 sects. My Ummah (community) will divide into 73 sects, and all of them will be in the Hell fire except one.” The people asked him: “And which one will that be. He replied: “The one that follows what I and my Companions are upon right now.” (Tirmidhee)

    So of the 73, one is saved. But we also see that making sects is not Islamic as the Quran says. The people who kept themselves away from the misguidance of other 72 sects form one group of people, though they did not create the sect themselves.

    Shia' has a many of sects that were formed after the death of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him upon and traces back to a person named Abdullah bin Saba who was a Jew, according to history (both shia and sunni sources). Many of the fundamental beliefs of Shiism are away from the teachings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and the practice of his dearest companions and are much different from what Islam teaches. Some sects also constitute beliefs leading to disbelief, thus making them exit the fold of Islam.

    The group of people mentioned above (known as Jamaa'ah in Arabic) is among the Sunnis who follow the Quran and the Sunnah (narrations of prophet Muhammad peace be upon him - Hadith), without any misinterpretation or innovation, as the companions of the prophet and their followers understood.

    Now, if you embrace Islam, you won't be embracing Sunnism or Shiaism but you will embrace Islam. But if you have to differentiate yourself from misguidance and deviation, and say you belong to mainstream Islam, you say you are Sunni. But there are many misguided people among those who claim to be Sunni as well. There are people who worship graves, who elevate people from their position and exaggerate in Religion, there are those who misinterpret the narrations and form their own sects, there are extremists, etc.

    In order to differentiate yourself from these people, you say I belong to the way of the Prophet and his companions and their followers. These are called "Salaf (The Pious Predecessors)" - Those who follow the Prophet, his companions and their followers, because the companions took knowledge directly from the Prophet and were best people of this nation and those who followed them were next to them and so on. Hence, you must follow the Quran and the Sunnah - that is it. It is not that the path is confusing and that it is difficult to find who is on the correct way. It is not...You must just stick to the Quran and the Sunnah and understand them as the Salaf understood them. (Sunnah refers to narrations of the Prophet, preserved in the books of Hadith such as Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, Sunan Tirmidhee, Sunan Nasaee, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Malik, etc.). Allah Said:

    And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'an), and be not divided among yourselves (3:103)

    Quote: Those who accepted Islam shall be divided into seventy three sects; seventy two of which are deviant, who practice innovated religious practices. The only sect that will be safe is Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah (The people of Sunnah), who adhere to the Sunnah (Traditions) of the Prophet peace be upon him and hold fast to what he and his companions (May Allah be Pleased with them) were holding to. It is they about whom the Prophet peace be upon him has said:

    A group of my ummah shall remain steadfast, on the truth, victorious, unharmed by those who oppose them, and do not support them, until the death or until the Day of Resurrection.  (Bukhari and Muslim) (quoted from fatwa-islam.com)

    Having said this, I request you to not confuse yourself and avoid talking about sects to people - they will confuse you than guide you. And learn Islam from the right sources. You can read the characteristics of the saved group here

    Islam is more beautiful than you think it is. It is the Only Religion acceptable with God - Allah, The Lord of Jesus, Moses, Muhammad and all other Prophets, peace be on them all.

    Some online sources include: http://abdurrahman.org/ and  http://invitation2islaam.wordpress.com/

    Once you have accepted Islam after reading/understanding enough, you can learn your basics here: http://newtoislaam.wordpress.com/

    I Pray that Allah Guides you to Islam, Accepts your Imaan and becomes Pleased with you.

    Should you have questions, please ask.

    Abu Abdul Bari, 
    IslamicAnswers.com Editor

  2. If anyone has a real desire to be a muslim and has full conviction and strong belief that Islam is the true religion ordained by Allah for all human-being, then, one should pronounce the “shahada”, the testimony of faith, without further delay. Do it right now sister where ever you are.

    Mohammad, the Prophet of Allah (Peace and blessing of Allah be upon him), said :
    “The superstructure of Islam is raised on five (pillars) : testifying that there is no God (none truly to be worshipped) but Allah, and that Mohammad is the messenger of Allah, performing the prayer, paying the Zakah (poor-due), fasting the month of Ramadan, and performing Hajj.”

    The Shahada can be declared as follows :

    Ash hadu an laa ilaaha il Allaah wa ash Hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasooluhu

    The English translation is :

    “I bear witness that there is no deity (none truly to be worshipped) but, Allah, and bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His slave and Messenger.

    [you can read more on shahadah here inshaAllah -> understand-islam(dot)net/site/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=67
    [replace (dot) by . in the link and search in the browser]
    _____________________________________

    and here are links for you to learn more about Islam inshaAllah ->

    -> Invitation2Islaam(dot)wordpress.com

    -> abdurrahman(dot)org

    [replace (dot) by . in the link and search in the browser]
    _________________
    May Allah grant us success! May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet, his family and Companions!

  3. Salam Confused Xtian

    To be totally blunt, there are no sects in the Quran, if you read it you will see that for your self. What you need to ask your self are the total basics.

    Let me go to the source of this info. i.e the Quran, furthermore who spread Islam with the true message. Which is off course Prophet Muhammed PBUH, so in basic and common sense these are your two sources and are enough for you.

    The Quran and the Sunnah of Muhammed PBUH.....Sunnah means his teaching saying etc, how he lived his life and performed his tasks.

    It is very simple really, Do NOT over burden your self with extra stuff, these are your two basic and fundamental guides and they will be all you need.

    Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammed PBUH are of maily two sources. Sahih Al Bukari and sahih Muslim these are two authentic sources, that the companions of the Holy Prophet wrote stuff down in which was latter complied in to books by Imam Bukhari.

    Islam is very simple keep it like this within your own heart and you will find it simple

    Salam

  4. Asalamualikum wa REhmathullahi wa Berakathuhu

    my dear sister Annas reported that Rasulallah said:

    “I have left among you two things you will never go astray as long as you hold fast to them: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.
    (Haakim)

    As Almighty Allah has revealed in this verse:

    "Today I have perfected your religion for you and completed My blessing upon you, and I am pleased with Islam as a religion for you "

    (Al-Ma'idah 5:3),

    Islam is the final divine religion. Prophet Muhammad is

    the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets

    (Al-Ahzab 33:40).

    The faithful learn the kind of moral values they need to display in order to attain the approval ,compassion, and Paradise of Allah; what they must avoid and what they must abide by; what is lawful and what is forbidden; in short, all the details regarding the kind of life that will be pleasing to Allah from the Qur'an. Another mercy and blessing of our Lord for believers is the Sunnah of the Prophet.The Prophet is a blessed individual, whom Allah has sent as a role model for all people with his moral values:

    You have an excellent model in the Messenger of Allah for all who put their hope in Allah and the Last Day and remember Allah much

    (Al-Ahzab 33:21)

    The Prophet is a role model for everyone with his faith, godliness, knowledge, and superior moral values. With his patience, trust in Allah, courage, devotion, closeness to Allah, justice, compassion, love, affection for believers, and foresight, he possessed moral values that are greatly admired by the faithful. All believers strongly desire and strive to possess these qualities to attain the moral model required by the the Qur'an. For all these reasons, all his words, decisions, recommendations, advice, and life —the Sunnah — represent a most valuable guide for all those who wish to understand and live by the Qur'an .Many verses of the Qur'an emphasize the importance of obeying the Prophet andadhering to his path in. One of these reads:

    Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah. If anyone turns away, We did not send you [Muhammad] to them as their keeper.

    (An-Nisaa' 4:80)

    The Sunnah is the interpretation, explanation of, and commentary on the Qur'an. Therefore ,no believer, neither man nor woman, has any right to reject it:

    When Allah and His Messenger have decided something, it is not for any man or woman of the believers to have a choice about it. Anyone who disobeys Allah and His Messenger is clearly misguided.

    (Al-Ahzab 33:36)

    Whatever the Messenger gives you, you should accept, and whatever heforbids you, you should forgo. Have fear [and respect] of Allah — Allah issevere in retribution.

    (Al-Hashr 59:7)

    MY dear sister sunni and shia they both are totally different .people who accept Rasulla and his companions are sunnis . shia cannot be called as muslims my sister please try to find sum gud sunni scholars and take shahada please

    May Allah guide evry ummathi Muhammad in staright path Ameen Ya Allah

  5. Salam Xtian,

    I will just keep it sweet and simple,

    Just follow quran and Sunnah of our beloved prophet(peace be upon him) and not anything else. Try and follow how the early Muslims followed Islam. How they understood the interpretation of Qur'an and sunnah because you will come across different sects who would interpret the same verse of Qur'an in different ways.
    Dont follow any shiekh or any madhabs like Shafi, Hanfi, Maaliki, etc or groups or sects. And pray to Allah to guide to the straight path.

    And regarding Shias, Trust me brother they do a Very Major shirk i.e. they give atributes of Allah (GOD) to Ali and his sons and their sons ( May Allah be pleased with all of them) collectively none as the 12 imams. Shais believe that they are error less, they can never commit error. And this is a attribute of GOD alone.

    Hope this helps brother.

    Salam.

    • u r right but if he didnt pick any madhab from the 4 i.e hanafi , shafi, maliki and hambali... how will he offer namaz? because there is no other way to pray and he will have to pick one of them. i personally think he can pick any 1 of the four and apart from that when it comes to interpretation of the Quran, let him study it and find out himself. i think.he should also get basic knowlege of Hadees,fiqh,history of islam by reading about all the prophets and a brief study of the life of prophet muhammed for the start. Although its up to an individual yet Allah does not abandon those who seek his guidance. after he understands what he reads he should leave it to Allah by praying that He keeps him on the right path.

      the light of knowledge only guides those who learn with an open mind and do not resist the truth b'coz of their pride.

      • @apple green-

        you said "but if he didnt pick any madhab from the 4 i.e hanafi , shafi, maliki and hambali... how will he offer namaz?"

        He will offer the namaaz like how prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) prayed.

        Because...

        The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Pray as you have seen me praying.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari.

        Here is a link for the book The Prophet's Prayer Described. (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) " www.qss.org/articles/salah/toc.html"

        _________________
        May Allah grant us success! May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet, his family and Companions!

        • Ummm...... the suggestion that one simply offer Salat "like how prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) pray" is a bit awkward.

          The Nabi (SAAW) apparently offered prayers in different ways at different times. Find someone knowledgeable, or go to a site such as qibla.com and sunnah.org where knowledgeable scholars are present, choose one madhab or another, and follow its basic fiqh for salat, wudu, etc.

          Each of the four Imams had proofs for how they suggested doing things; they also weighed the evidence in different ways.

          Abu Hanifa is the first in Islam to organize the writing of fiqh under sub-headings embracing the whole of the Law, beginning with purity (tahara) followed by prayer (sala), an order which was retained by all subsequent scholars such as Malik, Shafi`i, Abu Dawud, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and others. Imam Abu Hanifa was a firm believer that a code of laws cannot stay static for too long, at the risk of no longer meeting the needs of the people. Thus he advocated interpreting the sources of Islamic law (usul al-fiqh) in response to the needs of the people at the time. This dynamic form of legalism did not supersede the Quran and Sunnah (sayings and doings of the Prophet ﷺ), of course. Instead, he promoted the use of the Quran and Sunnah to derive laws that addressed the issues that people dealt with at that time.

          A major aspect of his methodology was the use of debate to derive rulings. He would commonly pose a legal issue to a group of about 40 of his students, and challenge them to come up with a ruling based on the Quran and Sunnah. Students would at first attempt to find the solution in the Quran, if it was not clearly answered in the Quran, they would turn to the Sunnah, and if it was not there, they would use reason to find a logical solution.

          Abu Hanifa based this methodology on the example when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sent Mu’adh ibn Jabal to Yemen and asked him how he will resolve issues using Islamic law. Mu’adh responded that he would look into the Quran, then the Sunnah, and if he does not find a direct solution there, he would use his best judgement, an answer that Muhammad ﷺ was pleased with.

          The most unique aspect of Imam Malik’s methodology in fiqh was his reliance on the practices of the people of Madinah as a source of law. In the study of fiqh, there are numerous sources that are used to derive laws. The first and second most important sources are always the Quran and Sunnah. After those two, however, the great scholars of fiqh differed on the next most important source of law. Imam Malik believed that the practices of the people of Madinah should be seen as an important source.

          His reasoning for this was that Madinah at that time was not far removed from the Madinah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It had been spared the political and social upheaval that much of the rest of the Muslim world dealt with. And the people living in the city had been taught Islam by their ancestors who had been Companions of the Prophet ﷺ or students of the Companions. He thus reasoned that if all of the people of Madinah practiced a particular action and it did not contradict the Quran and Sunnah, then it can be taken as a source of law. He is unique among the four great imams of fiqh in this opinion.

          In order to ease the study of fiqh and hadith, Imam Malik compiled a book known as the al-Muwatta. This was the first book that attempted to compile only sound and reliable sayings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ into one book. Imam Malik said that he showed his book to seventy scholars in Madinah, who all approved it, thus he gave it the name al-Muwatta, meaning “The Approved”.

          Al-Muwatta was a landmark book. It helped establish the science of hadith, particularly the judging of chains of narrations for hadith. Imam Malik was so thorough in his selection of hadith that it has been placed on the same level (and sometimes above) the hadith compilations of Imams Bukhari and Muslim. Imam Shafi’i even stated that there is no book on earth, after the Quran, that is more authentic than the Muwatta.

          Imam Malik’s work was so influential as a book of fiqh that the caliph of the time, Harun al-Rashid, demanded that it be mass-printed and made the official book of fiqh for the Abbasid Empire. Imam Malik, however, refused. He knew that no one interpretation of Islamic law was perfect and all-encompassing. As such, he refused to allow his fiqh to become official, even under threat of persecution and imprisonment.

          Imam Shafi was a student of Imam Malik and of the great Hanafi scholar Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani- but he differed from his teachers on a number of issues, and his Risala was an effort to formalize the methodology of study, the usul-ul-fiqh.

          Imam Ahmad was a student of Al-Shafi and was in Baghdad during the time of the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma’mun, who reigned from 813-833. Although al-Ma’mun was vital to the establishment of Baghdad as an intellectual center, he was heavily influenced by a group known as the Mu’tazila. Mu’tazili philosophy championed the role of rationalism in all aspects of life, including theology. Thus, instead of relying on the Quran and Sunnah to understand God, they relied on philosophical techniques first developed by the Ancient Greeks. Chief among their beliefs was that the Quran was a created book, as opposed to the un-created literal word of Allah.

          Any scholars who refused to accept Mu’tazili ideas was severely persecuted and punished. Imam Ahmad, as the most famous scholar of Baghdad, was brought before al-Ma’mun and ordered to abandon his traditional Islamic beliefs about theology. When he refused, he was tortured and imprisoned. His treatment at the hands of the political authority was extremely severe. People who witnessed the torture commented that even an elephant could not have handled the treatment that Imam Ahmad was subject to.nDespite all of this, Imam Ahmad held to traditional Islamic beliefs, and thus served as an inspiration for Muslims throughout the empire. His trials set the precedent that Muslims do not give up their beliefs regardless what the political authority imposes on them. Imam Ahmad outlived al-Ma’mun and his successors until the Caliph al-Mutawakkil ascended in 847 and ended the Mihna. During this time, he wrote his famous Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, a collection of hadith that served as the basis of his school of legal thought, the Hanbali Madhab.

          It is good to study a bit about a madhab other than the one followed since it can give insight into the mercy that differences of opinion bring to the believers. It also enables one to see how interlinked the schools are: how the Imams often were students of each other. They respected each other's opinions and did not insist that only they had the correct approach to Islam - in fact, Malik refused to allow the ruler to impose his fiqh on all of the Sunni people.

          It is sad that we seem to have lost this tolerance today.

          One needs to also study Ihsan, the improvement of the character, to learn to be gentle, mild, caring, charitable, and to act each moment of everyday with the full knowledge that Allah (SWT) is aware of one's every thoughts and every action. One can take joy in the knowledge that there is reward for the one who has an evil thought - but does not act on it, and there is reward for the good one does. There is even reward for lawful intercourse with one's lawful spouse. Examining the character is a way of deepening faith.

  6. Salam Brother confusedXTIAN ,

    Go to the Below link here you can a free online diploma in Islamic studies. Here you can gain basic and essential information necessary for any Muslims.

    http://islamiconlineuniversity.com/opencampus/

    @apple green-
    Salam, Thru this site he can also learn how to offer salat since there are two courses dedicated to salat.
    I suggest not to follow any madhabs because these all these madhabs are not perfectly correct. They are some small mistakes here and there.

    Salam.

    • Salam sister confusedXTIAN,

      Apologizes for calling you brother,

      The best thing you can do is to Pray to Allah directly to guide you to that one group which will go to paradise.

      I have gone through this phase sister. I was born A Muslim but i was not a practicing one. Later when i went to college i got exposed to different sects. I got so confused.

      Then i prayed to Allah to help me to follow the correct way which the Sahabas did and Elhumdulillaah After doing a lot of research and hard work i found the correct way to follow Islam.

      Indeed Allah swt is the best helper and guider. So pray to Allah directly and ask for help.

      Hope this helps.

      Salam.

      • Brother Kamran, Assalamu'alaikum,

        I hope you have read the disclaimer at the end of the post above. Please do not debate here, in the best interest of the OP. And please keep calm...

        Jazak Allahu Khair

        Abu Abdul Bari
        IslamicAnswers.com Editor

        • Wa Aleykum Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barkatuhu Brother,

          Apologies for that,

          But Brother i am really not interested in any arguments I just wanted to reply to the Post of Ali bin abdullah, who has going around and trying to find mistakes in my posts and then commenting in a very rude manner about my posts.

          So i just wanted to reply to his post. I just wanted to tell him that i am not weak or and i can verily defend myself.
          And i hope he has got my message.

          Besides i only come here to with the intention of only trying my best to help the questioner and not for the sake of argument and Allah knows it.

          But don't worry i wont repeat it again. Sorry again.

          Salam.

          • Since we cannot discuss here, can we continue our discussion by email ? Surely it wouldn't cause any harm. If that's possible bro Abu Abdul give him my email.

          • Brother Ali, I won't do that. You know we don't share emails, especially for silly reasons like this one.

            Abu Abdul Bari
            IslamicAnswers.com Editor

  7. Please show my suggestion . Why my comment is hiding. Whats the reason. Means you are hiding Haq. Allah knows well. I say truth speak truth preach truth my complete comment should be given. I want guide to others. I have no personal benefit. Why you do so?

    • Brother, your comment was good, but not suitable for this post. The sister needs to see light, the purity of Islam. At this stage, she needs to learn about Allah and His Messenger. She needs to see guidance before she can reject misguidance.

      Abu Abdul Bari
      IslamicAnswers.com Editor

  8. Assalamualikum
    Ok. May you are right. Allah give her hadayah. I struggle much for that post. Thank you

  9. Sects in Islam are nothing but difference of opinions, we as Muslims ask Allah for guidance in every "Rakah"(unit) of Prayer, so what is important here is to note that Allah guides the people who want to be guided, I suggest you pick up the Qur'an and start reading , the only way to worship Allah alone is through attaining knowledge of him and the ways our messenger(p.b.u.h) taught us.

    So All you have to do is recite the sahada and then put your trust in Allah to guide you,remember he opened your heart to Islam and trust him again to bring you back to the true path.

    Ash hadu an laa ilaaha il Allaah wa ash Hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasooluhu

    The English translation is :

    “I bear witness that there is no deity (none truly to be worshipped) but, Allah, and bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His slave and Messenger.

    I urge you to recite Surah Fatihah with by pondering over the meanings, you can find a it here

    `Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said to me, "Recite: `Allahumma-hdini wa saddidni (O Allah! Direct me to the Right Path and make me adhere to the Straight Path).'' Another narration is: `Allahumma inni as'aluk-alhuda was-sadad (I beg You for guidance and uprightness).''
    [Muslim].

    Commentary: "As-Sadad'' means correctness and uprightness. Here, it signifies "please grant me the ability to do everything in a correct manner'', that is in accordance with the practice of the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam). Some scholars of Hadith have interpreted it as steadfastness and moderation. Both interpretations accord well with its original meanings.

    Riyaadus Saaliheen 1473

  10. Asslaamalikum, i am a shia muslim and i am really disappointed after reading the above comments from my brothers and sisters. No one has right to claim the other practising muslim as a non believer, nor shia neither sunnis should indulge in such baseless claims and allegations.

    And i believe that the moderator of this website should also apologize for letting such harsh comments on board.

    I am really not interested in defending my sect by giving you explaination about our beliefs, but will rather advise all of you to stop targeted readings instead you should be reading books from both sects and scholars with an independent and neutral mind.

    Do not read to prove yourself right and others wrong instead read it for the sake of knowing others, and when you will be doing that you will yourself find details and your confusions will be crystal clear.

    @Confitianz.. i will request you to go throw boos of both sects and take help from scholars from both sects and then with an independent mind decide which school of thought you fine much more logical and right.

    Such discussions will lead you into further confusions, please take help from the official sources, scholars and if any one ask you to ignore others sects teachings please never do this it is your fundamental right to know about every school of thought.

    • Asalaam alaikum,

      Like Br.Ali, I am also disappointed in some of the above responses for their lack of depth and impartiality. No Sunni has the right to callout a Shia as a non-Muslim and vice versa. Let our acts, individually, place us where Allah (swt) will judge us, because we all take the same confession of faith.

      Therefore, proper research lends to Br.Ali's advise in his September 10 post.

      I also will go so far as to say that the disclaimer above is nothing but a red herring. Who is to say what is authentic and what is not? It would entirely depend on your point of view, as has the advice of the editor did so in their own response. Was the editor right to gauge how the Shia worship, and then to falsely state the formation of Shia thought and fiqh led by erroneous propaganda? Was it fair for the editor to state this propaganda in his post with the disclaimer of objectivity and non-debate? Why did the editor felt the need to do such things?

      Shia' has a many of sects that were formed after the death of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him upon and traces back to a person named Abdullah bin Saba who was a Jew, according to history (both shia and sunni sources). Many of the fundamental beliefs of Shiism are away from the teachings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and the practice of his dearest companions and are much different from what Islam teaches. Some sects also constitute beliefs leading to disbelief, thus making them exit the fold of Islam.

      I will sincerely ask that the other editors and the owner of the site to edit the above mentioned editor's post and/or to decide to remove it completely in tune with the acclaimed impartiality that was first stated. Otherwise, it is allowing a one-sided debate and thus, 'debate" is never realized with the worst sectarian propaganda having taken its' place.

      For an Editor to publish such false and misleading statements should be grounds enough to dismiss him as an Editor. Otherwise refuting sectarian agitation and ensuing conflicts with the claim to do so as such, will be not be forthright.

      • What nonesense. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the following

        Shia' has a many of sects that were formed after the death of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him upon and traces back to a person named Abdullah bin Saba who was a Jew, according to history (both shia and sunni sources). Many of the fundamental beliefs of Shiism are away from the teachings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and the practice of his dearest companions and are much different from what Islam teaches. Some sects also constitute beliefs leading to disbelief, thus making them exit the fold of Islam.

        • good and informative replie

        • I'm going to make this as simple and as clear as possible without going into the semantics of dissecting this known fallacy paraded as truth.

          Let it be known, that if anyone accepts this allegation against the Shia as a legitimate claim of how they originated, they do so against Sunni scholars who have said repeatedly that the narrator of this claim is a heretic and a known liar, Sayf ibn Umar. Such is the peril of agreeing, supporting and propagating this unauthentic narration by this person (Sayf) that they will openly contradict the authentic Sunni books in doing so, namely Bukhari. Furthermore, not only will they align with this known liar, Sayf ibn Umar, they will contradict Islamic History regarding the first caliphs of Islam.

          Who is Sayf ibn Umar? A person who not only created the above mentioned lie, but also went on to create the following: he narrated hadiths without transmitters, named cities that never existed, created 150 false companions of the Holy Prophet that never existed, narrated about talking cows, narrated about mutant people and then claimed, that Muslims hunted and ate these mutant people. All of his narrations within Islam are NOT transmitted in the six authentic Sunni books or in the four authentic Shia books.

          So whether you are Shia or Sunni, you would have to support an unauthentic hadith by a known liar and heretic above the authentic books and legitimate scholars of both sects to accept the above claim.

          If someone wishes to do so, then Allah (swt) is sufficient for us as the Ultimate Judge of their decision.

          • quick edit: the mutants are attributed to another person who narrated some other hadiths about Abdullah bin Saba. Thereby giving more ridiculousness to the illegitimacy of the Abdullah bin Saba tale. Sayf hadn't done enough already without the mutants to attack and lie about the history of Islam, apparently.

  11. Sister go ahead with your desire to accept Islam. As people before me have mentioned you have no need to subscribe to any 'sect' all you should do is follow the Quran and the example of the Prophet (pbuh).

    Unlike the Bible the content of the Quran is not disputed. Christians have never agreed as to what constitutes the Bible (and still don't), which is why different denominations have different books within their Bibles. Also all the basic doctrines of Christianity (the Trinity, the Divinity & Sonship of Christ, the death of Christ and its significance) have always been controversial issues within Christendom. You may be surprised to learn this but there were many early Christian sects who refused to acknowledge Christ as anything other than a mortal (the Ebionites), there were other Christian sects who refused to accept that Jesus had actually died (the Marcionites and also the Basilidean gnostics). Conversely there were some who believed Jesus had died but maintained that his death held no significance, it certainly did not lead to one's salvation in their opinion. For them salvation could only be acquired by understanding the secret sayings of Jesus (Gnostics). The Marcionite Christians believed in 2 Gods. There were other Christians who believed in many many Gods.

    The point is that there was little in common between all these diverging points of view and so which sect you chose to align yourself with would greatly determine the nature of your beliefs.

    Not so with Islam. The fundamentals of the religion were not and are not disputed. There is no disagreement amongst muslims as to how many surahs constitute the Quran or whether the Prophet Muhammad was the final messenger, or whether there will be a Day of Reckoning, Paradise & that other place and so on. Muslims of all persuasion are in agreement concerning the above doctrines.

    So go ahead and accept Islam. You are not obliged to subscribe to any sect. I was born a muslim but don't consider myself a member of any sect.

  12. Assalam O Alaikom
    I dont know why you people are describing Islam as parts why dont you say that Islam is one religion and now except Quran nothing is in it's pure form. The hadith also because they are written after 170 years of Prophet Muhammad SAW ( Sahih Bukhari).
    The hadith you mentioned above "The Children of Israel divided into 72 sects. My Ummah (community) will divide into 73 sects, and all of them will be in the Hell fire except one.” The people asked him: “And which one will that be. He replied: “The one that follows what I and my Companions are upon right now.” (Tirmidhee) doesnt means that this is a special sect. In every sect there are good and bad people. For example there are many best shias, sunnis, deobandis. SO i think it means that all the good and Muttaqi people will be taken out as another sect infront of Allah from all the other 73 sects and that will be the 74th sect. This will not be in this world.
    Allah said in Quran that Momineen will go to Jannah so it doesnt means that sunnis, shias etc are all momineen, there are many zaani and sharabi people in these sect so only momineen from all sects will be taken out and they will make another sect which will go to Jannah.

    Plz plz plz dont frighten people by wrong explanation of these hadith who are accepting Islam. Just say them that sectioning Islam is Haram and Only believe in your basic Aqeedas rightly and do research in your religion as Momin not as Shia or Sunni. Plz
    Keep Me in your prayers.
    Khuda Hafiz

  13. Salam alaikum got questions in my country ,we pray dhzuhur salah imedeatly after juma salah, if someone dies we sleep 3 days with recitation of qruan and book of milad nnab 7th 4oth after burial we having preparation of food, we read tarqain on the grave, we say(huwa llahu rabbuna screaming very loudly while carrying geneza or jeneza , that is happeng in malawi and it is said is true way of prophet .tell me if is true or not, we are calling ourselves ahl-sunna . Tell me if i must practice or not and i need proof of any of your answers . May allah reward for your niyya

    • ALL of the things you described are wrong. What country are you from? Anyway, please register and submit your question as a separate post, and we will answer you in detail, Insha'Allah.

      Wael
      IslamicAnswers.com Editor

  14. The basic human instinct is it will only act on the advice of one whom he trusts. I will just say look for famous Muslim scholars. Listen to what they are saying , I would recommend Dr Zakir Naik. Search his videos on youtube & you will have a better idea

  15. The people to avoid are those who commit takfir, that is accusing other Muslims of not being Muslim.
    This means that your choices are effectively limited to the four madhabs of Sunni Islam and the Shia.

    The other group, who claim to be Salafi, are best known for killing other Muslims who do not agree with them. Do you really want to join the sect of those murdering fellow Muslims and People of the Book in Iraq and Syria?

  16. Salaam,

    Id imagine having gone through the responses you are now even more confused then you were at the beginning.....

    All i want to say is read the Quran for yourself, and try to understand it as best as you can. Be sincere in what you believe, give to charity, pray and generally be a good human being to ALL people. choose what your heart feels is right, its all about intention.

    Good luck.

  17. dear confusedXTIAN
    I am so late for giving you response, but if you are not still testified the faith do it immediately by saying “I bear witness that there is no deity (none truly to be worshipped) but, Allah, and bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His slave and Messenger". leave for the time being about sect issues. because once you testify shahadatain, you become complete muslim. then for the rest of islamic knowledges, if u like u can contact me through my email " " or if u like start contacting any knowledgeable person and ask them any questions you have and don't stop here but compare what u got with other knowlegable persons. any don't forget to ask Allah to guide you to the true path. make every possible effort to be guided.
    regarding islamic theology,while learning don't leave any unanswered questions to your true rational thinking. because theology is what makes islam true and theology must be the one that makes saved sect true. Allah willing you will be among the guided.

  18. Asalam o Alaikum.

    I have one confusion and I want to know that some islamic scholor says the way of offering prayer with Rafa yadain is right while other denied. so what way i should adopt? I have been offering prayer without rafa yadain for many years but my office colleague told me about rafa yadain and said that Holy Prophet PBUH offered prayer with rafa yadain.
    Then i consulted some scholors they said that offering the prayer with rafa yadain is quoted from poor (zaeef) ravi Hadith while without rafa yadain the offering prayer is very good.

    Plz guide me in this regard i am confuse to follow.
    Murad Ali.

  19. Assalam o alaekum.... I thnk we shud nt start sects argument here making islam more difficult to accept.... Sis u just have to say shahada and believe that there is no god but allah and the last prophet is muhammad s.a.w ... U dont have to go declare either u r sunni or shiya .... But offcourse if u ll bcom muslim then u hav to learn salah and recite quran and follow to what hazrat muhammad s.a.w has teached us.... So u have to seek any islamic centre near you or any masjid near your place to guide you.... And ask hidaya from Allah insha allah he will led u to the path of those who wil be among anbyah and saliheen good ppl.... On the day of qiyamah
    While other bros talking about different imams and salafi mazhab i want to say that salafi is just like fifth mazhab ... Like four imams bcoz they say we follow ahadith but all imams also follow ahadith and quran,,,,, and this all ikhtilaf is just based on the fact that allah loves all the acts of nabi s.a.w and kept all his acts alive in the form of ikhtilaf.... And all these ikhtilaf are based on fazilat and non fazilat some say rafa yaden is afzal some say no.... So this is not the matter of life and death

  20. I request you plz don’t follow any type of sect you follow only islam The Holy Quran is available amongst us today in any language we want. All we have to do is pick it up, and read, and understand this Message from the Lord of the Worlds. In it is guidance for mankind and the God Fearing people. How many of us have ever tried to understand these 600 pages? How long will it take to read 600 pages? What will we say to Allah when He will inevitably ask us if we ever bothered to read and understand His Message? What are we going to say when He asks us why we gave preference to a book written by man (Daaim ul Islam) over His Book (Al Quran)? What evidence are we going to give Allah on the Day of Judgment in following our sects? What are we going to say when He asks us why did we do prostrations (sajdah) to somebody else along with Him? If you are prepared to give Him the answers to these questions, go ahead and follow the sect you follow, and prepare to meet Him on the Day of Judgment.

  21. 100% Sunni is the better sect in being a Muslim you have to believe Allah is the only diety worthy of worship and that Muhammad is his messenger and follow the sun and of prophet Muhammad, a Shia Muslim is far from peaceful if you did not know they injure themselves with knives ect thinking it’s religious

  22. Sister I am from India and Alhamdulillah Sunni. You just have to research about Sunni and Shia difference and then should come to know that Shia Muslims are very bad. They curse our prophet wife( mother Aysha) and his companions also.

  23. if anyone want to accept Islam, but confused which sect would commit to, than I would like to give advise them that they have to comparative study approximately regarding Islam and encyclopedia of religion, and also study of Holy book and Sufism. I confirm that, they would be better understand regarding Islam.

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