Unity Does Not Mean Uniformity & The Hadith of the 73 Sects

Unity Does Not Mean Uniformity & The Hadith of the 73 Sects

Dr. Yasir Qadhi | January 4th, 2014

Opening

Asalaamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Alhamdulillah wa salatu was salamu ala Rasool Allah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala.

Yesterday, I spoke about the importance of Muslim unity. And I mentioned the ayat and the ahadith, the verses of the Qur'an and the sayings of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) where he commanded us to be unified together. And I mentioned the blessings of, the necessity of, the importance of Muslims all coming together. Now, I know that not all of you attended that talk yesterday.

And unfortunately I'm gonna have to move on from where I left off over there. So for those who did not attend that talk, from what I understand they will put that talk online. So you can listen to that talk inshaAllah ta'ala.

Introduction to Today's Topic

Today's talk is a little bit more, is it even possibly more controversial than yesterday because of the Q&A? A little bit more controversial. It's a little bit more academic. Because a question was asked, actually a number of questions were asked yesterday, that hinted at one of the biggest problems of unity.

And that is the problems of divisions that are very real within the ummah. How can you have unity? The question was asked. How can you have unity when people have different interpretations of Islam? When somebody is doing the maulood, another is not doing it. Somebody is doing the ta'zeem, another is not doing it. Somebody is believing X, another is believing Y. On what basis are you going to have unity?

So in today's short talk, and I want to leave some time for Q&A, I want to shed light on a hadith that really gets to the crux of the matter. And this is the famous hadith known as the hadith of the iftiraaq, or the splitting up of the ummah.

The Hadith of the 73 Sects

Background and Authenticity

It is literally called the hadith of the splitting up of the ummah. Hadith ul-iftiraaq. The hadith of the splitting up of the ummah.

And this hadith is a famous hadith, this is a mashoor hadith, narrated in the four sunan books. Sunan Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, Nisai, Ibn Majah, in the Musnad Imam Ahmed, in many other narrations of hadith. And the gist of it, I'm not going to go into the details of each narration, and who said what.

The gist of it is something you have all heard. And that is, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said, that the Yahud, the Jews, split up into 71 groups. And the Christians split up into 72 groups. And my ummah shall split up into 73 groups. My ummah shall split up into 73 groups.

In another version of the hadith, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said, that all of them are destined for the fire except for one. And he was asked, which one is this? And in a Tirmidhi, the response is, al-jama'ah, the group of Muslims. In a hadith in Abu Dawood, he said, that whatever I am following today, and my sahaba are following, that is the saved group.

And these ahadith are well known, and the bulk of the muhaddithun, the bulk of the scholars of hadith, have accepted them to be authentic. And our theologians, our scholars, have dealt with these ahadith as being an integral part of Islam. We believe that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said this.

The Apparent Contradiction

Now, the question arises, here our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) is predicting disunity. He's quite frankly telling us, my ummah will be divided into 73 groups. And here I am preaching unity. What is to be done?

Well, firstly, realize, I'm not the one preaching unity. What did I quote you yesterday? Allah and His Messenger. The very person who predicted the disunity, is commanding you to be unified. Isn't that the case? Allah says in the Qur'an (وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا - wa'tasimu bihablillahi jamee'a) (Quran 3:103). So realize the sharia has no contradiction.

"And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided."

The same one who told you, that a reality will happen, and that reality is that this ummah will be divided, is the same one who told you, that you should be united. So what do we do with these ahadith of the 73 groups?

This Hadith as a Miracle

Firstly, realize my dear brothers and sisters, before we even begin talking about the explanation of this hadith, that this hadith is in fact a miracle, that demonstrates the truth of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) How so? Imam al-Bayhaqi, a famous scholar of hadith, wrote a book that is now printed in 13 volumes. It is called Dalail al-Nubuwwah. The proofs of the prophecy of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). How do we know he's a nabi? And he puts this hadith in that book as well.

One of the evidences that our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) is a prophet, is the hadith of the 73 groups. Why? Because at a time and place when the ummah was one, when nobody could imagine difference, when nobody could imagine that the ummah would be fractured up, our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) predicted it, and he informed it, and it has become a reality.

And this clearly demonstrates, that this hadith is a mu'ajiza, a miracle, of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) Now the hadith has proved to be problematic for many reasons, but it should not be problematic. And

the problem comes in people misunderstanding the hadith, not from the hadith. The problem comes in people misusing and abusing the hadith.

And the hadith obviously cannot be problematic in and of itself. And we need to clarify and shed light on what does this hadith mean? What is the gist, what is the intent of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)? Well, a number of points here. Some of you have paper and pen, you should take notes.

Key Points of Understanding

1. Prediction vs. Command

It's gonna be a little bit of an academic talk. One of the points I wanna mention. Notice our Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم is not commanding to be fractured up. He's predicting the fracturing up. And there's a difference between the two. The command is to be unified. The command is to stick together. The prediction is that unfortunately not everybody will do that.

So we have to realize this hadith is not a license to differentiate ourselves. It's not a license to open up a different firqah, a different masjid, a different group, just because of the hadith. Didn't the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم predict it? Our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) predicted a lot of things. He predicted immorality. He predicted fahisha. He predicted the spread of music and the spread of nudity. He predicted increase in murder.

He did not approve of any of this. It's not a stamp of approval. It's a prediction of the end of times. And the predictions of the end of times are meant to be fought against by and large. They're meant to be fought against. So this is not a license to differentiate. It's not a license to break up. It's simply a prediction that a time will come when unfortunately much of the ummah will be divided up.

As for the commands of the Qur'an and Sunnah, all of them stress the importance of unity. What did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) say? We quoted that hadith yesterday. The believer to the other believer is like the bricks in the wall. Each brick strengthens the other brick. What did our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) say? When one member of the ummah is in pain, the whole ummah must be in pain. These are the commands. Do not conflate the commands with the predictions.

What you need to do is the commands. The predictions will happen. You need to delay and postpone them as much as possible.

2. Iftiraq vs. Ikhtilaf

Also realize that our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) used the word iftiraq. And iftiraq is a very profound word. Iftiraq means a cleaving away, a breaking, a cut. This is not just a difference of opinion. He didn't say ikhtilaf. He said iftiraq.

And the difference between the two is the difference between the heavens and the earth. The ummah has always had ikhtilaf. The sahaba, the companions of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)they disagreed amongst one another about issues of fiqh, about even compiling the Qur'an. Abu Bakr was hesitant to compile the Qur'an. And Umar insisted, insisted, insisted. The sahaba disagreed amongst themselves over many things.

Their disagreements did not lead to iftiraq. And we need to be very clear about this. It is okay. It is permissible. It is what the ummah has done to disagree about the finer details of Islamic law. To disagree about the finer interpretations of the sharia.

3. Historical Legacy of Disagreement

We have a historical legacy of disagreement. What are the madhahib except a legacy of disagreement with respect? Imam Shafi'i said the famous quote, that, I believe my opinion to be right. But I acknowledge the possibility that I could be wrong and my opponent is right. And I believe my opponent's position, the other madhab, might be wrong. But I acknowledge the possibility that it is right. This is Imam Shafi'i speaking.

How about me and you? They accept the possibility of ikhtilaf, and they do not cause ikhtilaf to lead to iftiraq. I hope you understand this Arabic here. Let me translate the Arabic here. They allowed the possibility of difference of opinion. And they did not allow the difference of opinion to lead to division in the ummah. And that was the gist of my responses yesterday.

That we need to agree to disagree about the finer points of Islamic law. It's not something we need to split masajid over. The traditional madhahib are historical legacy that the ummah has accepted. Allah has written qabool for these positions. And if somebody is praying with the hand here or there, or saying ameen out loud, or taraweeh is 8 or 20, or whatever other positions might be found.

Subhanallah, our sahaba, it is authentically narrated. We have dozens of different fatawa and fiqh positions within the era of the sahaba. And they loved one another, they prayed behind one another. They didn't boycott one another. They didn't build a different masjid just because one sahabi had a different fiqh position. They understood that not every difference of opinion should lead to a difference of the heart. And this is the key point, before we move on.

That the wording of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) is not ikhtilaf. It is what? I want everybody to tell me, what is it? Iftiraq. And iftiraq means you break away and cut off. And you can disagree without breaking away and cutting off. You can have ikhtilaf without iftiraq. Memorize this phrase. You can have ikhtilaf without iftiraq. And the sahaba are the best example of this.

4. The Status Quo of Unity

Also from this hadith, another point we learn, is that the general ruling, the asl we call it in Arabic, the basic, in English we can say the status quo, is that the ummah shall be one and cohesive, and small groups will break away. Iftiraq must occur from a large whole. Iftiraq must occur from a massive amount, and then you have small groups breaking away. So it's not as if the entire bulk of the ummah will disintegrate. No. It is rather that there will be splinter groups, but the bulk of the ummah will remain, and we'll get to this point after a while.

5. The Number 73: Literal or Symbolic?

Another point of benefit here. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned that, my ummah will split into 73 groups. Now, many of the scholars understood this hadith to be verbatim, literal 73. And they would write books. We have books from the 4th century of the hijrah, the 5th century of the hijrah, the 6th century of the hijrah, listing the groups. The first group is this, the second group is this, the third group is this. All 73.

But there was one problem. Every time somebody wrote a book, the next few years another group was formed. And this is historically true. Every time a scholar wrote a book, and the experts here, and mashaAllah there are a number of mashayikh and elders here, and I'm embarrassed to be speaking in front of these elders, wallahi Allah knows, but Allah al-musta'an. But our elders here and the mashayikh here know, that there were books written in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th centuries. And they kept on listing the 73 groups.

But the problem is every time they finished one book, within a few years another theology appeared. Another group appeared. And therefore this led to another opinion, which is inshaAllah, it seems to be the stronger opinion. And that is that, the number 7, and 70, and 700, is an Arabic expression. Not meant to be understood, literally 73. And the evidence for this are numerous, beyond the scope of this class, and once again, the elders who have studied Arabic and Balagha, know what I'm talking about here.

But this is a type of kinaya, or a type of allusion. Allah says in the Qur'an, in Surah At-Tawbah (إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ - in tastaghfir lahum sab'eena marratan falan yaghfira Allahu lahum) (Quran 9:80) - about the hypocrites. And He tells our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) even if you were to ask 70 times, that they be forgiven, Allah will not forgive them.

"[If, O Muhammad], you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah will never forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people."

This is about the munafiqeen. Now, does this mean if you were to ask 71, Allah will forgive? It's an expression. 70 times. 700. I visited you 70 times. And the Arabs would say (زُرْتُكَ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً - zur'tuka sab'eena marrah) It's an expression.

And it means a quantity round about 70. So we don't have to be so literal that we list one group, two group, three group. And this is actually perhaps a mistake that some of the scholars made, and other scholars disagreed with this. And they said, no, it's not literally 73, it is a generic 73. And the point of the hadith is that, our ummah will have more groups than the other ummahs. Our ummah will have more groups than the other ummahs.

6. Why More Groups is Actually a Blessing

Now, why does our ummah have more groups than the other ummahs? Well, a person can say, this is something that denigrates our ummah compared to the other ummahs. They were luckier than us. And isn't our ummah the best of all ummahs? And we respond, in fact, the fact that we have more groups is a blessing for our ummah because it demonstrates many things.

First and foremost, it demonstrates that our ummah will have the longest life frame, the longest time frame, the longest period of existence. All the other ummahs live for shorter periods of time, and they still disagree in 71, 72 groups. And wallahi, look at how long Judaism flourished in the early ages then Christianity came. How long Christianity flourished, and now it is on the decline. And Islam is the one that is lasting and spreading. And the people are still believing in it. And the converts are still coming in.

Secondly, it is a blessing that we are the most multicultural of all of Allah's ummahs ever. Ever. No ummah has ever been as multicultural, multi-ethnic as us. Obviously, because Allah sent

to one nation. So what did you expect except that one nation to believe in him?

We are the only ummah. Our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was sent

- To the Arab and the non-Arab, to the white and the black and everybody in between. And all you need to do is to look at any conference, any conference of a religion. And you go to any church, any synagogue, any other temple, and then you go to the masjid, and you see the cultural diversity.

The fact that despite this diversity, we only have one extra, this is a miracle and a blessing for us. And also the most important point, we are the only ummah that will have one correct and rightly guided sect of the 73. And the others did not have this rightly guided sect. The others, none of them were rightly guided. And that's why Allah had to send another prophet.

We are the only ummah, we shall have, as our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, this hadith is in Bukhari, that there will always be a group of my ummah clearly manifest upon the truth. There will always be a group of my ummah clearly manifest upon the truth until the judgment of Allah comes or the verdict of Allah comes. Meaning the day of judgment. So this group of ummah, this saved group or the right group, shall be in existence until the day of judgment. And no other previous ummah had this blessing.

So in fact, for us to have 73 groups, and the other monocultural, one culture, small time period to have 72 and 71, this is a blessing for us. Knowing that we are the one that has the rightly guided group as well.

Addressing Common Concerns

The "72 out of 73" Misunderstanding

Another point of benefit that we're deriving from this hadith, is that our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that all of them will be in the fire of hell except for one. And this leads to actually a big problem that

some people have with this hadith. And it has caused some of the modernists who reject hadith to reject hadith. And we are not of those people, I am not of those people. If the hadith is authentic, then we accept it as coming from our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

But this hadith has been rejected by many people who believe that it's problematic for this reason. What is the reason? They say, 72 out of 73 is a big fraction. And the hadith is saying that the bulk of the ummah therefore are misguided. And the bulk of the ummah will go to jahannam. You see the problem.

You understand the problem. The claim is being made. I am not saying this, don't misquote me. If you're sleeping, wake up. The claim is being made by some misinformed people that this hadith tells us that the bulk of the ummah is misguided. And the bulk of the ummah is going to jahannam. After all, 72 out of 73 is a large fraction. Is that not the case? Right?

Now, subhanAllah, this is a big misunderstanding. And all you need to do to correct it is simple math and history. Simple math and history. 72 out of 73 is a large fraction only if each of the units is exactly the same. If one group has 50 people, another group has a thousand people, another group has 70 people, and mashaAllah, tabarakAllah, the largest has hundreds of thousands, millions. Then who cares about all of the 72 put together? And this is the reality of our ummah.

You look at the groups that have deviated. Genuine people of strange ideologies. The first split to ever occur in the ummah, this is a historical fact, was that of a group called the kharijites, the rebels. And they had some bizarre beliefs. They had some beliefs that the sinner becomes a non-Muslim. If you lie, you cheat, you steal, automatically you become a kafir. This is their theology. If you do something wrong, you drink alcohol, this makes you a kafir. This is an extremist group and they have some bizarre tendencies and what not.

Now, they are still around to this day, believe it or not. They are still around to this day. But if you gather all of them up and you look at their quantity, they are less than 0.5% of the whole ummah. Less than 0.5% of the whole ummah. The bulk of the groups that appeared withered away and no longer exist in our times.

Historical Examples of Deviant Groups

There was a group called the jahmiyyah. There was a group called the jahmiyyah. And if you read any book of theology, if you even read Sahih al-Bukhari and we have, mashaAllah, the Shaykh al-Hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari here of Trinidad, sitting amongst us, mashaAllah, tabarakallah. What did Imam al-Bukhari call his last book? Kitab al-Tawheed warrad alal jahmiyyah. The book of Tawheed and refuting the jahmiyyah. Who are these jahmiyyah? They no longer exist. They no longer exist.

Yet, our classical scholars, they wrote many books against them. The ignorant person would assume, this jahmiyyah must be every second person amongst me. He must be hiding behind my door, he must be

this. The reality is they were, as with all such groups, barking loudly, but having no bites. They have presence with the tongue, but not with actual followers.

And again, just for your information, going into a tangent here, that alhamdulillah, my master's dissertation from Medina was about the founder of the jahmiyyah, Jahmi ibn Safwan, and his theological views. And I wrote alhamdulillah, 800 pages dissertation, available in Arabic, 2 volumes, about the theology of Jahmi ibn Safwan and his effects on the ummah. Now, this research that I did, I discovered that the jahmiyyah never numbered more than 50 people. 50 people. Yet, because their beliefs were so bizarre, and they were spreading it, trying to spread it so much, our scholars wrote many books against them. But the fact of the matter is they were so small.

Another classical group called the Mu'tazila, another famous group of the past. They became so powerful, even the khalifa became a part of their group. And he began persecuting Muslims, he persecuted Imam Ahmad, for believing in Sunni theology. He almost killed Imam Ahmad because of this. But where are the Mu'tazila now? They're all gone.

So, 72 out of 73, when most of these 72 might not even exist anymore. When the ones that do exist are always and have always been a minority. They're not the majority. So therefore, the bulk of the ummah is rightly guided. And shall always remain rightly guided. And this is not something I am saying. This is something that is mutawatir.

Prophetic Testimonies About the Ummah's Righteousness

It is reported in numerous traditions of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He was the one who told us to the sahaba. He said to the sahaba, wouldn't you love it that if you one ummah, and by the way there have been over 100,000 Prophets as we know. So 100,000 ummahs, right? He told the sahaba, would you not love it that if you were one third of the whole people of Jannah? The sahaba said, Allahu Akbar! One ummah competing with 99,000 other ummahs and we are one third? Allahu Akbar! Then he paused, then he said, what about if I told you, you are half of the people of Jannah? Allahu Akbar! Then he said, Wallahi inni la arju, I hope that you shall be two thirds of the people of Jannah.

What does this show? The bulk of the ummah, Alhamdulillah, are people of righteousness and taqwa. Our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in another hadith he said, I saw the Prophets one after the other, and their ummahs were raised in front of me, and a Prophet had five people, a Prophet had ten people, a Prophet had one person, and I even saw a Prophet with nobody behind him. He didn't have a single convert, he didn't have an ummah.

Then I saw a massive amount raised up, and I hoped it was my ummah, but it was said to me, No, this is the ummah of Musa A.S. Then it was raised to me another amount, that blocked the horizons, and that was told to me, this is your ummah.

So my dear brothers and sisters, don't take one hadith, and derive 72 out of 73, and then say, Khalas, everybody is going to jahannam. No. Look at the other ahadith as well. Look at it in the context of the very person who told you, that 72 out of 73 are misguided. Look at it in the context of history, Islamic history.

The bulk of these sectarian differences, no longer exist. Where are the Jahmiyyah? Where are the Mu'tazila? The Kharijites are barely found in only one country in Oman, in Oman, I just, I shouldn't have said that, I just said it, in Oman there are some Kharijites still, this is the reality, the government of Oman and the Grand Mufti, is still following this type of theology. They have, but small minority, not every Omani by the way.

The bulk of the Omani citizens are Sunni Muslims, but the minority that is in charge is of this group. But the point being, how, what percentage of the ummah, and even wallahi 0.5%, this is a bit high, maybe even 0.3%, something of this nature, something very trivial like this. So, the point being that, to claim that the bulk of the ummah is misguided, and going to jahannam is a huge, it's a grossly inaccurate statement.

It ignores the reality of our religion, it ignores what our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) himself said, in so many other ahadith.

The Key Insight: "My Ummah"

Yet another point of benefit, is that our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is saying that, my ummah shall divide into 73 groups. Now, this one phrase, is perhaps the most important phrase that I want to leave you with, in this entire lecture. He said, my ummah. I want those words to sink in. Ummati.

Our Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم)is saying that, every one of these 73, I have a relationship with him, even if there's some disagreements. But he is from my, he's ummati. Anybody who comes and says, this man is not from ummati Muhammad, he's a kafir. You have disobeyed your own Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Do you understand this point here?

Our Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is saying, my ummah. Which means he's not talking about the groups that have left the fold of Islam. Those groups are not a part of the 73. There are groups that believe in bizarre beliefs. In America, maybe you've not heard of them, they're called the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad preached back in the 1930s, he said that, astaghfirullah, this is what he believes, that Allah came in the form of a man to earth. And he preached some bizarre theology and what not. We don't consider the Nation of Islam to be on the 73 list. They're outside the fold of Islam. That they don't make it to the list even.

There are groups that believe in a Prophet after our Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And we do not have any difference of opinion that anybody who believes in a Nabi, in a Rasul, after Khatamun

Nabiyeen, after Imam al-Mursaleen. Then khalas, end of story, you are not a Muslim. I don't care what you call yourself. You are not on the 73 list.

So, those who have different theologies, that might be incorrect. But those theologies don't expel them from the fold of Islam. They are within the 73, and therefore each and every one of them is a Muslim. So all of the ahadith I quoted yesterday, and I hope that those of you who were not here yesterday, please listen to that lecture. Because it's very important. This is actually part two of that lecture.

All of the ahadith I quoted yesterday, about kindness to Muslims, mercy to Muslims, salam to Muslims, visiting the Muslim sick, following the grave of the Muslim, praying over the Muslim. They apply to every single one of the 73. Because they are of the ummah of our Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He said, inna ummati. He is ascribing a relationship between these people and himself. Who are we to deny that relationship?

Yes, there are some bizarre beliefs. Yes, that's true. Some people have strange ideologies. But, and this is a question we will answer at the end, as long as that ideology doesn't reach the level of blasphemy, of kufr, we will say, these groups are within the fold of Islam. And by and large, my dear brothers and sisters, the bulk of the ummah, has alhamdulillah, followed the general ideology of Islam. And we'll get to this point in a while.

What Causes Iftiraq?

Another point as well, that we need to mention over here, is that, no doubt, the other 72 groups, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said 72 are misguided, 72 are going to jahannam. No doubt they are all Muslims as we said. But they have done something that causes some type of breaking away.

Now, what have they done that causes them to break away? And this is a question that obviously is a very important one. Yet it is also the one that requires the most amount of knowledge. And so it is very difficult to answer this question so easily. It requires the most amount of knowledge, that what is the ikhtilaf? What is the iftiraq? What is the level of difference that is reached, before a group actually becomes a member of the different group?

But by and large, our scholars have said, that a fundamental difference of theology, is what breaks away from the unity of the Muslims. Not differences in legal opinions. Differences in legal opinions, by and large, have been tolerated by the sahaba and tabi'un.

General Rule of Thumb

And as a general rule of thumb, I want all of you to memorize a simple rule. That alhamdulillah, our ummah has had a number of madhabs, in sunni law. And we have historically accepted these madhabs, as being legitimate interpretations, legitimate attempts to follow Islam. Any differences found within

Modern Deviations vs. Classical Differences

So, what makes an iftiraq, a fundamental difference of theology, not a trivial difference of theology. That's another point I want to make here. We said, legal differences never should reach iftiraq. Is that clear? Legal differences that are traditional and classical, by the way, I have to make a clarification here. Modern interpretations that are completely against what our classical scholars said, now that's something else. We have somebody in America, Astaghfirullah, if you haven't heard of this, but you should be aware, he is performing marriages between same-sex people. Imam, quote-unquote, shaykh. Now, here we say, I don't care what, if this is legal or theological, you have rejected what our ummah has agreed upon. And this is a heresy and deviation. You have rejected what the ummah has agreed upon.

So, not every legal difference of opinion, but I'm saying, what was my rule of thumb? The classical differences within the madhahib that have been accepted. And, for your level, Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki,

Hanbali, these are the four, historically there are more, the advanced students know this. But for our level, at this level, the four madhahib, the differences between them should never reach the level of iftiraq. Separating masajid, not praying behind people, not at all. And anybody who does this, with all respect to them, they are not knowledgeable of Islam. They're acting in a manner that is overzealous and ignorant.

But, a change of theology of a major nature. Now, a change of theology of a minor nature does not necessarily break away from the ummah.

A Controversial Example: Mawlud

And I wanna be very blunt and controversial here. After all, what's my middle name? Exactly, Mr. Controversial. I wanna give an example here, I gave an example yesterday. And I'll give a similar example today. The issue of celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Again, a very heated debate takes place. And again, you have ardent champions on this side and ardent deniers and naysayers on the other.

And it is my humble position and opinion that this difference of opinion should not lead to iftiraq. Even if there is ikhtilaf. Let me repeat that so that you understand. I'm using this Arabic on purpose by the way. And you can learn these two words of Arabic. This is an ikhtilaf. It is a difference. And it is a difference that needs to be discussed. Needs to be debated by the academics. Needs to have a discussion and let the people who are interested come and be interested. But it should not lead to iftiraq. We should agree to disagree in a manner without blaming the other party.

I have a position. And I respect the other position. Even if I respectfully disagree with it. You understand my point here? I believe my position is right as Imam Al-Shafi'i said. I believe my position is right. But I allow the possibility that the other group inshaAllah their sincerity Allah will reward them.

They're coming together out of love of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). I might disagree in how they express that love. But can anybody say these people astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah. Anybody will say they're not Muslim because they're practicing the mawlud? Will anybody say they're kafir? Astaghfirullah for doing this? Think about this.

No, of course not. I might say this is not the best way to express love. This is my position. But I acknowledge what is the niyyah that they have in their hearts. Why are they doing what they're doing? Out of love for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And that love is something I have been commanded to have as well. So I look at the basis and I say, Okay, this is an ikhtilaf.

And let us discuss, let us debate. You bring your evidence, I bring my evidence. Let our students of knowledge come together and listen to their mashayikh. But at the end of the day, let us shake our hands and hug one another and realize what combines us is love and hubb of the Nabi (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Isn't that the case? Right?

So let us agree that the basis of this disagreement is in fact no disagreement. And that is loving the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Look at the positives and I'm not saying, I repeat what I said yesterday. Don't ignore the negatives. Don't ignore these differences. But don't ignore the positives as well. Don't ignore the negatives as well.

So not every ikhtilaf should lead to iftiraq. Not every difference of opinion leads to a division.

Who is the Saved Group?

Now, another point that we're coming here. Another point that we come to here is that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) remarked that there is one saved group. And obviously the question on everybody's mind is, which group is that? And the response is very simple. Depends on who you ask.

Because every single group, I mean, do you know any group that says, Oh, we're part of the 72. You guys are the 73rd. Do you know any group like that? Oh, we are the daaleen and you are the siratal mustaqeem. Do you know any group? I don't know any group like that. Right?

So the reality is, I cannot tell you what is the saved group because you have to answer to Allah on the day of judgment about yourself and not me. You have to answer about yourself in front of Allah. And you cannot say, Oh, a sheikh said and that's why. Correct? You have to use what Allah has given you of your knowledge, of your intellect, of your sincerity. And you make that decision.

Al-Jama'ah: The Masses

And we have certain generic guidelines from our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And of those guidelines are mentioned in Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud and others. He said in one of the hadith, al-jama'ah. And al-jama'ah translates as the group. And one of the main meanings of al-jama'ah and the primary meaning of the word to be honest, the primary meaning, it means the masses, the bulk. The bulk, al-jama'ah.

And this shows us one of the blessings Allah has given us. And that is, and He has given this to our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)and that is, the bulk of his ummah shall be generically rightly guided. The bulk of the ummah shall be those who are al-jama'ah.

And historically speaking, look at the bulk of the Muslims. Look at what combines them. Love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Respect of the Messenger. Following the sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Loving the sahaba. Believing in the six pillars of iman.

Isn't this the case? That the bulk of the Muslims around the world, they have the same simple generic beliefs that all of us in this room have. We can ask even a child, what are the six pillars of iman? We can ask this child in China. We can ask a child in America. We can ask a child in Trinidad. And they will say, the six pillars of iman, belief in Allah and His messengers, and the malaik, and the kutub, and the rusul, and the yawm al-akhir, and qadr, khairi, wa sharri.

We can ask generic questions, that who should we follow? Who is our role model according to Islam? And they will say, our role model is the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So, if you ask basic questions of theology, guess what? The bulk of the ummah is on the same theology.

Judge the Individual, Not the Group Label

And this leads us to another point. We judge a person, not based upon the group his father gave him, but based upon his own self. We don't care if he prays in this masjid or that masjid. Wallahi, we do not care. We do not care if the imam of the masjid has a belief we disagree with. The average Muslim, on the face of this earth, believes in a generic belief that we have as well.

And this is something every one of you knows from your own experiences and reality. No Muslim is born with a label across his face. That's only dajjal. Don't bring it into the Muslims. Dajjal will be born with a label. You know this. What label would dajjal have? Kafir. He's the one kafir, he's written there. Alhamdulillah, nobody else is born like that.

No Muslim has a label. So, suppose his family is from group X, his imam is from group Y. It is not correct for you, just because he goes to the group X masjid, prays behind the group Y imam. Yakhi, this is how his father taught him Islam. This is the shaykh he knows as a child. Okay, but generically, he is not aware of the details of that theology. He doesn't know that the shaykh might believe X, Y, Z. He's just going to pray Jumu'ah, where his father taught him to pray Jumu'ah.

You understand my point here? So for you to label him as, Oh, he's all X. This is a big mistake. Because if you were to ask him, as I said, generic questions, simple questions, about Islam, about love of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)about, even for example, one of the simple thing that combines most Muslims of the world, which books do you study if you want to study Islam? You will study Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, you will study the Quran, the Tafsir of Jalalayn, Tafsir Ibn Kathir. These are the standard books, across all curriculums of the Sunni world.

And this is the reality. So for us to now create divisions, when they do not actually exist. This is a problem. We're reading in divisions, where they don't actually exist.

So, what did our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) say? Al-jama'ah. Another thing he said, what I am following today are my companions.

Respect for the Companions

And this shows us, and this is another very controversial issue, but I will say it. Yes, respect of the companions is fundamental to our religion. Because our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made it fundamental. Because Allah makes it fundamental. (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ) It occurs half a dozen times in the Quran. Allah is pleased with them, they are pleased with Him.

So anybody who does not respect their companions, we say to this person, that this is a belief that causes deviation. This is a belief that is not within the correct beliefs. They might still be within the 73, we're not kicking them out of Islam. We're not kicking them out of Islam. But this is a deviation. And this deviation must be corrected.

What About Those Who Die in Deviation?

But, we get to the next point here now. That suppose a person of these 72, the wrong, the misguided ones, dies in that state. What does this mean? Many people will assume automatically, Oh, he's Jahannam, khalas. Because our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, the 72 are going to Jahannam except for one. We're talking about, by the way, somebody who genuinely has a theological issue. He denies Qadr, or he doesn't respect the Sahaba, that type of person.

We're not talking about generic Sunnis, generic Sunnis are Sunnis. Generic Sunnis, and by Sunni, what do I mean by the way? I mean, those who worship Allah alone, who believe in the finality of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),who respect the Sahaba. This is really in essence what a Sunni is.

Respect of the Sahaba, is what was the defining characteristic of Sunni Islam. All the other groups that formed, they didn't respect the Sahaba. The Khawarij, and the other non-Sunni groups. You know which groups I'm referencing here. These groups did not respect the Sahaba. The groups that respected the Sahaba, they're generically called Sunni groups.

Now, there are fine differences within the Sunni groups. And this is a reality we all know. But these differences are fine. These differences are trivial, compared to the differences with the other groups. And a lot of times these differences are created by us. His father happened to be a member of this Jamaat. His father happened to be a member of that Masjid. His family is known to support that cause. So we label him, Oh, that guy is that. That guy is that.

But in reality, this guy is praying five times a day, and this guy is praying five times a day. In reality, this guy is fasting Ramadan, this guy is fasting Ramadan. In reality, this guy is facing Makkah, this guy is facing Makkah. In reality, he's reading Quran, he's reading Quran. So we are creating these divisions, frankly much of which are imaginary.

And even if some are real, and I gave you the example of the Mawlud or what not. Okay, I disagree, and I might not do it. But in the end of the day, this ikhtilaf should not lead to iftiraq.

I hope you memorized this phrase now. This ikhtilaf should not lead to iftiraq.

Now, suppose as we said, somebody dies with a wrong theology. Somebody who is not respectful of the Sahaba. A group, the second largest group, does not generally respect the Sahaba. We say this is a problem. It's definitely a problem, we're not gonna ignore it. We're not gonna shove it under the rug. It's a problem.

Two Important Points About Divine Judgment

What does this mean? It means that this belief is a belief that could potentially be punished by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the Day of Judgment. But, two things. Number one, even if this person is punished, he's still a Muslim. Which means eventually what? Will enter Jannah. Because we already verified that the 73 groups are all from the ummah. We already verified this.

So, we believe, and this is well known, and this is proven in the Qur'an and Sunnah, that eventually every Muslim, (مَنْ قَالَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ - man qala la ilaha illallah dakhalal jannah) Whoever says (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ - la ilaha illallah) and the conditions are met of (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ - la ilaha illallah) meaning he acts upon it, he believes in it, and generically all of these 73 groups believe in (لا إله إلا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - la ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah). We already said, anybody who worships another god, the nation of Islam says god comes down on earth, and they worship this man. I'm sorry, that's not a Muslim. Anybody who denies the finality of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, we're not talking about them. They're not in the equation.

But whoever says (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ - la ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah), and they believe in this, the way that it should be believed, and they act upon it the way, basically, based on salah, and zakah, and hajj, and Ramadan, what not. And this is the bulk of the ummah. Even if they have deviation, bid'ah, they will be punished if Allah wants them to be punished, for a period of time, and then eventually they will go to Jannah.

So you can hate them as much as you want in this world, you have to be with them eternally in the next. Think about that.

The second point, about this sub-point, I should say this is a sub-point of this one. We said, it is possible Allah might punish them. Notice I said, it is possible that Allah might punish them. Look at the disclaimers here. Why? Because, my dear brothers and sisters, we believe very clearly from the Qur'an and Sunnah. And again, the evidences for this are beyond the scope of this talk. So for now, you just gonna have to trust me, what I'm saying is not controversial. All theologians agree to this. That, any punishment mentioned in the Qur'an, Allah has the right to forgive anybody whom He wants. We all know this, don't we? (يَغْفِرْ لِمَن يَشَاءُ - yaghfiru liman yasha'u) Allah can forgive whoever He wants.

A Practical Example

A man drinks, and he dies while he was in the state of, he has whiskey in his home, and he still dies, and he hasn't repented. Don't we say, O Allah, and suppose he was a righteous man in other matters. And by the way, it is not inconceivable. Wallahi, I know of so many people in America, they are addicted to wine, they're addicted to khamr, but they're guilty for it. And they give so much to the masjid. And I know a brother that, subhanAllah, may Allah guide him and all of us, that he does unfortunately drink, but he feels very guilty.

And Allah has blessed him with a lot of wealth. And believe it or not, every Ramadan he goes to do umrah. Every Ramadan he goes to do umrah. Now, we can laugh at this, and there is a comedy element

involved as well, right? But, what does that show? There is some iman somewhere, correct? There is some iman. He doesn't have to go umrah and leave his job. He's a multi-millionaire, whatnot, and he has the luxury to do anything, right? He could go to the Bahamas. He could go to Trinidad, mashaAllah, and enjoy himself. There is a lot of enjoyment here as well, mashaAllah. But he decides every year to go for umrah.

Now, what does that show? Perhaps, Allah knows, perhaps on the Day of Judgment, Allah will look at the evil that he's done, and look at the good, he's built masjid, he's gone for umrah, he's done this and that, and say, because of the good, I shall forgive the evil. Don't we believe this, that Allah azza wa jalla will forgive people for their sins if they have good deeds?

So, my dear brothers and sisters, a deviation is like a sin. A deviation is like a sin. Take it as a type of sin, because it is a type of sin. To curse the sahaba is a sin. To deny qadr is a sin. You incur Allah's wrath. But, every sin is judged on an individual basis, individual merit. And Allah will take into account many things.

Factors Allah Considers in Judgment

Of them, number one, how much knowledge this person have? What if this person was totally ignorant of the Qur'an? And he just read it in Arabic and not understood it. And his father taught him, that Islam teaches us to curse the sahaba. Just suppose, I'm just giving an example. And this was his version of Islam. And his whole life he grew up, and he died thinking, this is what Islam is about. And he is praying five times a day. He is fasting Ramadan. He goes for his hajj. He avoids the major sins. And he's ignorant of what he's doing. Allah might forgive an ignorant person.

What if he has this deviation, but I gave an example of he has a lot of good deeds as well. Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah, a very famous scholar, and somebody who was very clear cut about what is right and wrong. In theology, he's a theologian. Ibn Taymiyyah said, that it is possible that a person of deviation, Ahl al-Bid'ah he said, a person of deviation will occupy a higher rank than a Sunni Muslim.

A person of the sunnah, because the Sunni Muslim didn't have that many good deeds, and the person of deviation had more good deeds, and Allah forgave him for a wisdom known to him.

So you realize my dear brothers and sisters, that even if somebody has a deviation, the judge will always remain who? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Your job is to convey, Allah's job is to judge.

We tell the whole Muslim world, that anybody who curses the sahaba, has done a major sin. Anybody who disrespects Abu Bakr and Umar and Aisha, we fear Allah's curse upon them. We say this unabashedly. And we say this very clearly. At the same time, we cannot say, when we meet somebody on the street, and he happens to believe in that type of theology, you are somebody Allah has cursed. How do I know that? How do I know that? Am I the judge? No.

The Hadith of the Righteous Man and the Drunkard

Let us always remember the very powerful hadith, in Sahih Muslim, that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, there was a righteous man in Bani Israel, the Israelites. And he was a good, salih, rajul, righteous man. And he would pass by his neighbor who was a drunkard. And he would always remind him, fear Allah, give up drinking. And the drunkard would always just ignore him.

One day, the drunkard in a state of drunkenness, he got angry at this righteous man. Can you imagine, after months and years of this, he said, who do you think you are? Has Allah appointed you to be my guardian and boss? The drunkard said to the righteous man, who do you think you are to preach to me? Are you my guardian? Are you the guy in charge of me? Are you my boss?

Now, the drunkard fell into two sins. The first sin is drinking. And the second sin is being rude to somebody who is giving him good advice. Okay, what happened? The righteous man became arrogant. And he said, Wallahi, I swear by Allah, Allah will never forgive you. And arrogance filled his heart. He thought himself better than this man. And arrogance is a far, far bigger sin than drinking alcohol and being rude.

And Allah said, this is what the Prophet said, Allah said, and who do you think you are to speak in my name? And to swear by me that I shall never forgive him. Rather, this is in the hadith, rather, I have obliterated your righteousness because of your arrogance. And this one, his repentance will be accepted. Meaning he will repent later on and he will enter Jannah.

What does this show us, my dear brothers and sisters? Wallahi, my dear brothers and sisters, many of us, we feel this way about Muslims of different groups, different ideologies, different theologies. We feel we are superior to them in our persons.

And we should never feel this. Rather, let me be very frank here, we should feel our theology is better than that theology, but maybe I'm not better than him. You see the difference between the two, right? I say unabashedly, that respect of the sahaba, giving one example, you understand, there are many other examples. Respect of the sahaba is something that is absolutely a part of our faith and tradition and religion. And anybody who disagrees, I fear generically for such a person.

But suppose I meet somebody who actually believes that the sahaba are misguided. I can never feel that I am superior to him, person to person, in the eyes of Allah. I don't know, maybe I have a sin, maybe I have arrogance, maybe I have something else. So we have to be very clear the difference between speaking generically about theology, and specifically about the person who follows the theology.

The theology might be better, but I do not know who I am and my sins, and that person and his sins, and his righteousness. And we never, ever, ever feel that we are better than any other person. And to do so is the definition of arrogance, as said by our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

Conclusion: The True Message of the Hadith

So the point is, brothers and sisters, and again much can be said, but time is of the essence. The point is here, that this hadith of the 73 groups, it is an authentic hadith. It is a hadith that has much profound wisdom and benefit. But it is not a hadith that is intended to cause division.

Rather, quite the contrary, there's a lot of positive elements in the hadith. And if we only understood the hadith, properly, then we would understand, that our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is predicting positive things, not negative things. He is saying the bulk of the ummah shall remain rightly guided, and the bulk of the ummah has remained rightly guided.

More than 85 to 90% of the ummah respects the sahaba. Generically they are sunni. And inshaAllah they are the rightly guided group. Generically they follow the beliefs of Islam. Within the sunni movements, if there are specific changes and what not, as I said, the average person following these groups, he doesn't know the reality. And he is believing in Allah and His Messenger.

Also those who disagree with us, they are other traditions. They might not respect the sahaba, they might deny qadr, even then we say, look we disagree with you. And perhaps our disagreements are such that we should have separate masajid. And I firmly believe by the way, that anybody who curses the sahaba, I'm speaking for myself, I will never pray behind such a person. But my praying behind him doesn't mean I say he is a kafir. Means I just, I could not concentrate, knowing this is a person who curses the sahaba.

This is me. I could not concentrate, my salah will go haywire, and I don't see the point. Historically those groups have had different masajid, okay fine, but they are still generically within the ummah. And Allah will judge each and every one of them on an individual level. Not on the group level. And those individuals might have excuses, they might have good deeds, and they might indeed be punished.

Our Response as Believers

And as for us, my dear brothers and sisters, those who believe in the six pillars of iman, those who generically believe la ilaha illallah, Muhammadur Rasulullah, we respect the sahaba. As for us, alhamdulillah, we firmly believe that our theology is correct. But let us also realize, that arrogance is one of the worst sins in the eyes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And let us realize that, just because I have a good theology, doesn't make me a good Muslim. Theology is one aspect of Islam. And there are many other aspects of Islam. Theology is one element. How about salah, khushu' Quran, tahajjud, ibadah? How about akhlaq, manners? Our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said (الدِّينُ الْمُعَامَلَةُ - ad-dinu al-mu'amalah) - The entire religion centers around how you deal with other people.

Our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, that should I not tell you about the one whom Jahannam has been made haram for? This person will not enter Jahannam. The one who's soft-spoken, soft-hearted, kind and gentle. How about that? So what if a soft-spoken, soft-hearted, kind and gentle person has a wrong belief? What's gonna happen then? In all likelihood, if he was a righteous Muslim.

And we should never feel this. Rather, let me be very frank here, we should feel our theology is better than that theology, but maybe I'm not better than him. You see the difference between the two, right? I say unabashedly, that respect of the sahaba, giving one example, you understand, there are many other examples.

Respect of the sahaba is something that is absolutely a part of our faith and tradition and religion. And anybody who disagrees, I fear generically for such a person. But suppose I meet somebody who actually believes that the sahaba are misguided.

I can never feel that I am superior to him, person to person, in the eyes of Allah. I don't know, maybe I have a sin, maybe I have arrogance, maybe I have something else. So we have to be very clear the difference between speaking generically about theology, and specifically about the person who follows the theology.

The theology might be better, but I do not know who I am and my sins, and that person and his sins, and his righteousness. And we never, ever, ever feel that we are better than any other person. And to do so is the definition of arrogance, as said by our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

Final Reflections

In other aspects, Allah is Ghafoor, Allah is Rahim, Allah is Rahman, Allah is Wadood. My dear brothers and sisters, if one of us were to be put on the gates of Jannah, 90% of humanity will be turned away. We thank Allah, Allah is the judge. We thank Allah, Allah is the judge. And one of the famous scholars of the past, Sufyan al-Thawri, he said that, I am happier that Allah, I would rather that Allah judge me than even my own mother. And I'm happier that Allah is the judge than even my own mother.

And this is the reality. So my dear brothers and sisters, I conclude by reminding myself and all of you, that Alhamdulillah, this ummah is a blessed ummah. It is an ummah, as our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, it's ummah marhumah. It is a blessed ummah, an ummah of mercy. It is an ummah that has been blessed by Allah with the greatest blessings any ummah has been given. And that is to be a member of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم's ummah.

This is a blessing that no other nation has been given. And we are of his ummah. So let us thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we are of that ummah.

Let us understand that indeed ikhtilaf does occur. That ikhtilaf does not lead to iftiraq. Let us realize that even these differences that exist, these differences inshaAllah still remain within the fold of the ummah.

Unity Does Not Mean Uniformity

And let us make our hearts big enough to accept differences of opinion. We don't have to all, unity does not mean uniformity. It's a very simple statement here. Unity does not mean uniformity. Unity does not

mean you have to pray exactly like I pray. And you have to say ameen or don't say ameen like I do. Or you have to do this or do that. No. Unity does not mean uniformity.

Unity means your hearts are united under Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Allah says in the Qur'an,

This is one ummah. And I am your Lord. So worship me alone.

So brothers and sisters, let us try to come together to resolve these differences. Let us try to come together to overcome these problems and tensions that exist. And this is my last speech in Trinidad for the time being inshaAllah ta'ala. Allah knows when I am going to come again.

So let me conclude this speech by having absorbed three and a half days of Trini slang to try to, I hope you guys don't laugh, to try to talk a little bit like your accent that I find to be so cool. MashaAllah tabarakAllah. All you Muslims, listen and listen well.

I have something to tell you. Hear this. It's a serious thing. It's a serious, serious thing. Man, all you Muslims, you need to learn to lime together. InshaAllah.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.