The Book on Faith - Jami' at-Tirmidhi

Hadith Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2641

Hadith Text

"What befell the children of Isra'il will befall my Ummah, step by step, such that if there was one who had intercourse with his mother in the open, then there would be someone from my Ummah who would do that. Indeed the children of Isra'il split into seventy-two sects, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects. All of them are in the Fire Except one sect." He said: "And which is it O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "What I am upon and my Companions."

Scholarly Commentary

This profound hadith serves as a divine warning about the spiritual trajectory of the Muslim Ummah. The Prophet ﷺ draws a direct parallel between the moral and theological decline of previous nations and what will occur within his own community.

The mention of heinous acts like public incest illustrates how moral boundaries will be transgressed when religious commitment weakens. This is not merely about individual sins but indicates societal normalization of what Allah has prohibited.

The division into seventy-three sects represents theological and methodological fragmentation. The number signifies multiplicity rather than a literal count. The exception of one group from the Fire demonstrates that salvation lies exclusively in adhering to the authentic path of the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions.

The saved sect is identified as "What I am upon and my Companions" - meaning those who follow the Quran and Sunnah according to the understanding and practice of the first generation of Muslims. This establishes the primacy of the Salaf (pious predecessors) in Islamic creed and methodology.

This hadith emphasizes that truth is singular while falsehood is multiple. It calls Muslims to unity upon the authentic teachings of Islam as preserved through the chain of reliable scholarship connecting back to the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions.