HADITH 1:
The Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be eternally upon him,
said, “The Jews split into 71 groups; 1 group will enter Paradise and
70 will enter Hell. The Christians split into 72 groups; 1 group will
enter Paradise and 71 will enter Hell. By Him in Whose Power is the life
of Muhammad, without doubt, my Ummah will be divided into 73 groups. Only one will enter Paradise and 72 will enter Hell.”
When asked about which group will be on the right path, the Beloved Messenger of Allah replied, “The main body (Jamaat) of the Muslims.”
[Ibn Majah’s Kitab al-Fitan; Hafiz ibn Kathir’s Signs before Day of Judgment, page 14]
HADITH 2:
The Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be eternally upon him,
said, “There was disagreement amongst Jews and they split into 72
groups. In exactly the same way, there will be disagreement and
divisions in my Ummah. It will split into 73 groups. Except for one of these groups, all the remaining will be thrown into Hell.”
When asked about
which group will be on the right path, the Beloved Messenger of Allah
replied, “The group on the right path, which will enter Paradise, will
be the group which follows my Sunnah and this will be the largest group
of Muslims.”
[Tirmidhi; Imam Ahmad; Abu Dawud; Mishkat]
HADITH 3:
The Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be eternally upon him, said, “Without doubt, my Ummah will never be gathered in misguidance. Whenever you see disagreement, hold fast to the greater majority.”
[Ibn Majah]
HADITH 4:
The Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be eternally upon him, said, “"Follow the way of the largest group of Muslims! For he who deviates from this group will be thrown into Hell!”
[Ibne Majah]
HADITH 5:
The Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be eternally upon him,
said, “The devil continually pursues human as a wolf pursues sheep. The
wolf only dares to attack those sheep which have separated from the
rest of the flock and are standing alone. And so, my followers and my
devotees! Save yourselves from being caught in the traps of misguidance
and firmly remain with the largest and most well-known group of
Muslims!”
[Imam Ahmad]
HADITH 6:
The Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be eternally upon him, said, “Allah will never allow my Ummah
to unite upon misguidance and incorrect beliefs. Allah's mercy,
blessings and protection are with the largest group of Muslims. And he
who deviates from the largest group of Muslims will be thrown into
Hell.”
[Tirmidhi]
HADITH 7:
The Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be eternally upon him,
said, “He who deviates himself from the largest group of Muslims, even
as much as a hand span, has himself cut off his connection with Islam.”
[Abu Dawud; Imam Ahmed]
HADITH 8
The Beloved Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be eternally upon him,
said, “The Jews divided into 71 sects, 1 will enter Paradise and 70
will enter Hell. The Christians were divided into 72 sects. By the One
whose Hand my soul is in, my Ummah will be divided into 73 sects, 72 of which will enter Hell.”
The Companions asked, “Which is the saved sect?” The Holy Prophet replied, “al-Jamaah.”
[Ibn Majah’s Kitaab Al Fitan, Hadith no. 3982]