The division of the community (al-iftiraq al-ummah)

A caller asks about the hadith on the division of the community into seventy-three groups, and whether a person who faces the qibla is saved. The Sheikh gives figures for the division of the People of the Book (needs_source: the figures are unclear in the recording). He says that the Muslim community divides into seventy-three groups, all in the Fire but one (needs_source: the hadith and the number are not sourced in the recording), and he separates the legitimate community (jama'a) from a sect (firqa) that adds to or removes from religion. ¹

The Sheikh says that a sect is a group that adds to religion or removes from it, or that denies matters known as religion such as the veil and prayer, and that such fragmentation shows people who misread moderation falling into excess or neglect. ²

The Sheikh says that honesty in the media is one of the gravest trusts, that hosts should invite people who secure their nations and avoid stirring up sects, and that people should unite rather than divide. ³ He says that he grieves for Iraq, prays for its security, and addresses the scholars and wise people of every sect and ethnicity in Iraq, calling on them to unite. ⁴

The Sheikh cites a hadith on finding seventy excuses for one's brother, and says that if no excuse comes to mind, one should assume an excuse one does not know (needs_source: the number is not sourced in the recording). ⁵