How do we reconcile the hadiths that encourage being a stranger with the hadith: (My Ummah will not agree upon error)?

The Shaykh : How do we reconcile the hadiths that encourage being a stranger with the hadiths that the Ummah will not agree upon error?
The questioner, as it appears to me, like the general public, understands that the Ummah will not agree upon error to mean that the majority of the Ummah, i.e., the majority of the community, will not agree upon error. In other words, the questioner and others understand from this hadith that the truth is always with the majority. Therefore, whoever is a stranger is opposing the majority, the greater number. We have heard in previous hadiths praise for the strangers: "Blessed are the strangers." So the matter became confusing for him, and he asked: How do we reconcile for example, with or ? The answer is that the hadith of was not narrated to indicate that the truth is with the few or with the many, but rather to indicate that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has protected the group of the Ummah from all of them agreeing upon error. It is impossible for the entire Muslim Ummah to be upon error. This is a favor that Allah has bestowed upon this Muhammadan Ummah, whereas the Christian and Jewish Ummahs and other nations, it is possible for all their members to agree upon error, and indeed, that is the reality. As for the Muslim Ummah, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has preserved it from all its members agreeing upon error. If we were to simplify this hadith and this issue to make it easier to understand, let us assume the Ummah consists of one hundred people. This is a realistic scenario, because when the call to Islam begins anew, the Muslims are a minority, as was the case in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The call began with him, then Abu Bakr accepted Islam, so they became two, and so on. So if we assume the Ummah is one hundred people and they differ, it is impossible for this entire difference to be error. There must be some of these hundred people, even if few, with whom the truth lies. This is a separate discussion. If we assume they differed and split into two halves, fifty and fifty, with fifty saying one opinion and the others saying a second opinion, one of the two opinions must be correct and the second must be wrong. Why? Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said . Did the Ummah agree upon error when there were among them those holding two opinions, one correct and one wrong? No, they did not agree upon error. If we say that the group upon the truth is forty-nine and the group upon error is fifty-one, the answer is still that the Ummah did not agree upon error. We continue to reduce the number of those holding to the truth until we say one against ninety-nine. Did the Ummah agree upon error? No, because the Ummah’s number is one hundred, and among them is one whom Allah, Mighty and Majestic, guided to the truth, while the others are in error. If the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this Ummah, which we assumed to be one hundred in number, that it will not agree upon error, is true, this is the meaning of this hadith. It does not mean that the large group or the majority of the Muslim Ummah will not agree upon error. No, that is a mistaken understanding from two aspects: the first is the linguistic aspect, as we have explained to you, and the second is the religious aspect. What do we do with the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ? One out of seventy-three, meaning a minority, is in Paradise, and the majority is in the Fire. So the hadith of cannot be understood to mean that the majority will not agree upon error, but rather that they are correct and the minority is wrong or upon error. This is not the intended meaning of the hadith, but rather what I mentioned earlier. Then, what do we do with the many verses that condemn the majority and praise the minority? What do we do with these clear, explicit texts condemning the majority, at a time when we want to make the majority an argument against the minority? If we understand this reality, the contradiction between the hadiths about the strangers and the praise of them disappears, because they are a few righteous people among many people, where those who disobey them are more than those who obey them.

The questioner : May Allah reward the Shaykh with the best reward and benefit us and you with what we have heard. Until we meet in the next tape of this collection. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.