It is reported in an authentic hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed about the division of this Ummah into seventy-three sects, all of which are in the Fire except

The questioner : It is reported in an authentic hadith from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that there are seventy-three sects, and then he informed that all of them are in the Fire except one. The questioner asks—and this is more than one question—what are the characteristics of the saved sect? And then, does it enter the Fire along with those who enter with the seventy-two sects to fulfill the oath, or not?

The Shaykh : The saved sect is one about which the Messenger (peace be upon him) informed with a clear and distinct report, leaving no room for doubt, nor even for asking about it, when he said that it is the one that is: . So every individual, indeed every group and every community, that follows the path of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and his Companions in all aspects of the Shari'ah, in creed, judgment, character, and conduct, is the saved sect. It is the one that the Messenger (peace be upon him) saved from being among the perishing sects, which number seventy-two. As for whether this saved sect enters the Fire, the one about which the Messenger (peace be upon him) informed that it is not like the perishing sects that enter the Fire? Does this saved sect enter the Fire in order to fulfill the oath of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His saying: ?
The answer, and I think we have spoken about this in detail in some of the tapes?

The questioner : Yes, briefly.

The Shaykh : The answer, in brief: The verse provides the answer in its entirety. It is true that the verse explicitly states that no one, whether righteous or wicked, remains but enters it, as stated explicitly in the verse: ; meaning, they enter it. But the answer in its entirety is: . So every Muslim enters and comes to the Fire, but there is a difference between entering as a passage, a "transit," where one is shielded from being affected by the Fire, and entering in a way that the Fire touches one with punishment, even if only by scorching; because every person is according to their sins. And there is entering in the sense of staying; so the punishment has many types according to the sins of these people. As for the righteous and the pious, whose bodies Allah has forbidden to the Fire, these pass through the Fire of Jahannam and it does not touch them with punishment. So at that time, what the Messenger (peace be upon him) affirmed in the hadith of the seventy-three sects regarding the perishing sects, when he said about them: ; this Fire is not the Fire about which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) swore, saying: . This Fire , for many people, is of the type about which he (peace be upon him) ruled for the seventy-two sects. As for the saved sect from that type of Fire, this sect enters the Fire, but without the Fire touching any of them with punishment. This is the summary of the answer.