What is the group (al-Jama'ah) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) referred to in the hadith, "A group from my Ummah will never cease to be upon the truth..."?
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The Shaykh : I received a question just now, and although I prefer to postpone questions until later because this question may interrupt the flow of my thoughts, I do not disappoint the questioner, so I will answer the question. The question states that there is a narration saying that when the Messenger was asked about the saved sect, he answered that it is the group (al-Jama'ah). Yes, this narration is authentic and we believe in it. However, this narration regarding the group is explained by the narration we mentioned earlier, because if we mention the term "the group" in this narration that was the subject of the recent question, we are obligated to explain it with the explanation mentioned earlier.
I received a reminder that I have an appointment with the doctor, and indeed I was with the doctor. In any case, we are concluding this session by answering the last question. I say that there are two narrations: when the Messenger (peace be upon him) was asked about the saved sect, he answered with two narrations. The first is the one I mentioned earlier:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2641Da'if (Darussalam). The other is the one the question was about: he said, . But I feel that the questioner seems to assume, based on what she has read of the writings of the Tahrir Party, that this narration of "the group" contradicts the narration I focused the discussion on. So I say, no. To clarify this negative answer that there is no contradiction between the two narrations, I now assume that the first narration, which is Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2641Da'if (Darussalam), has no basis at all, and that the only narration is . Then we would ask: Who is the group? Who is the group today, O Mother of the Believers? Is it the Tahrir Party or the Muslim Brotherhood? Is it the Tabligh group? The answer:
"And both claim a connection to Layla, *** But Layla does not approve of that for them". The group, as authentically reported from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), is whoever is with the truth, even if he is a single individual. When Allah (Mighty and Majestic) sent the messengers and prophets as bringers of good news and warners, they were individuals, and they were the group. Ibrahim was a nation (Ummah) alone. So whoever follows this nation, meaning the group, meaning in reality he is one in his self, but he is the group in his call. Whoever walks in his rhythm and follows his path is the group, even if he is a single individual. So now, on the assumption that the first narration describing the saved sect does not exist at all, this group is the path of the believers. This group is the group of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. The hadith of al-'Arba' ibn Sari'ah does not have two narrations such that one could doubt it, as one might be able to cast doubt on the narration ofJami` at-Tirmidhi 2641Da'if (Darussalam). So the group is the path of the believers, which I explained earlier from the Book and the Hadith. So what harm is there if we interpret the group here by the first narration, Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2641Da'if (Darussalam)? Because his Companions (peace be upon him) are the believers whom the disbelievers threatened with Hellfire in the verse with which I began my argument. It is not permissible to rely only on the Book and the Sunnah, but it is also necessary to add the path of the believers mentioned in the noble verse. So whoever interprets the group in the hadith of the saved sect as his sect only, without bringing the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, and from the fact that it is as the first believers were, has carried the hadith of the group onto an incorrect interpretation. And in that case, the interpretation of this hadith would be an incorrect interpretation.
I received a reminder that I have an appointment with the doctor, and indeed I was with the doctor. In any case, we are concluding this session by answering the last question. I say that there are two narrations: when the Messenger (peace be upon him) was asked about the saved sect, he answered with two narrations. The first is the one I mentioned earlier:
What I am upon and my Companions.
ما أنا عليه وأصحابيIt is the Jama'ah.
هي الجماعةWhat I am upon and my Companions.
ما أنا عليه وأصحابيThe group.
الجماعة"And both claim a connection to Layla, *** But Layla does not approve of that for them". The group, as authentically reported from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), is whoever is with the truth, even if he is a single individual. When Allah (Mighty and Majestic) sent the messengers and prophets as bringers of good news and warners, they were individuals, and they were the group. Ibrahim was a nation (Ummah) alone. So whoever follows this nation, meaning the group, meaning in reality he is one in his self, but he is the group in his call. Whoever walks in his rhythm and follows his path is the group, even if he is a single individual. So now, on the assumption that the first narration describing the saved sect does not exist at all, this group is the path of the believers. This group is the group of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. The hadith of al-'Arba' ibn Sari'ah does not have two narrations such that one could doubt it, as one might be able to cast doubt on the narration of
