Was Islam always sectarian?

When did Islam started to be viewed/accepted in a sectarian way. Most of the Islamic sects are very sectarian in nature. They believe that only they possess the correct interpretation of Islam and are guided and that only they will be among the people who will enjoy eternal happiness and bliss in paradise?

I think the way Islam has evolved into various sects is very natural because it's just human nature to have opinions about something. Probably the absolute worse thing that has happened in the Muslim world is the narrow-mindedness and the lack of tolerance displayed towards followers of other sects. When or how did the intolerance started? Or perhaps intolerance was a big part of the Arab culture and it eventually made into the official version of Islam under the guise of 'This is what the Prophet said and he's always right'!?

I've been observing this student of the Sunni Imam Abu Hanifa by the nickname of Abu Yusuf for a while now. I think he played an important role in illustrating Islam via the many Sunni sects. He legitimizes the process of how various opinions (even somewhat contradictory) can be consolidated into Islamic theology. I don't fully agree with this approach of labeling everything 'theologically sound'.

I'm still waiting to write something more substantial later but I'll leave this note here

As a disciple of Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf's doctrine largely presupposes that of his mentor. His writings and prominent political positions helped advance the Hanafi school of Islamic law throughout the Islamic empire.[3] While most of his legal opinions (fatwas) were firmly rooted in the doctrine and methodology espoused by his former teacher, there are some points on which he diverged and revealed his own legal thought. The doctrine of Abu Yusuf was more dependent on traditions (ahadith) than his master, in part because there were more authoritative prophetic traditions available to him in his time.[1] He also reacted against the somewhat unrestrained reasoning exhibited by Abu Hanifa. However, he was not always consistent; in a certain number of cases he disregarded sounder and more highly developed doctrine by diverging from the opinions of his former teacher.[1] Based on his surviving works and opinions, certain tendencies in Abu Yusuf's reasoning have been determined, such as his tendency to logically follow the implications of a proposition to an absurd conclusion (Reductio ad absurdum) and his use of rather caustic language in his attacks on opponents' positions and in defense of his own.[1] Abu Yusuf is also noted for the frequency in which he changed positions on various issues, which has been suggested is a result of his experience as a judge.[1] Abu Yusuf's greatest legacy is in affirming and advancing the Hanafi legal school as the predominant source of legal thought in the Islamic empire and providing a legal framework for defining and restricting caliphal authority in regard to fiscal policy.

Reference
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Yusuf

How did the Muslim community got divided into sects?

I am going to continue reading the book and writing daily review. In addition, I am also going to write a rebuttal (in bold font) when I feel the author has missed out crucial facts/discussions.
Part II of the book deals with the manner in which the Muslim community has been divided into 73 sects.
Al-Baghdadi started the chapter briefly mentioning that the first ever division was over the mortality of the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his pure family). Some didn't believe that the Holy Prophet died/he could die. And he mentioned Abu Bakr giving an authoritative declaration that put this issue to rest.

• Here, the author did not mention name of people who doubted the death of the Holy Prophet. At least we know (according to some traditions) that one of the doubters was Umar al-Khattab (the second caliph).
• Some Sunnis have told me that this reaction (to doubt the death of your closest companions/friends/a member of your family) is normal. If so, then al-Baghdadi is making a really big issue out of it.

The next cause of the division (according to the author) was on where the Holy Prophet should be buried (burial site). The author stated that they came to an agreement by burying him at a place where he died.

• Interesting to note that the author did not mention names of prominent companions that were mostly missing from the Prophet's funeral (ceremony and the ritual). Some of them were bickering over who should be the next caliph. Please search for 'Saqifa of Banu Saida'.

The next division in the Muslim community was over Fadak. Fadak was an agricultural land owned by the Holy Prophet and given to his (Prophet) daughter, Fatima, while he (Prophet) was still alive. The giving of Fadak was a commandment from al-Mighty.

The following verse was reveled to the Holy Prophet (may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him and his pure family)

وَآتِ ذَا الْقُرْبَىٰ حَقَّهُ وَالْمِسْكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَلَا تُبَذِّرْ تَبْذِيرًا {26}
[Shakir 17:26] And give to the near of kin his due and (to) the needy and the wayfarer, and do not squander wastefully.
[Pickthal 17:26] Give the kinsman his due, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and squander not (thy wealth) in wantonness.

• The author made an erroneous conclusion here. He said that the issue was settled when Abu Bakr presented a hadith to deny Prophet’s daughter the land that was already given to her while the Prophet was still alive.
• Yesterday, we went through a list of heresies (according to al-Baghdadi). Generally, heresies are controversial beliefs and we are urged to stay away from them. Two of the heresies mentioned by al-Baghdadi were i) Believing that the Islamic laws can/will be abrogated at the end of time and ii) allowing what is forbidden and disallowing what is lawful.
• Didn’t Abu Bakr just abrogate the law of inheritance in favor of something that he claimed he heard from the Holy Prophet?
• Shouldn’t he look for the answers in the Holy Quran (words of Allah swt) before exercising his personal Ejtehad?
• The Fadak issue was never resolved. The Prophet’s daughter refused to speak to either of the two men until to the day she died. She died very young. She also did not allow the two shaykhs (Abu Bakr and Umar) to attend her funeral.

I am ending my entry with a link to a sermon by Fatima az-Zahra about Fadak

Definition of Muslim (Islamic) Ummah

In the next few pages, all variants of the well-known tradition/hadith (of the 73 sects) and its chain of narrators/transmitters were discussed.

What is the Islamic Ummah?

According to Al-Shahrastani

The Muslim/Islamic Ummah refers to everyone who affirms the prophetic character of Muhammad, and the truth of all that he preached, no matter what he asserted after this declaration.

Others claimed that Muslim Ummah comprises all who acknowledge the necessity of turning in the direction of the Kaba in prayers.

According to the Karramiyah, the Mujassimah (corporealists) of Khurasan:

Muslim Ummah comprises all those who enunciate the two parts of the creed (There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah) no matter whether he is sincere or insincere, hiding unbelief and heresy under this assertion.

This definition can be a bit problematic because they are non-Muslim communities that accept the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his pure family) but at the same time reject the Islamic faith.

An example was given of the Sharikaniyah sect. According to them

Muhammad was a prophet of Allah to the Arabs, and to the rest of mankind, with the exception of the Jews. The Quran is true and the Adhan [the announcement of prayer], the Ikamah, the performance of 10 the five prayers, the fast of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage of the Kaba, all these are truths, but they are prescribed for the Muslims, not for the Jews.

The author (al-Baghdadi) mentioned a number of attributes that makes one a Muslim

• Belief in the creation of the world
• Existence of God and his attributes
• Reject anthropomorphic nature of God
• Accept the Holy Prophet Muhammad as a messenger of God
• Accept the Holy Quran as the source of Islamic laws
• Turn towards the Kaba for prayers
• Do not hold any heresies

The author mentioned heresies as controversial beliefs, i.e.,

• The divinity of the Imams
• Reincarnation of God
• Transmigration of souls
• Allowing incestuous relationship (a father marrying his daughter or granddaughter)
• Believing that the Islamic laws can/will be abrogated at the end of time
• Allowing what is forbidden and disallowing what is lawful

The author also believes that the heresy of Mu'tazilites, Khawarij, Rafidah (Imamiyyah or Zaydi) will not take you out from the Islamic faith.

Breakdown of the Muslim Sects

The book is not going to be fun to read! Ms. Kate C. Seelye, the translator, has already put me off from reading.  She described al-Baghdadi in a very negative tone in her introduction.

Our author (al-Baghdadi) starts out by saying that all but the one sect, the orthodox [this is referring to the Sunni sects who are not really orthodox], are condemned to hell fire, and goes on to enumerate all those condemned sects, discussing and opposing their views, and periodically breaking forth in an exclamation of gratitude that " we are not as they " ;

I hope that the author of this book (al-Baghdadi) is not overtly biased.

Before the start of chapter 1, you are presented with the following breakdown of Muslim Sects. Note: anything with asterisks * are not discussed in detail.

Rafidiyah (20 sects)
 

A. Zaidiyah (3)
1. Jarudiyah
2. Sulaimaniyah or Jaririyah
3. Butriyah 

B. Kaisanlyah (2)
1. Followers of ibn-al-Hanafiyah
2. Muhammadiyah
 

C. Imamiyah (15)
1. Kamiliyah
2. Bakiriyah
3. The Ghulat
4. Mubarrakiyah
5. Kat'iyah or Twelvers
6. Hishamiyah
7. Zarariyah
8. Yunusiyah
9. Shaitaniyah
10. Muhammadiyah *
1 1 Nawawiyah *
12. Shumaitiyah *
13. Mu'ammariyah *
14. Isma'iliyah
15. Musawiyah

Al-Khawarij (20 sects)

1. The first Muhakkamah
2. Azarikah
3. Najadah
4. Sifriyah

5. Ajaridah * (mentions ten in heading, treats eight)
a. Khazimiyah
- Ma'lumiyah
- Majhuliyah
b. Shu'aibiyah
c. The People of Obedience
d. Saltiyah
e. Akhnasiyah
f. Shaibaniyah
g. Ma'badiyah
 

6. Rashidiyah

7. Mukarramiyah
a. Hamziyah *
b. Shamrakiyah *
c. Ibrahimiyah *
d. Wakifiyah*
e. Ibadiyah
- Hafsiyah
- Harithiyah

Mu'tazilites or Kadariyah (20 sects)

1. Wasiliyah
2. Amriyah
3. Hudhailiyah
4. Nazzamiyah
5. Aswariyah
6. Mu'ammariyah
7. Iskafiyah
8. Ja'fariyah
9. Bishriyah

10. Murdariyah

11. Hishamiyah
12. Thamamryah
13. Jahiziyah
14. Hayitiyah
15. Himariyah
16. Khaiyatiyah
17. Followers of Salih Kubbah *
18. Musaisiyah *
19. Shahhamiyah
20. Ka'biyah
21. Jubba'iyah

22. Bahshamiyah

Murji'ah (5 sects)

1. Yunusiyah
2. Ghassaniyah
3. Thaubaniyah
4. Tumaniyah
5. Marisiyah

Najjariyah (2 sects)

1. Barghuthiyah
2. Za'faraniyah
- Mustadrikah 

Jahmiyah
 

Bakriyah
Darariyah

Karramiyah (3 sects)

1. Hakakiyah
2. Tara'ikiyah

3. Ishakiyah

LIST OF SECTS OUTSIDE OF THE PALE OF ISLAM (according to al-Baghdadi)

 
Sababiyah
Ghulat
- Mughiriyah
- Bayaniyah
Harbiyah
Mansuriyah
Janahiyah
Ghurabiyah
Mufauwadah
Dhimmiyah
Shari'iyah
Numairiyah
Haluliyah

Ashab al-Ibahah
Ashab al-Tanasukh
Hayitiyah (of the Kadariyah)
Himariyah
Yazidiyah ( of the Khawarij)
Maimuniyah
Batiniyah

Introduction to Research Into Sects

Here are my notes from the introduction of the book

On the surface, there is a remarkable unity in the Islamic faith compare to other religions. The biggest divide is between the Shia and the Sunni sect. This is not the only division in the Muslim community.

Most people are well acquainted with the following Prophetic tradition

The Holy Prophet (may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him and his pure family) said: "The Jews are divided into 71 sects, and the Christians are divided into 72 sects, and my people (Muslims) will be divided into 73 sects"

The question on everyone's mind is,

Was the tradition (above) invented to justify the sects or were the sects invented to justify the tradition?

Then the person who wrote the introduction made the following bizarre (and completely unfounded) statement:

"Many of the theologians of Islam felt it incumbent upon them to bring about the fulfillment of this prophecy, and therefore set to work to make a more or less arbitrary division of the religious system"

This is followed by a brief discussion on why sects exists in the Muslim communities, i.e., many sects exist which represent important philosophical schools and widely differing trends of thought.

Next, we are presented with a variation of the prophetic tradition and also some explanation on how each sect differs from the others.

Disagreements over this hadith have not, however, been limited to the number of sects. One of the greatest points of difference was the question of how many of these sects would be saved.

The original author of this book (al-Baghdadi) felt that the Sunni sects would not be damned. This, of course, contradicts a number of other traditions that speak about the School of Ahlul Bayt (Shias) being the only sect that will be saved.

For further information, please see the entry (73 sects of Islam) on Nader Zaveri's blog.