All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.

Allah has commanded the Muslims to hold fast to His Book (the Quran) and the Sunnah of His Prophet, peace be upon him. Allah says {what means}, "And hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allah and do not be divided." [Al-Imran, 103]. In addition, He has forbidden division and dispute, for what results from it is defeat and the loss of strength. Allah says {what means}, "Obey Allah and the Messenger, and do not dispute, lest you lose heart and your power depart. And be patient, for indeed, Allah is with the patient." [Al-Anfal, 46].

Among the things that Allah has forbidden Muslims from is division and discord in religion, for this leads the community to become sects and divided factions. Allah says {what means}, "Indeed, those who divided their religion and became sects - you are not of them in anything. Their affair is only with Allah. Then He will inform them about what they used to do." [An-Nisa, 159]. Allah also says {what means}, "Among those who have divided their religion and become sects, each party rejoicing in what they have." [Ar-Rum, 32]. This condemned division is different from the permissible scholarly disagreement that occurs among scholars and jurists regarding matters of jurisprudence; this does not harm their mutual goodwill.

Throughout Islamic history, the vast majority of the nation of Muhammad, peace be upon him, have adhered to the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah. Only a few sects, numerous in name but few in number, have deviated from them. These sects have not left the religion entirely, but they have inclined towards extremism or base desires in their interpretation of Islam and its issues.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, informed us saying: 'Indeed, the People of the Book (Jews & Christians) divided their religion into seventy-two sects. And indeed, this nation will divide into seventy-three sects - meaning desires - all of them will be in the Fire except for one, and that is Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah.' Reported by Ahmad, al-Hakim, Ibn Majah, and others. In another narration by al-Bayhaqi and others: 'All of them will be in the Fire except for the vast majority (Those adhering to the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah.' In another narration: "It is what I and my companions are upon today."

His statement, peace be upon him, 'all of them will be in the Fire,' does not imply that they are disbelievers. This is evident from his description of them as 'from his nation.' Rather, it indicates their error and deviation from the moderate path of Islam. Therefore, it is not permissible to declare them as disbelievers unless they contradict the fundamental beliefs of Islam. Instead, they should be engaged with using knowledge and reason, and treated with kindness as commanded by Allah.

Moreover, the large number of these sects does not imply that they constitute the majority of the nation. Rather, the majority - which includes the vast majority of scholars and ordinary Muslims - adhere to what the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his companions adhered to in fundamental beliefs and actions.

Explaining the meaning of ' Jama`ah' in the wording of the hadith, Bader al-Din al-Ayni said: 'The Jama`ah that the Shari'ah commands us to adhere to is the community of scholars, because Allah, the Exalted, has made them an authority over His creation. The common people turn to them in their religion and follow them. They are the ones referred to when He says: "Indeed, Allah will never gather My nation upon misguidance. "'

The scholars of the recognized schools of thought in the fundamentals of the religion are those whose beliefs are free from various forms of heresies, such as:

• The belief in the eternal existence of the world (Qidam al-‘Alam),

• The denial of the bodily resurrection,

• Fatalism (Jabr), which denies human free will in their actions,

• The denial of divine foreknowledge (Qadar), claiming that Allah is unaware of future events,

• The belief that human beings create their own actions (without Allah’s will),

• Rafd, which is the hatred of Abu Bakr, Umar, and the other companions (may Allah be pleased with them),

• Nasb, which is the hatred of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and the family of the Prophet (peace be upon him),

• Anthropomorphism (Tajsim) and likening Allah to creation (Tashbih) by attributing to Him the characteristics of created beings, leading to impossible and flawed descriptions of Him,

• Negation (Ta'til), which is the denial of Allah’s attributes that the Ahl al-Sunnah unanimously agreed upon affirming for Him,

• And Khuruj, which is separating from the Muslim community (Jama'ah), declaring them disbelievers, and killing them.

Ibn Nujaym (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The six foundational heresies are: Fatalism (Jabr), denial of predestination (Qadar), Rafd (rejectionism), Khuruj (rebellion), anthropomorphism (Tashbih), and negation of attributes (Ta'til) ."

The scholars of the recognized schools of thought in the branches of religion (fiqh) are those who adhere to the principles of ijtihad (independent reasoning) and legal deduction based on valid evidences, such as:

• The Quran,

• The Sunnah,

• Consensus (Ijma'),

• Analogical reasoning (Qiyas),

• Istihsan (juridical preference),

• Istishab (presumption of continuity),

• Masalih Mursalah (consideration of public interest).

Their methodologies are free from irregularities and contradictions to the Sharia texts. Among them are the four imams: Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad, along with their followers—scholars renowned for their knowledge and adherence to the texts of the Quran, Sunnah, and the consensus of scholars, both in understanding and practice.

Based on the aforementioned points, the path of Allah, His Messenger, and the believers has become clear and distinct from all other ways through steadfastness, moderation, and balance. Allah the Almighty says {What means}: “And verily, this is My Straight Path, so follow it, and do not follow other paths, for they will separate you from His Path. This He has ordained for you so that you may become righteous.” [Al-An'am, 153].

Mulla Ali al-Qari, may Allah have mercy on him, explained the characteristics of the moderation of the saved group and its balance by saying: “The path of Allah is moderate, neither in negligence nor in excess. Rather, it embodies monotheism, uprightness, and the consideration of both sides on the straight path. The paths of the people of innovation are inclined towards the sides, characterized by deficiency, extremism, deviation, and multiplicity in difference .” And Allah The Almighty knows best.