A Brief Anatomy of a Tradition: On the Various Understandings of the Hadith of Iftirāq in History

The hadith of iftirāq (‘division’) that says that the Islamic umma will divide into seventy three sects and only one of them will be saved is one of the most remarkable accounts that made a lasting impact on Islamic religious and cultural tradition. This study deals with different understandings and interpretations of this hadith in the course of history by various individuals and schools of thought, and, in this context, discusses the arguments of those who have rejected the hadith. It appears that the scholars, be they Sunnis or non-Sunnis, even when rejecting the hadith, have primarily focused on the last part of the hadith where those who will be saved are identified. Various aspects of the hadith that may attract the attention of the modern reader hardly seems to have been a matter of major interest in pre-modern times.