Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 3 – Issues of Tawḥīd and Sunnah, p. 22
The questioner objects to the way Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn (Registered) uses a ḥadīth from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim to support their claim.
He requests an explanation of the ḥadīth in light of the understanding of the khayr al-qurūn (Companions, Tābiʿīn, Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn), so it becomes clear whether the stance of Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn (Registered) is valid.
From Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Imārah, ḥadīth 1968, under “How to Act When There is No Jamāʿah”:
"تَلْزَمُ جَمَاعَةَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَإِمَامَهُمْ"
“Stick to the congregation of the Muslims and their Imām.”
I asked: “What if there is no congregation of Muslims and no Imām?”
He ﷺ replied:
"اعْتَزِلْ تِلْكَ الْفِرَقَ كُلَّهَا، وَلَوْ أَنْ تَعَضَّ على أَصْلِ شَجَرَةٍ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَكَ الْمَوْتُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ"
“Avoid all those sects, even if you must bite onto the root of a tree until death reaches you while you are in that state.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 5/137; 3/779)
Three Authentic Sources of Sharīʿah:
① The Noble Qurʾān
② Authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) and good (ḥasan) marfūʿ aḥādīth
③ The consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Ummah
Principles of Understanding & Tafsīr:
Meaning:
Evidence:
“If you do not find a Khalīfah that day, then withdraw until you die…”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4247; Musnad Abī ʿAwanah 4204, ḥadīth 7168 — ḥasan)
Their Claims:
Critique:
Supporting Reference:
Ḥadīth:
“Whoever dies without having an Imām dies the death of Jāhiliyyah.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 10/434, ḥadīth 457 — ḥasan)
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal:
The Imām is the one on whom all Muslims have agreed; one already disputed over is not included in the ḥadīth.
(Masāʾil Ibn Hāniʾ 2011; Taḥqīqī Maqālāt 4/31)
The Masʿūdiyyah Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn (Registered), by labelling themselves “the” Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn and declaring the rest of the Ummah’s groups misguided, go against Sharʿi, scholarly, and Salafī principles.
Their use of this ḥadīth is baseless and deceptive.
For further reading:
al-Firqah al-Jadīdah by Abū Jābir ʿAbd Allāh Dāmānwī حفظه الله
Date: 24 September 2011 – Jāmiʿah al-Imām al-Bukhārī, Maqām Ḥayāt, Sargodha
Summary of the Question
The questioner objects to the way Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn (Registered) uses a ḥadīth from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim to support their claim.
He requests an explanation of the ḥadīth in light of the understanding of the khayr al-qurūn (Companions, Tābiʿīn, Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn), so it becomes clear whether the stance of Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn (Registered) is valid.
The Ḥadīth Text
From Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Imārah, ḥadīth 1968, under “How to Act When There is No Jamāʿah”:
"تَلْزَمُ جَمَاعَةَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَإِمَامَهُمْ"
“Stick to the congregation of the Muslims and their Imām.”
I asked: “What if there is no congregation of Muslims and no Imām?”
He ﷺ replied:
"اعْتَزِلْ تِلْكَ الْفِرَقَ كُلَّهَا، وَلَوْ أَنْ تَعَضَّ على أَصْلِ شَجَرَةٍ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَكَ الْمَوْتُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ"
“Avoid all those sects, even if you must bite onto the root of a tree until death reaches you while you are in that state.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 5/137; 3/779)
Foundational Sharʿi Principles
Three Authentic Sources of Sharīʿah:
① The Noble Qurʾān
② Authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) and good (ḥasan) marfūʿ aḥādīth
③ The consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Ummah
Principles of Understanding & Tafsīr:
- Only that meaning is valid which is established unanimously or without dispute from the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn (Companions, Tābiʿīn, Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn, muḥaddithīn, and reliable commentators).
- Ijtihād and reasoning based on the āthār of the Salaf is also valid.
Understanding of the Ḥadīth According to the Salaf
Meaning:
- Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn = the Khilāfah of the Muslims.
- Imāmuhum = the Khalīfah.
Evidence:
- Clarification by Ḥudhayfah رضي الله عنه:
“If you do not find a Khalīfah that day, then withdraw until you die…”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4247; Musnad Abī ʿAwanah 4204, ḥadīth 7168 — ḥasan)
- Ibn Ḥajar quoting al-Bayḍāwī:
If there is no Khalīfah on earth, then isolate yourself and endure hardships.
(Fatḥ al-Bārī 13/36; 16/487) - Imām al-Ṭabarī:
Hold fast to the group united under the obedience of an appointed amīr.
(Fatḥ al-Bārī 13/61; 16/487) - Ibn Baṭṭāl al-Qurṭubī:
It is obligatory to hold to the Muslim congregation and avoid rebellion against even unjust rulers.
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 10/36) - Ibn Ḥajar:
A command to stick to the Muslim body and obey their rulers, even if sinful.
(Fatḥ al-Bārī 13/36)
Summary of the Correct Meaning
- Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn = the agreed-upon Khilāfah of the Muslims.
- Imāmuhum = the Khalīfah with consensus of the Ummah.
- If such a Khalīfah does not exist, withdraw from all sects until death.
The False Use of this Ḥadīth by “Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn (Registered)”
Their Claims:
- They alone are upon truth; all other groups are misguided.
- In their books (Daʿwat Islām, Daʿwat Fikr o Nazar, Lamḥah Fikriyyah), they list 33–34 groups and declare them misguided.
- They avoid naming political parties, which is itself a divisive tactic.
Critique:
- Claiming to be the sole “Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn” and declaring all others misguided is a distortion of this ḥadīth.
- Without a Khilāfah or consensually recognised Khalīfah, calling any registered association Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn is a grave innovation and misguidance.
- None of the Salaf — from the 1st to the 9th century AH — interpreted “Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn” as a self-registered group with a self-appointed amīr.
Supporting Reference:
Ḥadīth:
“Whoever dies without having an Imām dies the death of Jāhiliyyah.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 10/434, ḥadīth 457 — ḥasan)
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal:
The Imām is the one on whom all Muslims have agreed; one already disputed over is not included in the ḥadīth.
(Masāʾil Ibn Hāniʾ 2011; Taḥqīqī Maqālāt 4/31)
Conclusion
The Masʿūdiyyah Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn (Registered), by labelling themselves “the” Jamāʿat al-Muslimīn and declaring the rest of the Ummah’s groups misguided, go against Sharʿi, scholarly, and Salafī principles.
Their use of this ḥadīth is baseless and deceptive.
For further reading:
al-Firqah al-Jadīdah by Abū Jābir ʿAbd Allāh Dāmānwī حفظه الله
Date: 24 September 2011 – Jāmiʿah al-Imām al-Bukhārī, Maqām Ḥayāt, Sargodha
