World Blog by humble servant.Question and Answers .Why are there so many sects in Islam? Which is the right sect to follow the religion correctly?

Question: Hello, I would like to follow Islam correctly. I belong to the Khoja Aga Khan sect and have some distant Bohri relatives also. My family is not very religious and everyone seems to follow what suits their convenience. Nobody gives me a clear explanation for anything. I have read a lot of information on your site but I couldn't understand which sect you belong to. Are you a new sect that is following a modern version of Islam? Can you advise me which sect is the right one to follow Islam correctly?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Answer: Peace be upon you. Your observation is correct. People across all religions often follow what is convenient for them and do not really know what they are following or why.
  

To be a true Muslim, you have to worship God alone and follow Quran alone for your religious guidance. Worshipping God alone means to call upon Him alone in your worship and never reverence or idolize any other entity besides Him. If you mention the name of any entity besides God in your worship, you will be committing Shirk (partnership) or idolatry which will nullify all your good deeds on Earth.

Following Quran alone means to source all your religious instructions from it and lead a righteous life in accordance with God’s instructions therein. Everything you need to follow Islam correctly is fully detailed in the Quran.

Most of those who call themselves Muslims today do not qualify to be Muslims because they do not do any of this. For example, they idolize Prophet Muhammad and nullify their Shahaadah (declaration of Faith) by adding his name next to God in it. If you get the first pillar of Islam wrong, nothing else will matter because all your deeds will be nullified in the Hereafter and you will have defeated the purpose of your existence.

The reason people do not give you an answer from the Quran is because they do not follow the Quran. They follow the words of ignorant religious leaders and scholars who base their understanding on conjecture, hearsay, guesswork and the books of Hadith and Sunnah which were never decreed by God or Prophet Muhammad.

 

The two sects you mentioned are typical examples of this. Whatever their people follow is directed by their religious head so they never know if what they are doing is right or wrong with basis form the Quran. For example, the Bohris do only three Salat (Contact) Prayers, whereas God has specified five daily prayers. The Aga Khan followers are probably the furthest away from any claim to be Muslim because they don’t find the need to follow the Quran or observe the religious practices as long as their spiritual leader is alive! (You could ask your relatives or search the internet to verify these matters). You will also have noticed that people greatly reverence their religious leaders and rejoice when the name is mentioned, while hardly praising God. These are direct traits of idolatry and guarantee failure in the Hereafter.

[5:44] … Therefore, do not reverence human beings; you shall reverence Me instead. And do not trade away My revelations for a cheap price. Those who do not rule in accordance with GOD's revelations, are the disbelievers.

The Greatest Criterion*

[39:45] When GOD ALONE is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion. But when others are mentioned beside Him, they become satisfied.*

*39:45 Despite the clear commandment in 3:18 that the First Pillar of Islam is proclaiming: "Ash-hadu An Lã Elãha Ellã Allãh (there is no other god beside God)," the majority of "Muslims" insist upon adding the name of Muhammad. This Greatest Criterion alerts us that rejoicing in adding the name of Muhammad, or any other name, exposes disbelief in the Hereafter. See also Footnote 17:46.

The Idols:

Innovating New Religious Laws*

42:21] They follow idols who decree for them religious laws never authorized by GOD. If it were not for the predetermined decision, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, the transgressors have incurred a painful retribution.*     

*42:21 The Islam of today's Muslim world has been so distorted, it has become a Satanic cult. The Ulama, or religious scholars, have added many extraneous laws, prohibitions, dress codes, dietary regulations, and religious practices never authorized by God. This is one of the main reasons for sending God's Messenger of the Covenant (9:31, 33:67, and Appendix 33).

 

Please note that neither of these spiritual leaders have any authority from God and the claim of a  1400 year old lineage to Prophet Muhammad is no basis at all. God alone authorizes specific people (messengers) to deliver His messages. He supports them with overwhelming physical proof of their divine appointment, yet gives them no power to help, save or intercede for anyone. In fact, in Islam, there is no clergy system which determines how people must pursue their belief. Submission to God alone (Islam) is a special relationship between the individual and God who has to account directly to God for his or her deeds.

I assure you that these religious leaders have no religious authority from God, and absolutely no power to guide or save your soul. In reality, there are as ignorant and misguided as the masses they think they are guiding. If they were guided and authorized by God, here are some of the things they would have done:

They would prohibit people from reverencing (idolizing) humans and calling upon them with titles such as ‘highness, holiness’ etc.

They would know the correct Shahaadah of Islam and ask people to worship God alone as per the first pillar of Islam.

They would condemn/abandon all false sources that have crept into the religion and encourage people to follow the Quran alone instead.             

They would find ways to establish God’s system into the lives of their communities, country etc.        

Please note that when we are talking about these religious leaders here, we are referring only to their false claims of divine/religious authority and false preaching of the religion. We are not referring to them personally or their otherwise good efforts to create financial and social wealth for their communities. In fact, some of these people possess good business, political and leadership skills which they could use to inculcate God’s system into the lives of people.

[3:79] Never would a human being whom GOD blessed with the scripture and prophet hood say to the people, "Idolize me beside GOD." Instead, (he would say), "Devote yourselves absolutely to your Lord alone," according to the scripture you preach and the teachings you learn.

 

Religious Sects

God willing, by now you have already got the answer to your question about sects. In the Quran, God has absolutely prohibited the formation of sects. The reason religious sects are formed is the human opinion behind them instead of God’s words. When everything is so clearly defined in the Quran, how can there be multiple ways to practice the religion? For example, the essential requirement of all human beings is to worship God alone and the Shahaadah is clearly stated in the Quran (3:18). How can there be multiple understandings of this? The Salat (Contact) Prayer is a mathematically coded format that must be done exactly as decreed by God. When the method is already defined and non-changeable, how can there be multi-sectarian versions of it? Everything—from the practices, judicial and economic laws, dietary prohibitions, women’s rights, marriage etc.—are all clearly defined in the Quran. People only need to study it and follow its easy system to lead a happy life and be redeemed to God. God is the Teacher of the Quran (55:1-2).

There are hundreds, if not thousands of sects under the banner of Islam, each one happy with what they think is right about the religion. In the bargain, people are not able to refer to themselves as just ‘Muslims’ unless they also mention the name of the sect of Islam which they belong to. (The Aga Khan followers always say they are Khoja’s or Aga Khani’s. They rarely use the term Muslim).

[30:32] (Do not fall in idol worship,) like those who divide their religion into sects; each party rejoicing with what they have.

The irony of all this is that when you tell people to worship God alone and follow the path decreed by God in the Quran, you are accused of starting a new idea or sect of Islam! Submission is not a name of a sect or religion but the description of a soul's absolute devotion and submission to God Alone. This is the First Commandment in all of God's scriptures, including the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Final Testament, the Quran. The words Muslim and Islam are only the Arabic words for Submitter and Submission. To be a Submitter (Muslim) and practice Submission (Islam), you do not need to know how to read, write or speak Arabic, nor do you need to be of any specific religious or cultural background.

My Blog and web site is not a professional religious organization nor does it support or advocate any sect of Islam. The aim of our website is to spread the truth about Islam from the Quran. We encourage people to examine the information and choose their spiritual path for themselves. God’s system of submission is designed to apply perfectly to any generation, past, present and future. Nothing needs to be changed or adapted. People have to implement the system into their societies and adapt their lives to conform to it. One of the best starting points to practice submission correctly is to first understand why you were created and the purpose of your existence. Once you understand this, you will have a logical reason to worship God alone and follow God’s system of Submission decreed in the Quran.

God willing I have answered your questions and you will explore the information we have shared. There is no formal induction or “conversion” process into true Islam. Once you make the decision to worship God alone and lead your life in accordance with His revelations, you are already in a state of Submission to God—a phenomenally fortunate position for anyone to be in. We wish you all the best in your pursuit of Islam.