The Secret of Safe Sects

Per Allah’s commands in His Qur’an, we should not follow sects.

• Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man’s] self-surrender unto Him; and those who were vouchsafed revelation aforetime took, out of mutual jealousy, to divergent views [on this point] only after knowledge [thereof] had come unto them. But as for him who denies the truth of God’s messages – behold, God is swift in reckoning!
  – al-Imran 3:19
  
• And hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you—by His grace—became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be ˹rightly˺ guided.
  – al-Imran 3:103
  
• And be not like those who have drawn apart from one another and have taken to conflicting views after all evidence of the truth has come unto them: for these it is for whom tremendous suffering is in store
  – al-Imran 3:105
  
• VERILY, as for those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects – thou hast nothing to do with them. Behold, their case rests with God: and in time He will make them understand what they were doing.
  – al-An`am 6:159
  
• [For, thou art the bearer of a divine writ] such as We have bestowed from on high upon those who afterwards] broke it up into parts,
  – al-Hijr 15:90
  
• [or] among those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects, each group delighting in but what they themselves hold [by way of tenets].
  – ar-Rum 30:32
  
• In matters of faith, He has ordained for you that which He had enjoined upon Noah – and into which We gave thee [O Muhammad] insight through revelation as well as that which We had enjoined upon Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus: Steadfastly uphold the [true] faith, and do not break up your unity therein. [And even though] that [unity of faith] to which thou callest them appears oppressive to those who are wont to ascribe to other beings or forces a share in His divinity, God draws unto Himself everyone who is willing, and guides unto Himself everyone who turns unto Him.
  – ash_Shura 42:13
  
• And [as for the followers of earlier revelation,] they broke up their unity, out of mutual jealousy, only after they had come to know [the truth]. And had it not been for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Sustainer, [postponing all decision] until a term set [by Him], all would indeed have been decided between them [from the outset]. As it is, behold, they who have inherited their divine writ from those who preceded them are [now] in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about what it portends.
  – ash-Shura 42:14
  

According to these Qur’anic verses, our Creator commands believers to maintain religious unity and avoid breaking into competing sects or denominations. The verses above emphasize that the true religion is simply submitting to our Creator’s will, and that throughout history—from the time of Noah through Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad—He has consistently called people to one unified faith.

The Qur’an warns that religious divisions arise not from ignorance, but from jealousy and ego even after people have received clear knowledge of the truth. Believers are instructed to “hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided,” remembering how He united them when they were once enemies.

The Qur’an makes clear that those who create religious sects and delight in their particular interpretations, rather than seeking unity in essential faith, will answer to their Creator for fragmenting what was meant to be whole.

The repeated message is that sectarianism contradicts the fundamental Islamic principle of submitting together to one God.