When did Sectarian Separations Emerge? |Prof. Hasan Onat

When did Sectarian Separations Emerge? Prof. Dr. Hasan Onat Anyone who knows a little about the history of Islam knows that there were no sects during the period when the Prophet was living. When did they appear? In fact, it is necessary to understand the reasons for the birth of sects. It is easier to understand it in this framework, but I will focus directly on the question at hand. The first denomination in Islamic history was the Kharijites. After the Battle of Siffin, a group of Muslims withdrew to a place called Harura. A war breaks out between Ali’s supporters, or rather with those who accept Ali as the legitimate caliph and those who are against that. After bloodshed for political reasons within the Islamic geography, faith related differentiations begin to emerge spontaneously. Thus, the first sect that emerged is the Kharijite sect that found its place in history following the battle of Siffin thirty years after the death of the Prophet. Later, as the Umayyads and Kharijites applied pressure and made life miserable for Muslims, it led to new searches among people. Then towards the end of the Hijri first century the Murji’ah emerged. What is the main difference? While the Kharijites who accepted deeds and faith as one and the same proclaimed that those who did not think the same as them are non-Islamic idolaters, Murji’ah made their mark in society by proclaiming that deeds and faith were different. There are the original views of the Murji’ah. This then forms the root of the idea for the followers of Sunnah, that the Ahl al Qibla cannot be declared as unbelievers. It is at the root of the idea of irja (recourse) and to refer the situation of the great sinner to God. Another original idea was equality in faith, that all believers are equal in faith. Towards the end of the first century, Shiism gradually began to form. The breaking point in the formation of Shiism is the Mukhtar es-Thakafî movement year sixty-seven Hijri. After the Mukhtar supporters were killed, most of them non-Arabs, among which a clustering arises around the idea that Mohammed Hanafi, who died in year eighty-one Hijri, did not actually die. Then, gradually the Shiite Ghulat movements emerges. Movements such as Mughiriyya, Mansuriyya, and Muqammisa are Shiite Ghulat movements. This three-way Kharijite, Murji'ah, and Shiite discussion on the issue of the great sinner, also allows Mu'tazila to find a place for itself gradually. Thus, at the end of the first century Hijri several sects were gradually emerging. Those are; Shiite along the Ghulat dimension, Kharijite, Murji'ah and the Mu'tazila that emerged after the Siffin war. It should be noted that many of the sects that actually fill the history of Islamic thought are rooted in these four sects of the first century. The Kharijite, whose only single branch Ibadiyya has reached the present day in history, has disappeared and the Ibadhis disclaim the inheritance from it, and do not link themselves with the Kharijites. Apart from that, the Murji'ah disappeared, and the environment favored the followers of Sunnah under the influence of the Ahl ar-Ra'y movement. The Mu'tazila also remained buried in the depths of history because a sect that emphasizes reason and mind exercises such an irrational act by declaring and punishing non-believers as non-Islamic. Through Shite's Ghulat movements the Imamiye movement formed. Today we can talk about Ismailiyah and Imamiye from the Shiite side. Although the group we call Zaydiyya seems to be a sub-branch of Shi'a, it really is a detached party in parallel with Shiism, like the Murji'ah and the Mu'tazila. We need to understand that too. Today, a significant number of Muslims living on earth say that they are on the line of the Followers of Sunnah (ahl al-Sunnah wal jamaah). You will also encounter these two sects, Asharism and Maturidism. There are also other sub-elements. In the fiqh dimension, the religious understanding of Muslims is shaped by Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i and Maliki. And approximately twelve to fifteen percent of Muslims are Shiite Muslims.