Q103 :In the Qur’an, human beings are divided into
three groups: believers, hypocrites and non-believers. However, we find
in writings about Islam further groupings under such headings as: good
Muslims, true believers, Sunnis, Shiites, etc. Please netment on this
method of classification.
A103 : What you have said about the classification
of mankind in the Qur’an is certainly true. The second and longest
surah in the Qur’an, entitled “The Cow”, or “Al-Baqrah”, opens with a
description of three groups of people which include all mankind. Anyone
who reads this account cannot fail to note that Allah describes the
main features of the believers in a few short verses. Similarly, two
verses outline the main features of non-believers. A much longer
account is needed to describe the characteristics of hypocrites. This
is due to the fact that a hypocrite puts on a false appearance. The
hidden reality needs to be discovered in order to recognize what sort
of person he is. Indeed, a hypocrite is a non-believer who tries to
appear as a believer. He alleges that he belongs to the first group
while he lacks its most essential quality: Faith. He belongs to the
second group, i.e. the non-believers, but he tries hard to hide this
fact. How is his reality to be discovered? To help believers
recognize those who falsely claim to belong to their netmunity, Allah
outlines certain features which all hypocrites share in netmon. There
are certain subtleties which must be recognized if hypocrites are to be
known. It is useful to mention here that Muslims are not required to
determine whether any particular person is a hypocrite or not. Their
keen insight should help them determine who is making a false claim.
When they doubt the sincerity of a particular person, they must not
pronounce a final judgment on him. They should beware of any danger
which may be caused by him. But that is as far as they should go. They
accept his claim and leave it to Allah to judge him as He knows his
true status. Writers on Islam often use such descriptions as good
Muslims and true believers. This is however, not a sub-classification
of the people whom Allah has included in the group of believers. It is
simply a matter of style. It is just as a writer who says that if a
Muslim wants to give credence to his claim to belong to the group of
believers, then he should behave in a certain fashion. To a writer in
Islam, the phrase, “a good Muslim”, refers to a person who translates
his belief in Islam into practical deeds. We must not read these
descriptions as adding another quality which distinguishes groups of
Muslims as such. Otherwise, we would have to recognize another group
which we may describe as “false Muslims”. This is obviously a
contradiction in terms. If a person is false, he cannot be a Muslim. If
he is a Muslim, then he belongs to the group of believers which Allah
has described at the outset of the second surah of the Qur’an. If we
want to use the phrase “false Muslim” we can only use it as synonymous
with a “hypocrite”. This is not what is intended by writers in Islam
when they add descriptions of good and true to the class of believers.
These qualifying adjectives are simply meant for emphasis. The
division of Muslims into Sunnis and Shiites is a different matter
altogether. The origin of this division dates back to the early days of
Islam, when a split took place between Ali, the fourth ruler of the
Muslim state of the Prophet, and Mu’aweya, the governor of Syria.
Subsequent events meant that this division continued into the following
generations and later acquired an intellectual basis and led to the
formulation of the Imamiah concept among the Shiites. It is possible to
describe the Shiites as a sect of Islam, while the Sunnis represent its
mainstream. As you realize the division between Sunnis and Shiites is
totally different from the classification of mankind into believers,
non-believers and hypocrites. In the Qur’anic classification, the
operative criterion is that of attitude to the very basic concept of
the Oneness of Allah and the message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him). In the second grouping, we are saying that Muslims can either
belong to the mainstream of Islam whose adherents are known as Sunnis,
or they belong to the Shi’a sect.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )