One Ummah

Sects

So in this book I begin with one of the things I want to get straight between how I am and where I get my information from (and also I don't know everything.So correct me if I ever mistake anything).

But my dear brother and sisters,

 You shouldn't believe in it.

I remember I first heard about it when I was 10-12 yrs old. Something about a Sunni Shia conflict.

First I was surprised because to be honest I never thought Islam could have split. Logically it didn't make sense to me.

That was one of the good things about Islam , things that are different from other religions. It was strange.
Of course after I found out that I was "Sunni" and my masjid was "Sunni". I took pride in it.

The only split I heard was Sunni and Shia so ya.

I had a Shia friend I grew up with. I guess I never realized she was "Shia".
After I found out I started to notice the differences between our lifestyle.
Like how we pray (worship) or the way we dress (hijab).

There's a lot of confusion between such.

Of course to me the main thing is Quran and Sunnah.

For those of you who aren't clear in how the first split of the muslims happened.
Watch Yasir Qadhi on the topic.
Its very informative.

But I can tell you that Shia AND Sunni kind of started as political parties.
It doesn't make any sense to define what type of muslim you are based on such.
These are all from political differences.
Let me state an ayah that changes everything:
Surat-ul-An'aam Chapter 6 Verse 159-
"Surely those who have made divisions in their religion and turned into factions, you should have nothing to do with them. Their case rests with Allah alone; then He will tell them what they have been doing."

Isn't that scary? The Holy Quran explicitly states not to make factions yet we do.
In Islam there is NO sects .

I wanted to write this to point this out.
Because I never knew and maybe there are people like me who never knew.

Also the prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"My Ummah wil be divided into 73 sects. All of them will be in the fire except one."

Which one you ask? From what I've heard it is the one who does not make sects.

That was scarier.

I mean don't you know a lot of people who never knew? I sure do.

Allah sent prophet Muhammad (SAW) to unite us together. And we ended up with some official "splits". 

People, when you follow the quran and sunnah you are not "Sunni" or "Shia" or "Salafi" etc etc 

You are a muslim. Born muslim. Created by Allah almighty to worship Him. 

We should not classify ourselves based on the caliphs or what happened in the past. (Like with Al-Hasan Al-basari)

We should focus on pleasing Allah. So all I'm saying is when someone asks you what sect your in just smile and say, "I'm muslim." 

May Allah make us all among the Righteous.