Quora Answer: What is the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “What is the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah?” 

The term literally means, “The People of the Sunnah and the Majority.”  It is based on the line from the last sermon of the Prophet (s.a.w.) where he said, “I leave you two things: the Qur’an and my sunnah.”  Some versions of this same narration state “the Qur’an and my family,” which is essentially the same thing.  The sunnah is the way of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  The family of the Prophet (s.a.w.), the Ahl al-Bayt, literally, “the People of the House”, is the exemplification of it.  The basis of the sunnah is also found in the Qur’an: 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴحزَاب

لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ۬ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرۡجُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلۡيَوۡمَ ٱلۡأَخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرً۬ا (٢١) 

You have, indeed, in the Messenger of Allah, a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the praise of Allah. (Surah al-Ahzab:21) 

The portion of the majority refers to the prophetic narration from Sunan ibn Majah, where Sayyidina Anas ibn Malik (r.a.) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) say, ‘My ummah will not unite on misguidance, so if you see them differing, follow the great majority.’” 

And the basis of this is found in the Qur’an: 

سُوۡرَةُ آل عِمرَان

وَٱعۡتَصِمُواْ بِحَبۡلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعً۬ا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُواْ‌ۚ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِذۡ كُنتُمۡ أَعۡدَآءً۬ فَأَلَّفَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِكُمۡ فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم بِنِعۡمَتِهِۦۤ إِخۡوَٲنً۬ا وَكُنتُمۡ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفۡرَةٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنۡہَا‌ۗ كَذَٲلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَہۡتَدُونَ (١٠٣) 

And hold fast, all together by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude, Allah’s Favour on you; for you were enemies, and He Joined your hearts in love so that by His Grace, you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of fire, and He Saved you from it.  Thus does Allah Make His Signs clear to you: that you may be Guided. (Surah Ali ‘Imran:103) 

It is by this that we are called the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah.  The issue then is who makes up the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah?  At its core, it is Sunni Islam, which is defined by Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani (r.a.) and others to mean those who adhere to the four main madzahib, schools, of jurisprudence, although it is not limited to them since Sunni Islam also has many other recognised schools.  It covers the four main schools of Sunni ‘aqa’id, creed, meaning the Ash’ari, the Maturidi, the Thahawi and the Atsari. 

Within the expanded context, modern scholars also include the Ibadhi, who are actually a remnant of the Khwarij sects.  The fifteen or so sects of the Khwarij are excluded due to major credal differences pertaining to the issue of belief and sin, and whether sin negates the shahadah.  The modern Ibadhi have a mitigated position. 

Although there are major credal differences between Sunni Islam and many of the Mu’tazilah sects, there is no blanket exclusion.  The opinion of the scholars of the time, particularly the Hanafiyyah, of whom there were many Mu’tazilah, is that they are assumed to be part of the fold, unless there are explicit, egregious credal differences.  Since they are essentially extinct, this is a moot point. 

This includes the mainstream schools of Shi’ah Islam, particularly the Itsna’ ‘Ashariyyah or Twelver Shi’ah whose Ja’fari madzhab is closely related to the Hanafi madzhab; and the Zaydi Shi’ah, whose jurisprudence is close to the Maliki madzhab.  All the ghuluw Shi’ah sects are excluded.  Most of these sects are extinct so it is an academic point.  Such groups included the Nuswayriyyah, who believed in reincarnation, and the Qarmathiyyah, who believed that the haj is a polytheistic and the Ka’bah is an idol to be destroyed. 

Not every other group who call themselves Muslims is included within the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah.  The two sects of the Ahmadiyyah are not included because of credal differences including their belief that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is either the Prophet (s.a.w.) reborn or a mujaddid who abrogated passages of the Qur’an. 

The Wahhabi sect, which is mistaken to be part of Sunni Islam is not part of the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah.  They do not consider other Muslims to be “Muslim”, and label themselves “Ahl as-Sunnah” and drop the portion “wa al-Jama’ah”.  There are major credal differences between Sunni Islam and the Wahhabi sect, particularly pertaining to the Divine Nature. Their belief that Allah (s.w.t.) has a form and is found in a time and place is considered polytheism. 

And Quranists, or Munkarin al-Ahadits, as they are known to mainstream Islam, are also not considered Muslims due to their total rejection of the corpus of ahadits, and their insistence on a literalist reading of the Qur’an, eschewing context.  This has led them to egregious credal positions unacceptable to mainstream Islam.