This has been revealed in this manner...

The last thing that I would like to say regarding this matter is that there is a unanimously accepted Prophetic tradition that : ‘My Ummah would be divided into 73 sects, out of which only one would go to Paradise whilst 72 of them would go to Hell’. So, from the 72 sects that will go astray, even if one person were to go to Paradise then this tradition will have been falsified.

It follows from this that from the one sect that is destined for Paradise, even if one person were to go to Hell, even then this tradition will not deliver its promise. Now, it is a matter of fact that many sects have been formed, not on the basis of deeds but on the basis of beliefs.

This argument of mine can be verified by Allama Hilli’s book ‘Ahsan Ul Aqaaid’ where he said: ‘From the Holy Prophetsaww’s nation, the seventy two sects that are destined for Hell and one which is destined for Paradise, is not based on deeds, for the deeds of all the people to be the same is against reason. Some will be carrying out religious obligations without failure whilst others will be careless in performing them.

Since people’s deeds are not of the same status and kind, therefore punishment and rewards will also be different. The one sect that is destined for Paradise will surely be due to its beliefs and not due to its good deeds.

Since all the people of a particular sect profess to the same beliefs, therefore it is possible to refer to the whole sect as the one destined for Paradise or the one destined for Hell fire.’ It is therefore imperative upon the ‘Ummah’ that they should analyse their beliefs on the basis of intellect. Wrong deeds can therefore be subject to forgiveness, but if the beliefs are wrong then the possibility of forgiveness does not exist.

Now I am going to quote to you some more traditions from Al Kafi so that there will remain no possibility of refutation after this. AL KAFI - H 966, Ch.