According to an early tradition Mahomet said that Islam would be divided
into seventy-three parties (sects),[4] of which seventy-two would perish
and one would be saved. The orthodox Arabian writers on heretical sects
of Islam feel compelled by this tradition to make up their number to
seventy-two, and, as different writers adopt different divisions or are
familiar with different parties, the names of sects amount to some
hundreds. Each writer, however, adopts certain main classes under which
he attempts to group the others. Abu Muti` Makhul at the beginning of
the 10th century in his "Refutation" (MS. in Bodleian Library) has six
such chief classes: Harurites (i.e. Kharijites), Rafidites (i.e.
Shi`ites), Qadarites, Jabarites, Jahmites and Murjiites. Ibn Hazm (q.v.)
adopts four classes: Mu`tazilites (Motazilites), Murjiites, Shi`ites and
Kharijites. Shahrastani (q.v.) complains of the want of system in
earlier writers, and suggests as bases of classification the position of
parties with regard to the doctrines as to (1) the divine attributes,
(2) predestination and free-will (3) promises and threats, faith and
error, (4) revelation, reason, the imamate. In one part of his preface
he gives as the chief parties the Qadarites, Sifatites, Kharijites and
Shi`ites, proposing to divide these classes according to leaders who
agreed with the main doctrines of their class but differed in some
points. In another place he mentions four opposite pairs of sects: (1)
the Qadarites with their doctrine of free-will, and the Jabarites, who
are necessitarians; (2) the Sifatites, who maintain the eternal nature
of the attributes of God, and the Mu`tazilites, who deny it; (3) the
Murjiites, who postpone judgment of actions until the Last Day, and the
Wa`idites, who condemn in this life; (4) the Kharijites, who consider
the caliphate a human institution, and the Shi`ites, who deify their
ruler. In his detailed treatment of the sects Shahrastani arranged them
under the headings: Mu`tazilites, Jabarites, Sifatites, Kharijites,
Murjiites and Shi`ites. About the same time as Shahrastani two other
Arabian writers wrote on the sects--Tahir ul-Isfaraini (d. 1078), whose
MS. is in the Berlin library, and `Abd ul-Qadir ul-Jilani (1078-1166) in
his _Kitab ul-Ghaniyya li-Talibi Tariq il-Haqqi_ (Cairo, 1871). Both
adopt as main classes Rafidites (or Shi`ites), Qadarites (or
Mu`tazilites), Kharijites, Murjiites, Najjarites, Dirarites, Jahmites,
Mushabbiha, to which Tahir adds Bakrites, Karramites, and a class
including those sects which are not reckoned as Moslem though they have
sprung from Islam. Jilani adds to the eight the Kilabites.
The following list is not a complete list of names of sects but is
founded on that of Shahrastani.[5]
_Aftahites._--Shi`ites of the Imamite class, who ascribe the imamate
to `Abdallah ul-Aftahi, the son of Sadiq.
_Ajarida._--Kharijites, followers of Ibn `Ajarrad, who agreed for the
most part with the Najadat (below), considered grave sins as
equivalent to unbelief, but remained friendly with those who professed
Islam but did not fight for it. They rejected _sura_ 7 as a fable.
Shahrastani enumerates seven divisions of this sect.
_Akhnasites._--A section of the Tha`aliba not so strict in treatment
of those who fear to fight for Islam.
_Ash`arites._--Followers of Ash`ari (q.v.) who are counted by
Shahrastani among the Sifatites.
_Atrafites._--A division of the `Ajarida who agree with the Hamzites
except that they excuse the lower classes for inaction when they are
ignorant of the law.
_Azraqites._--Kharijites who followed al-Azraq in the days of Ibn
Zubair. They held `Ali to be an unbeliever; those who did not fight
were unbelievers; the children of unbelievers were to be put to death
and went to hell. Sin is unbelief.
_Bahshamites._--Mu`tazilites akin to the Jubba`ites.
_Baihasites._--Kharijites, followers of Abu Baihas ul-Haitham, who was
put to death by the caliph Walid. They asserted the necessity of
knowledge for religion.
_Baqirites._--Shi`ites who followed Abu Ja`far ul-Baqir, the fifth
imam, and looked for his return.
_Batinites._--Isma`ilites, so called because they believe that every
external has an internal (_batin_), and every passage in the Koran has
an allegoric meaning.
_Bishrites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of Bishr ibn Mu`tamir, one of
the most learned men of his party. His teaching was philosophical and
was distinguished by his doctrine of "origination" (_tawallud_).
_Bunanites._--Kaisanites, followers of Bunan ibn Sim`an un-Nahdi, who
claimed that the imamate passed from Abu Hashim to himself and that he
had also acquired the divine element of `Ali.
_Butrites._--Zaidites, followers of Kathir un-Nawa ul-Abtar, who
agreed with the Suleimanites (Sulaimanites) except that he suspended
judgment as to whether Othman was a believer or not.
_Dirarites._--Jabarites who empty God of his attributes, and assert
that man has a sixth sense by which he will see God on the day of
resurrection. The actions of man are "created" and acquired by him. A
caliph need not be chosen from the Koreish.
_Ghaliites_ (Ghula) are the extreme Shi`ites (q.v.) in ascribing deity
to the imams. Their heresies are said to be four in number: (1) Making
God resemble man, (2) ascribing change of mind to God, (3) looking for
the return of the imam, (4) metempsychosis. They are divided by
Shahrastani into ten classes.
_Ghassanites._--Murjiites, followers of Ghassan ibn ul-Kufi, who say
that faith consists of knowledge of God, his apostle, and the Koran in
general not in detail, and that faith increases but is not diminished.
_Habities_ = Hayitites (below).
_Hadathites_ (Hudabites) are Mu`tazilites, followers of Fadl ibn
ul-Hadathi, who agreed with the Hayitites (below).
_Hafsites._--Ibadites, followers of Hafs ibn abi-l-Miqdam, who
distinguished between idolatry (_shirk_) and unbelief (_kufr_).
_Hamzites._--`Ajarida, followers of Hamza ibn Adrak in Sijistan. They
agree with the Maimunites, but condemn the children of unbelievers to
hell.
_Harithites._--Ibadites who differ from others in holding the
Mu`tazilite doctrine of free-will.
_Harurites._--A name given to the first Kharijites, who rebelled
against `Ali, and met in Harura near Kufa.
_Hashimites._--Shi`ites who supported Abu Hashim, son of Mahommed ibn
ul-Hanafiyya, although they held that his father had gone astray.
_Hashwiites._--A party who asserted the eternity even of the letters
of the Koran. They are not mentioned as a separate sect by
Shahrastani; cf. van Vloten, "_Les Hachwia et Nabita_," in the _Acts
of the 11th Oriental Congress_ (Paris, 1899), pt. iii., pp. 99 sqq.
_Hayitites._--Mu`tazilites who agreed with the Nazzamites, but added
three heresies of their own: (1) the divinity of the Messiah, (2)
metempsychosis, (3) the interpretation of all references to the vision
of God as referring to the "first Reason" or "creative Reason."
_Hishamites._--A name given to two sects: (1) Mu`tazilites, strong in
their assertion of man's free-will, even opposing the statement of the
Koran. (2) Shi`ites of the extreme kind, who attributed to God a body
with quantities (measurements) and qualities.
_Hudabites._--See Hadathites.
_Hudhailites_ (Hodhailites).--Mu`tazilites, followers of Abu-l Hudhail
Hamdan, who was a leading teacher of his party and developed the
philosophical side of its teaching. Ten of his main doctrines are
given by Shahrastani.
_Ibadites._--Kharijites of moderate tendencies (see above).
_Ilbaites._--Ghaliites who put `Ali above Mahomet and blamed the
latter because he called men to himself instead of to `Ali.
_Imamites._--One of the chief divisions of the Shi`ites (q.v.).
_Ishaqites._--Ghaliites agreeing with the Nusairites except that they
incline to speak of the imams' participation in the prophetic office
rather than of their divinity.
_Isma`ilites._--This name is applied to all who consider Isma`il ibn
Ja`far the last imam, some believing that he did not die but will
return, others, that at his death his son Mahommed became imam (see
ASSASSINS); it is also used as equivalent to the Batinites.
_Ithna`asharites._--Imamites who accept the twelve imams (see
SHI`ITES).
_Jabarites._--Those who deny all actions and power to act to man and
ascribe all to God (see above).
_Ja`farites._--Imamites who carry the imamate no farther than Ja`far
us-Sadiq.
_Jahizites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of the celebrated writer Jahiz
(q.v.), who indulged in philosophical speculations, believed in the
eternity of matter, and was regarded as a naturalist (_taba`i_) rather
than a theist (_allahi_).
_Jahmites._--Jabarites, followers of Jahm ibn Safwan, who was put to
death at Merv toward the close of the Omayyad period. He was extreme
in his denial of the attributes of God.
_Jarudites._--Zaidites who held that Mahomet designated `Ali as imam,
not by name but by his attributes, and that the Moslem sinned by not
taking sufficient trouble to recognize these attributes.
_Jubba`ites._--Mu`tazilites who followed the philosophical teaching of
Abu `Ali Mahommed ul-Jubba`i of Basra.
_Kaisanites._--A main class of the Shi`ites (q.v.).
_Kamilites._--Ghaliites, followers of Abu Kamil, who condemned the
companions (_Ansar_) because they did not do allegiance to `Ali, and
`Ali because he surrendered his claims.
_Karramites._--Sifatites, followers of Ibn Karram, who went so far as
to ascribe a body to God, and assimilated his nature to human nature.
_Kayyalites._--Ghaliites, followers of Ahmad ibn Kayyal, who, after
supporting a propaganda for an Aliite, claimed to be the imam himself
on the ground of his power over the spheres.
_Khalafites._--`Ajarida of Kerman and Multan, who believed that God
wills good and evil, but condemned the children of unbelievers to
hell.
_Kharijites._--One of the earliest sects of Islam (see above).
_Kharimites._--`Ajarida, agreeing mostly with the Shu`aibites and
teaching that the relation of God to a man depends on what he
professes at the end of his life.
_Khattabites._--Ghaliites, followers of Abu-l Khattab, who was put to
death by Ibn Musa at Kufa. He was a violent supporter of Ja`far
us-Sadiq, who however disowned him.
_Khayyatites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of Abu-l Hosain ul-Khayyat, a
teacher in Bagdad, part of whose philosophical teaching was that the
non-existent is a thing.
_Ma`badites._--Tha`labites who differed from the Akhnasites on the
question of the marriage of believing women and from Tha`lab on the
question of taking alms from slaves.
_Maimunites._--`Ajarida, followers of Maimun ibn Khalid, who believed
that God wills good only and that man determines his actions.
_Majhulites._--Tha`labites, agreeing generally with the Kharimites,
but teaching that he who knows some names and attributes of God and is
ignorant of some knows God.
_Ma`lumites._--Tha`labites agreeing generally with the Kharimites but
alleging that a believer must know all the names and attributes of
God.
_Mansurites._--Ghaliites, followers of Abu Mansur ul-`Ijli, who at
first supported al-Baqir, but, rejected by him, claimed the imamate
for himself. He was crucified by the caliph Hisham ibn `Abd ul-Malik
(Abdalmalik).
_Mu`ammarites._[6]--Mu`tazilites who strongly denied the
predestination of God, and affirmed that God created bodies only, and
that the accidents spring naturally from them.
_Mufaddalites._[6]--The same as the Musaites (q.v.).
_Mughirites._[6]--Ghaliites, followers of Mughira ibn Sa`id ul-`Ijli,
who claimed the imamate and prophetic office and held extremely gross
views of God.
_Muhakkima_[6] (the first).--Another name for the Harurites (above).
_Mukarramites._[6]--Tha`labites who taught that sin consists in
ignorance of God.
_Mukhtarites._[6]--Kaisanites, followers of al-Mukhtar ibn `Ubaid, who
held to Mahommed ibn ul-Hanafiyya but was disowned by him. He allowed
the possibility of change of mind on the part of God.
_Murjiites._--Those who postponed judgment of actions until the Day of
Judgment. See above.
_Musaites._--Imamites who held to the imamate of Musa ibn Ja`far, who
was imprisoned by Harun al-Rashid and poisoned.
_Mushabbiha._[6]--Sifatites who compared God's actions with human
actions. They said that the Koran was eternal with all its letters,
accents and written signs.
_Mu`tazilites._[6]--The rationalists of Islam. See above, cf. also H.
Steiner, _Die Mu`taziliten oder die Freidenker im Islam_ (Leipzig,
1865).
_Muzdarites._[6]--Mu`tazilites, followers of al-Muzdar, a pupil of
Bishr (cf. Bishrites) whose teaching he developed further. He taught
that God has power to do evil, but, if he acted thus, would be an evil
God; also that man can produce the equal of the Koran.
_Najadat_ (also known as _`Adhirites_).--Kharijites, who followed
Najda ibn `Amir of Yemama as he went to join the Azraqites but
withdrew from these, being more orthodox than they. He held that fear
of fighting was not sin.
_Nawisites_ take their name from a person or a place. They are
Ja`farites who believe in Sadiq as the mahdi.
_Nazzamites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of Ibrahim ibn Sayyar
un-Nazzam, who was an extremist in his teaching of man's free-will and
other philosophical doctrines.
_Nu`manites._[6]--Ghaliites agreeing in some points with Hishamites,
but holding that God is a light in the form of a man, yet not a body.
_Nusairites._[6]--Ghaliites who agree with the Ishaqites except that
they lay more stress on the incorporation of the deity.
_Qadarites._--The upholders of free-will (see above).
_Qata`ites._--Musaites who regard the rank of the imams as closed with
the death of Musa.
_Rafidites._--A term used by some writers to denote the Shi`ites as a
whole; by others given to a class of the Shi`ites who forsook Zaid ibn
`Ali because he forbade them to abuse the Companions.
_Rashidites._--Tha`labites, followers of Rashid ut-Tusi, sometimes
called `Ushrites ("tithers") because they differed from others on the
question of tithing the produce of land watered by rivers and canals.
_Rizamites._--Kaisanites of Khorasan at the time of Abu Muslim, to
whom they ascribed the imamate and the Spirit of God. They also
believed in metempsychosis.
_Saba`ites._--Ghaliites, who followed `Abdallah ibn Saba (see
SHI`ITES).
_Salihites._--(a) Zaidites, followers of al-Hasan ibn Salih, who
agreed with the teachings of the Butrites (above); (b) Murjiites,
followers of Salih ibn Amr, who united with the doctrines of their own
party those of the Qadarites.
_Saltites._--`Ajarida who had nothing to do with the children of
believers until they had grown up and professed Islam.
_Shaibanites._--Tha`labites, followers of Shaiban ibn Salama, who was
killed in the time of Abu Muslim (Moslem). They arose chiefly in
Jorjan and Armenia and agreed in doctrine with the Jahmites.
_Shamitites._--Ja`farites, followers of Yahya ibn Abu Shamit.
_Shi`ites._--See separate article.
_Shu`aibites._--`Ajarida who said that God creates the actions of men,
and men appropriate them.
_Sifatites_ are those who ascribe eternity to all the attributes of
God, whether they denote essence or action, or are of the class called
descriptive attributes.
_Sifrites_, the same as Ziyadites (below).
_Sulaimanites_ (Suleimanites).--Zaidites, followers of Suleiman ibn
Jarir, who held that the appointment to the imamate was a matter of
consultation and that the imamates of Abu Bekr and Omar were legal
although `Ali had a better claim.
_Tha`labites._--A party of the Kharijites, followers of Tha`lab ibn
Amir, who agreed with the `Ajarida except that he was friendly with
children until they actually denied the faith. He also took alms from
slaves when they were rich, and gave alms to poor slaves.
_Thaubanites._--Murjiites who said that faith consists in the
knowledge and confession of God and His apostle, and what the
intellect is not capable of doing. What the intellect can do (or
leave) is not of faith.
_Thumamites._--Mu`tazilites, followers of Thumama ibn Ashras in the
days of Mamun, who taught that all non-Moslems would become dust on
the day of resurrection.
_Tumanites._--Murjiites who taught that faith depends on obedience
rather to the principles than to the commands of Islam.
_`Ubaidites._--Murjiites who believed that anything but idolatry might
be forgiven, and that if a man died professing the unity of God his
sins would not hurt him.
_Wa`idites._--Those who, opposed to the Murjiites, pronounced judgment
in this life; they are not counted as a separate sect by Shahrastani
(see above).
_Wasilites._--A name given to those who followed Wasil ibn `Ata, the
founder of Mu`tazilitism, who denied the attributes of God, asserted
the power of man over his own actions, taught the existence of a
middle place between heaven and hell, and despised the parties of
Othman and `Ali alike.
_Yazidites._--Ibadites who said that they followed the religion of the
Sabians in the Koran, and believed that God would send an apostle from
the Persians.
_Yunusites._--Murjiites who taught that faith consists in knowledge of
God, subjection to Him, abandonment of pride before Him, and love in
the heart. Obedience apart from knowledge is not of faith.
_Zaidites._--The moderate Shi`ites (see SHI`ITES).
_Ziyadites._--Kharijites, followers of Ziyad ibn ul-Asfar, who did not
regard those who abstained from fighting for Islam as unbelievers, and
did not kill the children of idolaters or condemn them to hell.
AUTHORITIES.--For the philosophy and theology of Ash`ari see M. A. F.
Mehren, _Exposé de la réforme de l'Islamisme par Abou-`l Hasan Ali
el-Ash`ari_ (Leiden, 1878); W. Spitta, _Zur Geschichte Abu-l Hasan
al-Ash`aris_ (Leipzig, 1876); M. Schreiner, _Zur Geschichte des
Ash`aritenthums_ (Leiden, 1891); D. B. Macdonald, _Development of
Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and Constitutional Theory_ (London,
1903). The last work contains translations of the creeds of Ash`ari
and Nasafi (Mataridite). A further bibliography of works on the faith
and outlook of Islam will be found in D. B. Macdonald's _Muslim
Theology_.
The text of the Koran has been edited by G. Flügel, Leipzig, various
dates; and by G. M. Redslob, Paris, 1868 and 1880. There are also
hundreds of Eastern editions. Concordances have been published by G.
Flügel, Leipzig, 1842 (several times reprinted), also in Egypt,
Palestine and India. A dictionary and glossary were published by J.
Penrice, London, 1873. English translations have been made by G. Sale,
London, 1734 (the fullest edition is that with notes by E. M. Wherry,
4 vols., London, 1882-1886); by J. M. Rodwell with notes, London, 1861
and 1876; and by E. H. Palmer in vols, vi. and ix. of the "Sacred
Books of the East," Oxford, 1880-1882. Among the best or best-known
Arabic commentaries are those of Tabari (q.v.), Zamakhshari (q.v.),
Baidhawi (q.v.), the Jalalain (see SUYUTI), and such later ones as the
Mafatih ul-Ghaib of ar-Razi (d. 1210). The composition and theology of
the Koran are treated in the works of Nöldeke and Grimme referred to
above.
On the eschatology of Islam see M. Wolff, _Muhammedanische
Eschatologie_ (Leipzig, 1872); and on the doctrine of revelation. Otto
Pautz, _Muhammeds Lehre von der Offenbarung_ (Leipzig, 1898).
(G. W. T.)