WAS MUHAMMAD SUNNI OR SHIA?
By Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute
Abstract
The question of whether Prophet Muhammad was a Sunni or Shia has profound implications for understanding the nature of Islam as practiced today. This paper argues that Muhammad was neither Sunni nor Shia, and that all sectarian divisions in Islam represent a deviation from his original message. Drawing upon the Prophet’s own words in the Hadith concerning the seventy-three sects, it becomes evident that Muhammad condemned the fragmentation of his followers into groups and declared all but one sect as destined for Hellfire. The study challenges contemporary Muslims to re-examine their allegiance to sectarian doctrines and to consider the implications of following systems Muhammad never endorsed.
1. Introduction
The sectarian split in Islam—principally between Sunni and Shia—has shaped the political, theological, and social realities of the Muslim world for over a millennium. However, a fundamental question arises: Was Muhammad himself affiliated with any sect? Historically, the answer is unambiguous. Neither Sunni Islam nor Shia Islam existed during Muhammad’s lifetime. These divisions crystallized in the decades and centuries following his death, largely due to disputes over leadership, interpretation of revelation, and jurisprudence.
Hence, to describe Muhammad as either Sunni or Shia is anachronistic—projecting later developments backward onto the Prophet himself.
2. The Hadith of the Seventy-Three Sects
A pivotal text often cited in discussions of Islamic sectarianism is the hadith recorded in Sunan Abu Dawud (Hadith 4596) and Sunan al-Tirmidhi (Hadith 2641):
“The Jews were divided into seventy-one sects, the Christians into seventy-two, and my Ummah will divide into seventy-three sects. All of them are in the Fire except one.”
When asked which one, the Prophet replied:
“That which I and my Companions are upon.”
This narration—though varied in form and authenticity—has been used by Muslims themselves to justify sectarian exclusivity. Yet, ironically, it is a condemnation of sectarianism, not a justification for it. The Prophet’s statement is a prophetic warning, not a license to create divisions.
3. The Prophet’s Sect: The Qur’an Alone
If Muhammad declared that salvation belongs only to those who follow “what I and my companions follow,” then it becomes critical to ask: What did Muhammad and his companions follow?
They followed the Qur’an alone, for there was no codified “Hadith literature,” no “madhhab,” and certainly no “Sunni” or “Shia” theology. Muhammad’s followers obeyed his message as revealed in the Qur’an, not through later compilations or sectarian interpretations.
The Qur’an itself warns repeatedly against division:
“As for those who divided their religion and became sects, you (O Muhammad) have nothing to do with them; their affair is with Allah alone.”
— Surah Al-An‘am 6:159
This verse alone discredits any notion that Muhammad would have approved of sectarian identity. It directly refutes those who classify themselves as Sunni, Shia, or any other denomination.
4. The Contradiction of Modern Islam
Modern Muslims claim to follow the Prophet, yet most identify themselves with one of over seventy sects—Sunni, Shia, Sufi, Ahmadiyya, Ibadi, Wahhabi, or Qur’aniyoon, among others. Even within Sunni Islam, there are subdivisions—Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, Hanbali—each differing in legal rulings and theological emphasis.
If Muhammad declared that every sect apart from his own and that of his companions would end in Hellfire, then according to his own words, all these sects—including Sunni and Shia—fall outside the “saved group.” The so-called “Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah” (People of the Sunnah and the Community) cannot claim to represent Muhammad’s path while simultaneously adhering to post-Prophetic doctrines.
5. The Role of Hadith in Creating Sects
Another layer of complexity lies in the Hadith literature itself. The collections known today (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, etc.) were compiled more than two centuries after Muhammad’s death. They represent human efforts to preserve oral traditions—but also to define orthodoxy and authority.
Many of these Hadiths became the foundation of sectarian law and theology. Thus, the very act of combining the Qur’an with Hadith as equal sources of faith contradicts the Prophet’s own era, where only revelation (the Qur’an) was recited, memorized, and codified under divine inspiration.
If Muhammad’s followers in his lifetime had only the Qur’an as their divine reference, then those who add extra-Qur’anic sources effectively belong to a different religious formulation—a sect not identical to that of Muhammad and his companions.
6. A Theological Challenge
Therefore, the challenge to contemporary Muslims is straightforward yet profound:
Was Muhammad a Sunni or a Shia?
Did he follow Hadith literature that was written centuries later?
If he was neither Sunni nor Shia, then why do his followers claim these labels?
And if, as the Hadith says, all sects except his own will enter Hell, what assurance do these sectarian followers have of salvation?
The uncomfortable truth is that modern Islam—fragmented, violent, and contradictory—is far removed from the simple monotheism and unity Muhammad claimed to represent.
7. Ethical and Spiritual Implications
Beyond theology, the implications are moral. The very divisions condemned by the Prophet have produced centuries of bloodshed, persecution, and theological arrogance. Muslims have killed one another over doctrinal nuances, each side claiming to be “the saved sect.” Yet the Prophet warned of this very outcome.
The Qur’an itself declares:
“And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah, and be not divided.”
— Surah Aal-Imran 3:103
The “rope of Allah” is the Qur’an—not the traditions, councils, or sectarian creeds of later generations.
8. Conclusion
The Prophet Muhammad was neither Sunni nor Shia. He belonged to no sect, no theological school, and no jurisprudential faction. He was, according to the Qur’an, simply “a Muslim” (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:35).
Those who claim his legacy while embracing sectarian labels reject his own warning about division. By Muhammad’s own testimony, only the sect that remains faithful to his example and that of his companions—the Qur’an alone—will escape the fate of Hellfire.
Hence, the overwhelming majority of Muslims today, whether Sunni or Shia, by their own Prophet’s standard, stand condemned by the very traditions they claim to defend.
References
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Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4596.
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Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2641.
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Surah Al-An‘am 6:159 – The Qur’an.
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Surah Aal-Imran 3:103 – The Qur’an.
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Al-Baghdadi, Abu Mansur. Al-Farq Bayna al-Firaq.
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Ibn Hazm, Al-Fisal fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa’ wa al-Nihal.
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Dar al-Ifta Al-Misriyyah, Is it true that only one sect of the Ummah will enter Paradise?
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Watt, W. Montgomery. The Formative Period of Islamic Thought. Edinburgh University Press, 1973.
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Crone, Patricia. God’s Rule: Government and Islam. Columbia University Press, 2004.
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