Abū Shu‘ayb Abd Allāh ibn al-Hasan al-Harrānī narrated to us. He said: ⦗310⦘ ‘Āsim ibn ‘Alī narrated to us. He said: Abū Ma‘shar narrated to us. Abū Abd Allāh Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn Abd al-Jabbār al-Sūfī also informed us. He said: Ibn Bakkār narrated to us. He said: Abū Ma‘shar narrated to us, from Ya‘qūb ibn Zayd ibn Talhah, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Anas ibn Mālik, may Allah be pleased with him, who related a lengthy hadith in which he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, spoke to them about the nations, saying:

“The nation of Moses, peace be upon him, split into seventy-one sects: seventy of them will be in the Fire and one in Paradise. The nation of Jesus, peace be upon him, split into seventy-two sects: seventy-one of them will be in the Fire and one in Paradise.”

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, also said: “My nation will exceed them both by one sect: seventy-two of them will be in the Fire and one in Paradise.”

They asked, “Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “The main body.”

⦗311⦘ Ya‘qūb ibn Zayd said: Whenever ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated this hadith from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, he would recite in connection with it the Quranic verse:

“Among the people of Moses is a community that guides by the truth and thereby acts justly.” [al-A‘rāf: 159]

He would then mention the nation of Jesus and recite:

“Had the People of the Scripture believed and been mindful of Allah, We would surely have absolved them of their sins and admitted them into Gardens of Bliss. Had they upheld the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would have received sustenance from above them and from beneath their feet. Among them is an upright community, but evil indeed is what many of them do.” [al-Mā’idah: 66]

He said: Then he would mention our nation and recite:

“Among those We created is a community that guides by the truth and thereby acts justly.” [al-A‘rāf: 181]