Of course, direct reference to this guide is regarded as an indirect reference to the Messenger of Allah , for he represents the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah . Therefore, Muslims’ reference will always be to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah with certainty, and conjecture—by Allah’s praise and grace—has no place in Islam.

5. The Emergence of Madhhabs and the Rivalry Between Them

Another cause for the non-establishment of Islam after the Messenger of Allah was the emergence of various madhhabs and the rivalry between them; because the division among Muslims during the time of the Messenger of Allah —which was largely hidden due to his presence—became immediately apparent after his passing and rapidly deepened and expanded, to the extent that during the time of Abu Bakr and Umar, it gave rise to two opposing ideological currents based on the discord among the Sahabah of the Messenger of Allah concerning his succession, setting them against each other. These currents soon came to be known as “Shia” and “Sunni.” Undoubtedly, this was the first schism among Muslims in the history of Islam. It arose from their discord regarding whether the family of the Messenger of Allah had priority for the caliphate and manifested in the form of two madhhabs: Shia and Sunni. Since it was accompanied by the good fortune and political superiority of some Sunni elements, it led to the dominance of Sunni beliefs and deeds among Muslims, marginalizing the Shia madhhab—later disparagingly labeled “Rafd” by Sunni rulers—and confining it to the minority as an unofficial and illegal sect. This was, in fact, the beginning of the process of division among Muslims, as their division continued to deepen and expand due to the absence of the Messenger of Allah —the sole guarantor of their unity—and the decline in their adherence to Islam after him.