It goes without saying that all of these sects—regardless of the good intentions and scholarly efforts of their leaders—share the foundational principle of belief in the legitimacy of the Umayyad current and disregard for the Hashemite current. This has been the very reason they have enjoyed the support of oppressive rulers for more than a thousand years—support that, through force, dominance, and extensive propaganda, has been able to spread among Muslims the notion that the gate of ijtihad is closed and that one of the four sects must be followed. In this way, it has prevented the return of the Hashemites to power and the emergence of independent Islamic currents.

From here, it is understood that returning to the pure and perfect Islam is only possible after abandoning the Umayyad sects and ceasing to trust the narrators and scholars affiliated with the Umayyads and the Abbasids. This is, of course, extremely difficult except for those who are humble before the truth and those whom Allah has guided; as He has said: ﴿وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ﴾[1]; “And it is indeed great except for the humble,” and: ﴿وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ﴾[2]; “And it was, of course, burdensome except for those whom Allah guided.”

6. Moral Decadence

Another cause for the non-establishment of Islam after the Messenger of Allah was the fading of Islamic morals and the dominance of ego-driven vices among Muslims after him; because most of them, after him, forgot many of the moral teachings of Islam and reverted to their pre-Islamic traits in the past—just as Allah had warned them of this, saying: ﴿وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ ۚ أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ ۚ وَمَنْ يَنْقَلِبْ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَنْ يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ وَسَيَجْزِي اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ﴾[3]; “And Muhammad is but a Messenger, before whom Messengers passed. So if he dies or is killed, will you turn back to your old ways? While whoever turns back to his old ways will never harm Allah in the least, and Allah will reward the grateful.”

Moral vices such as worldliness, tribalism, obstinacy, envy, malice, and the love of power were all pre-Islamic traits that quickly appeared among the companions of the Messenger of Allah after him, leading them to differ among themselves and deviate from the path of Islam.