It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: The earth-shaker has come, after it (an even more severe earthquake) is to come, indeed, death has come with all that it possesses.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Children of Israel were divided into seventy-one sects; seventy of them were destroyed and one group was successful. And my Ummah will be divided into seventy-two sects; seventy-one of them will be destroyed and only one group will attain salvation. In another narration, it is stated: All the sects will go to the Fire except for one sect. The noble Companions asked: O Messenger of Allah! Which group will that be? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The one with the Jama‘ah, the one with the Jama‘ah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The Jews were divided into seventy-one or seventy-two sects, and my Ummah will be divided into seventy-three sects.

Abu Amir Abdullah bin Lahi says: We performed Hajj in the company of Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him). When we reached Makkah Mukarramah, after the Zuhr prayer he stood up and said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had said: The People of the Book were divided into seventy-two sects regarding religion, and this Ummah (due to desires) will be divided into seventy-three sects, but all groups except one will go to Hell, and soon there will appear among my Ummah many such people in whom desires will penetrate just as the poison of a rabid dog penetrates a man so that no vein or joint remains except that it is affected. O Arab nation! By Allah! If you, the people to whom your Prophet brought this religion, do not adhere to it, then obviously no one else will remain steadfast upon it.

It is narrated from Abu Ammar that a neighbor of Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I returned from a journey, Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to me to greet me. I began to tell him about the divisions among the people and the new things they had invented. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) began to weep and then said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: People entered the religion in crowds, and soon the time will come when they will begin to leave the religion in troops.

It is narrated from a Companion of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah be pleased with him, who says: Once when I reached the presence of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, at that time he was saying: O people! Remain united with the congregation and avoid division. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, repeated this statement three times.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna 'Arfajah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There will be some tribulations and turmoil; when the Muslims are united, then whoever intends to create division among them, kill him with the sword, whoever he may be.

It is narrated from Bilal Absi, he says: Imran bin Husayn Dabi told us that he went to Basra, at that time Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was the governor there. He saw a man standing in the shade of the palace, repeatedly saying this phrase: "Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth." I approached him and said: You are repeatedly saying that Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth, what is the reason for this? He said: By Allah! If you wish, I can explain the reason for this. I said: Yes, of course. He said: Then sit down. It was at such and such a time that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was present in Madinah Munawwarah. I wanted to go to him. There were two elders of a tribe, their son had joined the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They said to me that you are going to Madinah Munawwarah, our son has joined that person, you should request our son from him, and if he demands ransom, you should pay it. I reached Madinah Munawwarah and presented myself before the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: O Prophet of Allah! The two elders of such and such tribe have told me that their son who is with you, I should request him from you. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: Will you deliver him? I said: Yes, I know his lineage. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called the boy and said: This is the boy, take him to his parents. I submitted: O Prophet of Allah! How much is his ransom? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is not permissible for us, the family of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), to eat by taking the price of anyone from the descendants of Ismail (peace be upon him). Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his hand on my shoulder and said: I have no concern regarding the Quraish except that they will attack one another. I submitted: O Prophet of Allah! What will happen to them that they will do so? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If you live long, you will see that people will go between the groups of these Quraish like sheep that go between two ponds, sometimes coming to this pond and sometimes to the other pond. Then I saw people seeking permission to visit Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and that year I saw that they were seeking permission to go to Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). Seeing this scene, I remembered the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that he says: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: I made three supplications to my Lord; He accepted two of them and did not accept one. I supplicated that He would not afflict my Ummah with a general famine, and He accepted this supplication. Then I made a second supplication that the enemies of my Ummah would not prevail over them, and He also accepted this supplication. And I made a third supplication that He would save them from being divided into different groups, but Allah Almighty did not accept this supplication of mine.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Today you are established upon the true religion, and I will take pride in your numbers over the other communities, so do not turn back from the religion after me.