Benefits & Rulings:

➊ Allah Almighty has granted the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) the honor that it will never be completely misguided as the previous nations were, to the extent that none among them remained upon the straight path — except whom Allah wills.

➋ The true religion is preserved until the Day of Judgment because the Qur’an is preserved, and the Prophetic Hadith is preserved both through transmission and practice.

➌ The group mentioned in the Hadith has been interpreted by most scholars to mean the Ahl al-Hadith — those who, after the Prophet (peace be upon him), do not consider anyone to be absolutely obeyed. The more a person adheres to the sayings and example of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the more they fit this Hadith.

➍ This Hadith does not mean that the people of truth will be free from trials and tribulations, but rather, that these tests will not deviate them from the path of truth. As seen in the lives of great religious figures like Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on them), ultimately Allah honored them, and their stance was accepted as correct — because it was based on the clear texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

➎ “Until the Day of Judgment” means until Islam continues to exist — because the last generation of humanity upon whom the Hour will be established will be such that they will not even mention Allah’s name, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The Hour will not come until (the time comes when) no one on the earth will say ‘Allah, Allah.’” (Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith, Chapter: The Disappearance of Faith in the End Times, Hadith 148)