[Q]: The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says: “My nation will split up into seventy-three sects.”¹ Considering this, is the number of misguided sects restricted to only seventy three, or could they exceed that specific number?

[A]: This is not to be understood as a restriction to the number of misguided sects, for they are indeed copious and abundant. If one were to peruse the books written regarding the different sects of Islam, he would find them to be quite numerous. However—Allāh knows best—the number seventy-three mentioned in this ḥadīth refers to the foundational sects, from which many other sects have branched out. As for the contemporary groups today which stand in opposition to Ahl al-Sunnah, they are merely extensions and offshoots of those foundational sects.²