ABSTRACT
In the fourteen centuries of its existence as a universalist faith and civilization, Islam has assumed a variety of forms and modalities of expression. In keeping with the pattern followed by other world religions, successive generations of Muslims have understood and practiced Islam in different modalities depending on their historical milieu, social status and spiritual requirements. Indeed, the varieties of Muslim belief, social thought and practice that emerged throughout history were foreshadowed by a Prophetic tradition inherent in the manifestation of seventy-three sects (firaq) within the Islamic community (umma). 1
