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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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The life of the salaf between word and deed.

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Condemning innovation and the innovator.

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And condemning base desires and their followers.

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And condemning argumentation and disputation.

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Condemning innovation.

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Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"Follow [the Sunnah] and do not innovate,

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for you have been sufficiently provided for."

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Every innovation is a misguidance.

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Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari said to Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with them both:

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"I saw in the mosque people sitting in circles,

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waiting for the prayer.

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In every circle there is a man,

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and in their hands are pebbles.

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He says,

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'Say Allahu Akbar one hundred times,'

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and they say it one hundred times.

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He says,

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'Say La ilaha illa Allah one hundred times,'

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and they say it one hundred times.

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And he says,

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'Say Subhan Allah one hundred times,'

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and they say it one hundred times."

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He [Ibn Mas‘ud] asked,

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"And what did you say to them?"

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He replied,

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"I said nothing to them,

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awaiting your opinion."

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Then he went until he reached one of those circles,

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and he stood over them and said,

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"What is this that I see you doing?"

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They said,

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"O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman,

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these are pebbles with which we count the takbir, tahlil, and tasbih."

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He said,

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"Count your sins instead,

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and I guarantee that none of your good deeds will be lost."

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"Woe to you, O Ummah of Muhammad,

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how quickly you have fallen into ruin!

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These are the Companions of your Prophet, peace be upon him, who are still among you,

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these are his clothes that have not yet worn out,

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and his vessels that have not yet broken.

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By Him in whose hand is my soul,

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either you are upon a religion better guided than the religion of Muhammad, peace be upon him,

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or you are opening a door of misguidance."

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They said,

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"By Allah, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman,

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we intended nothing but good."

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He said,

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"And how many who intend good will never attain it!"

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"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, told us

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that there are people who recite the Qur'an, but it does not go beyond their throats."

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"By Allah,

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I do not know, perhaps most of them are among you."

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Then he turned away from them.

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‘Amr Ibn Salamah said,

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"We saw most of those people in those circles

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fighting against us on the day of Nahrawan alongside the Khawarij."

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Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:

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"Innovation is more beloved to Iblis than sin,

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for one may repent from sin,

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but one does not repent from innovation."

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And he, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Whoever hears of an innovation should not recount it to those sitting with him,

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lest he cast it into their hearts."

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Al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Most of the imams of the salaf held this warning;

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they believed that hearts are weak,

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and doubts are snatching."

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Mutarrif Ibn ‘Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"That my Lord, the Almighty and Majestic, should ask me on the Day of Resurrection and say,

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'O Mutarrif, why did you not do [such and such]?'

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is more beloved to me than that He should say,

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'Why did you do [such and such]?'"

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Condemning the innovators.

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‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"People will argue with you using the ambiguous parts of the Qur'an,

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so seize them with the Sunnah,

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for the people of the Sunnah are the most knowledgeable of the Book of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."

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Abu al-Bakhtari said:

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A man informed Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him,

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that people were sitting in the mosque after Maghrib,

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and among them was a man saying,

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"Say Allahu Akbar such and such number of times,

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and say Subhan Allah such and such number of times,

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and say Alhamdullilah such and such number of times."

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Abdullah asked,

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"And do they say it?"

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He replied, "Yes."

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He said,

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"When you see them doing that,

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come and inform me of their gathering."

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He came to them wearing a hooded cloak and sat down.

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When he heard what they were saying,

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he stood up—and he was a stern man—

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and said,

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"I am Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud.

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By Him besides whom there is no god,

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you have either brought an innovation of darkness,

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or you have surpassed the Companions of Muhammad, peace be upon him, in knowledge!"

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Mu‘addid said,

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"By Allah, we have not brought an innovation of darkness,

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nor have we surpassed the Companions of Muhammad, peace be upon him, in knowledge."

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‘Umar Ibn ‘Utbah said,

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"O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman,

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we seek Allah's forgiveness."

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He said,

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"Stick to the path, and you will be steadfast.

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For by Allah, if you do so,

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you have preceded [others] by a great distance,

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but if you take to the right or the left,

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you will go far astray."

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Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said:

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"Do not sit with the people of base desires,

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for sitting with them causes sickness to the heart."

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Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"The more an innovator increases in exertion,

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the further he becomes from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."

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Abu al-Jawza',

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Aws Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Rab‘i, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"That I should sit with swine

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is more beloved to me than that I should sit with any of the people of base desires."

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Yahya Ibn Abi Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"If you meet an innovator on the road,

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take another path."

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Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Whoever lends his ear to an innovator

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exits the protection of Allah,

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and is left to himself,"

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meaning [left to] the innovations.

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‘Umar Ibn Qays, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Do not sit with a person of deviation, lest your heart deviate."

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Al-Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Whoever sits with an innovator will not be granted wisdom."

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Qatadah, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned ‘Amr Ibn ‘Ubayd,

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and he criticized him and spoke against him.

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It was said to him,

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"Do I not see scholars criticizing one another?"

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He replied,

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"Do you not know that when a man introduces an innovation,

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it is incumbent upon us to mention him so that people may be warned?"

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Al-Marwazi said:

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"I said to Abu ‘Abdullah,"

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meaning Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him,

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"'Do you think a man should busy himself with fasting and prayer,

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and remain silent about speaking against the people of innovation?'"

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He frowned and said,

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"'If he fasts and prays and isolates himself from people,

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is that not only for himself?'"

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I said, "Yes."

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He said,

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"'But if he speaks out, it is for himself and for others.'

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Speaking out is better."