In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The life of the salaf between word and deed.
Condemning innovation and the innovator.
And condemning base desires and their followers.
And condemning argumentation and disputation.
Condemning innovation.
Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"Follow [the Sunnah] and do not innovate,
for you have been sufficiently provided for."
Every innovation is a misguidance.
Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari said to Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with them both:
"I saw in the mosque people sitting in circles,
waiting for the prayer.
In every circle there is a man,
and in their hands are pebbles.
He says,
'Say Allahu Akbar one hundred times,'
and they say it one hundred times.
He says,
'Say La ilaha illa Allah one hundred times,'
and they say it one hundred times.
And he says,
'Say Subhan Allah one hundred times,'
and they say it one hundred times."
He [Ibn Mas‘ud] asked,
"And what did you say to them?"
He replied,
"I said nothing to them,
awaiting your opinion."
Then he went until he reached one of those circles,
and he stood over them and said,
"What is this that I see you doing?"
They said,
"O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman,
these are pebbles with which we count the takbir, tahlil, and tasbih."
He said,
"Count your sins instead,
and I guarantee that none of your good deeds will be lost."
"Woe to you, O Ummah of Muhammad,
how quickly you have fallen into ruin!
These are the Companions of your Prophet, peace be upon him, who are still among you,
these are his clothes that have not yet worn out,
and his vessels that have not yet broken.
By Him in whose hand is my soul,
either you are upon a religion better guided than the religion of Muhammad, peace be upon him,
or you are opening a door of misguidance."
They said,
"By Allah, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman,
we intended nothing but good."
He said,
"And how many who intend good will never attain it!"
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, told us
that there are people who recite the Qur'an, but it does not go beyond their throats."
"By Allah,
I do not know, perhaps most of them are among you."
Then he turned away from them.
‘Amr Ibn Salamah said,
"We saw most of those people in those circles
fighting against us on the day of Nahrawan alongside the Khawarij."
Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:
"Innovation is more beloved to Iblis than sin,
for one may repent from sin,
but one does not repent from innovation."
And he, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Whoever hears of an innovation should not recount it to those sitting with him,
lest he cast it into their hearts."
Al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Most of the imams of the salaf held this warning;
they believed that hearts are weak,
and doubts are snatching."
Mutarrif Ibn ‘Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"That my Lord, the Almighty and Majestic, should ask me on the Day of Resurrection and say,
'O Mutarrif, why did you not do [such and such]?'
is more beloved to me than that He should say,
'Why did you do [such and such]?'"
Condemning the innovators.
‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"People will argue with you using the ambiguous parts of the Qur'an,
so seize them with the Sunnah,
for the people of the Sunnah are the most knowledgeable of the Book of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."
Abu al-Bakhtari said:
A man informed Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him,
that people were sitting in the mosque after Maghrib,
and among them was a man saying,
"Say Allahu Akbar such and such number of times,
and say Subhan Allah such and such number of times,
and say Alhamdullilah such and such number of times."
Abdullah asked,
"And do they say it?"
He replied, "Yes."
He said,
"When you see them doing that,
come and inform me of their gathering."
He came to them wearing a hooded cloak and sat down.
When he heard what they were saying,
he stood up—and he was a stern man—
and said,
"I am Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud.
By Him besides whom there is no god,
you have either brought an innovation of darkness,
or you have surpassed the Companions of Muhammad, peace be upon him, in knowledge!"
Mu‘addid said,
"By Allah, we have not brought an innovation of darkness,
nor have we surpassed the Companions of Muhammad, peace be upon him, in knowledge."
‘Umar Ibn ‘Utbah said,
"O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman,
we seek Allah's forgiveness."
He said,
"Stick to the path, and you will be steadfast.
For by Allah, if you do so,
you have preceded [others] by a great distance,
but if you take to the right or the left,
you will go far astray."
Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said:
"Do not sit with the people of base desires,
for sitting with them causes sickness to the heart."
Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"The more an innovator increases in exertion,
the further he becomes from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."
Abu al-Jawza',
Aws Ibn ‘Abdullah al-Rab‘i, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"That I should sit with swine
is more beloved to me than that I should sit with any of the people of base desires."
Yahya Ibn Abi Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"If you meet an innovator on the road,
take another path."
Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Whoever lends his ear to an innovator
exits the protection of Allah,
and is left to himself,"
meaning [left to] the innovations.
‘Umar Ibn Qays, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Do not sit with a person of deviation, lest your heart deviate."
Al-Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Whoever sits with an innovator will not be granted wisdom."
Qatadah, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned ‘Amr Ibn ‘Ubayd,
and he criticized him and spoke against him.
It was said to him,
"Do I not see scholars criticizing one another?"
He replied,
"Do you not know that when a man introduces an innovation,
it is incumbent upon us to mention him so that people may be warned?"
Al-Marwazi said:
"I said to Abu ‘Abdullah,"
meaning Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him,
"'Do you think a man should busy himself with fasting and prayer,
and remain silent about speaking against the people of innovation?'"
He frowned and said,
"'If he fasts and prays and isolates himself from people,
is that not only for himself?'"
I said, "Yes."
He said,
"'But if he speaks out, it is for himself and for others.'
Speaking out is better."