who will not be spoken to by Allah” (1), and “Seven whom Allah will shade in His shade” (2), even though they are not limited to seven, nor are they limited to three. Rather, this is a way of making knowledge easier to understand.

What remains to be considered is when someone says, “This is a condition,” or, “This is an obligation.” In that case, he is asked for evidence, and it is said to him: What proof do you have that this is a condition, that this is an obligation, that this is a pillar, or that this is a recommended act? This is what requires evidence. As for dividing matters into categories in order to make them easier to understand, this falls under the heading of means. If we were to follow that line of reasoning, we would also have to say that dividing knowledge into monotheism, purification, prayer, zakah, fasting, Hajj, sales, pledges, and the like is an innovation as well. Where in the sunnah is it divided in this manner? A person should therefore have a broad understanding, recognize the objectives of the Sacred Law, and not treat means as ends; for by doing so, he will go astray and declare many discerning scholars to be innovators.

Accordingly, we say: There is nothing wrong with dividing knowledge into chapters, nor with dividing chapters into conditions, pillars, obligations, and recommended acts. We seek thereby to make knowledge easier to understand, just as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, used means of making knowledge accessible, though by different methods.

His statement, “and its pillars”: This is the plural of rukn, and a rukn is the side of a house.