of it, deem that the better course and cling to this abstention more fiercely than they guard against what is unequivocally forbidden. In the end, their conduct slips into self-indulgent whims and the chauvinism of the Age of Ignorance; you see it in the one who makes mere abstention a banner for his school and the like. All of this is mistaken.

What is obligatory is to give each right its due; to leave spacious what Allah and His Messenger have left spacious; to unite what Allah and His Messenger have united; and, in all this, to take into account the lawful interests and objectives beloved to Allah and His Messenger. One must know that the finest speech is the speech of Allah and that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him; that Allah sent him as a mercy to all peoples, as the source of happiness in this world and the next, in every single matter. A person must also possess enough detailed knowledge to safeguard this overarching principle, for many people affirm it in general yet abandon it when the particulars arise—whether out of ignorance, injustice, or mere conjecture.