When Allah forbade emulating those whose hearts had hardened, He also, at the close of the sūrah, described the state of those who innovated monasticism yet failed to observe it properly, and He followed this with His words:

“Fear Allah and believe in His Messenger; He will grant you a double share of His mercy, will provide you with a light by which you walk, and will forgive you—Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful—so that the People of the Scripture may know that they have no power over any part of Allah’s bounty, and that all bounty is in Allah’s hand; He bestows it upon whom He wills. Allah is the Possessor of tremendous bounty.” (Q. 57:28–29)

Belief in the Messenger means affirming him, obeying him, and following his law. This runs counter to monasticism, for he was not sent with it; rather, he forbade it and declared that whoever follows him will receive a twofold reward. Sound ḥadiths transmitted through Ibn ʿUmar and others attest to this with regard to us and the People of the Book.

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—stated this explicitly, as Abū Dāwūd relates in his Sunan from Ibn Wahb, who said: “Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-ʿAmiyāʾ informed me that Sahl ibn…”