the Prophet of whom he speaks lived a thousand years—or more or less—before him, yet he offers no continuous chain of trustworthy transmitters. At best, he is quoting from certain books penned by Jewish elders, even though Allah Himself has informed us of their alterations and distortions. How, then, could it ever be lawful for a Muslim to accept any of that merely on the strength of such transmission? Rather, the duty is neither to affirm it nor to deny it—unless proof establishes its falsehood—and this is exactly how the Prophet ﷺ instructed us.

Within these Isrāʼilī traditions are fabrications against the prophets and items abrogated by our own law—matters known only to Allah.

It is also well-known that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—the foremost pioneers—and those who followed them with excellence conquered the lands after his death, taking up residence in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and other regions. They possessed greater knowledge of the religion and greater adherence to it than anyone who came after them; consequently, no one has the right to depart from what they were upon.

Therefore, with respect to any place that they did not venerate, or did not single out for prayer, supplication, or the like, we are not permitted to act differently— even if some later people of virtue and piety happened to do so—because following their path is worthier than following the path of those who diverged from it. Indeed, whenever a practice contrary to theirs is traced to someone, there is always another report from someone more knowledgeable and nobler than he showing opposition to that deviation.

This is an all-embracing principle, and the present discussion cannot accommodate its full elaboration.