or woman, saying: ‘O Allah, disgrace and curse them,’ and the like, for that is transgression.” 1.

Another form of transgression is raising one’s voice in supplication so loudly that it breaches proper decorum. Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Azīz ibn Jurayj said: “Transgression can occur in supplication: it is disliked to raise one’s voice, call out, or shout in supplication; rather, one is commanded to beseech Allah humbly and submissively.” 2.

In general, a person’s share of transgression and excess is proportionate to how far he departs from the Sunnah and distances himself from the guidance of the best of this nation, Muhammad ibn Abd Allah—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. Whoever adheres to the guidance of the noble Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and binds himself to his Sunnah will be safe from stumbling and, by Allah’s permission, protected from unsound speech.

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “The hearts of certain groups of people have become preoccupied with various innovated acts of worship—whether supplications, journeys, devotional listening sessions, or the like—only because their hearts have turned away from what is prescribed, even if they still observe its outward form. Were that not so, anyone who devoted himself, heart and soul, to the five prayers, understood the wholesome words and righteous deeds they contain, and gave them his fullest attention would find them sufficient and have no need for anything else of their kind in which he imagined there to be good. Whoever listened attentively and thoughtfully to the words of Allah and His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and pondered them with his heart would find therein such understanding, sweetness, guidance, healing for hearts, blessing, and benefit as he could find in no other discourse, whether poetry or prose. Whoever regularly offers the prescribed supplications at their proper times—such as before dawn, after the prayers, while prostrating, and the like,