Ibn Aqīl—may Allah have mercy on him: “The hearts of the heretics recoiled at the spread of the word of truth, the firm establishment of revealed laws among humankind, and obedience to their commands.... Yet despite this, they see neither prominence nor influence for their doctrine. Rather, the congregational mosques overflow with crowds; the calls to prayer fill their ears with proclamations of the Prophet’s exalted status—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and affirmations of what he brought; and wealth and lives are expended in Hajj despite the dangers braved, the hardships of travel, and separation from family and children. Some of them therefore began infiltrating the ranks of those who transmit reports, attaching corrupt fabrications to chains of transmission and inventing biographies and reports. Others relate things resembling miracles, such as accounts of special properties in stones, extraordinary events in certain lands, and revelations of the unseen attributed to many soothsayers and astrologers; and they go to great lengths to establish all this.... They said, ‘Come, let us range extensively through lands, persons, stars, and special properties...’”1 And so on in his remarks—may Allah have mercy on him.
Reflect, my Muslim brother, on how these people, through their subtle scheming and immense plotting, managed to turn many ordinary and unlearned Muslims away from the truth and guidance brought by the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and lead them instead into various forms of misguidance and falsehood: attachment to graves, seeking blessings from trees and stones, offering sacrifices and vows to shrines and domed tombs, and other such errors that depart from the religion of Islam and stand opposed to the creed of monotheism, which rests upon directing all worship sincerely to the One worshipped and following the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in all of it. Among the points that must be understood here is that the cause of the misguidance of these people, and of others influenced