Such, then, is how those who bore the Messenger of Allah’s trust conveyed it to us. To reaffirm that covenant, they themselves initiated every practice the Prophet had commanded, so that we might imitate their way and be guided by their Prophet’s light. Yet our minds proved too limited to grasp the significance of those specific rulings; our understanding fell short of appreciating the wisdom behind the divine legislation and the prophetic order that graves not be built up, an order meant to prevent a gradual slide toward idolatry. We ignored that wisdom and, with our deficient reason, presumed to judge the Law: we declared the construction of elaborate tombs permissible, even commendable, in what we deemed minor matters—until those very particulars grew into sweeping principles, tearing at the fabric of religion and corrupting the creed of monotheism. Step by step we went further, erecting mosques over the graves, directing vows and acts of devotion to their remains, and thus falling into precisely what prompted the Lawgiver to command that graves be effaced (1). All this has happened while we remain heedless of the Law’s wisdom, colliding with the truth and letting it collide with us, until we perish along with