the forbidden things as well; they even invented for them a fast to be observed in the spring, extending it to fifty days, and they devised for them their festivals—such as the Feast of the Cross and other holidays.

Likewise, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said to ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim when he heard him recite the verse, “They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords apart from Allah” (Al-Tawbah 9:31): ʿAdiyy remarked, “They did not worship them.” The Prophet replied, “Indeed, they made lawful for them what Allah had forbidden and they obeyed them, and they made unlawful for them what He had permitted and they obeyed them—that was their worship of them.”

For this reason the Exalted One said: “Do not follow the desires of a people who went astray before, led many others astray, and themselves strayed from the straight way” (Al-Māʾidah 5:77).

They merely follow the whims of their former leaders—those who had already gone astray and misled countless followers. Those followers were many, and they all deviated from the middle course, the straight path. If both those leaders and their followers have strayed from the straight path, how could it be permissible for Allah to command His servants to