as well as countless other kinds of innovation and misguidance for which Allah reproached the People of the Two Scriptures. He warned this virtuous community against them and made what befell those peoples a lesson for all who possess insight.

[Warning against following the innovations of the Jews and Christians]

The Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—has informed us that such deviations are bound to emerge within certain segments of this ummah. Yet he also assured us that there will always remain in his community a group standing firmly upon the truth; those who oppose or abandon them will never harm them until the Hour is established. He affirmed that his nation will never unite upon misguidance and that no other nation will ever overpower it; rather, it will remain victorious, following its Prophet, the rightly guided and divinely aided.

Still, there must inevitably arise within it people who pursue the very ways of the Jews, Christians, Romans, and Magians. This is exactly as related in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections, on the authority of Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“You will most certainly follow the ways of…”