who have become confused and find their spiritual tastes and inward experiences conflicting, look favourably upon the path of those devoted to knowledge, inquiry, and reasoning, believing that realities will be revealed to them through it.

The truth is that both are indispensable: knowledge and purpose are necessary, as are knowledge and acting upon it. Whoever gains knowledge through what he knows, Allah grants him knowledge of what he did not know.

The servant has obligations in both respects, and these obligations must be fulfilled. Both must conform to what the Messenger brought. Whoever pursues inquiry and knowledge without following the sunnah or acting upon his knowledge is misguided and wayward in his conduct. Whoever follows the path of spiritual aspiration, worship, asceticism, and discipline without following the sunnah or possessing knowledge on which to base his actions is misguided and wayward. Whoever possesses sound knowledge conforming to what the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—brought, but does not act upon it, is wayward. Whoever acts in conformity with the sunnah but lacks the knowledge he is commanded to acquire is misguided. Thus, anyone from either group who departs from what the Book and sunnah require is misguided. If he does not gain knowledge through his knowledge, or acts without knowledge, this constitutes a second corruption.

Among those devoted to spiritual states, worship, discipline, and striving, those who do not hold fast to the Book and sunnah are more gravely misguided than those devoted to discourse and knowledge who likewise do not hold fast to the Book and sunnah. Nevertheless, the people of discourse and knowledge may display a degree of waywardness absent from the others. For those devoted to spiritual states fall into various corrupt imaginings and satanic states suited to their path.

As Allah Most High says:

“Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend? They descend upon every sinful liar.”
[Al-Shuʿarāʾ: 221-222]