Abū Dharr al-Harawī had adopted Ibn al-Bāqillānī’s approach and introduced it into the Sacred Sanctuary; it is said that he was the first to introduce it there. Those among the people of the Maghrib who adopted it learned it from him: they would listen to readings of al-Bukhārī’s collection in his presence and learn this approach from him, as did Abū al-Walīd al-Bājī. Al-Bājī then travelled to Iraq, where he learned al-Bāqillānī’s approach from Abū Ja‘far al-Simnānī, the judge of Mosul and a companion of Ibn al-Bāqillānī. Elsewhere, we have discussed these issues at length and explained the disagreement and confusion that arose concerning them.

The point here is that the great imams prohibited the unqualified use of innovated, vague, and ambiguous expressions, because they mix truth with falsehood and cause confusion, disagreement, and discord. This is unlike expressions handed down in the religious tradition and expressions whose meanings have been clarified: what has been handed down inspires familiarity, and what has a known meaning yields understanding. Thus, Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—is reported to have said:

“When knowledge diminishes, harshness appears; and when transmitted reports diminish, views driven by desire multiply.”

When neither an expression has been transmitted nor its meaning understood, harshness and views driven by desire arise. Thus, you find many people loving some and hating others on account of such views, although they know neither their meaning nor the evidence for them. Rather, they form allegiances or show hostility on the basis of asserting them, even though they have not been authentically transmitted from the Prophet—may