their consensus concerning worship. We love people of justice and trustworthiness, and we loathe those who deal in oppression and treachery. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah will never allow my community to unite upon misguidance.” ⦗1⦘ Even if a report reaches us through an apparently sound chain, yet it contradicts something that is more authentic, hadith scholars classify it as a singular (shādh) narration.

For that reason one must be painstakingly careful in such matters; we are not to exhume long-abandoned statements and practices, compile them, and thereby disturb people’s understanding of their religion. Singularity lies in dissenting from what the Muslim community as a whole upholds: disagreement is the opposite of agreement, division the opposite of unity, and oddity the opposite of harmony. To go hunting for such odd opinions is nothing but a slur against the imams, portraying them as ignorant. Have you been granted knowledge exceeding theirs—some special insight that never reached them?

What we witness among certain people in these latter times, when ignorance has become widespread, typically issues from one self-styled scholar who is, in fact, no scholar at all. He never studied sound creed or jurisprudence; he merely tutored himself, then began adding to Allah’s religion things that do not belong to it. This is a calamity. Knowledge is not a free-for-all; it demands discipline, insight, and expertise.

Love is a deed of the heart, and it is divided into two categories:

First: natural love—such as a person’s love for his parents, wife, and children, for his friends, and for food and drink. This type of love does not fall