nor do we accept the claim of anyone who advances an opinion that clashes with the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the unanimous consensus of the Muslim ummah. We consider holding fast to the united body to be the very truth and sound guidance, while splitting and schism are deviation and punishment.

First: [Allah created the stars] as an adornment for the sky of this world.
Second: as missiles hurled at the devils.
Third: as way-marks by which people are guided through the darkness of land and sea. Whoever believes that they were created for anything beyond these three purposes has squandered his share.

Should you reflect upon the Qur’an, you will find that Allah mentions only these three benefits for the stars. As for the events that take place on earth, the stars have no influence over them whatsoever. Rather, it is the astrologers who deceive people and lie, claiming that such occurrences are caused by the stars. The Exalted One says, “and the stars are subservient by His command” (al-Nahl 16:12). Such notions undermine a person’s creed, and his faith is invalidated if he truly believes that the stars direct what happens in the universe.

In other words, we do not deem credible anyone who contradicts the Book, the Sunnah, or the consensus, for these are the proofs on which we rely; whatever conflicts with them is false, whether it be a statement, an action, or a belief.

We—Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah—hold that unity is truth and division is punishment. The community’s cohesion upon the truth is mercy, whereas dissension among them is torment. This is at the very heart of the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah. Therefore, unity is obligatory and schism must be shunned. The Almighty says: “Hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah and do not divide” (Āl ʿImrān 3:103). The rope of Allah is the Qur’an and Islam, and His statement: