they did. Thus it has been said that this Aristotle altered the way of the Sabians who preceded him and who believed in Allah and the Last Day—those whom the Quran praised. These words attributed to him accord with that account.

Those within this Ummah who distort and alter—the Jahmiyyah and others—followed the ways of their predecessors among the Jews, Christians, Persians and Romans. They altered the natural disposition established by Allah Most High and changed the Book of Allah. Allah, glorified and exalted be He, created His servants upon their original natural disposition, sent His messengers to them, and revealed His Books to them. The well-being and sound condition of His servants therefore depend upon that natural disposition being perfected by the revealed law.

These people altered and changed Allah’s natural disposition and His revealed law—His creation and His command. Through their corruption of both, they corrupted people’s beliefs and intentions, their perceptions and movements, their speech and deeds. Likewise, the wrongdoers among the Children of Israel changed both the words they had been commanded to say and the action they had been commanded to perform. It is authentically reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that they were told:

“Enter the gate bowing humbly and say, ‘Forgive us.’”
[al-Baqarah 58]

But they entered the gate crawling on