a loss of reason, those who follow him are not excused when the truth and the path are clear. Even if his misdeed is forgiven because of the good intention and righteous action accompanying it, what is praiseworthy and what is blameworthy must be made clear, lest truth be confused with falsehood.

Abū al-Husayn al-Nūrī and Abū Bakr al-Shiblī—may Allah have mercy on them both—were known to suffer disturbances of reason at times. Al-Shiblī was even admitted to the hospital twice. Al-Nūrī—may Allah have mercy on him—was subject to bewilderment, and he died in a reed thicket when ecstasy overwhelmed him to the point of depriving him of his reason. Someone in such a condition is not fit to be followed when his conduct does not accord with the command of Allah and His Messenger, even if he is excused or forgiven. However great his faith, righteousness, sincerity, and praiseworthy spiritual stations may be, he is not greater in these respects than the earliest forerunners among the Emigrants and the Helpers, and those who followed them in goodness. They are followed in obedience to Allah and spoken of only in good and gracious terms. Yet any sin or interpretive judgment on their part that was not commanded by Allah and His Messenger is not to be followed. This, then, is a principle to be followed.

Shaving the beard is forbidden and is a form of mutilation detested by Allah and His Messenger. As for someone offering condolences or giving the call to prayer, even if he lacks complete presence of heart, it is not permissible to insult or disparage him for what