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The way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamā‘ah also includes following the teachings and example of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, inwardly and outwardly; following the path of the first and foremost among the Emigrants and the Helpers; and following the counsel of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said:

“Adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me. Hold fast to it and bite down upon it with your molar teeth. Beware of newly introduced matters, for every newly introduced matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance.”

They know that the truest speech is Allah’s speech, and that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They give Allah’s speech precedence over the speech of anyone else, whatever their station, and give Muhammad’s guidance, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, precedence over the guidance of everyone else. For this reason, they are called the People of the Book and the Sunnah.

They are also called Ahl al-Jamā‘ah (the people of unity), because jamā‘ah means coming together, and its opposite is division—although the word jamā‘ah has come to designate the assembled community itself. “Consensus” is the third foundation relied upon in matters of knowledge and religion. By these three foundations, they assess all people’s statements and deeds, inward or outward, that have a bearing on religion.

The consensus that can be reliably ascertained is that of the righteous early generations, since after their time disagreements multiplied and the community spread far and wide.