and arrogance, oppression, and asserting superiority over others, with or without justification. They enjoin noble character and forbid base conduct. In everything they say or do, in these matters or otherwise, they simply follow the Quran and the Sunnah.
“Their way” is the religion of Islam with which Allah sent Muhammad. However, since the Prophet foretold that his community would split into seventy-three sects, all of them in the Fire except one—the united community—and said in another hadith, “They are those who follow what I and my Companions follow today,” those who adhere to pure Islam, free of admixture, came to be known as the people of the Sunnah and the united community.
Among them are the steadfastly truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. From their ranks come beacons of guidance and lamps in the darkness, whose merits have been handed down and whose virtues are recounted. Among them are the abdāl: the imams whose guidance and understanding the Muslims unanimously acknowledge. They are the victorious group of whom the Prophet said:
“A group of my community will continue to prevail upon the truth, unharmed by those who abandon them or oppose them, until the Hour comes.”
We therefore ask Allah, the Magnificent, to make us among them, not to let our hearts deviate after He has guided us, and to bestow mercy upon us from Himself. Indeed, He is the Bestower. Allah knows best. May Allah bless Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and grant them abundant peace.