the verse means that He has power over the Throne, or something of that kind.” A judge’s ruling that one of these two positions is correct and the other invalid would serve no useful purpose. If that were so, someone who supported the other position would rule that it was correct, since he says:

The same applies to acts of worship: whether touching the penis invalidates ablution; whether it is recommended to offer the afternoon prayer early or delay it; whether supplication is always recited in the dawn prayer, not recited, or recited during calamities; and similar matters.

In matters disputed within the Muslim community, the ruler must take one of two courses. Either he must require everyone to follow what the Quran and Sunnah teach and what the early generations of the Muslim community agreed upon, in accordance with the words of Allah Most High:

“If you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger.”

When they dispute, what they say is understood if he is capable of understanding the truth. Once what the Quran and Sunnah teach becomes clear to him, he calls people to it. Or he is to allow people to remain as they are, just as he allows them to follow their respective schools in matters of practice.

If, however, the religious innovation is evident—such that ordinary people know it contravenes the Sharia—as with the innovations of the Khawārij, Rāfidah, Qadariyyah, and Jahmiyyah, then the ruler must condemn it, because its nature is common knowledge. Likewise, he must condemn those who deem indecencies, wine, abandoning prayer, and similar things lawful.

Nevertheless, the adherents of these deviant doctrines may become so numerous in certain places and times that