and the Sunnah, of falling into the second kind.

Allah has commanded us to say in every prayer:

“Guide us to the straight path—the path of those You have blessed, not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who are astray.”

Āmīn.

It is authentically reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“The Jews have incurred wrath, and the Christians are astray.”

Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah said: “They used to say: ‘Those scholars who become corrupt bear a resemblance to the Jews, and those worshippers who become corrupt bear a resemblance to the Christians.’”

The early generations used to say: “Beware the temptation posed by the wicked scholar and the ignorant worshipper, for their temptation ensnares all who succumb to it.”

Thus, unless a seeker of knowledge combines his pursuit with fulfilling his obligations and refraining from what is forbidden to him, holding fast to the Book and the Sunnah, he will fall into error. Likewise, unless those who pursue spiritual aspiration combine it with seeking the knowledge obligatory for them and holding fast to the Book and the Sunnah, they will fall into error and transgression.

If a man were to hold fast to religious knowledge without doing what is obligatory, he would be wayward. If he were to hold fast to prescribed worship without knowing what is obligatory, he would be astray. Going astray is characteristic of the Christians, and transgression is characteristic of the Jews, although both communities exhibit both error and transgression.

This is why you find that those among the people of spiritual aspiration, worship, spiritual discipline, and the spiritual path who depart from the revealed law concerning commands and prohibitions end up in a state of fanā’ (annihilation) in which they no longer distinguish between what is commanded and what is forbidden, and thus follow their own desires. The form of fanā’ sanctioned by the revealed law, however, is for worship of Allah to efface one’s worship of anything besides Him