the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills,” even though Allah knew that they would enter it, without any doubt. Another reason for this qualification was to avoid declaring oneself righteous.

Those earlier people refrained from expressing certainty in matters of this kind. Then ignorant people came after them and disapproved of the word “certainty” in every matter, narrating fabricated hadiths to support this. Anyone who reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, his Companions, or any Muslim scholar disapproved of the word “certainty” in matters known with certainty has made a false attribution. These people came to imagine that accepting this expression meant accepting something momentous in religion. This is ignorance and misguidance on their part; no group of Muslims had preceded them in this. Neither their shaykh, Abū Amr ibn Marzūq, nor his followers during his lifetime, nor the best of his followers after his death rejected this expression outright. Only a group of their ignorant followers did so.

Likewise, another group claimed that Allah does not accept the repentance of anyone who insults the Companions, even if he repents. They attributed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the saying:

“Insulting my Companions is a sin that will not be forgiven.”

This hadith is falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. No scholar has narrated it, nor is it found in any of the authoritative books of the Muslims. It also contradicts the Quran, for Allah said:

“Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.”

This concerns those who have not repented. Concerning those who repent, He said:

“Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair