to Him, their argument is invalid before their Lord.” And His saying:

“They dispute concerning Allah, while He is mighty in power.”

And His saying:

“Among people are those who dispute concerning Allah without knowledge, guidance, or an enlightening Book.”

Among the things Allah has forbidden in His Book are division and disagreement, as in His saying:

“Hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together, and do not become divided,”

through to His saying:

“Do not be like those who became divided and differed after clear proofs had come to them. For them there is a tremendous punishment on the Day when some faces will become white and some faces will become black.”

Ibn ‘Abbās said: “The faces of the people of the Sunnah and the community will become white, and the faces of the people of innovation and division will become black.”

Allah Most High also says:

“Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects—you have nothing to do with them.”

And He says:

“So set your face toward the religion, inclining to truth, in accordance with the natural disposition upon which Allah created mankind. There is no changing Allah’s creation,”

through to His saying:

“And do not be among those who associate partners with Allah—those who have divided their religion and become sects.”

He has condemned those given to division and disagreement in passages such as His saying:

“Those who were given the Scripture did not differ until after knowledge had come to them, out of mutual transgression.”

And His saying:

“They will continue to differ, except those upon whom your Lord has mercy; and for that He created them.”

And His saying:

“Indeed, those who differ concerning the Book are in profound discord.”

Likewise, the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah accords with the Book of Allah. One example is the well-known hadith from him, part of which Muslim narrated from ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr. The remainder is well known in the Musnad of Ahmad and elsewhere, through the narration of ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather: “The Messenger of