they reject. They do not follow conjecture or what their souls desire, for following conjecture is ignorance, and following one’s desires without guidance from Allah is wrongdoing.

Ignorance and wrongdoing are the sum of all evil. Allah Most High says:

“and man undertook to bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant”

to the end of the surah. He mentions repentance because He, glorified and exalted, knows that every human being inevitably has some ignorance and wrongdoing in him. Then Allah accepts the repentance of whomever He wills. Thus, the believing servant continually comes to recognize truths of which he was previously ignorant and turns away from deeds in which he acted wrongfully.

The least of such wrongdoing is his wronging himself, as the Exalted says:

“Allah is the Protector of those who believe. He brings them out of darkness into the light.”

And the Exalted says:

“It is He who sends down clear signs upon His servant to bring you out of darkness into the light.”

And the Exalted says:

“Alif Lām Rā.”

“A Book which We have revealed to you so that you may bring people out of darkness into the light.”

It should also be understood that the groups affiliated with particular leaders in the fundamentals of religion and speculative theology vary in degree. Some have departed from the Sunnah in major foundational matters, while others have departed from it only in subtle matters. Some have refuted other groups that are further removed from the Sunnah than they are. They deserve praise for the falsehood they have refuted and the truth they have stated. Yet they may have overstepped the bounds of fairness in their refutation, denying some truth and asserting some falsehood. They have thus countered a major religious innovation with a lesser one, and refuted falsehood by using a lesser falsehood. This is the condition of most practitioners of speculative theology who affiliate themselves with the people of the Sunnah and the community.