wrongful seizure, usury, or gambling, as in the sales and transactions forbidden by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He has likewise forbidden severing family ties, mistreating parents, giving short measure and weight, sin, and unjust aggression.

Allah Most High has also forbidden anyone to say about Him what he does not know. This includes relating reports from Allah and His Messenger and confidently asserting their truth without knowing whether they are authentic, or describing Allah with attributes unsupported by any Book revealed by Allah or any knowledge transmitted from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. This applies whether such descriptions involve negation and denial of His attributes—as when the Jahmiyyah claim that He is neither above the Throne nor above the heavens, that He will not be seen in the Hereafter, and that He neither speaks nor loves, along with similar claims by which they deny what Allah and His Messenger have said—or involve affirming attributes that liken Him to His creation. Examples of the latter include claiming that He walks upon the earth, sits with His creatures, that they see Him with their own eyes, that the heavens contain and encompass Him, or that He has moved among His creatures, and other kinds of falsehood fabricated against Allah.

Likewise forbidden are innovated acts of worship that Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, have not prescribed. As Allah Most High says:

“Or have they partners who have ordained for them a religion which Allah has not permitted?”

Allah has prescribed acts of worship for His believing servants, but Satan has devised acts of worship for them that imitate these. For example, Allah prescribed that they worship Him alone, without any partner; Satan prescribed that they associate partners with Him—that is, worship others besides Him and associate them with Him. Allah also prescribed the five daily prayers, reciting the Quran during them, and listening