and none of them would go to the grave of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or to the grave of Abraham, Allah’s intimate friend, or to the grave of any prophet, and say:

“We complain to you of drought, the strength of the enemy, or the abundance of sins.”

Nor would anyone say: “Ask Allah on our behalf, or on behalf of your community, to provide for them, grant them victory, or forgive them.” Rather, these and similar practices are newly introduced religious innovations that none of the imams of the Muslims considered recommended. By agreement of the imams of the Muslims, they are neither obligatory nor recommended.

Every innovation that is neither obligatory nor recommended is an evil innovation and, by agreement of the Muslims, a form of misguidance. Those who describe certain innovations as good innovations do so only when there is evidence from the revealed law that they are recommended. As for anything that is neither recommended nor obligatory, no Muslim says that it is among the good deeds through which one draws nearer to Allah.

Whoever seeks to draw nearer to Allah through something that is not among the good deeds commanded as either obligatory or recommended is misguided and follows Satan; his path is one of Satan’s paths, as ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ūd reported:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew a line for us, then drew other lines to its right and left. He then said: ‘This is Allah’s path, and these are other paths; at the head of each is a devil calling people to it.’ Then he recited: ‘And indeed, this is My straight path, so follow it, and do not follow other paths, for they will separate you from His path.’”

This is a comprehensive principle that everyone who believes in Allah and His Messenger must follow. No one should depart from the established Sunnah and the way of the earliest pioneers among the Muhājirūn and the Ansār, and those who followed them in righteousness, by following someone who opposes the Sunnah and the earlier consensus—especially when no imam of the Muslims supports him in his innovation, nor any scholar qualified to exercise independent reasoning whose judgment in religious matters may be relied upon, nor anyone