and who are consulted concerning what Allah has commanded and forbidden. Nor did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, do any of this, nor Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, or ‘Alī.

No such hadith is mentioned in any of the collections compiled by hadith scholars: neither in collections arranged by narrator, such as the Musnads of Ahmad, Ishāq, Ahmad ibn Manī‘ [and] (*) al-Humaydī, al-Dālānī, Abū Ya‘lā al-Mawsilī, and similar works; nor in collections arranged by subject, such as the Sahīh and Sunan collections; nor in comprehensive compilations combining hadiths and early reports, such as Mālik’s Muwatta’ and the works of Wakī‘, ‘Abd al-Razzāq, Sa‘īd ibn Mansūr, Ibn Abī Shaybah, and others.

Then those who follow their own desires supposed that whoever engaged in these practices did so to display hostility towards the Prophet’s household and to satisfy their resentment against them. Those who professed adherence to the Sunnah opposed them, responding by explaining that they were innocent of such hostility, that they had a rightful claim to allegiance to the Prophet’s household, and that their claim was stronger than that of others. This is true. Yet confusion and error crept into their thinking when they supposed that these practices were good and religiously recommended. Allah knows best whether the person who first fabricated and introduced these innovations intended hostility towards the Prophet’s household or towards others. For guidance without guidance from Allah—or anything else—is misguidance.

We must follow what has been sent down to us from our Lord—the Book and wisdom—and adhere to the straight path, the path of those whom Allah has blessed: the prophets and the steadfastly truthful