falsehood, thereby mixing truth with falsehood. This is why anyone among the People of the Book who conceals what Allah has revealed must necessarily put forward some falsehood. The same applies to the “people of innovation”: you will find no one who abandons any part of the Sunnah that must be believed and acted upon without falling into an innovation, nor anyone who follows an innovation without abandoning something of the Sunnah. As the hadith states:
“No people introduce an innovation without abandoning an equivalent part of the Sunnah.”
It was narrated by Imam Ahmad.
Allah Most High has said:
“They forgot a portion of what they had been reminded of, so We stirred up enmity and hatred among them.”
When they abandoned a portion of what they had been reminded of, they replaced it with something else, and enmity and hatred arose among them. Allah Most High has also said:
“Whoever turns away from the Reminder of the Most Merciful, We assign to him a devil who becomes his companion.”
That is, from the Reminder revealed by the Most Merciful. Allah Most High has also said:
“Whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer.”
“But whoever turns away from My Reminder will have a life of hardship, and We shall raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection.”
And He has said:
“Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord, and do not follow any allies besides Him. How little you take heed!”
He thus commanded people to follow what He revealed and forbade its opposite: following allies besides Him. Whoever does not follow one of these two follows the other. This is why He said:
“and follows a path other than that of the believers.”
The scholars said: Whoever does not follow their path follows a path other than theirs. They therefore deduced from this that following their path is obligatory, and that no one may depart from what they have unanimously agreed upon.
Likewise, whoever does not do what is commanded does some of what is forbidden, and whoever does what is forbidden does not do everything that is commanded. Thus a person cannot do everything he has been commanded to do while doing some of