happened with more than one person. The same occurs when someone loves a person for his appearance: he serves and honours him, gives him whatever he can, and asks him for forbidden acts that corrupt his religion. It also occurs when someone loves an adherent of a “religious innovation” because he advocates that innovation on his behalf: the latter compels him to support falsehood that he knows to be false, or else turns against him. Thus, scholars among the disbelievers and the people of innovation defend falsehood, despite knowing that they are following it, for the sake of their followers and admirers. They oppose the people of truth and disparage their way.

Whoever loves someone other than Allah and gives his allegiance to another hates those who love Allah and are His allies. Whoever loves someone for other than Allah’s sake suffers greater harm from his friends than from his enemies. His enemies can, at most, come between him and this worldly object of his love; yet separating him from it is a mercy to him. His friends help deprive him of that mercy and drive it away from him. What kind of friendship is this? They want that object of his love to remain so that they can use him for their own purposes and desires. Both are harmful to him.

Allah Most High says:

“When those who were followed disown their followers, and they see the punishment, and all ties between them are severed.”

Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyād reported from Layth