is required of you”—this is disbelief by the unanimous agreement of the leading scholars of the Muslims. Thus, when al-Junayd ibn Muhammad was told that some people claimed that the path of righteousness led them to abandon acts of worship, he said: “Fornication, theft, and drinking wine are better than what these people say.”

The leading scholars and spiritual masters of the religion have always vehemently denounced these hypocrites, even if they are ascetics and devoted worshippers, people of spiritual unveiling and influence over creation, or masters of dialectical theology and rational inquiry in the sciences. Some of these things may be found among people of disbelief and hypocrisy, including polytheists and the People of the Book. What distinguishes the people of Paradise from the people of Hell is faith and piety—the qualities of Allah’s allies. As He said:

“Indeed, Allah’s allies shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve—those who believed and were mindful of Him.”

As for their appeal to the story of Moses and al-Khadir, they invoke it in two ways:

(The first is their claim that al-Khadir was directly witnessing the all-encompassing will of the Lord and the universal divine will, which is the “cosmic reality.” For this reason, they maintain, he was free of blame for violating the commands and prohibitions of the revealed Law.

This is profound ignorance and misguidance—indeed, profound hypocrisy and disbelief. What this statement amounts to is that whoever believes in divine decree and perceives that Allah is the Lord of all things is no longer subject to any command or prohibition. This is disbelief in all of Allah’s Books and Messengers and in the commands and prohibitions they brought. It is of the same kind as the statement of the polytheists who said:

“If Allah had willed, neither we nor our forefathers would have associated partners with Him, nor would we have forbidden anything.”

Allah said