I said to them:

“We may not worship Allah in our religion through anything drawn from reports about the Children of Israel that contradicts our Sharia. Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad, from Jābir ibn ‘Abd Allāh, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a sheet from the Torah in ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb’s hand and said:

‘Are you bewildered, O son of al-Khattāb? I have brought it to you clear and pure. If Moses were alive and you followed him and abandoned me, you would go astray.’

“In Abū Dāwūd’s Marāsīl, it is reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw some writings from the scriptures of the People of the Book with one of his Companions and said:

‘It is sufficient misguidance for a people to follow a book other than their own, revealed to a prophet other than their own.’

“And Allah Most High revealed:

‘Is it not enough for them that We have sent down to you the Book which is recited to them?’

“We are therefore not permitted to follow Moses or Jesus, even in what we know was revealed to them by Allah, if it contradicts our Sharia. Rather, we must follow what has been revealed to us from our Lord, and follow the law and the way with which Allah sent our Messenger to us. As He Most High says:

‘So judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires, turning away from the truth that has come to you. To each of you We have prescribed a law and a way.’

“How, then, could we be permitted to follow worshippers among the Children of Israel on the basis of a tale whose authenticity is unknown? And what concern have we with the worshippers of the Children of Israel?

‘That was a community which has passed away. Theirs is what they earned, and yours is what you earned; and you will not be questioned about what they used to do.’

“Bring forward what is in the Quran and in the authentic hadiths, such as those in al-Bukhārī and Muslim.”

I made these and similar points forcefully.