If a disbeliever is under a covenant of protection, the rulings applicable to others of his status apply to him; if he belongs to a belligerent community, the rulings applicable to others of that status apply to him. This innovator and those like him must be denounced with a sound intention: the aim must be obedience to Allah and His Messenger, not the pursuit of personal desires, rivalry, or anything else.

Allah Most High says:

“Fight them until there is no more fitnah and all worship is for Allah alone.”

The aim, then, is that all worship should be for Allah. Nothing constitutes religion except what Allah Most High has prescribed through His Messengers. It is reported in the two Sahih collections:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, a man fights to display his courage, another out of partisan zeal, and another to be seen by others. Which of these is fighting in Allah’s cause?’ He replied: ‘Whoever fights so that Allah’s word is supreme is fighting in Allah’s cause.’”

Thus, the aim must be the supremacy of Allah’s word and the ascendancy of His religion. All Muslims must know that the practices of ostentatious innovators are neither part of the religion nor the conduct of Allah’s righteous servants. Rather, they are the conduct of people of ignorance, misguidance, and association of partners with Allah Most High—those who depart from worshipping Him alone, devoting their religion sincerely to Him, and obeying His Messengers.

The “foundation of Islam” is: I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Whoever seeks ostentation and acclaim through his acts of worship has not fulfilled the testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.