The Muslim must therefore adhere to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and that of his rightly guided caliphs, the earliest forerunners among the Emigrants and the Helpers, and those who followed them in righteousness. Regarding matters over which the Muslim community has disputed and become divided, he should resolve the dispute with knowledge and justice if he can. Otherwise, he should hold firmly to the general principles established by the revealed texts and scholarly consensus, and turn away from those who have divided their religion and become sects. Most division and disagreement arise from following conjecture and what people’s souls desire, although guidance has come to them from their Lord.

I have discussed questions of this kind at length in several places, explaining the position of the early generations of the Muslim community, which both reason and revelation affirm, and clarifying the ambiguities, confusion, and errors that arise in this subject. Here, however, we shall give a brief overview suited to the questioner’s circumstances. The duty is to instruct ordinary people in the general principles established by the revealed texts and scholarly consensus, and to prevent them from delving into details that cause division and disagreement among them. Division and disagreement are among the gravest things Allah and His Messenger have forbidden.

The brief explanation is as follows:

Whoever believes that the ink in the copy of the Quran and the voices of human beings are eternal and without beginning is misguided and mistaken, contradicting the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the earliest forerunners and all other scholars of Islam. Nor has anyone ever maintained this view from among