the Messenger, and must not go ahead of him. Rather, he must consider what the Messenger has said, so that his words follow the Messenger’s words and his deeds follow his commands. This was the way of the Companions, those who followed their path in righteousness, and the leading scholars of the Muslims. Thus, none of them would oppose the revealed texts with his own reasoning or establish a religion other than what the Messenger brought. Whenever one of them wished to understand or discuss any religious matter, he would examine what Allah and the Messenger had said: from it he would learn, on its basis he would speak, upon it he would reflect and deliberate, and by it he would establish his proofs. This is the foundation of Ahl al-Sunnah.

The people of innovation, however, do not, at heart and in reality, rely on what they have received from the Messenger. Rather, they rely on their own views or spiritual experiences. If they then find the Sunnah in agreement with these, well and good; otherwise, they are unconcerned. When they find that it contradicts them, they turn away from it, consigning the matter to Allah, or distort it through reinterpretation.

This, then, is the distinction between the people of faith and Sunnah and the people of hypocrisy and innovation. Although the latter may possess a substantial share of faith through following the Sunnah, they have hypocrisy and innovation in proportion to the extent to which they have gone ahead of Allah and His Messenger and opposed Allah and His Messenger. If, however, they do not know that this contradicts the Messenger, and would not have said it had they known, then they are not hypocrites, but innovators deficient in faith. Their error is forgiven, and they are not punished for it, even though it diminishes their faith.