“so that people will have no argument against Allah after the messengers.”

And He, Exalted is He, says:

“They are nothing but names you and your forefathers have named, for which Allah has sent down no authority.”

And He says:

“Or have We sent down to them an authority that speaks in support of what they associate with Him?”

There are numerous similar passages.

The schools of thought, paths, and policies adopted by scholars, shaykhs, and rulers are, in certain respects, comparable for them to the laws and ways prescribed for the prophets—provided that through them they seek the countenance of Allah Most High, rather than pursuing their desires; that they seek to hold fast to the all-embracing faith and religion, which consists in worshipping Allah alone, without partner; and that, after exercising their utmost judgment, they follow to the best of their ability what has been sent down to them from their Lord in the Book and the Sunnah.

They are rewarded for seeking Allah’s countenance and worshipping Him alone, without partner—this being the fundamental, all-embracing religion—just as the prophets are rewarded for worshipping Allah alone, without partner. They are also rewarded for obeying Allah and His Messenger in what they hold to—not from His Messenger’s law and way—just as every prophet is rewarded for obeying Allah in his own law and way.

Their laws and ways vary. For example, one of them may transmit hadiths in wording different from that which reached another; some Quranic verses may be explained to him in wording different from that of another explanation; and, in reconciling the texts and deriving rulings from them, he may employ a method of arrangement and harmonization different from the method