And the Quran testifies that the polytheists and the Jews are more hostile towards the believers than those who say, “We are Christians.” Greater hostility means greater disbelief. Thus, the Jews’ disbelief is more severe than that of the Christians, even though the Christians are more ignorant and further astray. The former are punished for their deeds because they knew the truth and stubbornly abandoned it, thereby incurring Allah’s wrath. The latter, through their misguidance, were deprived of the reward of the rightly guided, cursed, and excluded from what the rightly guided deserve. Then, if the proof is established against them and they do not believe, they deserve punishment, for the designation “misguidance” is broad in scope.

As recorded in an authentic hadith, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say in his Friday sermon:

“The best speech is Allah’s speech, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The worst matters are those newly introduced into religion, and every religious innovation is misguidance.”

He did not say, “Every misguidance is in the Fire.” Rather, someone may stray from the truth despite intending to reach it and striving earnestly to find it, yet being unable to do so; such a person is not punished. He may also carry out some of what he has been commanded to do, earning a reward for his efforts, while being forgiven for the error through which he strayed from the truth of the matter.

Many scholars of the early and later generations who exercised independent judgment said and did things that were religious innovations without knowing that they were innovations. This was either because they considered weak hadiths authentic, because they understood Quranic verses in ways that were not intended, or because they adopted an opinion while scriptural texts concerning the matter had not reached them.