to them and making them the basis of loyalty and hostility. It is authentically reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say in his sermons:

“The truest speech is the speech of Allah,” and so on.

The religion of the Muslims is founded upon following the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Prophet, and the consensus of the Muslim community. These three are foundations protected from error. Whatever the community disputes is to be referred back to Allah and the Messenger.

No one may set up for the community any person other than the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, calling people to follow that person’s way and making it the basis of loyalty and hostility. Nor may anyone set up for them any statement as the basis of loyalty and hostility other than the words of Allah and His Messenger and that upon which the community has reached consensus. Rather, this is the practice of the proponents of religious innovation, who set up a person or a statement by which they divide the community, basing their loyalties and hostilities upon that statement or affiliation.

The Khawārij merely interpreted verses of the Quran according to their beliefs and declared those who disagreed with them to be disbelievers, because they believed that such people had contradicted the Quran. Thus, whoever introduces statements that have no basis in the Quran and declares those who disagree with them to be disbelievers holds a position worse than that of the Khawārij.

It must be understood that objections to matters known to be part of the Muslims’ religion must be answered decisively, leaving no room for doubt, unlike the approach followed by some speculative theologians. For whoever does not debate the heretics and proponents of religious innovation