Allah the Exalted unless he avoids them, and that can only be done by recognizing each one of them when he does not already know their governing principles and roots; otherwise he will lapse into innovation without even realizing it. This falls under the juristic rule: “Whatever is indispensable for fulfilling an obligation is itself obligatory,” as the scholars of legal theory—may Allah have mercy on them—state.

The same holds true for recognizing shirk (polytheism) and its varieties: anyone ignorant of them will inevitably fall into them. This is plainly witnessed among many Muslims who try to draw near to Allah through acts that are in fact polytheistic—such as making vows to saints and the righteous, swearing oaths by them, circumambulating their graves, building mosques over them, and other practices whose polytheistic nature is well-known to the scholars. Therefore, limiting oneself in worship to learning the Sunnah alone is not enough; one must also know the innovations that oppose it, just as in faith it is insufficient to affirm tawḥīd (monotheism) without knowing the forms of polytheism that negate it.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ alluded to this reality when he said:

“Whoever says, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,’ and disavows whatever is worshipped besides Allah, his wealth and blood become inviolable, and his reckoning is with Allah.”

Narrated by Muslim.

Thus the Prophet ﷺ did not deem mere affirmation of monotheism sufficient; rather, he coupled it with