and to its left. He then said, “These are side-paths; on every one of them there is a devil calling people to it.” 1 He next recited: “Indeed, this is My straight path, so follow it, and do not follow the other ways lest they cause you to stray from His way. That is what He has enjoined upon you, so that you may become mindful of Him.” 2
Whoever turns away from the Book and the sunnah will inevitably be tossed between these misleading roads and the newly-invented heresies.
The causes that led to the rise of innovation can be summarized as follows: ignorance of the rulings of the religion, following one’s whims, fanaticism for opinions and persons, and imitating the unbelievers. We shall examine these causes in some detail.
- Ignorance of the rulings of the religion:
The further time advances and people drift away from the traces of the Message, the scarcer knowledge becomes and the more ignorance spreads—just as the Prophet ﷺ foretold when he said, “Whoever lives long among you will witness much discord.” 3 He also said, “Allah does not take away knowledge by wresting it from His servants; rather, He removes knowledge by taking away the scholars. When not a single scholar remains, people will take ignorant leaders; they will be asked questions and will issue rulings without knowledge, and thus they will stray and lead others astray.” 4
Nothing can repel innovation except knowledge and the scholars; when knowledge and its bearers disappear, innovation is given the chance to surface and spread, and its advocates grow active.
- Following one’s whims:
Whoever turns away from the Book and the sunnah ends up following his own desires, as the Exalted says: “But if they do not respond to you, know that they are only following their whims; and who…”