—to be better than praying in the mosques, even in the Sacred Mosque, the Prophet’s Mosque, or al-Aqsa. Many people likewise think that supplicating at the graves of prophets and the righteous surpasses supplication made in the mosques. All scholars versed in the religion of Islam agree that such notions are contrary to the Islamic law. Whoever, in this matter or any other, does not cling to the Quran and the sunnah has gone astray, leads others astray, and has fallen into a pit of ruin.

The servant must therefore submit to the complete, pure, and manifest Muhammadan law, acknowledging that it was revealed to secure benefits and perfect them, and to eliminate harms or at least reduce them. Whenever he encounters acts of devotion, ascetic practices, or other deeds that he imagines to be good and beneficial yet are not legislated, he must realize that their harm outweighs their benefit and their corruption outweighs their advantage; the All-Wise Lawgiver never neglects any true benefit.

He then said:

“Supplication is among the loftiest forms of worship. A person should therefore adhere to the prescribed invocations, for they are safeguarded from error, just as he strives in all his other acts of worship to follow the sanctioned forms—for this is the straight path. May Allah grant success to us and to all our believing brothers.”

“Note: Know that this book by al-Darimi is arranged, like the Four Sunan, into books and chapters. The correct designation, therefore, is Sunan, as Shaykh Dahman used in his edition. In earlier times it became popularly known as Musnad al-Darimi, but this is an outright mistake with no basis among the scholars. Equally mistaken is calling it al-Sahih, which is even further from the truth, for it contains many marfūʿ reports with weak chains, and some of them…"