in the path of Allah. And though I may have been prevented or am unable to strive with sword and spear, I am neither barred nor incapable of striving with pen and tongue. Shaykh al-Islam—may Allah envelop him in mercy and pleasure—set this matter forth with utmost clarity when he said:

“The same ruling applies to the leaders of innovation, whether their doctrines or their acts of worship contradict the Book and the Sunnah: exposing their condition and warning the ummah against them is obligatory by unanimous agreement of the Muslims. Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal was asked, ‘Would you prefer that a man fast, pray, and perform retreat, or that he speak about the people of innovation?’ He replied, ‘When he stands to pray, fasts, and observes retreat, that is for himself. When he speaks about the people of innovation, that is for the Muslims; and this is better.’

“He thus explained that the benefit of the latter is general for the Muslims in their religion, akin to jihad in the path of Allah. Purifying Allah’s path, His religion, His way, and His law, and repelling the tyranny and aggression of these people against it, is a communal obligation by consensus of the Muslims. Were it not that Allah raises up those who ward off the harm of such individuals, the religion would be ruined—and that ruin would be greater than the corruption that results from the domination of an outward enemy at war. When those external enemies prevail, they corrupt hearts and their contents of faith only incidentally; those innovators, however, corrupt hearts from the very outset⦗1⦘.”

He—may Allah have mercy on him—also said:

“The one who calls others to innovation deserves punishment by consensus of the Muslims; at times that punishment may be execution, and at times something less … Even if it were assumed that he does not deserve punishment, or that punishing him is impossible, his innovation must still be exposed and people warned against it. This is part of enjoining good and forbidding evil, which Allah has commanded…”