In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

Introduction

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds. The final outcome belongs to the righteous, and no hostility is justified except against wrongdoing aggressors. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him and all his family and Companions.

To proceed: Refuting the people of innovation and those who call others to follow vain desires, warning against their falsehood, rebutting their specious arguments and misleading claims, publicly exposing their faults and shortcomings, and making clear that they are not following what is true and correct—all this is incumbent upon scholars and students of knowledge. This is so that their evil may be avoided, and people far and near may know of their misguidance, deviation, and distance from truth and right guidance. This is part of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, as prescribed by Islamic law.

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

“One who calls others to innovation deserves punishment by the consensus of the Muslims. His punishment is sometimes death and sometimes a lesser penalty, just as the early Muslim generations put Jahm ibn Safwān, al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, Ghaylān al-Qadarī, and others to death. Even if it were assumed that he does not deserve punishment, or that it is not possible to punish him, his innovation must still be exposed and people warned against it. This is part of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, which Allah and His Messenger have commanded.”1

He also said, may Allah have mercy on him:

“Likewise, as for the leaders of innovation who espouse doctrines contrary to the Book