those whom You have favored, not of those who have incurred wrath, nor of those who have gone astray” (Q 1:6–7).

Secondly: Every innovation constitutes a departure from following the Prophet ﷺ. Allah the Exalted says, “Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins’” (Q 3:31). Thus, whoever invents a practice and performs it as worship has stepped outside the Prophet’s guidance, for the Prophet ﷺ did not legislate it. In so doing he removes himself from the divine law in that matter.

Thirdly: The very innovation he introduces contradicts the full realization of the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Anyone who truly affirms that testimony confines his worship to what the Messenger brought, adhering to his law without exceeding it or falling short. Whoever falls short of the law or adds to it has fallen short in following him—whether by deficiency or by excess—and therefore fails to fulfil the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

Fourthly: Innovation, in essence, impugns Islam itself. By introducing something new, the innovator’s action implies that Islam was not complete and that he is now perfecting it through this addition. Yet Allah the Most High has declared, “Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and approved Islam for you as religion” (Q 5:3). Accordingly, it is said to the innovator: You have come with a law other than the one upon which Islam was perfected. This is an affront to Islam, even if no verbal disparagement is uttered; the offense lies in the deed. Where, then, was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—and where were the Companions—regarding this act of worship you have invented? Were they ignorant of it, or negligent toward it? Either claim is a slur against the Islamic dispensation.

Fifthly: Innovation also entails a slight against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. For this practice that you deem an act of worship is either something the Messenger ﷺ did not know— and, in that case, he would