to his companions: ‘By Allah, you know the affliction you have suffered at the hands of the occupant of this grave. He says: “Tell Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer”; “If I were to take anyone on earth as an intimate friend, I would take Abū Bakr as my intimate friend”; and “Allah and the Muslims will accept none but Abū Bakr.”’”

Likewise, no one *) (1) has the right to say, “Because the Quran was revealed in the language of the Arabs (2), the Muslim community differed over its interpretation and fought one another,” or to make similar claims attributing the evil that occurred in such matters to what the Messenger brought. All of this is false and is the speech of the disbelievers.

Allah Most High said regarding the disbelievers who said (3) to their messengers:

“They said, ‘Indeed, we regard you as an evil omen. If you do not desist, we will surely stone you, and a painful punishment from us will surely afflict you.’ They replied, ‘Your ill omen lies with yourselves. Is it because you have been reminded? Rather, you are a people who transgress all bounds.’”

[Surah Yā Sīn 18–19]

And He said concerning Pharaoh’s people:

“When good came to them, they said, ‘This is ours.’ But if evil befell them, they regarded Moses and those with him as an ill omen. Surely their fate rests with Allah.”

[Surah al-Arāf 131]

And when He mentioned the command to strive and that some people hold back from it, He said:

“Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you are in lofty towers. If good befalls them, they say, ‘This is from Allah’; but if evil befalls them, they say, ‘This is from you.’ Say, ‘All is from Allah.’ What is the matter with these people that they can scarcely understand any statement? Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.”

[Surah al-Nisā 78–79]