or affiliates himself (1) with patrons other than his own, he shall incur the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. Allah will accept neither an obligatory nor a voluntary deed from him.” (2)
Allah Most High says in the Quran:
“The curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers—those who turn people away from Allah’s path and seek to make it crooked.”
[Surah al-A'rāf: 44–45]
The Quran and Sunnah are thus replete with condemnation of blameworthy forms of conduct, with censure of those who engage in them, and with curses upon them. This serves to warn against such conduct and to disclose the threatened punishment awaiting its perpetrators.
Moreover, a person who commits sins while knowing that he is sinning [repents of them. An innovator, however, believes himself to be right—like the Kharijites and the Nāsibis, who declared enmity and war] (3) against the Muslim community. They introduced an innovation and declared anyone who did not agree with them regarding it to be an unbeliever. Their harm to the Muslims thereby became greater than that of unjust rulers, who know that injustice is forbidden. Although the punishment of one of them in the Hereafter may be lighter because of his interpretation, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—nevertheless commanded
(1) ن reads: “and affiliates himself”; و reads: “and whoever affiliates himself.”
(2) In his *Sunan*, 4/449–450, Book of Etiquette, chapter “A Man Who Affiliates Himself with Patrons Other than His Own,” Abū Dāwūd cites three hadiths. The first is narrated from Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqās (Sa'd ibn Mālik)—may Allah be pleased with him—and reads: “Whoever claims descent from someone other than his father, knowing that he is not his father, Paradise is forbidden to him.” The second is narrated from Abū Hurayra: “Whoever affiliates himself with a people without the permission of his patrons shall incur the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. On the Day of Resurrection, neither a voluntary nor an obligatory deed will be accepted from him.” The third is narrated from Anas ibn Mālik: “Whoever claims descent from someone other than his father or affiliates himself with patrons other than his own shall incur Allah’s unceasing curse until the Day of Resurrection.” It appears that Ibn Taymiyya combined these three hadiths. See also the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqās in *al-Musnad*, al-Ma'ārif edition, vol. [0–9], hadith nos. 1454, 1497, 1499, 1504, and 1553; and *al-Musnad*, al-Halabī edition, 5/267. Al-Albānī graded the hadiths of Anas and Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqās authentic in *Sahīh al-Jāmi' al-Saghīr*, 5/233–234.
(3) The passage enclosed in square brackets is omitted from (ن) and (م).