Abū al-Nuʿmān narrated to us; Ḥammād ibn Zayd narrated to us; from ʿAmr ibn Dīnār; from Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

When the verse, “Say: He is fully able to send upon you a punishment from above you” (Q 6:65), was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ said, “I seek refuge in Your Countenance.” Then the words came, “or from beneath your feet” (6:65), and he said, “I seek refuge in Your Countenance.” Then it was revealed, “or to break you up into factions and make some of you taste the might of others” (6:65), whereupon he said, “This is the lighter— or, this is the easier— (form of punishment).”

Abū ʿAbdillāh added:

“Allah has barred all the devotees of vain desires from ever finding, among their own followers or in the chains of transmission on which they rely, a single ruling of the Messenger, an obligation, or a Sunnah laid down by any of the Messengers, except for what they occasionally snatch from the people of hadith when it suits them—just like those who tore the Quran into pieces, believing in part of it while disbelieving in the rest. Hence, whoever rejects any portion of the Sunnah transmitted by the scholars is bound to reject the rest of the Sunnah as well, until he has forsaken the Sunnah, the Book, and Islam in its entirety. Clarifying this further would require lengthy discussion.”