to suspect them and their doctrines. The most recent case is that of a shaykh—he died only recently—who used to teach in the Umayyad Mosque. When he came to the verse in Surat al-Hadid, “He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is knowledgeable of everything,” he said, “He is Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.” When people protested, he tried to soften it with some figurative gloss, yet insisted that the pronoun referred to the Prophet. They then told him to read the next verse: “He is the One who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then rose over the Throne.” “Is that also Muhammad?”—at which he was left speechless. Anyone acquainted with the doctrine of wahdat al-wujud (the unity of existence) will not be surprised that such blasphemies issue from its adherents. (2) Related by al-Tirmidhi 3/213 (the wording cited above is his) and by Ahmad 5/218; Ahmad also transmits the other version, with the additions shown in brackets, through al-Zuhri, from Sinan ibn Abi Sinan, from him. The chain is sound according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim. Al-Tirmidhi said, “A hasan sahih hadith.” Ibn al-Qayyim declared it strong in Ighathat al-lahfan 2/300, but elsewhere (1/205) mistakenly attributed it to al-Bukhari’s Sahih—it is not there. Al-Nabulusi, in al-Dhakhair 10461, cites it only from al-Tirmidhi; Ibn Kathir, in his Tafsir 2/243, mentions it only through Ibn Jarir and Ahmad, apparently overlooking the fact that al-Tirmidhi is one of the Six Books, or he would not have searched so far afield. The Prophet ﷺ disapproved of their statement because it resembled the words of the Jews, even though the phrasing and the intent were clearly different. This is explicit proof that resembling the unbelievers is condemned by the Sharia, even when one’s intention is good. A comparable indication is the incident in which the Companions prayed standing behind him ﷺ while he was seated; he ordered them to sit, as discussed earlier—consult that report.