Ahl-us-Sunnah's (Sunni) Stance on Religious Innovators

The Commander of the Believers, ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him), informed that if you heard me narrating from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), I neither use figurative language, nor allusions, nor ambiguous statements; rather, I speak clearly. If I fall from the sky, it would be easier and lighter than to narrate from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while attributing lies to him. However, if I spoke about matters between myself and the people, then war is deception, and I may use figurative language, allusions, or double-meaning statements. Indeed, I heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: At the end of time, there will come youth, young in age and weak in intellect. They will quote words from the Qur’an and recite them frequently, but they will leave Islam and transgress its bounds just as an arrow passes through its target. Their faith will not go beyond their throats. Wherever you encounter them, kill them, for killing them will bring a reward for those who kill them on the Day of Judgment.

1. Highlighting part of the traits of the Khawārij.
2. The Hadīth contains a sign of the Prophet's prophethood, as he foretold events that would occur in his Ummah after him, and they happened just as he had informed.
3. The permissibility of using indirect speech and allusions in war. Deception in war is through misleading statements, ambushes, or the like, provided they do not involve breaking treaties or violating guarantees of safety, as there is an explicit prohibition against such actions.
4. An-Nawawi said regarding the phrase (they will speak about the best words of creation), i.e., apparently such as they say: There is no judgment except for Allah, and similar expressions where they call people to the Book of Allah Almighty.
5. Ibn Hajar said regarding the phrase (their faith will not go beyond their throats): The intended meaning is that faith has not taken root in their hearts, for whatever stops at the throat and does not go beyond it cannot reach the heart.
6. Al-Qādi said: Scholars have unanimously agreed that when the Khārijites, and those similar to them from among the heretic innovators and oppressors, rebel against the ruler, oppose the consensus of the community, and cause division, it becomes obligatory to fight them after warning them and providing them with irrefutable proof.

صحيح البخاري (4/ 200) (3611). صحيح مسلم (2/ 746) (1066). النهاية في غريب الحديث والأثر (259)(866). البحر المحيط الثجاج في شرح صحيح الإمام مسلم بن الحجاج (20/ 264) (20/ 258). إرشاد الساري لشرح صحيح البخاري (6/ 58).

The Prophet (ﷺ) clarified that a person does not attain the complete obligatory faith until his love is in accordance with what the Messenger (ﷺ) brought of commands, prohibitions, and other matters—so that he loves what he commanded and dislikes what he forbade.

1. The Hadīth represents a rule of yielding to the Shariah and submitting to it.
2. It warns us not to refer to our minds or habits for judgment and give them precedence over what the Messenger (ﷺ) came with. Imān (faith) is negated from those who act like that.
3. It is obligatory to refer for judgment to the Shariah in all matters, based on his statement: "with what I have come with."
4. Imān increases by good deeds and decreases by sins.

الحجة على تارك المحجة لأبي الفتح نصر بن إبراهيم المقدسي، برقم (25). فتح الباري لابن حجر (13/289). جامع العلوم والحكم (3/1146). شرح النووي على مسلم (1/77).