The Criterion Between The Allies Of the Merciful & The Allies Of the Devil
Chapter 13
Many people become confused and fail to differentiate between the realities having to do with Allah's orders, his deen which He has enjoined on the human and the jinn, and the imaan of His slaves on the one hand, and the realities having to do with His creation, His decree, and His complete power and control over everything in the universe and all events which occur therein. To Allah belongs creation (Al-khalq) and authority or command (Al-amr), as He said in the Qur'an:
[Verily your Lord is the one who created the heavens and the earth in six days and then sat on the throne. He covers the day with the night which seeks it persistently (is never late in its succession). The sun, the moon and the stars are subjugated to His command. Verily, His is the creation and the command, blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds.] Qur'an 7/54
Thus, Allah is the Creator of all things and their Lord and their Sovereign. There is no other creator other than Him, nor any other Lord. Whatever He wills is and whatever He does not will is not. Everything which is in the universe, motion and lack of motion is by His decree and His power, His will, His decision, and His creation of it. Furthermore, Allah has ordered His creation to obey Him and to obey His prophets, and forbid them to disobey Him and to disobey His prophets. He has ordered us with Tauhid and Ikhlaas(absolute sincerity of intention and worship for Allah ta'ala), and has forbidden us associating anything with Allah. The greatest of good deeds is Tauhid, and the worst of sins is associationism (shirk). Allah says:
[Verily Allah does not forgive the associating of partners with Him, and He forgives anything less than that to those whom He wishes. Whoever associates partners with Allah has gone very far astray indeed.] Qur'an 4/116
[And among the people are those who make others as equals to Allah. They love them as the love of Allah, but those who believe are more intense in their love of Allah.] Qur'an 2/165
In the two books of Muslim and Bukhari, Ibn Masood narrates:
I said: "O, Messenger of Allah, which sin is the most serious?" He said: "To make a partner with Allah though He created you." I said: "And then what?" He said: "That you kill your offspring for fear that he will eat with you." I said: "And then what?" He said: "To commit adultery with the spouse of your neighbor."
Allah reaffirmed the content of this hadith when He revealed the following verse:
[Those who do not call to any other deities along with Allah, do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except with the right to do so, and do not commit illegal sexual acts. Whoever does that will meet athaama (a pit in hell reserved for the punishing of adulterers). His punishment will be multiplied on the day of Qiyama, and he will stay in it forever, debased. Except for those who repented, believed, and did good works, for these Allah will change their misdeeds into good deeds and Allah is ever forgiving, merciful.] Qur'an 25/68-70
Allah has enjoined justice, kindness, and giving to (needy) relatives, and forbidden obscenity, disreputable acts, and transgression on the rights of others. He has informed us that He loves those who have taqwa, those who do good and are kind, those who are just, those who frequently repent, those who keep themselves clean and pure, and those who fight in His path in a solid line, as if they are a mortared building. He has also informed us that He hates that which He has forbidden, as He said in sura Al-Israa':
[The evil of all such things is hateful in the sight of your Lord.] Qur'an 17/38
In the verses before this verse, Allah forbids associating partners with Him, rudeness to parents, He ordered the giving of relatives all of their rights, forbid mis-use of wealth, miserliness and the tying of one's hand to his neck (i.e. withholding ones wealth and being miserly), or spreading it all the way out (i.e. being too openhanded with ones wealth to the detriment of one's own needs and the needs of those under one's responsibility), He forbid killing of humans without justification, illegal sexual acts, and handling the property of orphans except in ways to their benefit. Following all of this, Allah said: [The evil of all such things is hateful in the sight of your Lord.]
Allah does not like corruption, and is not pleased with the disbelief of any of His slaves. The worshipper is ordered to repent to Allah constantly, as Allah said:
[And repent to Allah all of you O, believers in order that you may be successful.] Qur'an 71/21
In Sahih Bukhari, it is narrated that the Prophet said:
"O, people, repent to your Lord for, by the one in whose hand by soul is, I seek forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him each day more than seventy times."
In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated that the Prophet said:
"Verily clouds come over my heart, and I seek forgiveness from Allah one hundred times in a day."
In the books of As-Sunan, Ibn Umar narrates that:
"We used to count the Prophet saying "My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance. Surely You are the ever-returning, the Merciful." one hundred times in a single session." In another version he said: "more than one hundred times."
Allah has ordered the Muslims to end good works with the seeking of His forgiveness. The Prophet (sas) used to seek Allah's forgiveness three times after the conclusion of every prayer and then say:
"O, Allah you are the Peace and from you is peace blessed are you O possessor of Greatness and Beneficence."
as has been reported in a sahih hadith from the Prophet. Allah mentioned in the Qur'an talking about the believers:
[Those who seek forgiveness in the small hours of the night.] Qur'an 3/17
ordering them to stand in prayer in the night, and seek His forgiveness in the small hours of the night.
Likewise, Allah concluded the sura entitled Al-Muzammil, which is the sura which discusses the night prayer, by saying:
[And seek the forgiveness of Allah, verily Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.] Qur'an 73/20
And, about the pilgrimage, Allah says:
[So, when you descend en masse from Arafat, mention Allah in the sacred precincts, and remember Him and how He guided you even though you were before that of those gone astray. Then, move on by the same route as the people and seek the forgiveness of Allah. Verily Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.] Qur'an 2/199
Moreover, Allah sent down near the end of the Prophethood when the Prophet went out on the expedition of Tabuk (the last of his expeditions):
[Allah has turned to His Prophet (i.e. accepted his repentance) and the migrators and the helpers and those who followed him in the time of difficulty after the hearts of one party of them nearly became diseased. Then, Allah turned to them, He is with them Compassionate, Merciful. (He has also accepted the repentance of) the three who stayed behind (who were boycotted by the Muslims on the order of the Prophet) until the earth seemed to squeeze in on them in spite of its spaciousness, and the remorse pressed in on them and they realized that there was no where to run from Allah except by running back to Him and seeking His acceptance. Then Allah turned to them in acceptance that their repentance may be complete. Verily Allah is the ever-returning, the Merciful.] Qur'an 9/117-118
This was one of the last verses to be sent down.
It has been said that the last verse to be sent down was:
[When the help of Allah come and victory * And you see the people coming into the deen of Allah in droves * Celebrate the praises of your Lord and seek His forgiveness, verily He is ever returning with acceptance.] Qur'an 110
in which Allah ordered the Prophet to conclude his work with the praises of Allah and the seeking of His forgiveness.
Aisha reports in the two books of sahih that the Prophet (sas) used to say in bowing and in prostration:
"Glorified are you O Allah, our Lord and with Your praise. O Allah, forgive me." Aisha commented: "Putting the Qur'an into practice."
Also in the two books of sahih, it is reported that he used to say:
"O, Allah forgive me my mistakes and my ignorance, and my excesses in my affairs and all that which you know better than I. O, Allah forgive me (mistakes done in) jest and in earnest, (and those done) unintentionally and intentionally, and all of that which I may have. O, Allah forgive me that which has come before and that which is still coming, that which I hide and that which I make public - there is no deity but You!"
Also in the two books of sahih is that Abu Bakr said:
"O, Messenger of Allah, teach me a du'a (supplication) with which I can ask Allah in my prayer." The Prophet said: Say: "O, Allah, surely I have oppressed myself to a great degree and none can forgive sins except for You. Forgive me with a forgiveness from You and have mercy on me, verily, you are the Forgiving, the Merciful."
And, in the books of hadith known as As-Sunan, it is narrated that Abu Bakr said to the Prophet (sas):
"O, messenger of Allah, teach me a du'a (supplication) with which I can ask Allah in the morning and the evening." The Prophet said: Say: "O, Allah, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the visible, Lord of everything and its sovereign, I bear witness that there is no deity other than You. I seek refuge in You from the evil within myself, from the evil of the shaitaan and his associationism, and from anything which would bring evil to me or to any other Muslim." Say it when you get up in the morning, in the afternoon, and when you lie down to sleep.
Clearly, it is not allowed for anyone to imagine that he is not in need of repenting to Allah and seeking His forgiveness for his sins. Rather, everyone is in constant need of that. Allah said:
[We offered this trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to accept its burden and were afraid of it. Then man took it on, verily he is ever prone to criminality, ever prone to foolishness. * That Allah may punish the hypocrites, male and female and the associationists, male and female, and turn in acceptance to the believers, male and female, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.] Qur'an 33/72-73
So man is criminal and foolish in nature, and the goal of the believing men and women is repentance. Allah has informed us in His book of the repentance of His righteous slaves and His forgiveness of them.
In the two books of sahih, it is recorded that the Prophet said:
"No one will enter paradise by his actions." The companions asked him: "Even you, O, messenger of Allah?" He said: "Even me, unless Allah envelopes me in His mercy and His grace."
This does not represent a contradiction of the verse in the Qur'an which reads:
[Eat and drink because of your works which preceded in the days which have passed.] Qur'an 69/24
The hadith rejected the equivalence between the good works of the people of paradise and their reward from Allah and rejected the idea of the reward of paradise being in exchange for these good works in this life. The verse from the Qur'an, on the other hand established the causal relationship between obeying Allah in this life and being rewarded with paradise in the next.
As for the statement of the one who says: "When Allah loves one of His slaves, his sins do him no harm." The meaning of this is that when Allah loves one of His slaves, He inspires him to repent and seek forgiveness and so, when he sins, he never determinedly continues in his sin. Whoever believes that sins could do no harm to someone who determinedly continues to commit them has gone astray, and is in contradiction to the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the first generations of Muslims and the Imams of the Muslims. Rather,
[Whosoever does an atoms weight of good will see it, and whosoever does an atoms weight of bad will see it.] Qur'an 99/7-8
The praiseworthy slaves of Allah are none other than the ones mentioned in the verse:
[And rush to forgiveness from you Lord and a garden whose width is like the heavens and the earth which has been prepared for the pious. * Those who spend in good times and in bad, who refrain themselves when enraged, and who are forbearing with people. Allah loves the doers of good. * Those who, when they commit some outrage or oppress themselves (by disobedience to Allah), remember Allah and seek His forgiveness for their sins. And who can forgive sins except for Allah? And they do not persist in the wrong which they did after they know. * Their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein forever, and that is the reward of those who strive.] Qur'an 3/133-136
Whoever believes that the decree of Allah is an excuse for sinners is of the same type as the associationists whose statement Allah reported in the Qur'an:
[Those who associate will say: If Allah had so willed, we would never have associated (partners with Allah), nor would have our forefathers, and we would never have forbidden anything.] Qur'an 6/148
Allah said, in answer to them:
[In this way those who came before them denied (the truth) until they tasted our wrath. Say: Do you have any knowledge which you can produce for us? You follow only imagination, and you do nothing but guess. * Say: Allah's is the conclusive argument: If He had wished, He would have guided all of you.] Qur'an 6/148-149
If Allah's decree was any excuse, He would not punish anyone among the rejecters of the prophets such as the people of Nuh, 'Aad, Thamud, Al-Mu'tafikaat, and the people of Pharaoh. Nor would He have ordered the punishments (Al-Huduud) to be inflicted on those who transgress the boundaries of His law. No one cites the decree of Allah as his argument or excuse except one who is following his hawa (whims) without guidance from Allah. He who sees Allah's decree as an excuse for the sinners does not ascribe to them blame nor punishment, thus, it is upon him to blame no one, nor to seek anyone's punishment no matter what they may do to him (since it is all by Allah's decree!). In fact, that which causes pleasure and that which causes pain are the same to him, thus, he should not differentiate between those who do good to him and those who do evil to him. This is clearly unacceptable by common sense, reason, and the rule of shari'a! Allah said:
[Or should we treat those who believe and do good works the same as the spreaders of corruption in the earth, or should we make those of pious practice as the transgressors?] Qur'an 38/28
[Should we then treat those who submit (i.e. Muslims) in the same way as as the criminals? What is wrong with you, how do you judge?] 68/35-36
[Did those who practice evil think that we would make them the same as those who believe and do good works, the same in life and in death? How poorly you judge!] Qur'an 45/21
[Do you then think that we created you in jest, and that you would not be returned to us?] Qur'an 23/115
[Does man believe that he is to be left without purpose?]
i.e. neglected, not ordered with anything, not forbidden anything.
It is recorded in the two books of sahih, that the Prophet said:
"Adam disputed with Musa. Musa said to Adam: "O, Adam, you are the father of the human race, Allah created you with His hand, and blew into you of His spirit, and made His angels prostrate to you, why did you expel yourself and us from the garden?" Adam said to him: "You are Musa whom Allah favored with His speech, and wrote for you the Taurah with His hand, so (tell me) by how many years before my creation did you find it written about me: [... then Adam disobeyed his Lord and got lost.] (Qur'an 20/121)? Musa said: "By forty years." Then, Adam said: "So how do you blame me for something which Allah had decreed for me before my creation by forty years?" The Prophet said: "And so, Adam defeated Musa in the dispute."
Two groups have gone astray in relation to this hadith. One group rejected it completely (though it is thoroughly authenticated), since it seemed to them to mean the removal of blame and punishment from anyone who disobeyed Allah because of Allah's decree. Another group fell into something even worse (than rejecting the words of the Prophet): They believed that Allah's decree is an excuse for the disobedience of Allah. Some of them may say: The decree of Allah is an excuse for the people of Al-Haqeeqa (lit. "reality") who have witnessed it, or those who do not perceive any actions whatsoever originating from themselves, (i.e. who believe they have annihilated themselves "in Allah" - exalted is He above that which they say!). Others say, by way of explanation: Adam won the argument because he is the father of Musa, or because he had repented, or because the sin was in one law, and the blame in another, or because this is in this world only, and not in the next. All of these explanations are false and incorrect.
The meaning of the hadith is that Musa - peace be upon him - did not blame his father Adam except because of the hardship which befell the human race because of Adam's eating from the tree. Thus, he said to him: "Why did you expel your self and us from the garden?" He did not blame him merely for having committed a sin from which he had already repented, for Musa surely knew that one who repents from a sin is not to be blamed for it. Adam had repented from his sin, and did not believe the decree of Allah was any excuse for him. If he believed that, he would not have said after his sin what is reported in the Qur'an:
[Our Lord, we have oppressed ourselves and if you don't forgive us and have mercy on us, we will be among those in loss.] Qur'an 7/23
Believers are ordered to be patient in the face of calamities and accept the decree of Allah, and they are ordered to seek forgiveness and repent when they commit any sin. Allah said:
[So be patient, surely the promise of Allah is truth, and seek forgiveness for your sin.] Qur'an 40/55
Here, Allah ordered him to be patient with adversity, and to seek forgiveness from blameworthy actions.
Allah said:
[No calamity strikes except with the permission of Allah. Whoever believes in Allah, He will guide his heart.] Qur'an 64/11
Ibn Masood said about this verse: "He is the man who is afflicted with a calamity which he knows is from Allah, and so he is patient and surrenders.
So the believers, when afflicted with some calamity such as illness, poverty, or oppression are patient for the ruling of Allah, even if that calamity is because of someone else's sin. For, example, someone whose father spent all of his property in disobedience to Allah such that his children come to poverty must be patient with what has befallen him. If he were to blame his father for what has befallen him, it would be proper to remind him of the decree of Allah.
This type of patience is obligatory in the unanimous opinion of the scholars. Above patience with the decree of Allah is acceptance (ridhaa) of the decree of Allah. It has been said that acceptance is also obligatory, and it has been said that it is commendable, less than obligatory, and this is the correct opinion. Higher still than acceptance of Allah's decree when afflicted with calamities is to thank Allah for calamities because of what he sees of the beneficence of Allah in giving him that and making it a reason for the expiation of some of his sins, and elevating his rank, and aiding him in turning to Allah and humbling himself before Him, and increasing him in purity of intention and completeness of dependence on Allah and on no one else among His creation.
As for the people of transgression and going astray, you will find them using the decree of Allah as an argument when they sin or follow their lusts and desires, while they attribute their good deeds to themselves when Allah graces them with that. A scholar once said: "When you are obedient you are a qadariy, and when you are disobedient you are a jabriy. You claim to be with whatever philosophy meets the dictates of your whims." (Note: These are two deviations in thinking which have arisen among the Muslims. A qadariy says that man is the creator of his own actions, and that Allah wills the submission of all of His slaves, but some of his slaves overcome the will of Allah, and sin! A jabriy says that man is not responsible for his actions since all of them have been decreed by Allah.)
As for the people of guidance and right action, when they do something good they are witnesses to the grace of Allah upon them and that He is the one who was generous with them and granted them Islam, made them of those who establish the prayer, inspired them with taqwa, and that there is no power nor strength except from Allah. Their understanding of the decree of Allah prevents them from being overly pleased with themselves, feeling that they deserve praise for their actions, and being injurious to one to whom they have done some good. When they commit some sin, they seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him from their sin.
In Sahih Buhkari, Shaddaad ibn Aws narrates:
"The Prophet said: The best seeking of forgiveness is for the slave of Allah to say: {O, Allah, You are my Lord, there is not deity other than you. You created me and I am your slave. I am (seeking to) stick to my obligation to you and my promise to you to the extent of my ability. I seek refuge in you from the evil which I may do. I return to You with the goodness which You have bestowed on me, and I return to You (in repentance) with my sin. So forgive me; no one forgives sins except for You.} Whoever says this when he wakes up with certainty and conviction and then dies that night will enter paradise."
In another sahih hadith, Abu Dharr narrates from the Prophet of that which he narrated from Allah the Blessed the High that He said:
"O, my slaves, I have forbidden myself oppression, and have made it forbidden among you, so do not oppress one another. O, my slaves surely you commit mistakes by night and by day, and I forgive all sins without problem, so seek my forgiveness, that I may forgive you. O, my slaves, all of your are hungry except the one whom I feed, so seek from me your sustenance that I may feed you. O, my slaves, all of you are naked except the one whom I have clothed, so seek this from me that I may clothe you. O, my slaves, all of you are lost except the one whom I have guided, so ask me guidance that I may guide you. O, my slaves, you will never be able to harm me, nor will you ever be able to help me. O, my slaves, if the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you were as pious as the most pious one among you, that would add nothing to my wealth. O, my slaves, if the first of you and the last of you and the human of you and the jinn of you were all as evil as the most evil individual among you, that would decrease nothing from my wealth. O, my slaves, if the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you all gathered in a single plain and asked me for their wishes and I granted every one of you what they asked, they would decrease nothing from that which I possess except as the ocean is decreased by the sticking of a needle into it one time. O, my slaves, it is nothing but your works, I keep track of them for each of you, then I reward you fully for them. So, whoever finds good, let him thank Allah, and whoever finds other than that, let him blame no one except himself."
Allah here orders us to praise and thank Him for the good which comes to us, and when we find bad to blame no one but ourselves. Many people speak about "reality" or "the real" (Al-haqeeqa) while failing to differentiate between the reality relating to the decree of Allah, His creation of all things and actions, and his determination of events on the one hand, and the reality relating to the orders of Allah, and His deen which are related to His pleasure and displeasure. on the other. They fail to distinguish between one who is steadfast in the reality of the deen in accordance with the orders of Allah on the tongues of His prophets and one who is only steadfast in following his own feelings and intuitive experiences without subjecting that to the criterion of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In the same way, many people talk about the term Shari'a but fail to differentiate between the shar' (law) which has been sent down from Allah i.e. the Qur'an and the Sunnah with which Allah sent His Prophet (sas) and the rulings of a ruler or judge. No one of Allah's creation has any right to go out of or against the Law of Allah, whoever does so is a kafir (disbeliever). As for the rulings of the ruler, he is correct sometimes and wrong other times. That is for the case of his being knowledgeable of the law, and righteous and just in his actions. The Prophet said about those who give rulings in the law:
"Judges are three type: two types in the hell fire, and one type in paradise. A man who knows the truth and judges according to it is in paradise. A man who gives rulings for the people though he is ignorant of them is in the fire. And a man who knows the truth but judges with other than it is in the fire."
The best of the knowledgeable and just judges is the uppermost among the sons of Adam: Muhammad, may the peace and prayers of Allah be upon him. It is reported in the two books of the sahih, that the Prophet (sas) said:
"You come to me with your cases, and some of you may be more eloquent and convincing in expression than others. I only judge according to that which I hear, but whoever has received a favorable judgement from me in which I have awarded him what is rightfully his bother's, should not take it, for I have merely cut for him a piece of the hell fire."
The Prophet here informs us that when he delivers a judgement according to that which he hears, but its reality is other than that, it is not allowed for the one who has been rewarded what is not rightfully his to take it, and that this is nothing more than a piece of the hell fire.
This is a point of consensus among the scholars of Islam in relation to all types of property: If the judge rules according to that which he believes to be a valid legal argument such as evidence or admission, though the reality of the case is other than what it appears, it is not allowed for the one given the reward to accept it. If such a ruling is in the area of contractual obligations or cancellations, it is the opinion of most of the scholars that the one granted his wish though the reality of the case is other than what it appears to be is not allowed to accept the benefits of the ruling. This is the position of Malik, Ash-Shafi'i, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Abu Hanifa differentiated in this regard between the two types of cases, applying the ruling only in cases dealing with property rights.
The word Shar' or Shari'a (law) when it is used to mean the Qur'an and the Sunnah, no ally of Allah nor anyone else has any right to go against it or beyond it. Whoever believes that any ally of Allah has a route to Allah other than the following of the Prophet Muhammad (sas) internally and externally and therefore fails to follow him internally and externally is a kafir (disbeliever).
Whoever uses the story of Musa and Al-Khidhr (in Sura Al-Kahf) as a basis for this proposition is mistaken for two reasons:
1) Musa had not been sent to Al-Khidhr, and it was not obligatory upon Al-Khidhr to follow Musa. Musa was sent to the Children of Israil specifically, whereas Muhammad (sas) was sent with a message for the two free-willed races: humans and jinns. Even if those greater in stature than Al-Khidhr had met the Prophet Muhammad, such as Ibrahim, Musa, or 'Isa, it would have been obligatory upon them to follow him, so what about Al-Khidhr, whether we say that he was a prophet or an ally of Allah? This is why Al-Khidhr said to Musa:
"I have knowledge of the knowledge of Allah which He has taught me and which you do not know, and you have knowledge of the knowledge of Allah which He has taught you and which I do not know" (Narrated by Muslim and Bukhari.)
No one, neither human nor jinn can make such a statement once the message of the Prophet Muhammad has reached them.
2) The three acts of Al-Khidhr reported in the Qur'an contain no violation of the law of Musa anyway, although Musa did not understand the reasons which made them allowed at first. When Al-Khidhr explained them to him, he accepted them. The puncturing of the boat, and then fixing it later for the benefit of its owners for fear of the oppressor who wished to confiscate it was a favor to them, and is allowed. The killing of tyrants and attackers is allowed even if they are young, and if someone's oppression of his parents cannot be prevented except by his death, he can be killed. Ibn Abbas said to the police of Al-Haruuri when he was asked about killing of young boys:
"If you know about them what Al-Khidhr know about the boy in the story, kill them, and if you don't, then do not kill them." (Bukhari)
As for the good deed done to the orphans (the re-building of the wall), and being patient with hunger, these are good acts in which there is no violation of the law of Allah.
If the intended meaning of the words shar' or shari'a is the ruling delivered by the ruler or judge, he may indeed by an oppressor or he may be just, he may have arrived at the correct ruling or he may be mistaken. Sometimes, the intended meaning of the word is the opinion of the imams of fiqh such as Abu Hanifa, Ath-Thawri, Malik ibn Anas, Al-Awzaa'i, Al-Laith ibn Sa'd, Ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Dawud and others. The opinions of such people are to be supported by evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. To follow the opinion of others in cases where that is allowed is merely allowed: i.e. it is not obligatory upon the nation of Muslims to follow any one of the imams as it is obligatory to follow the Prophet (sas). It is also not forbidden to follow the opinion of one of them (when one is unable to arrive independently at the ruling from the original sources, and when one is aware of the evidence behind the opinion followed), as it is forbidden to follow the opinions of people who speak without knowledge.
If something is attributed to the law which is not from it, such as forged hadith, or twisting the meanings of the texts in ways not intended by Allah and His Prophet, etc., this is a changing of the law (tabdeel). We must differentiate between the law sent down, the law re-interpreted (twisted), and the law which has been changed, just as we must differentiate between the reality relating to Allah's decree and creation and the reality relating to Allah's order and His deen and between the one who supports his position with evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah as opposed to the one who relies solely on his feelings or intuitions.