Rather, they were ordered too to be followers of the .

Rather, they were ordered too to be followers of the . Meanwhile, in case someone insists that he must still follow the Sahabah, then obedience in Islam is only in al-ma’ruf – in obedience to Allah. In that case, only those Sahabah who complied with the Decree of Allah in Hadith al-Thaqalayn can be followed.

But, al-Mubarakfuri still has one more quote: وقال ابن الملك التمسك بالكتاب العمل بما فيه وهو الائتمار بأوامر الله والانتهاء عن نواهيه ومعنى التمسك بالعترة محبتهم والاهتداء بهديهم وسيرتهم زاد السيد جمال الدين إذا لم يكن مخالفا للدين Ibn al-Malik said: “Adherence to the Book of Allah is to follow whatever is in it – and that is to follow the Orders of Allah and desist from His Prohibitions.

The meaning of adherence to the offspring (of the Prophet) is to love them, and to seek guidance through their guidance and their way of life.” Sayyid Jamal al-Din added, “if it does not contradict the religion.”[^3] Ibn al-Malik too concedes that the offspring of Muhammad must be followed, under Hadith al-Thaqalayn. He makes no attempts to explain it away or fix artificial conditions.

But, Sayyid Jamal al-Din moves a step forward: he could only follow the if their guidance or way of life did not contradict the religion! So, he believes that the designated offspring of the Prophet intended in the hadith can go astray too and oppose Islam. This weird opinion of Sayyid Jamal al-Din however directly contradicts the explicit text of the riwayah: يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي O mankind!

I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will NEVER go astray: the Book of Allah and my offspring, my . You will “never” go astray while following the . It is a clear guarantee from Allah and His Messenger. This, in turn, means that the offspring of the Messenger – those meant in the hadith among them – are never misguided, and they never misguide.

They are always upon the true teachings of the Qur’an and the correct Sunnah of Muhammad, in all their thoughts, sayings, deeds, actions and omissions. Whosoever follows them in absolutely everything will never miss the way. There is however an opinion within the Ahl al-Sunnah, especially the young Salafiyyah, which insists that the hadith commands to follow the Qur’an only, and nothing else.