The Natural Obligation of Following the Salaf al-Ṣaliḥ (First Three Generations) and the Assured Misguidance of Following other Paths
Imām Muwaffaq al-Dīn Ibn Qudāmah al-Maqdisī (d. 620 AH) said:
The obligation of following the pious predecessors—may Allāh have mercy on all of them—has been confirmed in the Book of Allāh, the Sunnah, and by ijmāʿ (scholarly consensus). Furthermore, rationality itself lends credence to this. As the pious predecessors have either adopted that which is correct or they have not. If they are correct, then following them is obligatory. This is because adoption of the truth is obligatory and attaching oneself to a creed riddled with mistakes is impermissible. If they have adopted the truth, then...