The Wisdom of the Salaf

And the matter is very dangerous because innovations and suspicious matters may deceive those who are weak of faith and those who have not learned the methodology of the righteous predecessors (manhaj as-salaf) in creed. Imam Muhammad bin Sirin – may Allah Almighty have mercy on him – Two innovators came to him and said to him: O Abu Bakr, we want to recite a verse from the Book of Allah (the Quran) to you. He said: not even one verse. They said, one of the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, he said: not even one hadith. Then he said to them, either you get up or I get up. One of those who were there said: O Abu Bakr, would you hear a verse or hadith from them? He said: I am afraid to hear something of their bid’a (innovations), and it settles in my heart. So, if the Salaf (pious predecessors) feared for themselves while being the prominent ones in Aqidah (creed) and (the study of) Tawheed (the oneness of Allah) and firmly established in knowledge… If they always feared for themselves from the misleading and suspicious matters of the innovators, then how about those who are inferior to them? Or those not even close to them (i.e., in piety and knowledge)? Rather, those who do not equal one-tenth of their tenths (of piety and knowledge)!!!