“And when it is said to them: ‘Come to what Allah revealed and to the Prophet,’ they say: ‘What we found our fathers upon is sufficient for us!’ What if their fathers knew nothing and were not guided?!” and He has said: ﴿وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّبِعُوا مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ قَالُوا بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءَنَا ۚ أَوَلَوْ كَانَ الشَّيْطَانُ يَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ﴾[1]; “And when it is said to them: ‘Follow what Allah revealed,’ they say: ‘Rather, we follow what we found our fathers upon!’ What if Satan was inviting them to a burning punishment?!” and He has said: ﴿وَإِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً قَالُوا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهَا آبَاءَنَا وَاللَّهُ أَمَرَنَا بِهَا ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ ۖ أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾[2]; “And when they commit an indecency, they say: ‘We found our fathers upon it, and Allah has commanded us to (do) it!’ Say: ‘Undoubtedly, Allah does not command what is indecent. Do you then say about Allah something you have no knowledge of?!’” Therefore, it is clear that the belief in the necessity of following the predecessors has no basis in Islam and is one of the beliefs of polytheists. It is considered an impediment to knowing because its adherents perceive the truth to be falsehood if it contradicts the statements or actions of the predecessors; given that, according to their supposition, if it were true, it would not have remained hidden from the predecessors, and whatever has remained hidden from the predecessors is an innovation; as Allah Almighty has informed of their speech and said: ﴿مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَذَا فِي الْمِلَّةِ الْآخِرَةِ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا اخْتِلَاقٌ﴾[3]; “We have not heard that in the previous religion! This is nothing but a fabrication!”

[The Unnecessity of Following the Predecessors]

This sheds light on the incorrectness of the approach of Salafists, who believe in the necessity of following the predecessors; because if following the predecessors is due to their following the intellect, the intellect also exists for later generations, and with its existence, following the predecessors is meaningless, and if it is due to their following Sharia, Sharia also exists for later generations, and with its existence, following it is more deserving than following the predecessors.