Explaining the severity of persisting in approving religious innovations and that it may lead to disbelief.

The Shaykh : However, you must remember that persisting in approving this religious innovation, as I mentioned earlier, is an innovation; so persisting in that is what I fear most: that the one who persists in it will fall into the category of: . You know that when this verse was revealed and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited it, 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai was present in the gathering. He was one of the few Arabs who could read and write, and consequently he had become a Christian. So when this verse was revealed, its intended meaning was not clear to him, and he said: O Messenger of Allah, how is it that our Lord says about us Christians in the past: We did not take them as lords besides Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? It seems he understood that they believed their rabbis and monks created with Allah, provided sustenance with Allah, and possessed other attributes by which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is unique, apart from the rest of creation. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) clarified to him that the meaning that came to his mind is not what is intended by this verse, even though it is a true meaning; that is, it is not permissible for a Muslim to believe that a person creates and provides sustenance, but the meaning here is more subtle than that. So he said to him: . He said: As for that, it used to happen. So he (peace be upon him) said: .
Therefore, the matter is very serious: approving a religious innovation while knowing that it was not part of the practice of the righteous Salaf, and if it had been good, they would have preceded us to it, is to place oneself in the company of the rabbis and monks who were taken as lords besides Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and those who imitate them. It is for them, or for those like them, that this verse was revealed: .
My point in this is that it is not permissible for a Muslim, as we constantly hear and as we recently heard: "It is no big deal, the disagreement is superficial!" The disagreement is fundamental and very deep; because we look at this religious innovation and others as falling, first, under the general scope of the previous hadith: , and second, we look at the subject of the religious innovation as being connected to legislation that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has not permitted, so He (the Exalted) said: .