[78] And among what was narrated by Abu 'Ali al-Sawwaq al-Basri, pointing to the Messenger of God, majestic is his glory, who stated: "None shall carry this knowledge except those who oppose the deviates—upright individuals who purge the distortion of the falsifiers, the mistranscriptions of the doubting forgetful ones, the misinterpretation of the ignorant, and the interpolations of the heretics. Through them, God preserves His religion, and from them stems [the guidance of whosoever] 1 believes in Him and turns longingly toward Him."
[79] And al-Mufaddal, peace be upon him, stated: "Religion is a rope stretched between the servant [and his Lord] 2 ; whosoever holds fast to it from its proper direction is guided by it, but whosoever seeks it from any other direction goes astray. Look, therefore, toward [the one] 3 among them who fulfills the obligatory duties of God in secret and in public, concealing what we have veiled, and proclaiming what we have made manifest—take from him the landmarks of your religion and find refuge with him."