In the name of Allāh, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. All praise is due to Allāh, Lord of all the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muḥammad, and upon his family and all his companions. To proceed: Shaykh al-Islām Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (may Allāh have mercy on him) says: [The fifth principle: Allāh, the Exalted, has clarified the allies of Allāh and distinguished them from those who imitate them among the enemies of Allāh, the hypocrites, and the wicked. It suffices in this regard to mention a verse in Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, which is His saying: "Say, 'If you love Allāh, then follow me; Allāh will love you.'" (Āl ʿImrān, 31). And a verse in Sūrah al-Māʾidah, which is His saying: "O you who have believed, whoever among you should revert from his religion, Allāh will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him." (al-Māʾidah, 54). And a verse in Sūrah Yūnus, which is His saying: "Unquestionably, for the allies of Allāh there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. Those who believed and were fearing Allāh." (Yūnus, 62-63). Then the matter became, according to most of those who claim knowledge and that they are guides of creation and preservers of the sharīʿah, that the allies of Allāh must abandon following the messengers, and whoever follows them is not among them. They must abandon jihād, and whoever engages in it is not among them. They must abandon faith and piety, and whoever commits to faith and piety is not among them. O our Lord! We ask You for pardon and well-being, indeed You are the Hearer of supplication.] This is the fifth principle of these six beneficial and great principles. Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (may Allāh have mercy on him) said in this principle: [Allāh, the Exalted, has clarified the allies of Allāh and distinguished them from those who imitate them among the enemies of Allāh, the hypocrites, and the wicked]. This serves as the title for this principle; for the Shaykh (may Allāh have mercy on him) intends to establish in this principle that the Noble Qurʾān has provided a clear explanation without ambiguity or doubt regarding the difference between the allies of Allāh and the allies of Shayṭān. The allies of Allāh, the allies of the Most Merciful, have characteristics that Allāh has distinguished them with in His Book, and He mentioned this so that the state of the allies of Allāh would not be confused with the allies of Shayṭān; because among the allies of Shayṭān are those who deceive people, appearing as allies of the Most Merciful, and as if they are among the righteous, pious, and pure servants of Allāh, while the reality is otherwise. Since the claimants of allegiance are many, Allāh has clarified the distinction between these and others. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allāh have mercy on him) authored a concise treatise titled "The Criterion Between the Allies of the Most Merciful and the Allies of Shayṭān," in which he mentioned what Allāh has described His allies with and how He distinguished them from the allies of Shayṭān, and he mentioned many beneficial things in it.