Follow The Evidences

The scholars say:

استدل ثم اعتقد، ولا تعتقد ثم تستدل
‘𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀,
𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝘁.
𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 ,
𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀.’

And this is very common among the misguided sects, who make up an innovation and then try to proof it by bending the neck of the Qur’an and Sunnah towards it.

1- Ibn al-Jawzi said:
وابتكروا طريقة زينها لهم الهوى ثم تطلبوا لها الدليل
وإنما ينبغي للإنسان أن يتبع الدليل لا أن يتبع طريقا ويتطلب دليلها
‘They first invented a Tariqah (methodology) which was beautified to them by their desires, and then they sought evidences for it. What is required of a person is to follow where the evidences take him, and not to follow [invent] a path and then seek evidences for it.’
[“Sayid al-Khatir”, 1/27].

2- Imam al-Shaatibi said:
أنك لا تجد مبتدعاً ممن ينسب إلى الملة إلا وهو يستشهد على بدعته بدليل شرعيّ
لأنّ المبتدع جعل الهوى أول مطالبه، وأخذ الأدلة بالتبع
‘You will not find a single innovator, who ascribed himself to this nation, except that he uses Shar’ii evidences to support his innovations. This is because the innovator first follows his desires and then seeks to justify his [misguidance] with religious evidences.’
[‘Al-‘Itisaam’, 1/134].

3- Ibn Taymiyah said:
هؤلاء اعتقدوا رأيا ثم حملوا ألفاظ القرآن عليه
‘They first constructed a certain belief, and then twisted the words of the Qur’an to justify it.’
[‘Majmu al-Fatawa’, 13/355].