Question: Our Shaykh, may Allaah preserve you, there is a question that passes around the students of kowledge and that is: Concerning the one who fell into innovation or innovations, is it a condition that the proof is established against him so that he is declared an innovator or is that not a condition?
Benefit us, may Allaah reward you.
Shaykh Rabee`: All praise is due to Allaah and may Salaat and Salaam be upon Allaah's Messenger, upon his family, his companions and whoever followed his guidance, to proceed:
Then its known regarding [the viewpoint of] Ahl us-Sunnah that the one who falls into a nullifier [of Islaam (mukaffir)] is not to be declared an unbeliever until the proof is established upon him.
As for the one who falls into innovation then [he is] of [various] types:
The first: The people of innovation such as the Rawaafid, the Khawaarij, the Jahmiyyah, the Qadariyyah, the Mu`tazilah, the Soofiyyah, the Qubooriyyah, the Murji'ah and whoever is put alongside them [from the contemporaries] such as the Ikhwaan and Tableegh and their likes.
So regarding them, the Salaf did not specify establishment of the proof [upon them] as a condition for judging them with innovation. Hence, it is said about the Raafidee, "Innovator" and about the Khaarijee it is said, "Innovator" and so on, regardless of whether the proof has been established upon them or not.
The second: The one who is from Ahl us-Sunnah and fell into a manifest innovation such as the saying of the creation of the Qur'aan, or [the innovation of] al-Qadr, or the view of the Khawaarij and other than that, so this one is declared Innovator and the action of the Salaf [towards the Innovators] is applied to him.
The third: Whoever is from Ahl us-Sunnah and is known with adhereing to the truth, and he falls into a subtle, hidden innovation (bid`ah khafiyyah). Even if such a one has passed away then it is not permissible to declare him an Innovator, rather he is mentioned with goodness, and if he is alive, then is advised and the truth is made clear to him, and haste is not to be shown in declaring him Innovator.
If he persists [upon what he fell into] then he is declared an Innovator.
Written by Rabee` bin Haadee `Umayr al-Madkhalee
on 24th Ramadaan 1424H
For full text (translation available soon on www.spubs.com):
Arabic source: http://www.sahab.net/sahab/showthread.php?threadid=298922
via westlondondawah archive #741
