The Comparison Between the Open Sinners of the People of the Sunnah and the Scholars of the Innovators

Question:
The questioner says: One of the writers wrote an article about the Sunnah and religious innovation (bid'ah), and he said that it is injustice to make the scholars of the innovators, such as the Asha'irah and others, greater and more severe than the open sinners of the People of the Sunnah. What is your opinion of this statement?

Answer:
We say that sin is lighter than religious innovation (bid'ah). The one who commits a sin knows that he is wrong, and it is hoped that he will repent and feel ashamed. As for the innovator, it is far from him that he will repent because he sees that he is on the right path. For this reason, the Salaf (the earliest generations) said that religious innovation (bid'ah) is more beloved to Satan than sin, because the innovator sees that he is on the right path and calls people to his innovation, whereas the sinner knows that he is not on the right path and that he is wrong, and it is hoped that he will repent or that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, will forgive him. So there is no comparison between religious innovation (bid'ah) and sin. Therefore, this statement that this man made is a false statement because it diminishes the seriousness of religious innovation (bid'ah). Yes.