The Ruling on Praying Behind a Sufi

Question:
May Allah reward you. Your Eminence, father, the questioner says: A Sufi denies the exaltation of Allah the Exalted above His creation, and he believes in traveling from one town to another to visit graves, and he holds celebrations and the religious innovations (bid'ah) in dhikr (remembrance of Allah). He hears the call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), but he is fanatical about Sufism and does not accept advice, and he is influenced by the Sufi shaykhs. Is it permissible to pray behind him or not? And how do you advise us to deal with him?

Answer:
This Sufism is either that of an innovator, or it leads to disbelief. Sufism varies; it is not all the same. It is characterized by bid'ah (religious innovation), and it may develop into disbelief in Allah the Mighty and Majestic, atheism, or the claim of the unity of existence or pantheism. So Sufism differs. If it is of the type that leads to disbelief, it is not permissible to pray behind him, by consensus and ijma' (scholarly consensus). But if it is of the type that does not reach the level of disbelief, but is merely bid'ah, this is a matter of scholarly disagreement (khilaf) among the scholars. However, an innovator is not appointed as an imam in the mosque, whether he is a Sufi or not. The best of people in 'aqidah (creed) and fiqh (jurisprudence), and the one whose religion is most sound, is chosen for the imamah (leading the prayer), because he is a role model. Yes.