The Layman's Position on Scholarly Disagreement Regarding Declaring a Man an Innovator, and the Principle of Criticizing and Vindicating Narrators
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Question:
This questioner says: If the scholars, or some of the scholars, disagree on declaring one man an innovator, with one saying he is an innovator and the other saying he is from the people of the Sunnah, what should the layman do? And is it correct for him to apply the principle of criticizing and vindicating narrators?
Answer:
O brothers, criticizing and vindicating narrators is for the hadith scholars; it is not for you to speak about people, saying so-and-so is good and so-and-so is not good. That is talebearing and backbiting, not criticizing and vindicating narrators. Criticizing and vindicating narrators is in the science of hadith, the science of chains of narration and narrators, and it is for the hadith scholars, not for the general public. As for declaring someone an innovator, its criterion is one who acts upon an innovation or introduces an innovation. One who introduces it or acts upon it, even if he did not introduce it, is an innovator.Sahih Muslim 1718a, and in a narration: one who does a deed for which there is no authority from us, even if he did not introduce it, Sahih Muslim 1718b.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
This questioner says: If the scholars, or some of the scholars, disagree on declaring one man an innovator, with one saying he is an innovator and the other saying he is from the people of the Sunnah, what should the layman do? And is it correct for him to apply the principle of criticizing and vindicating narrators?
Answer:
O brothers, criticizing and vindicating narrators is for the hadith scholars; it is not for you to speak about people, saying so-and-so is good and so-and-so is not good. That is talebearing and backbiting, not criticizing and vindicating narrators. Criticizing and vindicating narrators is in the science of hadith, the science of chains of narration and narrators, and it is for the hadith scholars, not for the general public. As for declaring someone an innovator, its criterion is one who acts upon an innovation or introduces an innovation. One who introduces it or acts upon it, even if he did not introduce it, is an innovator.
'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث بأمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردHe who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملا ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردThe presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Source
تفسير الشيخ محمد بن عبدالوهاب، تفسير آيات من القرآن الكريم 12-07-1435هـ — alfawzan.live (1:05:20)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.