Is the one whose independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) leads him to a religious innovation (bid'ah) excused?

Question:
Is the one whose independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) leads him to a religious innovation (bid'ah) excused?

Answer:
No, he is not excused; there is no excuse for religious innovations (bid'ah). This is because it is obligatory for him, if he is skilled in deriving evidence, to return to the evidence in the Book and the Sunnah. And if he is not skilled in deriving evidence and is a layperson, he asks the scholars of knowledge. He asks the scholars of knowledge about this matter: is it a religious innovation (bid'ah) or a recommended practice (sunnah)? He is not one of the people of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad). Independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) has its own people, those who are firmly grounded in knowledge, and they are the ones who engage in independent legal reasoning (ijtihad). As for the beginner in seeking knowledge and the layperson, he is not one of the people of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad). It is obligatory for him to ask.