The Salaf's Position on the People of Innovation

Question:
May Allah reward you with good. To proceed: We ask our honorable Shaykh to clarify the position of the Salaf regarding the people of innovation.

Answer:
The Salaf do not label everyone as an innovator, nor do they exaggerate in applying the term "bid'ah" (religious innovation) to everyone who commits some transgression. Rather, they describe as an innovator the one who performs an act for which there is no evidence, drawing near to Allah through a form of worship that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not legislate. This is based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever does an act for which there is no command from us, it is rejected," and in another narration: "Whoever introduces into our matter something that does not belong to it, it is rejected." So bid'ah is introducing something into the religion, introducing something new into the religion for which there is no evidence from the Book of Allah or from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This is bid'ah. And if it is established that a person has introduced an innovation into the religion, and he is advised in that matter and he refuses to repent, then the methodology of the Salaf is that they boycott him and distance themselves from him, and they did not sit with him. This is their methodology. But as I mentioned, after it is established that he is an innovator, and after he is advised, and he does not turn back from his innovation, then at that point he is boycotted, so that his harm does not spread to those who sit with him and to those who associate with him, and so that people are warned against the people of innovation and against innovations. As for exaggerating in the description of bid'ah, where everyone who disagrees with someone is called an innovator—if two people differ, each one calls the other an innovator, and he has not introduced anything into the religion except that he disagrees with a person or disagrees with a group of groups? It is possible to follow, but rather one says this person is a deviator or a wrongdoer, he has an error or a deviation from what is best or a deviation from what is preferable, or he is one who commits a haram (forbidden) act or a sin. If he is committing a sin, he is called a sinner. Not every sinner is an innovator, and not every wrongdoer is an innovator. The innovator is the one who introduces into the religion what is not from it; that is the innovator. Exaggerating in the name of bid'ah, where everyone who disagrees with a person is called an innovator, and it may be that the majority is with the one who disagrees—this is not the path of the Salaf.