The Sufis, and whether there are any among them who are right and any who are wrong

Question:
He asks: Are the Sufis considered among the people of the Sunnah? And is it correct to distinguish between Sufis who are right and Sufis who are wrong?

Answer:
We do not know of any Sufis who are right in this time. That was the case in the beginning, at the start. But now, the Sufis are not Sufis unless they follow the pattern of the worshippers of graves, the awliya (close friends of Allah), and the righteous, and those who make the shaykhs of the tariqahs their legislators.
The Sufis of today differ from the Sufis of the past. So one should not be lenient regarding them or make light of their affair. Nor should it be said that there are good people among them. We do not know any one of them who is good. A good person does not become a Sufi. A good person becomes a Sunni, he does not become a Sufi. Especially Sufism in this age. It is no longer like Sufism in its beginning, which was a term for intense worship and asceticism.
No, it has developed into something blameworthy, and I seek refuge in Allah, and it has even reached the level of disbelief. So it is not permissible for us to praise the Sufis or say that there are good people among them or the like of that, because this is promoting them.