Is it a condition for the renewer that he be from the people of the Sunnah?

The questioner : The hadith is authentic that ; so is it a condition for the renewers that they be from the people of the Sunnah, or is that not a condition?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that it is a fundamental condition. In fact, in my view, this question is like if a questioner asked, and I hope that such a question does not come from that person,The questioner : as if he said: Is it a condition that he be a Muslim? This question does not arise naturally. Is it a condition for the renewer that he be a Muslim? I think this is what comes to mind for any person. As for whether it is a condition that he be from the people of the Sunnah? This question may have occurred to some people, and therefore this question is being raised now. The answer is that it is necessary for him to be from the people of the Sunnah. I do not mean that he must be from the people of the Sunnah in the sense of being among the scholars, but rather that he must be upon the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and not deviate from the path that came to us from our righteous predecessors (may Allah be pleased with them). This is necessary. However, regarding the renewer, and although this does not pertain to the question, I believe there is a great benefit in this: the renewer is not required to be a renewer only in religion, but in everything that benefits the Muslims. For example, he may be a renewer in history, or he may be a renewer in medicine, but within the aforementioned scope that he be from the people of the Sunnah and the community. Accordingly, we can finally envision that there may be more than one renewer in the same era, if we note this broad meaning. It is possible to envision the gathering of many renewers, each in his specialty, in one era. Yes.