Requesting clarification of the Salafi methodology and a refutation of the methodology of declaring people disbelievers.

The questioner : And we have learned, O Shaykh, that a long discussion took place between you and one of the brothers a few years ago regarding the issue of declaring people disbelievers. The recordings of this are not clear, so we would like you to clarify this issue, and may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. As for what follows, the truth is that the issue of declaring people disbelievers is not only for rulers, but also for the ruled. It is an ancient trial that was adopted by one of the old Islamic sects, known as the Khawarij. The Khawarij are sects mentioned in the books of sects, and among them is a sect that still exists today under another name, namely the Ibadis. These Ibadis were, until recently, secluded to themselves with no da'wah activity, as it is called today. But a few years ago, they began to become active and spread some letters and some beliefs that are exactly the beliefs of the old Khawarij, except that they conceal themselves and adopt a trait of the Shi'ah, which is taqiyyah (dissimulation). They say, "We are not Khawarij," and you all know that a name does not change the reality of the named thing at all. These people agree with the Khawarij in some of what they agree upon, specifically declaring those who commit major sins as disbelievers. Currently, there are some groups that align with the call to truth in following the Book and the Sunnah, but unfortunately, they fall into deviating from the Book and the Sunnah anew, in the name of the Book and the Sunnah. The reason for this, in my understanding and critique, returns to two things: one is the shallowness of knowledge and the lack of understanding of the religion, and the other, which is very important, is that they have not understood the legal maxims, which are among the foundations of the correct Islamic da'wah. Whoever deviates from these foundations is among those deviant sects that deviated from the community that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) praised in more than one hadith, and which our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned as a clear and distinct proof that whoever deviates from it has opposed Allah and His Messenger. I mean by this His saying (Mighty and Majestic): So Allah (Mighty and Majestic), for a very clear reason known to the people of knowledge, did not limit Himself to saying, "And whoever opposes the Messenger after the guidance has become clear to him, We will turn him to what he has turned to." He did not say it that way; rather, He added to opposing the Messenger, following other than the path of the believers. So He said (Mighty and Majestic): Thus, following the path of the believers and not following the path of the believers is a very important matter, both positively and negatively. Whoever follows the path of the believers is the one who will be saved by the Lord of the Worlds, and whoever contradicts the path of the believers, Hell is sufficient for him, and what an evil destination. From here, many, and very many, sects have gone astray, both in the past and in recent times, because they did not adhere to the path of the believers, but rather relied on their minds, or followed their desires in interpreting the Book and the Sunnah. Then they built upon that serious and very serious consequences, such as deviating from what our righteous predecessors were upon. This portion of the noble verse, The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) emphasized and confirmed this with extreme emphasis in more than one authentic Prophetic hadith. These hadiths that I am referring to now, and I will mention some of them as my memory allows, are not unknown to the general Muslims, let alone the specialists. But what is unknown about them is that they indicate the necessity of adhering to the path of the believers in understanding the Book and the Sunnah. This point is overlooked by many of the specialists, let alone the general public, and let alone those known as the group of declaring people disbelievers. These people may be righteous in the depths of their souls, and they may also be sincere, but this alone is not sufficient for one to be among the saved and successful with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The Muslim must combine two things: sincerity of intention for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and good following of what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was upon. It is not sufficient for the Muslim to be sincere and earnest in what he is doing regarding acting upon the Book and the Sunnah and calling to them; in addition to that, his methodology must be a sound and correct one.