Ruling on leaving the voluntary sunnah for the sake of da'wah

The second question in the letter from our brother Haitham Salem Haydarah from Aden, Democratic Yemen, states: Some of the young men among us follow the sunnah, such as the sitting of rest in prayer and other actions, but all of this causes conflict from some of the shaykhs in the mosque with the young men. Do you think it is better for us to leave the sunnah and gain these people, or the opposite? Or what do you advise us? May Allah reward you.
Answer: Adhering to the sunnah is a required matter, but the sunnah is of two types: obligatory and voluntary. As for the obligatory, it is necessary, meaning that you pray as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, being at ease in your bowing and prostration and reciting al-Fatihah; this is a necessary matter and an obligation. As for the voluntary acts, such as the sunnah of the sitting of rest, such as placing the hands on the chest, placing the right hand over the left on the chest, and the like of these sunnahs, if a person does them to revive the sunnah, that is required and better. And if he leaves them to reconcile with his congregation who have not known this sunnah and have not been reassured by it due to their ignorance or their following of scholars without knowledge, in order to gain them in performing the obligations and leaving the prohibitions, then that is good; because attaining the obligations takes precedence, and leaving the prohibitions is a matter that takes precedence over the voluntary acts. So the believer who calls to Allah does what is best; he strives to guide people to what Allah has made obligatory upon them and to warn them of what Allah has forbidden, and he strives to reconcile their hearts and encourage them to good. When they are reassured and know that he is sincere with them and are reassured by his teaching and guidance, he can then guide them to the sunnahs that may be hidden from them, such as the sitting of rest, for it is a sunnah according to the most likely view, and some scholars do not consider it a sunnah but rather only for the sick and the incapable. However, the correct view is that it is a sunnah, and it is a sitting after the first rising in prayer, and after the third in the four-rak'ah prayer, and after the first in every prayer, a light sitting, then he rises to the second and to the fourth. If he does it, it is a sunnah, as established in the hadith of Malik ibn al-Huwayrith and Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi. And if he leaves that to reconcile with his congregation and his people, and the like of these sunnahs that are not obligatory, there is no blame on him, as mentioned previously.
In summary: The one who calls to Allah looks at what is best, and strives to gain his people and his congregation and the people of his land in performing the obligations and leaving the prohibitions. If they leave some of the sunnahs, the most important of all is their preservation of the obligations and their care for them and their distance from the prohibitions. As for their leaving some of the sunnahs, that does not harm them. And after they are reassured by the caller and after they know his sincerity and are reassured by him and trust him, they can then accept from him what contradicts their custom. And Allah is the Helper. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.