Allah has not commissioned you with labeling people as innovators and forcing others to do this!

Question:

“The questioner says: A huge problem for us or for many of the youth nowadays is the issue of declaring certain individuals to be innovators (tabdee’), wherein the people and the youth have split into two groups. One group accepts the tabdee’ of a scholar when it is issued and imposes it on others because this falls under accepting the narration of the trustworthy one. And the other group says that the issue of tabdee’ is from the matters of ijtihaad (juristic effort to infer expert legal rulings).

So based upon this, whosoever is capable should look into this and then take that which his ijtihaad shows him. This matter has become really difficult upon us -may Allah protect you- so what is your advice to us?”

Answer:

“Allah has not commissioned you with making tabdee’ on people and to pass on judgement on them to be innovators. Allah has not commissioned you with this. Seek knowledge for now. And once you have gained knowledge you will know what innovation and who the innovator is. As for unleashing your tongues on everyone who disagrees with you, or who has done something which you criticize him for and call him an innovator, then the sin of this will return to yourselves. The sin of this will return to yourselves! It is a duty upon a person to withhold his tongue from these matters and seek knowledge. He should preoccupy himself with seeking knowledge.

Allah has not commissioned him to scrutinize the people and to say: This one is an innovator, that one is a faasiq (sinner), this one has this and that one has this. Yes. It might be that he himself has worse mistakes than the criticized! It is upon us to fear Allah within ourselves.”

Translated by Salafi-Dawah.com.