In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Imam Sufyaan Ath-Thawree [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said, “Whoever lends an ear to a person of Bidah has left the protection of Allah and is entrusted to it (i.e. the bidah)”.

Al-Allaamah Rabee bin Haadi Al-Mad’khali [may Allah preserve him] stated:

Sufyaan Ath-Thawree is one of the Imams of the Sunnah and personalities of guidance. He may have derived this speech from the Messenger’s warning against sitting with evil people who would inevitably cause harm and lead to dangerous consequences. Whoever opposes the Messenger’s warning has exposed himself to evil and is entrusted to himself. It is said to the one who lends an ear to ahlul bidah, “Do not do this because indeed the Messenger forbade and warned you, the pious predecessors forbade and warned you against sitting with ahlul bidah and acquiring (knowledge) from them”.

So, once you say, “By Allah! I read, I listen, take the truth and abandon falsehood” which is similar to the well-known principle at present though which many of the youth – who were following the path of the pious predecessors- have been made into a laughing stock, they came to them with this vile, corrupt, principle, saying, “Read from the books of Ikhwaan (1), the books of Tableegh (2), the books of ahlul bidah, Sufism (3) and the Rawaafid (4), accept the truth and abandon the falsehood. He (i.e. the one who reads) is a Miskeen (poor in his knowledge of these affairs), who neither knows truth nor can distinguish between it and falsehood, so he approaches falsehood, considers it to be truth, and accepts it; approaches truth, considers it to be falsehood and rejects it, and thus he strays. Allah entrusts this person to himself because had he adhered firmly to the Sunnah, and listened to the Messenger’s guidance, the stance of the Messenger’s companions and the pious predecessors, preserves the good he has – meaning the Sunnah, he would have been saved, but he became deceived so Allah entrusts him to himself due to this self-deception and self-importance which some people embark upon, depends on himself and considers himself a leader in knowledge, whilst he is an ignoramus, then he falls into the traps of people of misguidance- quickly deviates and become one of the people of misguidance because Allah forsakes and entrust him to himself.

And due to this, we say: the one who is not safe from falling into the traps of the people of misguidance, it is obligated to him to avoid the books of the people of bidah and (avoid) sitting with them because indeed the Messenger warned against sitting with them and the pious predecessors warned against sitting with them, rather they held a consensus to boycott and ostracise them – not to expose oneself to them and their call, except the one who is well established in knowledge, the one with ability to establish the proof against them whilst being cautious, warning against sitting with them and not to incline towards them. As for the weak – the Miskeen – who is shaken by the light wind and it makes him fall (i.e. the one who cannot repel the doubts of ahlul bidah), it is obligated on him to preserve the good that Allah has bestowed on him because nothing can be equal to safety.

The one who has the ability and experience – able to call to the path of Allah with wisdom and persuade the people of falsehood, he embarks upon calling them (to the truth), whilst not being in agreement with them, not sitting with them and flattering them; but rather he should be a Mujaahid, a caller to the path of Allah, a sincere adviser, enjoining good and forbidding evil. This is the one who embarks upon calling the people of falsehood (to truth) and clarifies the truth to them, so the one who is guided, then alhamdulil laah; but if not, then he has established the proofs which Allah has obligated to the inheritors of the Prophets (i.e. the scholars) to establish. The Prophets were callers to the path of Allah, they invited the unbelievers to (the truth) and called the sinners (to the truth), and you are one of the inheritors of the Prophets, therefore, call these (people to the truth) and establish the proofs against them, but we do not say that this task is for everyone – that every Tom, Dick, and Harry intermingles with ahlul bidah and advise them; rather we say that this is for the people of knowledge, those well established in knowledge, the strong ones. As for those other than them – the ignoramuses and the ones with weak personalities, we warn and tell them to be on guard against the outcomes that descend on the one who is deceived by himself, so he becomes one from ahlul bidah and misguidance. By Allaah we know people from different Arab and Islamic countries who used to be upon good, then they were captured by this trick- meaning, read, read, take the truth and reject falsehood, but he was not seen thereafter except that he was from the villains of ahlul bidah, waging war against Ahlus sunnah, defending the people of falsehood. We ask Allaah for wellbeing. [End of quote] [An Excerpt from “Awnul Baaree Bi-Bayaan Maa Tadammanahu Sharhus Sunnah Lil-Imaam Al-Barbahaaree”. 2/970-972. slightly paraphrased]

May Allah bless our younger brother and friend Abu Abdir Rahmaan Al-Yamaanee for sharing these insightful statements of Al-Allaamah Rabee Bin Haadi Al-Mad’khali Aameen.

[1]: http://www.ikhwanis.com/authors/Abu.Iyaad.cfm
[2] https://abukhadeejah.com/mistakes-tablighi-jamaat/complete-6-0-jamat-tabligh-deviations-booklet/
[3] http://www.ibntaymiyyah.com/articles/dgfil-the-origin-of-the-sufis-is-from-basrah-iraq.cfm
[4] http://www.shia.bs/authors/Abu.Iyaad.cfm