May Allāh be benevolent to you, esteemed Shaykh. This questioner says; some people use as evidence for the permissibility of taking knowledge from the people of innovations, what occured from the scholars [of ḥadīth] of accepting narrations of ḥadīth from them. Is this a correct inference?
Shaykh ‘Arafāt bn Ḥassan al-Muḥammadī:
The people of innovations, knowledge is not taken from them. This is the basis.
However, in some cases and in a very constricted situation, it might be permissible to take knowledge – with conditions – from some people of innovations.
And the scholars have mentioned this in their books with the condition that:
He should not be a caller to his innovation. And he should be from the people of truthfulness and does not lie.
And that you only learn from him some of the knowledge related to the auxillary sciences like an-Naḥw (grammar), and al-Uṣūl (principles of Islāmic jurisprudence), and al-Farā’iḍ (laws of inheritance) and something of that nature.
Otherwise, the basis with the people of sunnah is boycotting the people of innovations and warning against their methodology.
And it is enough in disparagement of innovation that Allāh conceals repentance from every person of innovation until he leaves his innovation.
And this speech is only about al-Bid‘ah al-Mufassiqah (the innovation that does not remove one from the folds of Islām) and it is not about al-Bid‘ah al-Kufriyyah (the innovation nullifies ones Islām) and some of the people of knowledge have reported a scholarly consensus – like Ibn Hibbān, may Allāh have mercy on him – that the caller who calls to his innovation, his narrations are not accepted. And narrations and knowledge are not taken from him.
So, they (the Salaf) used to differentiate between the one who calls to his innovation and the one who does not.
And if we look into the doctrine of Ahl at-Taḥqīq (the verifiers) like Imām al-Bukhārī and Imām Muslim and many of the muḥaqqiqīn (verifiers) from the scholars, they used to hold that; if the narrator is truthful and does not lie, meaning one who is still a Muslim and does not call to his bid’ah, then there is no problem in narrating from him – if they need to narrate from him, then, there’s no problem (in that).
However, the question has to do with learning from the people of innovations and there is no doubt that there is a difference, because today, and all praises are for Allāh, the lessons of the people of the Sunnah are everywhere and in all subjects like ’Aqīdah(the creed), Fiqh (jurisprudence), Tafsīr(exegesis), Fiqh as-Sunnah (understanding of the prophetic traditions) and auxillary sciences like; Nahw, Uṣūl and Muṣṭalaḥ(ḥadīth terminologies).
The lessons of the Imāms are present and the students of knowledge are widespread in every place.
Lessons of Ibn Baz and al-Jāmī and al-Albānī and al-’Uthaymīn and an-Najmī and Shaykh Zayd and likewise, al-Ghudayyān and al-Fawzān and al-Luḥaydān and (Rabī‘) Al-Madkhalī and al-Jābirī and al-‘Abbād and so on.
It does not decrease us in anything and we don’t need the people of innovations and misguidance.
And the students of knowledge are also present – and to Allāh is all praises – and their recordings are also widespread and their lessons are being broadcast.
So why will the people of Sunnah resort to the people of innovations? There is no need for the people of innovations. Na’am!
