Principles Concerning Declaring Others to be Disbelievers, Innovators or Open Sinners [Faasiqs] | 3 | Is It Allowed to Say Anything Against Someone Who Takes the Opinion of One Shaikh and You Another? Principles Concerning Declaring Others to be Disbelievers, Innovators or Open Sinners [Faasiqs] | 3 | Is It Allowed to Say Anything Against Someone Who Takes the Opinion of One Shaikh and You Another?

Questioner: There are some issues, O Shaikh, which some of the people of knowledge with us have differed in, some of them calling those things an innovation and others saying it is permissible, and some of the youth blindly follow and due to the trust they have in the scholar who says that it is permissible, he takes his [i.e., that scholar’s] opinion in the issue, so is it permissible, O Shaikh, to judge this person, like slandering his manhaj or declaring him to be an innovator due to him doing that, and an example of that is acting. Shaikh Muhammad ibn Uthaimeen laid down some conditions for it and holds it to be permissible and Shaikh ‘Abdullaah ibn Jibreen, some Shaikhs like Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid and Shaikh Rabee ibn Haadi say that it is an innovation, what is your opinion, O Shaikh? Al-Albaani: Subhaanllaah! Allaahu Akbar! Your question started as something and ended as something else in my opinion. So are you asking one question or more than one? Questioner: One question, O Shaikh. Al-Albaani: Then define your question, because I felt that there was more than one. Define your question. Questioner: The question is about the ruling concerning an individual who goes by the saying of a Shaikh who declares something to be allowable, [declares it] to be permissible to do that thing, and an example of that is acting. Al-Albaani: Yes, yes. Questioner: Is it allowed for me, being that I hold acting to be an innovation and this other person holds the view of, for example, one of the major scholars who says it is permissible, is it permissible for me to slander this person’s manhaj by saying that, ‘This is the manhaj of the Ikhwaan al-Muslimoon in this issue,’ or that such a person can be declared to be an innovator because he took the opinion [of another Shaikh] in this issue, bearing in mind that the person is a blind-follower, O Shaikh? Al-Albaani: Is it permissible for a scholar to say anything against someone who opposes his opinion? Questioner: No. Al-Albaani: Then this situation is even less permissible.  Is the answer clear? Questioner: Yes. Al-Albaani: Okay. Questioner: May Allaah reward you with good. Al-Albaani: And you.