Benefiting From Scholars Affiliated With the Ashʿarīs, And How to Respond

Question: If we are told that we should not take knowledge from Ahl al-Bid‘ah nor listen to them, then what about scholars such as al-Suyūṭī, al-Juwaynī, and others who were known to be Ash‘arī? What should I reply to someone who raises this argument to me?

Summary:

The Salafi methodology is balanced. It does not equate the Sunni scholar in general with the innovator who calls to innovation, nor does it discard the knowledge of the imams due to errors. Rather, the truth is taken wherever it is found, error is rejected regardless of who said it, with preservation of the status of the scholars and adherence to the methodology of the righteous Salaf.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, all praise is due to Allah, and may Peace and Blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

First, the foundation of warning against the people of innovation

Allah the Exalted said:

From the Qur'an:

  • al Anʿām, 153
    " Indeed, that is My Path perfectly straight. So follow it and do not follow other ways..."

And the Prophet ﷺ informed that this Ummah will split, with the command to adhere to what he and his Companions were upon.

From the Sunnah:

  • Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 4597, Jāmiʿ al Tirmidhī: 2641, Sunan Ibn Mājah: 3991Narrated by Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (may Allah be pleased with him):
    "Beware! The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood among us and said: Beware! The people of the Book before were split up into seventy two sects, and this community will be split into seventy three: seventy two of them will go to Hell and one of them will go to Paradise, and it is the majority group."

    For this reason, the Salaf warned against sitting with the people of innovation due to the danger of confusion and corruption of hearts.

Second, distinguishing between the caller to innovation and the one who is not This distinction is transmitted from the Salaf and is a recognized principle. Imām Aḥmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding the people of desires, If the person of innovation calls to it, one does not sit with him, as for one who does not call to it, he is warned against and not boycotted absolutely.

From the Salaf:

  • ʿAbdullāh ibn al Mubārak, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
    The people of innovation are known by their mentioning Ahl al Sunnah with evil.

Thus, the scholar who has an innovation but did not make it a foundation nor call to it, and who has standing in knowledge and Sunnah, his knowledge is benefited from in what he was correct in, and his error is avoided. Third, applying this to those affiliated with the Ashʿarīs Many major scholars attributed to the Ashʿarīs, such as al Suyūṭī, and al Juwaynī in some of his stages, were not callers to innovation in every respect. Rather, they were imams in great sciences, such as hadith, fiqh, language, and tafsīr. Therefore, what agrees with the truth and evidence is taken. What contradicts the methodology of the Salaf in the chapter of the attributes and similar matters is left. Benefiting from their knowledge is not an endorsement of their mistakes, nor a rejection of the Salafi methodology. Fourth, statements of contemporary scholars

From the Scholars:

  • Shaykh ʿAbd al ʿAzīz ibn Bāz, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
    A scholar may have an error or an innovation, but his knowledge is not rejected entirely, rather what he was correct in is taken and what he erred in is left.
  • Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al ʿUthaymīn, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
    It is not justice to discard all of a man’s knowledge due to an error in one issue, rather what agrees with the Qurʾān and the Sunnah is accepted and what contradicts them is rejected.
  • Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al Fawzān, may Allah preserve him, said,
    Benefiting from the books of the people of innovation is not for the general people, as for the student of knowledge who distinguishes truth from falsehood, he benefits with caution and refutation of error.
  • Shaykh Rabīʿ ibn Hādī al Madkhalī, may Allah preserve him, said,
    Those scholars who fell into innovations and were not callers to them, their status is preserved and their error is clarified, without using that as a pretext to abandon the methodology of the Salaf.

Fifth, how to respond to the objection It is said, preventing taking from the people of innovation is not absolute. It depends on the condition of the one taking and the one taken from. The prevention applies to taking from callers to innovation and to the general people who do not distinguish truth from falsehood. As for benefiting from the books of those who have errors with clarification and warning, this is the path of the Salaf and is not a contradiction.

And Allah knows best.

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