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Section: Whoever departs from a single fundamental principle among the fundamentals of Ahl al-Sunnah is an innovator (Mubtadi’), even if they agree with the Sunnah in all other fundamentals.
No one deserves the description of “Sunnah,” nor should they be called a “Sunni,” until they agree with all the fundamentals of the people of Sunnah. Whoever departs from the Sunnah in even one fundamental is not a Sunni.
Sufyan bin ‘Uyaynah (d. 198 AH) said:
“The Sunnah consists of ten [traits]; whoever possesses them has perfected the Sunnah, and whoever leaves anything from them has abandoned the Sunnah.”
He then mentioned the fundamentals of the Sunnah.
Ali bin al-Madini (d. 243 AH) said:
“Talking about the Decree (Qadr) and other matters of the Sunnah is disliked. A person cannot be a ‘companion of the Sunnah’—even if his words match the Sunnah—until he leaves argumentation, submits, and believes in the faith (Iman).”
Al-Barbahari (d. 329 AH) said:
“It is not permissible for a man to say that so-and-so is a ‘companion of the Sunnah’ until he knows that he has gathered within himself the characteristics of the Sunnah. It is not said of him that he is a companion of the Sunnah until the Sunnah in its entirety is gathered in him.”
Similarly, an innovator deserves the name [of innovator] by contradicting the Sunnah in a single fundamental, even if he agrees with the rest of the fundamentals.
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Harb al-Kirmani (d. 280 AH) said at the beginning of his creed, which he narrated as a consensus (Ijma’):
“This is the school of the Imams of knowledge, the people of Hadith (Athar), and Ahl al-Sunnah, who are known by it and are followed in it... Whoever contradicts anything from these schools, or slanders them, or criticizes their speaker, is an opposing innovator, departing from the Group (Jama’ah), and has strayed from the path of the Sunnah and the way of Truth.”
He then explained the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah and mentioned what contradicts it, then said:
“Whoever says anything from these [innovated] sayings, or views them as correct, or inclines toward them, or is pleased by them, or loves them, has contradicted the Sunnah, departed from the Group, and entered into innovation.”
Summary:
A “Sunni” is a name that applies only to those who combine all the characteristics of the Sunnah across all fundamentals: Monotheism (Tawhid), Names and Attributes, the Qur’an, Faith (Iman), Decree (Qadr), Following (Ittiba’), the Companions, the Caliphate, and the Signs of the Hour.
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Definitions of Sunnah in specific chapters:
In Tawhid:
To worship Allah alone, to show loyalty for His sake, and to declare disavowal (Bara’ah) from Shirk and its people.
In Names and Attributes:
To affirm what Allah affirmed for Himself and what His Messenger affirmed, without distortion (tahrif), denial (ta’til), questioning the “how” (takyif), or likeness (tamthil).
In the Qur’an:
That the Qur’an is the word of Allah, uncreated; He spoke it with letters and a voice. Whoever says it is created has committed disbelief (Kufr).
In Faith (Iman):
That it is speech, action, intention, and following the Sunnah; it increases and decreases. All these are pillars; none are valid without the others.
In Decree (Qadr):
To believe in the Decree, its good and its evil, its sweetness and bitterness, all from Allah. The actions of servants are created.
In Following (Ittiba’):
To follow the Messenger of Allah and his Companions, not departing from their path, and avoiding personal opinion and analogy (qiyas).
In the Companions:
To mention all the Companions with goodness, to refrain from discussing the disputes between them, and to favor Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman, then Ali.
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In Leadership (Imarah):
To hear and obey the leader in hardship and ease, whether you are willing or unwilling, even if they take your rights, as long as you do not see clear disbelief (Kufr).
In the Signs of the Hour:
To believe in what is established in the Book and the Sunnah without rejecting it via opinion or analogy.
The Conclusion:
Whoever contradicts a single fundamental from these chapters has departed from the Sunnah and deserves to be treated as the “People of Innovation” are treated—with harshness and social boycotting (Hajran).
The author notes that some people in modern times only judge someone as an innovator if “innovation overwhelms them,” but he argues this is false. The original sects of innovation (Khawarij, Rafidah, Qadariyah, Murji’ah, Jahmiyah) were labeled as innovators by the early generations (Salaf) for contradicting just one fundamental. This was a consensus among the Companions and those after them.
“Whoever contemplates the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah regarding the Khawarij will see this rule clarified brilliantly.”
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It is narrated in the Sahihayn (Bukhari and Muslim) from the Hadith of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“There will emerge among this nation a people such that you will look down upon your prayers compared to their prayers.”
And in another narration:
“One of you will look down upon his prayer compared to their prayer, and his fasting compared to their fasting. They will read the Qur'an, but it will not go beyond their throats. They will pass through the religion [as quickly as] an arrow passes through its target.”
And in another narration:
“If I were to reach them, I would surely kill them like the killing of ‘Ad.”
And in another:
“…the killing of Thamud.”
Observation:
Notice how the Prophet ﷺ did not let the excellence of their prayer or their fasting prevent them from being considered “renegades” (those who pass through/out of the religion), or from being associated with innovation and departing from the Sunnah.
(1) Sahih al-Bukhari (6931, 3344, 4351), Sahih Muslim (1064).
“ᴍᴀʏ ᴀʟʟᴀʜ ʀᴇᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴄʜᴏʟᴀʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀʜʟᴜꜱ ꜱᴜɴɴᴀʜ ᴡʜᴏ ᴄʟᴀʀɪꜰɪᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇxᴘᴏꜱᴇᴅ ꜰᴀʟꜱᴇʜᴏᴏᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀʏ ʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴜꜱ ᴀᴍᴏɴɢ ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴ, ᴜɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴛᴀɴᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡ.”