How should he call his friend to the way of al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah?

We ask
Allaah to reward you with good for your keenness and your interest in
guiding your brother in matters of religion. Undoubtedly one of the greatest
blessings of Allaah to His slave is when He makes him active in da’wah,
calling others to Him and enjoining what is good and forbidding what is
evil. 

The daa’iyah
who calls people to Allaah needs knowledge and insight when he calls
people. 

Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

O youth who
seeks to call people to Allaah, ponder the verse in which Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“Say (O
Muhammad): This is my way; I invite unto Allaah (i.e. to the Oneness of
Allaah — Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me
(also must invite others to Allaah, i.e. to the Oneness of Allaah — Islamic
Monotheism with sure knowledge). And Glorified and Exalted be Allaah (above
all that they associate as partners with Him). And I am not of the
Mushrikoon (polytheists, pagans, idolaters and disbelievers in the Oneness
of Allaah; those who worship others along with Allaah or set up rivals or
partners to Allaah)”

[Yoosuf
12:108]

i.e., with
insight into the message to which you are calling, and with insight into the
state of the one who is called, and with insight into the manner of calling,
for there are conditions to which you must pay attention, including the
following: 

1 – The
daa’iyah must have insight into the message to which he is calling people.
He should have knowledge of the Islamic ruling on that to which he is
calling others, because he may think that he is calling them to something
that he thinks is obligatory when in Islam it is not obligatory, so he is
obliging the slaves of Allaah to do something that Allaah does not oblige
them to do. Or he may call them to give up something that he thinks is
haraam, when in the religion of Allaah it is not haraam. So he is forbidding
to the slaves of Allaah something which Allaah has permitted to them.  

2 – He
should have insight into the state of the one whom he is calling. It is
essential to know the situation of the one whom he is calling: what is his
level of knowledge, what is his ability in arguing, so that you can prepare
yourself to debate with him. Because if you enter into a discussion with
such a one, and you lose the argument because of his skill in arguing this
will be a great disaster for the truth and you will be the cause of it. You
should never think that the one who argues in support of falsehood will fail
in his argument in every case. 

3 – He
should have insight into the manner of calling. I encourage my brother
daa’iyahs to use wisdom and deliberation, for they know that Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“He
grants Hikmah [wisdom] to whom He wills, and he, to whom Hikmah is granted,
is indeed granted abundant good. But none remember (will receive admonition)
except men of understanding”

[al-Baqarah 2:269]

End quote. 

Fataawa
al-Haram al-Makki, p. 1063-1066. 

See also
question no. 2023. 

Here we
would like to point out several things: 

1 – Do not
generalize, such as saying that the original idea behind Sufism is
innovation and misguidance, or that all Sufis are misguided. Rather you
should be cautious in your speech, such as saying: Whoever does such and
such or says such and such, whether he is a Sufi or otherwise, has fallen
into bid’ah, etc. 

The scholars
have not ruled that all Sufis are misguided, rather they have divided Sufism
into various categories, and explained what is in accordance with the Sunnah
and what goes against it. 

Shaykh
Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem said:

Sufis fall
into two categories: Sunni Sufis and innovator Sufis. The good ones among
them have only a little bid’ah, but some of them have a great deal of
bid’ah, and some understood Sufism as supporting the belief in wahdat
al-wujood (a form of pantheism).  End quote. 

Majmoo’
Fataawa Ibn ‘Ibraaheem, 1, no. 192. 

But most
Sufis nowadays have fallen into innovation and misguidance. 

This has
already been discussed in the answers to questions no.
4983,
47431 and
20375 

You can
start with him in this manner, then measure the kind of Sufism that your
friend follows against the Qur’aan and Sunnah. If it is true, then praise be
to Allaah, but if it is false he will leave it in sha Allaah.

 Secondly: 

With regard
to his accusation that Salafis are quick to label others as kaafirs, this is
an accusation that we have heard often. Regarding as a kaafir one for whom
there is proof that he is a kaafir is not wrong or shameful, rather it is
wrong not to regard as a kaafir one for whom there is proof that he is a
kaafir. We do not deny that some of those who claim to be Salafis hasten to
label others as kaafirs, but this is not the way of Ahl al-Sunnah
wa’l-Jamaa’ah. Ahl al-Sunnah (those who adhere to the Sunnah) do not label
anyone as a kaafir merely because of a sin that he commits, even if it is a
major sin. Rather it is essential to establish shar’i proof that this action
constitutes kufr, then certain conditions must be met and certain
impediments avoided in order for a person to be judged to be a kaafir. 

Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

The view of
Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah is that they do not regard any of the people of
the qiblah as kaafirs simply because of sins, or because of
misinterpretations, rather if an individual has both good deeds and bad
deeds, then his case is up to Allaah. End quote.

Majmoo’
al-Fataawa, 27/478 

And he (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said:  

No one has
the right to regard any of the Muslims as a kaafir, even if they make
mistakes or do wrong things, until proof is established. If it is proven for
certain that a person is a Muslim, that cannot be altered by doubt alone,
rather it can only be altered after establishing proof and dispelling doubt.
End quote. 

Majmoo’
al-Fataawa, 12/466 

And he
explained that Ahl al-Sunnah do not describe as kaafirs those who differ
from them, even if the one who differs from them may hasten to label Ahl
al-Sunnah as kaafirs. 

He said: 

The imams of
Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah and the people of knowledge and faith have the
qualities of knowledge, justice and mercy. They know the path of truth and
they know that if they follow this path they will be in accordance with the
Sunnah and free from innovation, and they treat justly those who differ from
that, even if they wrong them, as Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“Stand
out firmly for Allaah as just witnesses; and let not the enmity and hatred
of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety”

[al-Maa’idah 5:8]

They are
merciful towards people and they desire good, guidance and knowledge for
them, and they do not wish them ill. Hence the people of knowledge and
Sunnah do not regard as kaafirs those who differ from them, even if the one
who differs from them regards them as kaafirs, because what constitutes kufr
is the matter of shar’i rulings. End quote. 

Al-Radd
‘ala al-Bakri, p. 256-258 

Thirdly: 

If you do
not have enough knowledge to convince him and answer the doubts that he has,
then you can convey the truth to him by means of useful books and tapes, or
by visiting scholars in your own city or elsewhere, to listen to them and
ask them questions. The means of good are still available to all people
these days – praise be to Allaah – so do not scorn such things. Perhaps a
tape that you tell him about may be the means of his being guided. 

Fourthly: 

Do not
despair of calling him and guiding him, even if it takes a long time. How
many people have repented and come back to the truth after years of being
called and reminded. 

And Allaah
knows best.