Between Two Flocks: The One Who Claims Sunnah While Sitting With Innovators

Introduction: The Sunnah Is Clarity, Light, and Truth

The Sunnah is clarity, light, knowledge, iman, ikhlas, justice, mercy, and submission to the guidance of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, as understood and implemented by the Sahabah and those who followed them precisely upon their path. This is the Salafi manhaj: to follow the revelation with the understanding of the Salaf, to take knowledge from its proper people, to distinguish truth from falsehood, and to protect the heart from doubts, desires, and innovations.

It is not a path of oppression, transgression, suspicion without proof, speech without knowledge, personal rivalry, or blind partisanship. Rather, it is the manhaj of truth: taking knowledge from its proper people, weighing affairs with evidence, protecting the heart from desires and doubts, and remaining firm upon the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the way of the Salaf al-Salih.

For this reason, warning against innovation is not oppression; it is protection of the religion. Avoiding the people of desires and doubts is not arrogance; it is safeguarding the heart and one’s religion. Refusing to sit in gatherings of misguidance is not bad manners; rather, it is obedience to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, the path of safety. And remaining firm upon the Sunnah and the Salafi manhaj is not extremism; it is clarity after Allah has clarified the truth.

The Salaf were not people of chaos or uncontrolled harshness. They were the most knowledgeable of the people regarding Islam, worship, justice, mercy, and the preservation of the religion. Yet they were firm in protecting the heart from innovation because they understood its danger and knew how quickly desires and doubts can enter and unsettle the heart.

The people of innovation are not merely people who “differ.” They are people whose path introduces doubts, misinterpretations, desires, and opposition to the clear manhaj of the Salaf. They may make firmness appear harsh, clarification appear divisive, and protection of the Sunnah appear excessive. So the Muslim must weigh this affair with the scale of revelation and the understanding of the Salaf — not with emotions, personal feelings, social pressure, or the speech of those who lack knowledge and understanding.

The Prophetic Example: A Sheep Between Two Flocks

ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:

مَثَلُ الْمُنَافِقِ كَمَثَلِ الشَّاةِ الْعَائِرَةِ بَيْنَ الْغَنَمَيْنِ، تَعِيرُ إِلَى هَذِهِ مَرَّةً، وَإِلَى هَذِهِ مَرَّةً

“The similitude of a hypocrite is that of a sheep which roams aimlessly between two flocks, going to this one at one time and to that one at another time.”[1]

This hadith gives a striking image of instability and divided direction: a sheep moving between two flocks, not settled with either one, not firm upon a single path, and not knowing where it truly belongs.

Likewise, the one who claims attachment to the Sunnah while giving his companionship, hearing, sympathy, heart, or defence to the people of innovation and desires has placed himself in a dangerous state. He is not firmly settled upon clarity, nor has he separated himself from the paths of confusion. He wants to be counted among the people of Sunnah, yet he remains connected to those who weaken, oppose, or cast doubts upon its clear manhaj.

This meaning has been applied by the scholars to the one who claims to be upon the Sunnah while sitting with the people of innovation: his outward claim is toward the people of Sunnah, but his sitting and attachment pull him toward the people of desires. So he stands between two paths — one path of clarity, evidence, and safety, and another path of doubts, misguidance, and confusion. This is why the Salaf warned so severely against sitting with them, listening to them, and allowing them access to the heart.

His condition resembles what the Prophet ﷺ described: a single sheep wandering between two flocks. He is confused, hesitant, and unsettled — neither firm with the people of clarity nor separated from the people of confusion. He remains in this dangerous state, moving between two paths, until his religion is weakened and his direction is lost — and we ask Allah for protection, safety, and firmness upon the Sunnah.

The open person of innovation is often easier to recognize: his opposition is visible, his path is known, and his speech is usually marked by the foundations of his innovation. But the one who claims Sunnah while sitting with innovators is more confusing for the people. He may mention the Sunnah, speak well of some scholars, and use the language of Salafiyyah, while at the same time weakening the warning against Ahlul-Bid’ah. When Ahlus-Sunnah clarify, he calls it harshness. When the Salafi manhaj is defended, he says people are going too far. When the people of innovation are exposed, he becomes protective over them. This is why his danger is great: he becomes a bridge between Ahlus-Sunnah and the people of innovation — not by guiding the innovators back to the truth, but by pulling the people of Sunnah into hesitation, misguidance and doubt.

The Mukhadhdhil: One Who Weakens the Ranks

The word mukhadhdhil refers to one who weakens, discourages, or undermines the ranks of the people of truth. In this context, it refers to someone who appears to be with Ahlus-Sunnah, yet when the Sunnah needs to be defended, he weakens that defence; and when the people of innovation are criticized with proof, he rushes to protect them, excuse them, or accuse those who warn against them of harshness and extremism.

The mukhadhdhil does not always openly say, “I am with the people of innovation.” Rather, his danger is more subtle. He weakens the stance of Ahlus-Sunnah from within. He may use the language of balance, mercy, wisdom, and fairness, but the outcome of his speech is that the warning against innovation becomes weakened, the people become hesitant, and the clear distinction between Sunnah and bid’ah becomes blurred. This is why his harm is not only personal. The one who sits with innovators may become confused himself, but the mukhadhdhil spreads that confusion to others. He becomes a cause for people to doubt the manhaj after it was clear to them, and to view firmness upon the Sunnah as harshness after it was once known to them as guidance and protection.

The Salaf Warned Against Sitting, Listening, and Mixing

Al-Hasan al-Basri رحمه الله said: “Do not sit with the people of innovated beliefs, do not debate with them and do not listen to them.”

Abu Qilabah رحمه الله said:  “Do not sit with them and do not mix with them for I do not feel safe that they will not drown you in their misguidance and confuse you about much that you used to know.”

Abu Qilabah رحمه الله also said: “Do not let the people of innovation gain access to your hearing.”

The Salaf did not direct people to sit with the people of innovation while merely “being careful.” They did not teach that a person should listen to both sides and then decide for himself, nor did they give people false confidence by saying, “As long as you know the truth, you are safe.” Rather, they warned against the very means that lead to confusion: sitting with them, debating them, listening to them, mixing with them, and allowing them access to one’s hearing and heart.

Abu Qilabah’s statement is especially important: “confuse you about much that you used to know.” This statement is especially important. The danger is not only that a Muslim may be introduced to something new and false; rather, he may become unsettled regarding guidance and truth that were already clear to him.

For example, he may have known the clarity of the Sunnah, the obligation of following the Sahabah, the dangers of bid’ah, and the importance of taking knowledge from its proper people. Then, through repeated exposure to doubtful speech, mixed gatherings, emotional arguments, and false claims of balance, he begins to hesitate in matters that were once firm in his heart. This is why the Salaf warned from the beginning of the path, before any desire or doubt enters and before clarity becomes weakened.

The Heart Becomes Divided

This is how the heart becomes divided. One part of him still recognizes the Sunnah, while another part has become attached to those who oppose it. One part of him loves the scholars of Sunnah, while another part becomes uncomfortable when those scholars warn against innovation. One part of him admits that bid’ah is dangerous, while another part searches for excuses for the people of innovation and desires. One part of him claims clarity, while another part cannot leave doubtful companionship.

This divided condition is not firmness; it is hesitation, doubt, and a disease that enters the heart when it is repeatedly exposed to the people of desires and confusion.

Allah said regarding the hypocrites:

فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ

“In their hearts is a disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they used to lie.”[2]

And Allah said:

لِيَجْعَلَ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ وَالْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ

“That He may make what shaytan throws in as a trial for those within whose hearts is disease and those hard of heart…”[3]

So when a person gives his hearing, companionship, sympathy, and heart to the people of innovation and doubts, the heart is tested. If he does not correct himself, return to clarity, and separate from the causes of confusion, doubt begins to settle, disease increases, and what was once clear becomes uncertain. This is the result of standing between two paths: the heart is no longer fully at rest with the people of Sunnah, nor has it freed itself from the people of desires. It becomes pulled between clarity and confusion, evidence and doubt, firmness and hesitation — until Allah protects whom He wills by returning him to the path of safety.

From Sitting to Weakening the People of Sunnah

One of the most dangerous outcomes of sitting with the people of innovation is that a person may continue to claim the Sunnah with his tongue, while his reactions begin to change in a way that exposes the disease.

He no longer becomes disturbed when the Sunnah is opposed, but he becomes uneasy when innovators are warned against. He becomes gentle with the people of doubts, yet harsh toward those who protect the Sunnah. He demands excuses for the people of innovation, but shows little patience toward the scholars and students who clarify their errors. He says he wants balance, but his “balance” always softens the warning against falsehood, weakens the establishment of truth, and discourages firmness among Ahlus-Sunnah.

This is the practical meaning of being between two flocks: the person is not clear in allegiance, companionship, knowledge, defence, or separation. His heart has not remained firmly with the people of clarity, nor has it fully separated from the people of confusion. So instead of strengthening the ranks of Ahlus-Sunnah, he becomes a cause of hesitation, doubt, and weakness among them — and this is from the most harmful results of sitting with the people of innovation and desires.

The Sign of Hypocrisy in Sitting With Innovators

Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad رحمه الله said:

إن لله ملائكة يطلبون حلق الذكر، فانظر مع من يكن مجلسك، لا يكن مع صاحب بدعة، فإن الله لا ينظر إليهم. وعلامة النفاق أن يقوم الرجل ويقعد مع صاحب بدعة.

“Indeed, Allah has angels who seek out the gatherings of dhikr, so look at whose gathering you sit in. Let it not be with a person of innovation, for Allah does not look at them. And from the signs of hypocrisy is that a man gets up and sits with a person of innovation.”[4]

Companionship exposes the reality of a person’s attachment. The one who knowingly leaves or avoids gatherings of remembrance and Sunnah, then chooses the gatherings of innovation, has shown a dangerous contradiction between claim and action. This does not mean common people may declare a specific individual a hypocrite without knowledge, proof, conditions, and impediments. Rather, it is a severe warning that sitting with innovators is a sign of danger, weakness, and inward contradiction.

He also رحمه الله said:

ولا يكن صاحب سنة يمالئ صاحب بدعة إلا نفاقا.

“A person of Sunnah does not support/accommodate a person of innovation except due to hypocrisy.”[5]

When a person who claims Sunnah assists an innovator, defends him, strengthens him, or helps his influence, this shows a serious problem in loyalty and religious attachment. A true person of Sunnah does not aid what opposes the Sunnah. If he does, then there is a dangerous contradiction between his claim and his action.

And he رحمه الله said:

أدركت خيار الناس كلهم أصحاب سنة، وينهون عن أصحاب البدع.

“I reached the best of the people - all of them were people of the Sunnah and they warned against the people of innovation.”[6]

The word يمالئ  carries the meaning of assisting, supporting, siding with, strengthening, or accommodating someone against the people of truth. The warning is about religious support: defending the innovator, strengthening his position, excusing his falsehood, or weakening the people of Sunnah on his behalf.

This shows that warning against innovation was not a later harshness, an isolated matter or an innovated one! It was the way of the best people whom al-Fudayl ibn Iyad رحمه الله reached. Being upon the Sunnah includes protecting it, clarifying it, and warning from what opposes it. Love of the Sunnah and warning against innovation were joined together in the path of the salaf al-salih.

If Sitting Is Dangerous, What About Defending?

If all of this warning applies to the one who merely sits with the people of innovation and desires, then what is to be said about the one who defends them, argues on their behalf, and weakens the people who clarify their errors?

This is a far more serious stage. Sitting may begin as exposure, familiarity, or misplaced sympathy; but defending them shows that the effect has moved from mere exposure to open support. The person has now placed his tongue in service of those who spread innovation and desires. He is no longer simply endangering his own heart; he is helping to protect their influence and weaken the warning against them.

Allah said:

وَلَا تُجَادِلْ عَنِ الَّذِينَ يَخْتَانُونَ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ خَوَّانًا أَثِيمًا

“And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah loves not one who is a habitually sinful deceiver.”[7]

No one argues in defence of them except one who is counted with them.

So the matter has levels. Sitting is dangerous because it exposes the heart. Listening is dangerous because it allows doubts to enter. Sympathy is dangerous because it softens the heart toward falsehood. But defending the people of innovation is even more severe, because it turns the person into an aid for them. He begins to argue for them, excuse them, shield them from rightful criticism, and make the people of Sunnah appear harsh for warning against them.

This is why the warning must begin at the first step. If sitting is allowed to continue, it may become familiarity; familiarity may become sympathy; sympathy may become defence; and defence may become opposition to those who protect the Sunnah.

The Qur’anic Principle: Do Not Sit With Falsehood

Allah said:

وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ يُكْفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا فَلَا تَقْعُدُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ ۚ إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِّثْلُهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَامِعُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ فِي جَهَنَّمَ جَمِيعًا

“And it has already been revealed to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah being denied and ridiculed, then do not sit with them until they enter into another conversation. Indeed, you would then be like them. Indeed Allah will gather the hypocrites and disbelievers in Hell all together.”[8]

This ayah establishes a foundational principle: sitting in gatherings of falsehood is not neutral. When a person remains in a gathering where the Ayat of Allah are rejected, mocked, distorted, or opposed, then his sitting carries religious weight. It is not merely “being present.” It reflects either approval, softness, weakness, or a dangerous tolerance toward falsehood. For this reason, Allah did not command the believer to remain there and test his strength; rather, He commanded him not to sit with them until they move into another speech.

This principle is directly connected to protecting the heart. The believer does not expose his religion to gatherings where revelation is mishandled, the Sunnah is belittled, the way of the Salaf is mocked, or false principles are spread under the appearance of knowledge, wisdom, unity, or balance. If Allah forbade sitting with those who reject and mock His Ayat, then the Muslim must also fear gatherings where the meanings of revelation are twisted, the Sunnah is weakened, and the people are turned away from the clear path of the Salaf.

So the issue is not merely physical sitting. It is what the sitting represents and what it produces: hearing, familiarity, sympathy, silence, acceptance, and eventually defence. A person may enter such gatherings thinking he is unaffected, but the heart is tested by what it repeatedly hears and tolerates. If he does not remove himself, falsehood may become lighter in his eyes, warning against it may feel harsh, and the people who protect the Sunnah may begin to appear extreme.

Therefore, the believer protects his religion by avoiding gatherings where revelation is distorted, the Sunnah is opposed, the Salaf are belittled, or false principles are spread. He does not give his hearing to the people of doubts, nor does he make his heart a place for their arguments. Safety is in separation from the gatherings of misguidance, returning affairs to the people of knowledge, and remaining with those who call to the Qur’an and Sunnah upon the understanding of the Salaf al-Salih.

The People of Innovation Are People of Doubts

The people of innovation are not only people of outward misguidance; they are people of doubts. Their danger is not limited to the final false conclusion they arrive at, but also the path they use to reach it: confusion, misinterpretation, beautified speech, emotional pressure, and the weakening of certainty in the hearts of the people.

They introduce doubt regarding the clarity of the Sunnah. They introduce doubt regarding the Salafi manhaj. They introduce doubt regarding the warnings of the Salaf. They introduce doubt regarding the scholars of Sunnah. They introduce doubt regarding the obligation of separating from falsehood and its people.

So when the manhaj is clarified, they may laugh at it. When it is protected, they may accuse its people of confusion. When someone becomes firm upon it, they may call him harsh. When innovators are warned against, they may call it division. When doubtful gatherings are avoided, they may call it bad manners. In this way, they try to reverse the scale: firmness becomes harshness, clarity becomes confusion, warning becomes division, and compromise becomes wisdom.

And this is why the believer must fear for his heart. Doubt is not a light matter. When the heart becomes exposed to falsehood, defends it, becomes comfortable with it, or hesitates after clarity has come, then disease may enter and increase.

Allah said regarding the hypocrites:

فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ

“In their hearts is a disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they used to lie.”[9]

So the Muslim should never treat doubts as harmless, nor should he expose his heart to the people who spread them. A heart that repeatedly listens to doubts, sits with them, excuses them, and defends their people is being tested. If it does not return to clarity, seek safety, and separate from the causes of confusion, then doubt may settle, and disease may increase.

This is why the Salaf did not allow the people of innovation access to their hearing. The issue is not only what they openly call to; it is what they plant in the heart before the person even realizes it. So the believer protects his heart at the entrance, before the doubt may enter, before it spreads, and before it becomes difficult to remove.

The Correct Scale

The scale must be correct, because the people of doubts often try to reverse meanings and confuse the issue. Protecting the religion is not harshness. Avoiding those who spread doubts is not extremism. Warning against innovation with proof is not oppression. Distinguishing Sunnah from bid’ah is not division. Refusing to sit in a gathering that harms the heart is not bad manners. Remaining silent while people are led into confusion is not wisdom.

At the same time, the manhaj of the Salaf is not a path of transgression. It is not Salafiyyah to speak without knowledge, accuse without proof, or allow personal anger to enter religious speech. It is not justice to exaggerate, and it is not sincerity to turn warning against innovation into a path of self-amazement or rivalry.

Rather, the correct path is firmness without oppression, clarity without exaggeration, mercy without compromise, and justice without weakening the truth. Ahlus-Sunnah warn because they love the Sunnah, protect the religion, and fear for the hearts of the Muslims — not because they seek chaos, harshness, or personal victory.

Key Benefits and Lessons

1. Claiming Sunnah requires clarity in companionship

A claim alone is not enough. The one who claims the Sunnah while sitting with the people of innovation places himself in a dangerous contradiction. The hadith of the sheep between two flocks shows instability, hesitation, and confusion. A person cannot claim safety upon the path of clarity while willingly remaining attached to the gatherings of doubts and desires.

2. Sitting is the beginning of a path

The danger does not usually begin with open defence. It often begins with sitting, listening, becoming familiar, softening, excusing, then defending. This is why the Salaf warned from the beginning of the path, before the heart becomes attached and before the person begins to justify what he once knew to be dangerous.

3. The people of innovation confuse what was once clear

Abu Qilabah رحمه الله warned that they may “confuse you about much that you used to know.” This is why the danger is severe: they do not only introduce new falsehood; they unsettle previous certainty. A person may know the clarity of the Sunnah, then through repeated exposure to doubtful speech, begin to hesitate regarding the very principles that once protected him.

4. The mukhadhdhil weakens the ranks from within

The mukhadhdhil appears close to Ahlus-Sunnah, but when the Sunnah needs defence, he weakens that defence. He excuses the people of bid’ah, attributes extremism to those who warn against them, and makes clarity appear harsh. His danger is that he spreads hesitation among those who once understood the affair clearly.

5. The Salaf considered sitting with innovators a sign of danger

Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad رحمه الله described sitting with an innovator as a sign of hypocrisy. This is a severe warning against the action and its danger, not permission for ignorant people to declare specific individuals hypocrites. The point is that companionship reveals attachment, and attachment to the people of innovation is a danger to iman, clarity, and firmness.

6. Defending innovators is more severe than merely sitting with them

If sitting itself is dangerous, then arguing on behalf of the people of innovation is worse. Defence shows that the heart has moved beyond exposure into loyalty, assistance, and protection of their influence. The one who defends them does not merely endanger himself; he becomes a cause of confusion, doubts and misguidance for others.

7. The heart must be protected before doubt enters

The Salaf did not wait until doubts settled in the heart before warning. They blocked the means: sitting, listening, debating, mixing, and companionship. The believer protects his hearing because the heart is affected by what enters it.

8. The correct scale is firmness with justice

Warning against innovation is not oppression, and avoiding people of doubts is not arrogance. At the same time, the manhaj of the Salaf is not transgression, exaggeration, or speech without proof. The correct path is firmness without oppression, clarity without exaggeration, mercy without compromise, and justice without weakening the truth.

Conclusion

The one who claims the Sunnah while sitting with the people of innovation has placed himself in a dangerous position. He may think he is balanced, but in reality, he stands between two flocks: one flock of iman, guidance, clarity, and safety; and another flock of confusion, misguidance, doubts, and hypocrisy.

The Salaf warned against this because the heart is affected by companionship. Sitting may become listening. Listening may become familiarity. Familiarity may become sympathy. Sympathy may become defence. Defence may become opposition to those who protect the Sunnah.

The people of innovation, due to their desires, are also people of doubts. Their danger is not limited to slightly weakening certainty or making a person less firm; rather, their speech may open doors of confusion whose consequences only Allah fully knows. A diseased heart may speak with beautified arguments, emotional pressure, distorted evidences, and false claims of balance, until the listener is pulled into a circle of hesitation, excuse-making, and defence. And the one who sits with them should not imagine that he is self-sufficient in guidance, or that his intelligence, confidence, or intention to “guide them” will protect him. The hearts are between the fingers of Ar-Rahman; they turn, change, and are tested.

So if the correct path is the path of the Salaf — the path of certainty, evidence, safety, and submission — then how can a person knowingly oppose the Salaf in their warning against the people of innovation? Anything that pulls the heart away from this path does not increase certainty; it weakens it, diseases it, and may lead it into deviation unless Allah protects the servant and returns him to clarity.

So the believer protects his religion before the heart is affected, before doubt settles, and before clarity becomes weakened. He does not test his heart in gatherings of confusion, nor does he rely upon himself in an affair where the Salaf feared for themselves. Safety is in following their path: taking knowledge from the people of Sunnah, avoiding the people of innovation and desires, and asking Allah constantly for firmness upon the truth.

[1] Reported by Muslim in his Sahih, Kitab Sifat al-Munafiqin wa Ahkamihim

[2] Surah al-Baqarah 2:10

[3] Surah al-Hajj 22:53

[4] Ibn Battah in al-Ibanah al-Kubra, and cited by al-Laalikaaee in Sharh Usul I‘tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah

[5] al-Laalikaaee in Sharh Usul I‘tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah. The wording also appears in al-Barbahari’s Sharh al-Sunnah.

[6] al-Laalikaaee in Sharh Usul I‘tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah.

[7] Surah al-Nisa 4:107

[8] Surah al-Nisa 4:140

[9] Surah al-Baqarah 2:10