Deviant ideology has no place in Islam: Al-Sudais

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, said Salafism reflected the true Islamic way of life suited to any time or place.
“It is the way of life of the adherents of Sunnah who followed in the footsteps of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and also the way of the early believers, the Muhajirs and the Ansars,” Al-Sudais said while delivering the Friday sermon at the Grand Mosque.
“It is also following the will of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said: ‘Hold fast to my Sunnah and the way of life of the rightly guided caliphs after me. Beware of the innovations in religious matters; each new innovation in religious matters is a deviation from the right path and every deviation ends up in Hell Fire,'” he said quoting Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiah.
However, Al-Sudais clarified that opposition to new innovations was confined to religious matters and did not apply to modern scientific inventions and technological advancement. He said that some people do evil deeds and wrongfully attribute them to the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Salafi principles and method could not be held responsible for the erroneous understanding and practice of some people, he said.
Al-Sudais said the Kingdom has been holding fast to the Salafi creed and the teachings of Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab who called on people to follow the path of Tawhid and faith. His teachings sought to reform people from the aberrations in the creed and he fought against deviant views and wrong practices.
“His call was not for a new religion or a fifth school of thought but for the true understanding of the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him), his truthful companions and followers of the succeeding generations to strictly follow the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet. His teachings were poles apart from the takfiri ideology and the khawarij practices, even though they attracted baseless accusations, false charges and attempts to tarnish him,” Al-Sudais said, adding the teachings of Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab were labeled by his enemies as Wahhabism. “The land of the Two Holy Mosques follows the moderate middle path of the Salafi way in the light of the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah and the way of the righteous early followers of the Prophet.
At the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, Imam and Khatib Sheikh Husain Al-Asheikh called on the believers to introspect and evaluate their own deeds to know how far they have succeeded in making the best use of their time leading lives as true Muslims on the occasion of the end of the current Hijri year.