Sheikh Fawzān ḥafidhahullāh does not agree with the misapplication of such Salafis practice

Question: Some students of knowledge have written a book in which they claimed that testing people based on their stance toward certain individuals is a newly introduced innovation in this era. Is this correct, especially since we read in some statements of the early scholars that if you see someone from Kufa or Baghdad speaking ill of Ahmad (Ibn Hanbal), then know that he is a person of innovation or personal desires? Sheikh Ṣāliḥ Al-Fawzān ḥafidhahullāh: What is meant by this kind of testing? Is it referring to examinations in lessons and formal tests being an innovation, or is it referring to the practice of asking someone about a particular person, and based on their answer, judging whether they are a follower of the Sunnah or an innovator? This is not permissible, unless it is known that the innovator in question is hostile toward the people of the Sunnah or against an imām of the people of the Sunnah. Their enmity toward such a figure is evidence of their innovation and deviation, as in the case of Imām Aḥmad, may Allāh have mercy on him. However, going around asking people about individuals and making judgments based on their responses has no basis and is not appropriate.