Re: Judging others
The more important distinction is not muqalid or ghair muqalid ... The more important distinction is takfiri and ghair takfiris ... Takfiris can be from any group or persuasion as can be the ghair takfiris.
I would like to be associated to the ghair takfiris.
You are right. It is not important if you are muqalid or ghair muqalid. As long as you have reason to follow a way of life and beliefs that you can back from Quran and hadith, without malice but with sincerity, than you should be fine.
A Muslim judges other person regarding faith on the person’s confession or claims. No Muslim, religious scholars, or even prophet (SAW) and past prophets (AS) had right to judge a person's faith other than on basis of what a person confesses ... and that is why whenever a person claimed that they accepted Islam (religion of Allah), all prophets (AS) accepted that, even though many who confessed were munafiqs ... who just claimed but did not accepted Islam from their heart (Abdullah bin Abi is considered as one of them). Once a person claims or confesses that he/she is Muslim, then only Allah has right to judge belief of that person (with one exception, and that I would come later with reason).
Every Muslim thinks what they believe is right Islam and accordance with what Prophet (SAW) taught Islam to Muslims, regardless of what other sect or group of Muslims thinks about someone’s beliefs. Anything wrong with belief is part of Allah’s decision on judgment day.
Takfeeri: Once a person do takfeer on basis of his judgment (or judgement of someone he consider Aalim or scholar), then on basis of his takfeer he can be called Kafir and his takfeer can be taken as his confession that he is not Muslim.
Why: Apart of hadith there are other reasons too (I will come to hadith later).
1: Takfeeri thinks (though may not express or claim) that he is Allah or has right same as Allah, and thus has right to judge Muslims (that he shows practically by doing takfeer).
2: Takfeeri thinks that what he believes is Islam and what others believe is not Islam, without realising that all Muslim believe that they are following correct Islam, and without realising that only Allah knows who has correct believes, and that it is right of Allah to judge people’ believes.
3: Takfeeri do not even realise that what ‘Islam’ he believes could be kufr in the sight of other Muslims, but as long as Takfeeri do not do takfeer (does not become takfeeri), other Muslims accept him as Muslim.
4: Takfeeri not only think that his believes are fact and true Islam (in this respect, every Muslim thinks that their believes are fact and true Islam) but takfeeri starts judging other Muslims on basis of what Takfeeri believes (something Muslims do not do, because they know that it is right of Allah)
Hadith: If a Muslim does takfeer on other Muslim than one of them is truly kafir.
From hadith, it is obvious that takfeeri is Kafir.
Why: No Muslim becomes Kafir because someone called him kafir. Only Allah can decide that on judgment day. Deciding kufr of a Muslim is prerogative of Allah … as kufr of a Muslim is to do with neyat … and thus is part of Iman that is in a person’s heart. All Muslims know that only Allah knows about Neyat and we cannot judge anyone on basis of neyat or neyat behind an act … but takfeeri does.
Hence, since called cannot become kafir just because someone called him Kafir, then it becomes obvious that caller (takfeeri) is Kafir, and thus takfeer of takfeeri becomes his confession that he is kafir.
Once a person become takfeeri, he can be called kafir by Muslims without becoming takfeeri, as calling that person kafir would be on takfeeri's own confession (that he is takfeeri hence kafir).
[As far as I know ... Ikwanis backing Saud (of Najd-Arabia) were Takfeeris ... and were using takfeer to kill Muslims ... hence ........ ]
