More Dangerous Than Sitting With Them
Imaam Barbahaari said If you hear a man mentioning Ibn Abu Dawud,Bishr al-Marisi, Thumaamah or Abu Hudhayl or Hishaam al-Futi or one of their likes and followers;be cautious of him because he is a follower of innovation because those were upon apostasy -Leave the man who has mentioned them with good and whomever he mentioned among them.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan said about this: this demonstrates that some brothers or students of knowledge may praise some innovators or followers of desires and deviant ideologies without considering their ideas and direction but defame and disparage good people because they hear those (innovatiors) disparaging them and they believe them. This is a great danger. If a person disparages good people, people of knowledge and people of Sunnah and praises the people of deviat thoughts and approaches, such is a great danger even if one does not sit with them. This is among what he is cautioning us against from the things that many people have fallen victim to today.