Characteristics of the saved group
Question

                What are the most prominent characteristics of the saved group? If a person is lacking in any of these characteristics does that mean that he is not one of the saved group?
Praise be to Allah.The most prominent characteristic of 
          the saved group is adherence to the way of the Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in ‘aqeedah (belief), ‘ibaadah 
          (worship), manners and attitude, and dealings with others. The saved 
          group has distinct characteristics in these four areas.   
In matters of ‘aqeedah you will find 
          that they adhere to that which is indicated by the Book of Allaah and 
          the Sunnah of His Messenger  (peace 
          and blessings of Allaah be upon him), i.e., absolute Oneness (Tawheed) 
          of the Divinity and Lordship of Allaah, and of His Names and Attributes. 
            
In matters of worship, you will find 
          that this group is distinguished by its total adherence to and application 
          of that which the Prophet  (peace 
          and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do with regard to different 
          kinds of acts of worship, how they are done, to what extent, where and 
          when, and for what reasons. You will not find them introducing innovations 
          into the religion of Allaah, rather they show the utmost respect towards 
          Allaah and His Messenger, so they do not put themselves forward before 
          Allaah and His Messenger (cf. al-Hujuraat 49:1) by suggesting 
          any innovated act of worship for which He has not granted permission. 
            
In matters of manners and attitude, you 
          will also find that they differ from others by virtue of their good 
          attitudes such as wishing the Muslims well, being content, having a 
          cheerful countenance, speaking well, being generous, being courageous, 
          and other noble and good characteristics.  
In matters of dealings with others, you will find that 
          they deal with others in an open and sincere manner.  They are 
          the ones to whom the Prophet  (peace 
          and blessings of Allaah be upon him) referred when he said: “The two 
          parties (to a transaction) have the choice (of proceeding with the transaction 
          or cancelling it) until they separate. If they are sincere and open, 
          their transaction will be blessed for them, and if they are lying or 
          deceitful, the blessing will be lost.”   
If a person is lacking in any of these characteristics, 
          then does not mean that he is not one of the saved group, but for all, 
          there will be degrees according to that which they did (cf. al-Ahqaaf 
          46:19). Falling short in matters of Tawheed may put a person outside 
          the saved group, such as lacking in ikhlaas (sincerity or purity 
          of intention). The same applies to bid’ah, as a person may do acts of 
          bid’ah which put him outside the saved group.   
In matters of morals and dealings with others, 
          defects in such matters do not put a person outside this group, although 
          they may reduce him in status.   
We 
          need to look in more detail at the matter of attitude and manners. One 
          of the most important matters of attitude and manners is unity and uniting 
          upon the truth. This is what Allaah urges us to do in the aayah 
          (interpretation of the meaning): 
“He (Allaah) has ordained for you the same religion 
          (Islamic Monotheism) which He ordained for Nooh (Noah), and that which 
          We have revealed to you (O Muhammad), 
          and that which We ordained for Ibraaheem (Abraham), Moosa (Moses) and 
          ‘Eesa (Jesus) saying you should establish religion (i.e. to do what 
          it orders you to do practically) and make no divisions in it (religion) 
          (i.e. various sects in religion)” [al-Shoora 42:13]   
          
Allaah tells us that those who divide their religion 
          and break up into sects, Muhammad  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has nothing to do with them. 
          Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 
“Verily, those who divide their religion and break 
          up into sects (all kinds of religious sects), you (O Muhammad) have 
          no concern in them in the least” [al-An’aam 6:159]   
          
Unity and harmony are among the most 
          prominent characteristics of the saved sect – Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah. 
          If any dispute arises among them, stemming from ijtihaad in matters 
          where ijtihaad is permitted – they do not bear ill-will, enmity or grudges 
          against one another. Rather they regard one another as brothers even 
          though these differences arise between them. One of them will pray behind 
          another even if he thinks that he does not have wudoo’ whilst the imaam 
          thinks that he does have wudoo’. For example, one of them may pray behind 
          another who has eaten camel meat, and this imaam thinks that this does 
          not break wudoo’ whereas the person praying behind him thinks that it 
          does break wudoo’. So he believes that his prayer behind this imaam 
          is valid, but if he himself were to pray in that state on his own he 
          would think that his prayer is not valid. All this is because they believe 
          that differences which arise from ijtihaad in cases where ijtihaad is 
          allowed, are not really differences, because each of them has followed 
          evidence (daleel) as he is obliged to do, and which should not be ignored. 
          So they believe that if their brother differs from them with regard 
          to some action because he is following the evidence (daleel), then in 
          effect he is agreeing with them, because they advocate following the 
          evidence wherever it is. So although he differs from them, he is still 
          following evidence from the Book of Allaah or the Sunnah of the Messenger 
          of Allaah  (peace and blessings 
          of Allaah be upon him). The scholars are not unaware of the differences 
          of this nature that arose among the Sahaabah even during the time of 
          the Prophet  (peace and blessings 
          of Allaah be upon him), but he did not rebuke them. When he  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came back from the campaign 
          of al-Ahzaab, and Jibreel came to him and told him to go out to Bani 
          Qurayzah, who had broken the treaty, the Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told his companions, “None 
          of you should pray ‘Asr until he reaches Bani Qurayzah.” They set out 
          from Madeenah to Bani Qurayzah, and they were worried about missing 
          the ‘Asr prayer. Some of them delayed the ‘Asr prayer until they reached 
          Bani Qurayzah, and they prayed it after the time for the prayer had 
          passed, because the Prophet  (peace 
          and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had said, “None of you should pray 
          ‘Asr until he reaches Bani Qurayzah.” Others prayed ‘Asr on time, saying 
          that all the Prophet  (peace and 
          blessings of Allaah be upon him) had meant was that they should hasten 
          to go out (to Bani Qurayzah); he did not mean that they should delay 
          the prayer. These are the ones who were correct, but the Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not rebuke either of 
          the two groups, and neither expressed enmity towards the other. The 
          Muslims who claim to follow the Sunnah should be one ummah and 
          not divide into groups, fighting one another verbally and arguing and 
          hating one another for a matter in which it is allowed to have different 
          opinions. There is no need to mention every group by name; the smart 
          person will understand what I mean.  
I think that Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah 
          should unite even though they differ in the ways in which they understand 
          those texts which may be interpreted in different ways. That is a matter 
          in which there is room for differences, may Allaah be praised. What 
          matters is harmony and unity. No doubt the enemies of Islam want the 
          Muslims to be divided, whether they are enemies who express their enmity 
          openly or they are enemies who make an outward display of friendliness 
          towards Muslims and Islam, but that is not real. We must be distinguished 
          by this characteristic which is the characteristic of the saved group, 
          i.e., being united.