Shaykh Zayd al-Madkhalī (رحمه الله) said:[1]
01 From the well-known recurring doubts of the people of innovation and partisanship is to belittle those who have little comprehension of the affairs of purification and prayer, and sometimes they use the lack proficiency in the Arabic language, or shortcoming in recitation as an excuse to prohibit people from hearing and reading beneficial and necessary refutations of errors committed by those for whom they have loyalty and partisanship.
For example, in the days of the fitnah of Muḥammad al-Maghrāwī when he was refuted by scholars for his statements of takfīr of the ummah and khurūj, his followers would mock Salafīs from Europe who sought clarity in these affairs because of their errors in pronunciation.
02 Sometimes, when they are asked about such affairs by the average Salafī, they ask: “What’s the iʿrāb (grammatical construction) of this sentence”, as a means of highlighting their ignorance and telling them: “Go and learn the basics of Arabic”, or “purification and prayer”, or “Tawḥīd” and forget about these affairs, they don't concern you. However, secretly and privately, it concerns and bothers them (the ones saying this) and perhaps they don't want others to learn the truth for reasons they conceal.
03 These things are usually said because such people dislike or are fearful that the errors of their shaykhs or leaders should be made clear with evidences because they have something to lose, and because they may have a position or a beneficial interest in the matter that they wish to protect, at the expense of upholding the truth, because it is uncomfortable or entails loss of some sort, whether in prestige, or status, or worldly interests.
04 The way of Ahl al-Sunnah which is to look at every matter through the scale of the Book, the Sunnah and the way of the Salaf, in order to discover the truth, and then to hold onto it regardless of where it is and who it is with, free of blind-following, biases and desires.
05 Is it more beneficial for a person to know that he who praises innovators is misguided in that and is aiding in the destruction of Islām, or that he who justifies rebellion against legitimate authority is misguided in that, for he might have a good opinion about him and be led astray, than to know the iʿrāb of a sentence which does not affect his personal obligations?
And why can it not be said that alongside gaining comprehension in purification and prayer (or any other field) that a person should also seek and have clarity in his religion, especially in matters of the foundations (uṣūl), which are often acquired and comprehended through evidence-based criticisms and refutations.
This does not mean a person has to engross himself in to such affairs, but only enough to know truth from falsehood and the right from the errant, and the oppressor from the oppressed and the truthful from the liar, and these affairs are desired for all people, regardless of their level of knowledge, because this pertains to the straight path and remaining upon it. As for affairs of worship and dealings, then the knowledge of that is easily acquired.