The Difference Between an Innovated Bid'ah and a Good Sunnah
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Question : If someone were to ask how we reconcile this clear, evident general principle that every newly introduced matter is a bid'ah with his saying Mishkat al-Masabih 210 until the Day of Resurrection?
Answer : The answer comes from two angles. The first angle is that the meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "Whoever introduces a good sunnah in Islam," is whoever begins to act upon the sunnah. This is indicated by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned this after he had encouraged the people who came to Madinah to give charity, urging them to do so and looking forward to it. So the Companions each gave whatever they could afford. A man, whom I think was from the Ansar, came with a bag that weighed down his hand and placed it in the lap of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said:Sahih Muslim 1017a until the Day of Resurrection. This means he began to act upon an established sunnah; it is not that he came with a new sunnah, but rather he started the action. Because when he starts the action, he paves the way for people, they follow his example, and they adopt what he did. This is one point.
The second point is to say that "whoever introduces a good sunnah in Islam" means whoever facilitates reaching something that was prescribed previously. Whoever facilitates reaching something that was prescribed previously, such as the Companions gathering the Qur'anic manuscripts into a single mushaf.
This is a good sunnah without doubt, because the purpose of that was to prevent division among Muslims and the misguidance of some by others. Likewise, gathering the sunnah, organizing it into chapters, and arranging it is a good sunnah by which the preservation of the sunnah is achieved. So it is understood as referring to means. Whoever introduces a good sunnah in Islam is understood as referring to means to matters established by the Shari'ah. The reason for this is that we know that the speech of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not contradict itself.
And we know that if the door were opened for every person or every group to innovate in the religion what is not part of it, the Ummah would be torn apart and divided. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:[Al-An'am 6:159]
If anyone establishes a good sunna in Islam he will have a reward for it and the equivalent of the rewards of those who act upon it
صلى الله عليه وسلم من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بهاAnswer : The answer comes from two angles. The first angle is that the meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "Whoever introduces a good sunnah in Islam," is whoever begins to act upon the sunnah. This is indicated by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned this after he had encouraged the people who came to Madinah to give charity, urging them to do so and looking forward to it. So the Companions each gave whatever they could afford. A man, whom I think was from the Ansar, came with a bag that weighed down his hand and placed it in the lap of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said:
He who sets a good precedent in Islam, there is a reward for him for this (act of goodness) and reward of that also who acted according to it
من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بهاThe second point is to say that "whoever introduces a good sunnah in Islam" means whoever facilitates reaching something that was prescribed previously. Whoever facilitates reaching something that was prescribed previously, such as the Companions gathering the Qur'anic manuscripts into a single mushaf.
This is a good sunnah without doubt, because the purpose of that was to prevent division among Muslims and the misguidance of some by others. Likewise, gathering the sunnah, organizing it into chapters, and arranging it is a good sunnah by which the preservation of the sunnah is achieved. So it is understood as referring to means. Whoever introduces a good sunnah in Islam is understood as referring to means to matters established by the Shari'ah. The reason for this is that we know that the speech of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not contradict itself.
And we know that if the door were opened for every person or every group to innovate in the religion what is not part of it, the Ummah would be torn apart and divided. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects - you, [O Muhammad], are not [associated] with them in anything. Their affair is only [left] to Allah; then He will inform them about what they used to do.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا لَّسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 267 - 336 الفرق بين البدعة المحدثة وبين السُنَّة الحسنة - الشيخ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.