The Meaning of "A Good Innovation"
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The second question of Fatwa No. ( 16405 )
Q2: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 1578Sahih (Darussalam) . Is the action of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him - when he gathered the people for the tarawih prayer behind a single imam in the mosque considered a good innovation, and are there such things as a good innovation and a bad innovation?
A2: The action of 'Umar in gathering the people behind a single imam is a continuation of the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did this in the month of Ramadan, where he prayed and some of his Companions prayed with him, then their numbers increased on the second and third nights, and then he did not come out on the fourth night for fear that it would become obligatory upon the Ummah. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and it was safe that it would not become obligatory upon the Ummah, 'Umar may Allah be pleased with him saw that it was best to gather the people behind a single imam and to revive that Sunnah. His saying, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding this: "What a good innovation," means: the resumption of the tarawih prayer that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed, not that it is a newly invented innovation. And the scholars have said: The intended meaning of this word is: linguistic innovation, not legal innovation.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q2: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
every newly-invented thing is an innovation and every innovation is going astray, and every going astray is in the Fire
كل محدثة بدعة، وكل بدعة ضلالة وكل ضلالة في النارA2: The action of 'Umar in gathering the people behind a single imam is a continuation of the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did this in the month of Ramadan, where he prayed and some of his Companions prayed with him, then their numbers increased on the second and third nights, and then he did not come out on the fourth night for fear that it would become obligatory upon the Ummah. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and it was safe that it would not become obligatory upon the Ummah, 'Umar may Allah be pleased with him saw that it was best to gather the people behind a single imam and to revive that Sunnah. His saying, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding this: "What a good innovation," means: the resumption of the tarawih prayer that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed, not that it is a newly invented innovation. And the scholars have said: The intended meaning of this word is: linguistic innovation, not legal innovation.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.