The Ruling on Supplicating for the Ruler in the Friday Sermon

Question:
He says: May Allah reward you. One person mentioned to me that consistently supplicating for the ruler in the Friday sermon, meaning every Friday, is a religious innovation (bid'ah). Is this correct?

Answer:
This is what he calls a religious innovation (bid'ah), based on innovations he does not know. Everything he does not know, he considers an innovation. An innovation is that which has no evidence from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is the right of our rulers that we supplicate for their rectitude, because this is a supplication for the Muslims. When the ruler is rectified, the Muslims are rectified. So we supplicate for him so that the Muslims may benefit from it. We supplicate for him, we supplicate for his rectitude. And every Muslim, you supplicate for his rectitude and guidance. So what about the ruler, who, if he is guided and rectified, the affairs of the Muslims are rectified and the Muslims benefit? Yes. So this is what he knows or hates regarding the rulers, and he cannot bear that they are supplicated for? The righteous predecessors (Salaf) used to supplicate for the rulers. This is well known about them. They knew the Sunnah better than we do and were more aware of it than we are. And they used to supplicate for the rulers. They would say: If you see a man who does not supplicate for the rulers, suspect him, meaning suspect him of following the path of the Khawarij.