Combining the Hadith on Reviving the Sunnah with the Principle of Prohibiting Innovation
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Question:
The questioner al-Harbi also says: The sunan are reports stopping at the Companions regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and whoever brings a sunnah other than what is mentioned from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it is an innovation. How do we reconcile this hadith with this legal principle?
Answer:
We clarified this in the answer. We said that the hadith does not command innovation; rather, the hadith commands the sunnah by reviving the sunnah. So this man did not practice an innovation; rather, he revived a sunnah, which is charity. Charity is not an innovation; it is a great sunnah. The man revived it on this occasion, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) praised him and his work. As for innovation, it is what has no evidence from the Book or the Sunnah among acts of worship. That is the innovation, and it contains a great sin, and his work will be rejected, as he said:Mishkat al-Masabih 140Muttafaqun 'alayh (Zubair `Aliza'i) meaning it is rejected from him. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 4607Sahih (Al-Albani) Yes.
The questioner al-Harbi also says: The sunan are reports stopping at the Companions regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and whoever brings a sunnah other than what is mentioned from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it is an innovation. How do we reconcile this hadith with this legal principle?
Answer:
We clarified this in the answer. We said that the hadith does not command innovation; rather, the hadith commands the sunnah by reviving the sunnah. So this man did not practice an innovation; rather, he revived a sunnah, which is charity. Charity is not an innovation; it is a great sunnah. The man revived it on this occasion, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) praised him and his work. As for innovation, it is what has no evidence from the Book or the Sunnah among acts of worship. That is the innovation, and it contains a great sin, and his work will be rejected, as he said:
God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone introduces into this affair of ours anything which does not belong to it, it is rejected.”
صلى الله عليه وسلم من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رد،Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.
وإياكم ومحدثات الأمور، فإن كل محدثة بدعة، وكل بدعة ضلالة.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/287 — archive.org (4:03)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.