Is it true that one who abandons the Sunnah is not punished for it, and what is the ruling on praying behind an imam who commits religious innovations (bid'ah) and calls them good innovations?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Is it true that one who abandons the Sunnah is not punished for it, especially if he is the imam of the mosque? Because when I advised him to stop the religious innovations (bid'ah) he sometimes commits, he sometimes says it is a good innovation, and sometimes says that Allah will not punish me for abandoning the Sunnah.
The Shaykh:
As for bid'ah (religious innovation), there is no such thing as a good bid'ah; rather, all bid'ah is forbidden. The saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih Muslim 1718b, in another narration Sahih Muslim 1718a, and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him), "Beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is a bid'ah, every bid'ah is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire." So the one who says there is a good bid'ah is contradicting the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that every bid'ah is misguidance, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled that all bid'ah is misguidance and that it is in the Fire. This man says, "No, there is a good bid'ah." This is a correction of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So there is nothing good in bid'ah; rather, they are all misguidance, may Allah protect us from that. As for abandoning the Sunnah, if what is meant is the recommended (mustahabb), then there is no harm. The one who performs the recommended is rewarded, and the one who abandons it is not punished, but performing it is better. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah reward you.
The questioner:
If that is the state of our imam, is it permissible to pray behind him?
The Shaykh:
If his bid'ah is one that entails disbelief, such as supplicating to other than Allah or seeking aid from the dead, then he is a disbeliever and a polytheist, and prayer behind him is not valid. Or if he holds the statements of disbelief, such as the statements of the Jahmiyyah or other statements that entail disbelief, then one does not pray behind him. But if his bid'ah is less than that—it is among the forbidden bid'ah but does not reach the level of disbelief—then he is considered one who commits a forbidden act. Prayer behind him is valid, but one should choose for the imamate one who is upright upon the Sunnah and avoids bid'ah in all its forms. Yes.
Is it true that one who abandons the Sunnah is not punished for it, especially if he is the imam of the mosque? Because when I advised him to stop the religious innovations (bid'ah) he sometimes commits, he sometimes says it is a good innovation, and sometimes says that Allah will not punish me for abandoning the Sunnah.
The Shaykh:
As for bid'ah (religious innovation), there is no such thing as a good bid'ah; rather, all bid'ah is forbidden. The saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملا ليس عليه أمرنا فهو رد'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردThe presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah reward you.
The questioner:
If that is the state of our imam, is it permissible to pray behind him?
The Shaykh:
If his bid'ah is one that entails disbelief, such as supplicating to other than Allah or seeking aid from the dead, then he is a disbeliever and a polytheist, and prayer behind him is not valid. Or if he holds the statements of disbelief, such as the statements of the Jahmiyyah or other statements that entail disbelief, then one does not pray behind him. But if his bid'ah is less than that—it is among the forbidden bid'ah but does not reach the level of disbelief—then he is considered one who commits a forbidden act. Prayer behind him is valid, but one should choose for the imamate one who is upright upon the Sunnah and avoids bid'ah in all its forms. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل صحيح أن من ترك السنة لا يعاقب عليها، وما حكم الصلاة خلف إمام يفعل البدع، ويقول هذه بدعة حسنة؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.