Messages on Fasting the Last Day of the Year and Promoting Innovations
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This questioner, who used the code name Abu Ahmad, says: A message came to me, O Shaykh, from a colleague at work inviting me to fast the last day of the Hijri year. He says: Send it to another colleague and you will be rewarded.
The Shaykh:
This is an invalid act and a religious innovation (bid'ah). Fasting the last day of the year has not been prescribed for us. Fasting is an act of worship, and worship must have evidence from the Book of Allah or from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So what is the evidence from the Book of Allah or from the authentic Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that the last day of the year is to be fasted? This is an invalid act. Do not promote this campaign. I advise the one who sent you this message to repent to Allah and to abandon this act.
The presenter:
Yes, Shaykh Salih (may Allah preserve you). In the present time, with the proliferation of mobile phones and communications, these messages that encourage fasting a specific day or a specific dhikr (remembrance of Allah), or that say to fast as a group on a specific night and send it to others—why do such things multiply? They multiply to promote religious innovations (bid'ah), because there are people who call to innovations and want to mislead the Muslim community (ummah). They intend this, or some of them are ignorant.
The Shaykh:
The ignorant do not know. They love good and say this is worship, but we say that every act of worship must have evidence from the Book of Allah and from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Worship that has no evidence is a trial (fitnah). (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih Muslim 1718a. In another narration: Sahih Muslim 1718b. Sa'd. You must be cautious. Mobile phones. And what is known as being promoted in them. About misleading and intending harm, or about ignorance of the rulings of the Shari'ah. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you and bless you.
This questioner, who used the code name Abu Ahmad, says: A message came to me, O Shaykh, from a colleague at work inviting me to fast the last day of the Hijri year. He says: Send it to another colleague and you will be rewarded.
The Shaykh:
This is an invalid act and a religious innovation (bid'ah). Fasting the last day of the year has not been prescribed for us. Fasting is an act of worship, and worship must have evidence from the Book of Allah or from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So what is the evidence from the Book of Allah or from the authentic Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that the last day of the year is to be fasted? This is an invalid act. Do not promote this campaign. I advise the one who sent you this message to repent to Allah and to abandon this act.
The presenter:
Yes, Shaykh Salih (may Allah preserve you). In the present time, with the proliferation of mobile phones and communications, these messages that encourage fasting a specific day or a specific dhikr (remembrance of Allah), or that say to fast as a group on a specific night and send it to others—why do such things multiply? They multiply to promote religious innovations (bid'ah), because there are people who call to innovations and want to mislead the Muslim community (ummah). They intend this, or some of them are ignorant.
The Shaykh:
The ignorant do not know. They love good and say this is worship, but we say that every act of worship must have evidence from the Book of Allah and from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Worship that has no evidence is a trial (fitnah). (peace and blessings be upon him)
'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 ردfrom
منdid any act for which there is
عمل عملا ليس عليهour matter.
أمرنا.then it is rejected.
فهو رجل.The presenter:
May Allah reward you and bless you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، نور على الدرب 149 من المجموعة الثالثة للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (7:55)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.