Tafsir of Surat al-Hadid
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Fatwa number ( 5961 ):
Q: Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Hadid 57:27] What is meant by innovations in the noble verse, and what is the ruling on observing them? And what about the one who wrote upon himself that he would seek forgiveness from Allah, praise Allah, and perform the standing prayer, all of that one hundred times in the morning and evening, but did not adhere to it afterwards?
A: First: The meaning of bid'ah (religious innovation) in this verse is monasticism: which is withdrawing from people to devote oneself to the worship of Allah; seeking to draw near to Allah the Exalted and seeking His pleasure, Blessed and Exalted is He, by exaggerating in His obedience. Whether this withdrawal is by staying in the mountains, churches, monasteries, or otherwise. This innovation was not prescribed by Allah for them, nor did He legislate it for them; rather, they introduced it from themselves, hoping for the pleasure of Allah in their claim. Their status in this is the same as the status of those who followed their path among the innovators of this Ummah, for they introduced into Islam innovations that Allah did not authorize, such as their gathering to remember Allah in rows or circles, swaying and swaying to the right and left, and from top to bottom, with loud voices, shouting, and wailing by those they call (al-mujadhib), and the innovation of celebrating the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the births of the righteous; hoping for reward from Allah the Exalted by honoring the prophets and the righteous with these celebrations, up to the like of these celebrations that He did not legislate for His servants.
Islam with innovations for which Allah has not given permission, such as their gathering to remember Allah in rows or circles while swaying and swaying from side to side and from top to bottom with loud voices, shouting, and wailing by those they call the "majazib" (ecstatics), and the innovation of celebrating the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the births of the righteous, hoping for reward from Allah the Exalted by honoring the prophets and the righteous through these celebrations, up to similar celebrations that He has not prescribed for His servants. Second: Those who innovated monasticism did not observe this monasticism; that is, they fell short over the days in acting upon what they innovated as a means of drawing near to Allah in their claim. So Allah censured them for innovating in the religion of Allah what He has not permitted and for not fulfilling what they committed to, which they claimed was a means of drawing near to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Had they abandoned it in disapproval of it and returned to the truth, they would have been rewarded for abandoning it. Third: One who writes upon himself a prescribed act of worship that is not obligatory and performs it in the manner in which it was prescribed, in number and time, whether absolute or restricted, has done well, and this is not an innovation in Islam; because it is prescribed in its essence and its manner. An example of this is 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As's commitment to tahajjud and fasting one day and breaking the fast the next, and his persistence in this, may Allah be pleased with him, until he weakened. When it was suggested to him to ease up on himself, he said: "I would not leave something I have done
in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So whoever fulfills what he committed to from what Allah legislated, he has done well. And whoever leaves some of that due to weakness, he has taken the dispensation and there is no blame on him. And whoever leaves it out of negligence and laziness, he has committed what is contrary to what is best. As for the one who wrote upon himself an act that Allah did not legislate at all; such as celebrating the birthday, and the first of the Hijri year, and the mawlid (birthdays) and the like of that, or committing to what Allah legislated in its essence but his doing of it is not in the manner in which Allah legislated it—his commitment is a reprehensible innovation; because it contradicts the manner in which Allah legislated the worship. An example of this is what was mentioned before of the dhikr (remembrance of Allah) in a group with one loud voice... to the end of it. For Allah did not legislate it in this manner, nor did His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mention it in this manner, nor did he teach his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, nor did they act upon it. And if there had been good in it, Allah would have legislated it, and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, would have acted upon it. And if they had done so, it would have been transmitted to us with a sound transmission. So that indicates that it is from the introduced innovations that must be avoided. From this it becomes clear that it is not permissible for a person to write upon himself a limited number in each of seeking forgiveness and praising Allah, and it is not permissible for him to restrict the dhikr with that to a specific time. Rather, he should strive to remember Allah with that and with other things by which the dhikr is established, with whatever number is easy for him at any time; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not restrict
that to one hundred times, nor specifically to the morning and evening. And whoever returns from this commitment; following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in drawing near to Allah by what was mentioned, without specifying a number or time, he is rewarded. As for what was transmitted of the adhkar (remembrances) specified by a number or time or manner, it is performed as it was transmitted. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and his Companions.
Q: Allah the Exalted said:
Then We sent following their footsteps Our messengers and followed [them] with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except [that they did so] seeking the approval of Allah. But they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave the ones who believed among them their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.
ثُمَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلَى آثَارِهِمْ بِرُسُلِنَا وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَآتَيْنَاهُ الإِنْجِيلَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ابْتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَاهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلا ابْتِغَاءَ رِضْوَانِ اللَّهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا فَآتَيْنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَA: First: The meaning of bid'ah (religious innovation) in this verse is monasticism: which is withdrawing from people to devote oneself to the worship of Allah; seeking to draw near to Allah the Exalted and seeking His pleasure, Blessed and Exalted is He, by exaggerating in His obedience. Whether this withdrawal is by staying in the mountains, churches, monasteries, or otherwise. This innovation was not prescribed by Allah for them, nor did He legislate it for them; rather, they introduced it from themselves, hoping for the pleasure of Allah in their claim. Their status in this is the same as the status of those who followed their path among the innovators of this Ummah, for they introduced into Islam innovations that Allah did not authorize, such as their gathering to remember Allah in rows or circles, swaying and swaying to the right and left, and from top to bottom, with loud voices, shouting, and wailing by those they call (al-mujadhib), and the innovation of celebrating the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the births of the righteous; hoping for reward from Allah the Exalted by honoring the prophets and the righteous with these celebrations, up to the like of these celebrations that He did not legislate for His servants.
Islam with innovations for which Allah has not given permission, such as their gathering to remember Allah in rows or circles while swaying and swaying from side to side and from top to bottom with loud voices, shouting, and wailing by those they call the "majazib" (ecstatics), and the innovation of celebrating the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the births of the righteous, hoping for reward from Allah the Exalted by honoring the prophets and the righteous through these celebrations, up to similar celebrations that He has not prescribed for His servants. Second: Those who innovated monasticism did not observe this monasticism; that is, they fell short over the days in acting upon what they innovated as a means of drawing near to Allah in their claim. So Allah censured them for innovating in the religion of Allah what He has not permitted and for not fulfilling what they committed to, which they claimed was a means of drawing near to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Had they abandoned it in disapproval of it and returned to the truth, they would have been rewarded for abandoning it. Third: One who writes upon himself a prescribed act of worship that is not obligatory and performs it in the manner in which it was prescribed, in number and time, whether absolute or restricted, has done well, and this is not an innovation in Islam; because it is prescribed in its essence and its manner. An example of this is 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As's commitment to tahajjud and fasting one day and breaking the fast the next, and his persistence in this, may Allah be pleased with him, until he weakened. When it was suggested to him to ease up on himself, he said: "I would not leave something I have done
in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So whoever fulfills what he committed to from what Allah legislated, he has done well. And whoever leaves some of that due to weakness, he has taken the dispensation and there is no blame on him. And whoever leaves it out of negligence and laziness, he has committed what is contrary to what is best. As for the one who wrote upon himself an act that Allah did not legislate at all; such as celebrating the birthday, and the first of the Hijri year, and the mawlid (birthdays) and the like of that, or committing to what Allah legislated in its essence but his doing of it is not in the manner in which Allah legislated it—his commitment is a reprehensible innovation; because it contradicts the manner in which Allah legislated the worship. An example of this is what was mentioned before of the dhikr (remembrance of Allah) in a group with one loud voice... to the end of it. For Allah did not legislate it in this manner, nor did His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mention it in this manner, nor did he teach his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, nor did they act upon it. And if there had been good in it, Allah would have legislated it, and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, would have acted upon it. And if they had done so, it would have been transmitted to us with a sound transmission. So that indicates that it is from the introduced innovations that must be avoided. From this it becomes clear that it is not permissible for a person to write upon himself a limited number in each of seeking forgiveness and praising Allah, and it is not permissible for him to restrict the dhikr with that to a specific time. Rather, he should strive to remember Allah with that and with other things by which the dhikr is established, with whatever number is easy for him at any time; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not restrict
that to one hundred times, nor specifically to the morning and evening. And whoever returns from this commitment; following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in drawing near to Allah by what was mentioned, without specifying a number or time, he is rewarded. As for what was transmitted of the adhkar (remembrances) specified by a number or time or manner, it is performed as it was transmitted. 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.