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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Are the two rak'ahs of ihram a religious innovation?

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The Shaykh : Some scholars say that the two rak'ahs of entering ihram are a bid'ah (religious innovation). Is this correct or not? Yes, the two rak'ahs of ihram, meaning that a person prays two rak'ahs specifically for the sake of ihram, have no basis in the Sunnah. As Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned, and this is correct, there is no prayer specific to ihram. If a person takes a bath, wears the ihram garments, and says Labbaik, his ihram is valid and not deficient. However, if a person is at the miqat and it is the time for an obligatory prayer, it is better to delay entering ihram until he prays that obligatory prayer, then he intends to enter ihram after the obligatory prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered ihram after a prayer, meaning after an obligatory prayer.
As for intentionally praying two rak'ahs for the sake of ihram, the Sunnah has not come with this. But some scholars said that if he purifies himself by taking a bath and performing wudu, it is established that the sunnah (recommended practice) of wudu is prescribed. So he prays two rak'ahs intending them to be the prayer of purification, not the prayer of ihram, then he enters ihram after them. In that case, he has entered ihram after a prescribed prayer. As for there being a specific prayer for ihram, that has not come. So whoever says it is a bid'ah, his statement is correct. But he should clarify to people what the Sunnah is, so that people do not turn away from what is said. Yes.
Source دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام لعام 1406هـ - 8 — binothaimeen.net (54:02)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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