Does the practice of reading hadiths after the 'Asr prayer every day, which many imams in some countries have adopted, fall under additional innovations?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, our Shaykh. Regarding additional innovations, some people include in that category what most or the majority of the imams in our country have adopted. They say that what they have adopted is reading several hadiths after every 'Asr prayer, after every 'Asr prayer. They say that this custom or this method did not exist in the time of the Prophethood.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct.
The questioner : To the extent that they divided the hadiths for the month of Ramadan into twenty-six sessions, such that the Fridays are not included in the count.
The Shaykh : Pardon me, they divided the hadiths into?
The questioner : In some books that discuss the cycle of the month of Ramadan, or the hadiths of the month of Ramadan, or the monthly sermons, they made these twenty-four sermons, such that the Fridays fall outside this scope. So I do not know whether this would be included?
The Shaykh : Yes, this is included, if it gives the impression of being a religious obligation in terms of adherence. However, if it does not give that impression, it is one of the ordinary matters that may be required by the organization and gathering of people. For example, there are now schools of various types, and they establish study curricula and specific hours each day, and they exclude, for example, Friday from that. I do not think at all that anyone would understand this organization to have any connection to worship; rather, the temporal interests of the people require it. For this reason, it is adjusted according to the time, for example, in some countries, the summer or winter time. So, if observing this organization is not a cause for it to be suspected to be a specific act of worship—as is the case with the previous examples—there is no harm in it. Otherwise, it must be changed and not adhered to.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct.
The questioner : To the extent that they divided the hadiths for the month of Ramadan into twenty-six sessions, such that the Fridays are not included in the count.
The Shaykh : Pardon me, they divided the hadiths into?
The questioner : In some books that discuss the cycle of the month of Ramadan, or the hadiths of the month of Ramadan, or the monthly sermons, they made these twenty-four sermons, such that the Fridays fall outside this scope. So I do not know whether this would be included?
The Shaykh : Yes, this is included, if it gives the impression of being a religious obligation in terms of adherence. However, if it does not give that impression, it is one of the ordinary matters that may be required by the organization and gathering of people. For example, there are now schools of various types, and they establish study curricula and specific hours each day, and they exclude, for example, Friday from that. I do not think at all that anyone would understand this organization to have any connection to worship; rather, the temporal interests of the people require it. For this reason, it is adjusted according to the time, for example, in some countries, the summer or winter time. So, if observing this organization is not a cause for it to be suspected to be a specific act of worship—as is the case with the previous examples—there is no harm in it. Otherwise, it must be changed and not adhered to.