What is the response to those who cite 'Umar's (may Allah be pleased with him) statement, "What a good innovation this is," as evidence for their innovation?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And may prayers and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our master and our prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows:
Your Eminence, how do you respond to those who cite 'Umar ibn al-Khattab's (may Allah be pleased with him) statement, "What a good innovation this is", as evidence for their innovation?
The Shaykh : 'Umar's statement, "What a good innovation this is", was narrated by Imam al-Bukhari in his *Sahih*. The context there also clarifies the meaning of this word, just as the context of Jarir's hadith clarifies the correct meaning in the marfu' hadith:Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 6:216 Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 6:216 :
You all know, if Allah wills, that the original ruling regarding standing in night prayer is that it is a voluntary prayer for which it is not prescribed to call people to pray it in congregation. It is only permissible to do so occasionally without calling people, and this has a separate detailed ruling. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not enliven any part of the night prayer with his Companions, as he would do with the obligatory prayer, except in the last Ramadan of his life (peace and blessings be upon him). One night, he went out and prayed the standing prayer in the mosque. Some of the present Companions woke up to his prayer and followed him. Then this news spread in the city. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) went out on the second night, he also prayed the standing prayer with a group of Companions who were more numerous than the first group. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) went out on the third night, and the mosque was filled with worshippers, because the news had spread that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) had prayed the congregational prayer with the Ramadan standing prayer, i.e., the Tarawih prayer, on the previous night, which was the second night. When the fourth night came and the people waited for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to come out, when he delayed beyond his custom in those three nights, some of them could not wait. Perhaps he was a recent convert to Islam and did not know how to estimate and honor the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). So he took some pebbles and threw them at the door of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), thinking that perhaps he was sleeping. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to them angry and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) passed away, as you know, in Rabi' al-Awwal, and did not reach the next Ramadan.
The caliphate of Abu Bakr came, and throughout his entire caliphate, which lasted about two and a half years, the people would pray in the mosque in groups and individually, with no imam to gather them. Then the caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab came, and the people were likewise. You know that it was his way, may Allah be pleased with him, to check on the condition of the Muslims, not only in the mosque but also in the markets, and that was part of his justice and excellence. So when he saw them praying in this scattered manner, he said: "If we were to gather them behind one imam," and then he resolved to do so and ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead the people in prayer, so he led them. Then 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, went out as was his custom to check on the Muslims in the mosque and found them different from how they had been before, at the beginning of his caliphate and during the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. He saw them praying behind one imam and in one congregation, so he said on this occasion: "What a good innovation this is, and the one in which they sleep is better," referring by his statement, may Allah be pleased with him: "and the one in which they sleep is better," to the fact that delaying the night prayer is better than hastening it. However, the matter is as he said, peace and blessings be upon him:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 23Hasan (Darussalam) because it is the better option, but to remove hardship, he, peace and blessings be upon him, did not delay it. And when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab resolved to gather the Muslims behind one imam, wisdom dictated that this gathering not be at the end of the night, because not everyone is able to do that. Therefore, he combined the facilitating legislation, or returned the Muslims to the facilitating legislation, which is in the early part of the night, while pointing out that delaying is the better option. So he said on this occasion: "What a good innovation this is." His use of the word "innovation" does not refer to the religious innovation that the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, condemned in the preceding hadiths, especially the principle: It is far from 'Umar that he meant this meaning. His statement: "What a good innovation," is merely a linguistic innovation, not a religious innovation here, as we mentioned that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, prayed with his Companions for three nights, and that he only left it for fear that the Companions would assume from following the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, every night of Ramadan, that this gathering in standing prayer was obligatory, so he left it to avoid this concern. And when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, passed to the highest companion and the rulings of the Shari'ah were completed, no one remained who could change or alter them. Therefore, Allah opened the heart of the Commander of the Believers and he revived this Sunnah. Considering that the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, left it, and Abu Bakr continued in this leaving throughout his life, and 'Umar also in the beginning of his life, he called this revival an innovation, meaning: something new, considering what came before it. But it is not a religious innovation covered by the generality of his statement, peace be upon him, because the Prophet established it by his action as we mentioned, and then by a hadith narrated by Imam Abu Dawud in his *Sunan* from the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said: merely for praying the 'Isha' prayer with the congregation and standing with him, Allah wrote for him as if he had stood the whole night. So in this is an encouragement from his statement, peace be upon him, to revive the Tarawih prayer with the imam. So it is not possible to interpret 'Umar's statement: "What a good innovation," as meaning a religious innovation, how could it be when the Messenger of Allah did it and the Messenger of Allah encouraged it?!
So it is a practical Sunnah and a verbal Sunnah, supported by him (peace and blessings be upon him) with this authentic hadith.
Your Eminence, how do you respond to those who cite 'Umar ibn al-Khattab's (may Allah be pleased with him) statement, "What a good innovation this is", as evidence for their innovation?
The Shaykh : 'Umar's statement, "What a good innovation this is", was narrated by Imam al-Bukhari in his *Sahih*. The context there also clarifies the meaning of this word, just as the context of Jarir's hadith clarifies the correct meaning in the marfu' hadith:
Whoever establishes a good Sunnah
مَن سَنَّ سنة حسنةAnd whoever establishes a bad Sunnah
ومن سَنَّ سنة سيئةYou all know, if Allah wills, that the original ruling regarding standing in night prayer is that it is a voluntary prayer for which it is not prescribed to call people to pray it in congregation. It is only permissible to do so occasionally without calling people, and this has a separate detailed ruling. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not enliven any part of the night prayer with his Companions, as he would do with the obligatory prayer, except in the last Ramadan of his life (peace and blessings be upon him). One night, he went out and prayed the standing prayer in the mosque. Some of the present Companions woke up to his prayer and followed him. Then this news spread in the city. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) went out on the second night, he also prayed the standing prayer with a group of Companions who were more numerous than the first group. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) went out on the third night, and the mosque was filled with worshippers, because the news had spread that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) had prayed the congregational prayer with the Ramadan standing prayer, i.e., the Tarawih prayer, on the previous night, which was the second night. When the fourth night came and the people waited for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to come out, when he delayed beyond his custom in those three nights, some of them could not wait. Perhaps he was a recent convert to Islam and did not know how to estimate and honor the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). So he took some pebbles and threw them at the door of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), thinking that perhaps he was sleeping. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to them angry and said:
As for you, your place was not hidden from me. I did that intentionally. I feared that it would be written as an obligation upon you. So pray, O people, in your houses, for the best prayer of a man is in his house, except for the obligatory prayer.
أَمَا إِنه لم يخفَ عليَّ مكانكم هذا إني فعلت ذلك عمدًا، إني خشيت أن تُكتب عليكم فصلوا أيها الناس في بيوتكم، فإن أفضل صلاة المرء في بيته إلّا المكتوبةThe caliphate of Abu Bakr came, and throughout his entire caliphate, which lasted about two and a half years, the people would pray in the mosque in groups and individually, with no imam to gather them. Then the caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab came, and the people were likewise. You know that it was his way, may Allah be pleased with him, to check on the condition of the Muslims, not only in the mosque but also in the markets, and that was part of his justice and excellence. So when he saw them praying in this scattered manner, he said: "If we were to gather them behind one imam," and then he resolved to do so and ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead the people in prayer, so he led them. Then 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, went out as was his custom to check on the Muslims in the mosque and found them different from how they had been before, at the beginning of his caliphate and during the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. He saw them praying behind one imam and in one congregation, so he said on this occasion: "What a good innovation this is, and the one in which they sleep is better," referring by his statement, may Allah be pleased with him: "and the one in which they sleep is better," to the fact that delaying the night prayer is better than hastening it. However, the matter is as he said, peace and blessings be upon him:
If it were not that it would be difficult on my nation then, I would have ordered them to use the Siwak for each prayer and to delay the Isha prayer until the third of the night.
لولا أنْ أشقَّ على أُمتي لأمرتهم بالسواك عند كل صلاة، ولأخرت صلاة العشاء إلى نصف الليلEvery religious innovation is misguidance
كلُّ بدعة ضلالةWhoever prays the 'Isha' prayer with the imam and then remains with him until he departs, Allah will record for him the reward of standing in prayer for the entire night.
مَن صلى صلاة العشاء مع الإمام ثم قام معه حتى ينصرف كتب الله له قيام ليلةSo it is a practical Sunnah and a verbal Sunnah, supported by him (peace and blessings be upon him) with this authentic hadith.