Many students of knowledge have adopted a practice, which is: when they sit in a gathering of dhikr, they begin by introducing themselves. Did this come from the Salaf?
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The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
The questioner : Shaykh, many students of knowledge have adopted the practice that when they sit in a gathering of dhikr, they begin by introducing themselves. Did this come from the Salaf, and if it did not come from the Salaf, is it considered an innovation in the religion?
The Shaykh : Yes, this practice of introducing oneself, which some people observe today, is that when they sit in a gathering and the number of people is large, they say: "We will proceed with introductions, because introducing oneself is part of the Sunnah." So one says, "So-and-so, son of so-and-so, they did such-and-such, his residence is such-and-such," and so on. Yes, and the second person says, "Your brother so-and-so..."
This has no basis in the Sunnah, nor any basis in the practice of the righteous Salaf. Rather, this is one of the newly invented matters.Sunan an-Nasa'i 1578Sahih (Darussalam). What is established in the Sunnah is a small part of this matter, which may be close to it or far from it. That is, if you love a brother of yours for the sake of Allah, it is good for you to tell him that you love him for the sake of Allah, and in turn he says to you, "May Allah love you for the sake of whom you loved me." Up to this point, it is established. It came in some weak narrations that one names himself, introducing himself. There is no harm in this, even though the hadith is not established for me, because this is part of perfecting the introduction, affection, and love that is for the sake of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Because this necessitates maintaining contact, affection, and visiting. As you know, whoever visits his brother for the sake of Allah is immersed in mercy. The hadiths regarding this visit are numerous and well-known, praise be to Allah.
Please, do you have something?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Does this hadith indicate what we have denied?
It has no indication whatsoever. First: who asked the people? Did he ask, "What is your name, so-and-so, son of so-and-so?"
These are questions that require the questioner to have a memory like that of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), whose memory does not miss anything he hears. There is nothing of this in the hadith, and this is very natural. This is the first point.
And secondly: Was the Messenger (peace be upon him) in every gathering where his Companions assembled, knowing some of them by their features but not knowing their lineages, their names, or their fathers' names? None of this was the case at all.
On this occasion, I would like to mention that if something occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in his presence, or if he did it, all of that only indicates the permissibility of what occurred. It does not indicate that it is a Sunnah that Muslims should habitually observe and adhere to. Because if that were the case, the first person to adhere to it would have been the one who explained its legitimacy to us, which is the Messenger of Allah. Then, consequently, the most eager people to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have adhered to it, namely the Companions, then the Tabi'un, then those who followed them. So, since such introductions did not become a practice, that is sufficient to indicate to the student of knowledge that the hadith you mentioned does not include the legitimacy of what we say is one of the newly invented matters.
The questioner : Shaykh, many students of knowledge have adopted the practice that when they sit in a gathering of dhikr, they begin by introducing themselves. Did this come from the Salaf, and if it did not come from the Salaf, is it considered an innovation in the religion?
The Shaykh : Yes, this practice of introducing oneself, which some people observe today, is that when they sit in a gathering and the number of people is large, they say: "We will proceed with introductions, because introducing oneself is part of the Sunnah." So one says, "So-and-so, son of so-and-so, they did such-and-such, his residence is such-and-such," and so on. Yes, and the second person says, "Your brother so-and-so..."
This has no basis in the Sunnah, nor any basis in the practice of the righteous Salaf. Rather, this is one of the newly invented matters.
every newly-invented thing is an innovation and every innovation is going astray, and every going astray is in the Fire
وكل محدثة بدعة وكل بدعة ضلالة وكل ضلالة في النارPlease, do you have something?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Does this hadith indicate what we have denied?
It has no indication whatsoever. First: who asked the people? Did he ask, "What is your name, so-and-so, son of so-and-so?"
These are questions that require the questioner to have a memory like that of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), whose memory does not miss anything he hears. There is nothing of this in the hadith, and this is very natural. This is the first point.
And secondly: Was the Messenger (peace be upon him) in every gathering where his Companions assembled, knowing some of them by their features but not knowing their lineages, their names, or their fathers' names? None of this was the case at all.
On this occasion, I would like to mention that if something occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in his presence, or if he did it, all of that only indicates the permissibility of what occurred. It does not indicate that it is a Sunnah that Muslims should habitually observe and adhere to. Because if that were the case, the first person to adhere to it would have been the one who explained its legitimacy to us, which is the Messenger of Allah. Then, consequently, the most eager people to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have adhered to it, namely the Companions, then the Tabi'un, then those who followed them. So, since such introductions did not become a practice, that is sufficient to indicate to the student of knowledge that the hadith you mentioned does not include the legitimacy of what we say is one of the newly invented matters.