The Shaykh returns to discussing the explanation and clarification of 'Umar's statement

The Shaykh : The caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab came about while they were in that state. As you know, due to 'Umar's justice and his concern for the interests of his ummah (the Muslim community), he would go out at night to check on the news of the people. He entered the mosque and saw them praying in this manner, scattered about. He said to those around him, "What if we gathered them behind a single imam?" So he resolved to do so and ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead the people as an imam. He led them in prayer as a single congregation the following night. 'Umar went out as was his custom, and when he saw the Muslims praying in congregation behind a single imam, he said this phrase: "What a good innovation this is." The completion of his statement is "and the one in which they sleep is better." By his final words, he meant that the best time for night prayer is the last part of the night. But here there is congregation, and there is the virtue of the time. So which of the two virtues takes precedence over the other? The virtue of congregation in the first part of the night, or the individual praying the night prayer alone in the last part of the night? There is no doubt that the hand of Allah, as it came in the authentic hadith: . The point is that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said about this congregation he saw before him: "What a good innovation this is." So he called it an innovation. Is it truly an innovation? The answer is: Yes, and no. How? It is not an innovation in the sense of the Shari'ah, because he did not invent it on his own; rather, he revived the Sunnah of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For you have mentioned just now what you have heard, if Allah wills, long ago and very often: "That the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with his Companions for three nights in congregation." Therefore, it is not permissible for a Muslim to say that tarawih in congregation in Ramadan is an innovation, meaning a religious innovation that the scholars approved of. Far be it from Allah. Rather, the Messenger of Allah, the master of the messengers and prophets, established it as a Sunnah. So it is not an innovation in the sense intended by many people who misunderstood this report from 'Umar, where he said: "What a good innovation this is." So why did he call it an innovation? Because it had been abandoned after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), after the third night it was left, during the life of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq it was left, and in the first part of the caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab it was left, until it became forgotten. And they were praying, as you mentioned, not in congregation behind a single imam. So when he saw them gathered, he said this phrase: "What a good innovation," meaning new, meaning linguistically new, but it is old. And for Abu 'Ammar, as we are coming here: there is a sound report from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed. Hold fast to the old matter." Hold fast to the old matter: I am giving you an example now. I know well that in this country, and in Syria, and in many Islamic countries, the Sunnah of establishing the 'Id prayer in the musalla (prayer ground) had become forgotten. Muslims in Syria and in Jordan used to pray the 'Id in the mosques, just as they do in the five daily prayers and the Friday prayer. How long do you think it has been since this Sunnah was unknown to the people of this country or that country? Many years. So when this Sunnah is revived, the people of innovation, the people of ignorance of the Sunnah, say: "This is an innovation," meaning by that that it is something new, and it is indeed something new, but it is the very old thing itself, according to the saying of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed. Hold fast to the old matter." What is the old matter in standing in prayer in Ramadan, called the prayer of tarawih? Is it praying in congregation or praying individually? You know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for three nights.