What is the ruling on celebrating the Isra and Mi'raj, and the claim by some that there is a difference between a worldly innovation and a religious innovation?
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The questioner : My Shaykh, regarding the topic of bid'ah (religious innovation); it was said: in the recent past, on the occasion of the Eid of the Isra and Mi'raj, that the Isra and Mi'raj is...
The Shaykh : Do not say "Eid," erase the Eid, on the occasion of the Isra and Mi'raj and the celebration.
The questioner : And the celebration of it, O Shaykh; it was said that it is not a religious innovation but rather a worldly innovation, and that there is a difference between a religious innovation and a worldly innovation. The preacher gave the example of the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab; so I wish, O our Shaykh, that you would clarify this matter for us, and what is the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : I think the doctor is referring to the statement of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: "What a good bid'ah this is," which was reported from the aforementioned preacher that he used this phrase as evidence that there is a good bid'ah in Islam. It is not permissible for any Muslim who is zealous for his religion and knowledge, and who wants to preserve its soundness and not be chewed over on the tongues of people because of his deviation from the correct scientific methodology; it is not permissible for any preacher or lecturer, when speaking on an issue where there are many hadiths, to take one side of it and ignore the other sides. As some of them told me an hour ago: "So-and-so, whom you know, says that in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) drank while standing." As if he wants to say: it is permissible to drink while standing, and he argues that in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Messenger drank while standing.
What is attributed to al-Bukhari is correct and there is no problem with it, but this is ignorance in the sense that whenever a person sees a hadith, even if it is in a correct book like al-Bukhari, he sits and says: such and such is permissible; because I saw a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari. I fear most of all for him that a day will come when this person or another enjoys hours with his lawful wife and then gets up and does not perform ghusl (the full ritual bath); because he did not discharge water; because there is a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim - also:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 112Da'if (Darussalam); meaning: it is not obligatory to pour water over the body except by discharging water from the body. So if this man fell into this hadith and did what he did and then did not perform ghusl; no, I saw it in Sahih al-Bukhari! This is not enough in the correct scientific methodology. One must encompass at least the hadiths related to this issue in all the books that are within his reach. As for merely stumbling upon a hadith and saying: it is permissible to drink while standing, and it is permissible for a man after he has intercourse with his wife, if he does not discharge water, that he does not perform ghusl; because there is a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari; this is the height of ignorance!! And so the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Mishkat al-Masabih 3732. This is not ijtihad (independent legal reasoning); this is stumbling upon a hadith while he is looking through Sahih al-Bukhari; he found that the Messenger drank while standing, so he said: it is permissible to drink while standing.
The Shaykh : Do not say "Eid," erase the Eid, on the occasion of the Isra and Mi'raj and the celebration.
The questioner : And the celebration of it, O Shaykh; it was said that it is not a religious innovation but rather a worldly innovation, and that there is a difference between a religious innovation and a worldly innovation. The preacher gave the example of the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab; so I wish, O our Shaykh, that you would clarify this matter for us, and what is the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : I think the doctor is referring to the statement of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: "What a good bid'ah this is," which was reported from the aforementioned preacher that he used this phrase as evidence that there is a good bid'ah in Islam. It is not permissible for any Muslim who is zealous for his religion and knowledge, and who wants to preserve its soundness and not be chewed over on the tongues of people because of his deviation from the correct scientific methodology; it is not permissible for any preacher or lecturer, when speaking on an issue where there are many hadiths, to take one side of it and ignore the other sides. As some of them told me an hour ago: "So-and-so, whom you know, says that in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) drank while standing." As if he wants to say: it is permissible to drink while standing, and he argues that in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Messenger drank while standing.
What is attributed to al-Bukhari is correct and there is no problem with it, but this is ignorance in the sense that whenever a person sees a hadith, even if it is in a correct book like al-Bukhari, he sits and says: such and such is permissible; because I saw a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari. I fear most of all for him that a day will come when this person or another enjoys hours with his lawful wife and then gets up and does not perform ghusl (the full ritual bath); because he did not discharge water; because there is a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim - also:
"Water is for water'
إنما الماء من الماءWhen a judge gives a decision having tried his best to decide correctly and is right, he will have a double reward; and when he gives a decision having tried his best to decide correctly and is wrong, he will have a single reward.
إذا حكم الحاكم فاجتهد فأصاب فله أجران ، فإن أخطأ فله أجر واحد
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.
