Lesson on "Encouragement and Warning," Encouragement to Follow the Book and the Sunnah, the Statement of Ibn Mas'ud

The Shaykh : ... We read what remains of the marfu' hadiths and mawquf athar in this chapter.
He says: And from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: "Moderation in the Sunnah is better than striving in religious innovation." This is the statement of Ibn Mas'ud, not a hadith attributed and traced back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
... Here in the book "Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib" by al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri, in the section: Encouragement to Follow the Book and the Sunnah. We have read some of the hadiths that are authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in this chapter, and now we read what remains of the marfu' hadiths and mawquf athar in this chapter. He says:
And from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: "Moderation in the Sunnah is better than striving in religious innovation." This is the statement of Ibn Mas'ud, not a hadith attributed and traced back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), but rather it is from the words of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, the noble Companion, known for the early nature of his companionship with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and for being among the great jurists of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all).
This noble Companion says: "Moderation in the Sunnah is better than striving in religious innovation." What is the meaning of this statement?
It means that it is better for the Muslim to act upon a little of the established Sunnahs from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) than to strive and do much of the religious innovations that were not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And this person who acts upon these innovations thinks that he is doing good, while he is not doing anything of good. Therefore, acting upon a little of the Sunnah is better than doing much of the religious innovation; that is, the innovation they call the "good innovation." Because it is not appropriate to compare the Sunnah with the innovation that everyone agrees is misguidance. Rather, it is appropriate here to compare the established Sunnah from the Messenger (peace be upon him) with the innovation that has a tinge or trace of being good. So, acting upon a little of the established Sunnah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is better than doing much of these innovations that people think are innovations; because acting upon a little of the good is limited as being good, which is better than acting upon many matters in which it is not hidden from a person that there is good and that there is a reward with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
And if we know the meaning of this statement from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), then this statement is in reality evidence that Ibn Mas'ud did not know that there is in acts of worship what can be called a "good innovation" for which its doer is rewarded and given reward by Allah; because he encourages people to act upon a little of the Sunnah and to turn away from doing much of the religious innovation. And we cannot compare acting upon a little of the Sunnah with acting upon a little of the religious innovation; because the purpose of this mawquf hadith attributed to Ibn Mas'ud ... is to guide people and turn them away from acting upon religious innovation, whether it is much or little, to acting upon the Sunnah, even if it is a little. So, acting upon the Sunnah, even if it is little, is better than acting upon much of the religious innovation; because this much is dust and chaff like the chaff of a flood, having no reward. And the athar that are authentic from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the prohibition of innovating in the religion and holding fast to the Sunnah are too many to be mentioned or counted. So, for example, he says (may Allah be pleased with him): "Follow and do not innovate; you have been sufficed. Hold fast to the old matter." "Follow and do not innovate; you have been sufficed." This means that the Lawgiver has sufficed you with legislation that is enough for you and satisfies your desire and eagerness for obedience. So, it is only upon you to follow and hold fast to the old matter; that is, what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was upon.