The ruling on matters in which there is disagreement among scholars due to differing judgments on a hadith
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His Eminence the Shaykh: What is the ruling on a form of worship for which there is a text regarding which scholars differ on its authenticity?For example: Specifically, the Prayer of Tasbih. Do those who consider the hadith regarding it weak rule that the one who authenticates the hadith and acts upon it is an innovator, or do they remain silent and not denounce him? This is because the text regarding it is disputed regarding its weakness.
First, may Allah bless you: You must know a principle: the default ruling for acts of worship is prohibition and prevention. So, if a hadith comes regarding which there is disagreement on its authenticity, prevention is obligatory, contrary to what this hadith indicates. This is because the default is prohibition until evidence establishes the existence of this matter. This is especially true for something like the Prayer of Tasbih;The Prayer of Tasbih, first: it is anomalous in its form and method.
Second: It is anomalous in its timing; because you do not pray it every day, or every week, or every month, or every year, or once in a lifetime. What is the worship that is performed in this manner?Third: Practically speaking, if the Prayer of Tasbih were a legitimate, established Sunnah, how could it have been hidden from the Ummah such that acting upon it did not appear except in the era of the Tabi'un?!! Because the most famous person from whom it was narrated is Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak. Then, after Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, did it spread in the Islamic Ummah? It did not spread. This is also one of the indicators by which the weakness of a hadith is known: that the Ummah did not act upon it.
And among such indicators is the hadith of Umm Salama regarding the pilgrim who does not perform the Tawaf of Farewell before the sun sets on the Day of Sacrifice; he returns in a state of Ihram. No one acted upon this hadith, except for one of the Tabi'un, Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, and a few others. And such a matter is one where the motivations to transmit it are abundant; because many pilgrims do not have the opportunity to perform the Tawaf of Farewell until after descending from Mina.This is one of the means of knowing the weakness of a hadith: The Ummah abandoned acting upon it. So, the Prayer of Tasbih is of this nature.For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its hadith is invalid, and none of the Imams recommended it. The great Imams of the Islamic Ummah did not recommend it.
As for whether this person is described as an innovator? This is looked into. If the man is one who has the capacity for independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), then we cannot describe him as an innovator, as he has ijtihad. And this is a practical matter. But if he does not have the capacity for ijtihad, it is said: that it is a religious innovation (bid'ah).It is originally a religious innovation, but do we say to the one who performed it: Is he an innovator, or is it a religious innovation? As long as it is not established, it is a religious innovation. So, regarding him, I do not call him an innovator, but the prayer itself is a religious innovation.
First, may Allah bless you: You must know a principle: the default ruling for acts of worship is prohibition and prevention. So, if a hadith comes regarding which there is disagreement on its authenticity, prevention is obligatory, contrary to what this hadith indicates. This is because the default is prohibition until evidence establishes the existence of this matter. This is especially true for something like the Prayer of Tasbih;The Prayer of Tasbih, first: it is anomalous in its form and method.
Second: It is anomalous in its timing; because you do not pray it every day, or every week, or every month, or every year, or once in a lifetime. What is the worship that is performed in this manner?Third: Practically speaking, if the Prayer of Tasbih were a legitimate, established Sunnah, how could it have been hidden from the Ummah such that acting upon it did not appear except in the era of the Tabi'un?!! Because the most famous person from whom it was narrated is Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak. Then, after Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, did it spread in the Islamic Ummah? It did not spread. This is also one of the indicators by which the weakness of a hadith is known: that the Ummah did not act upon it.
And among such indicators is the hadith of Umm Salama regarding the pilgrim who does not perform the Tawaf of Farewell before the sun sets on the Day of Sacrifice; he returns in a state of Ihram. No one acted upon this hadith, except for one of the Tabi'un, Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, and a few others. And such a matter is one where the motivations to transmit it are abundant; because many pilgrims do not have the opportunity to perform the Tawaf of Farewell until after descending from Mina.This is one of the means of knowing the weakness of a hadith: The Ummah abandoned acting upon it. So, the Prayer of Tasbih is of this nature.For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its hadith is invalid, and none of the Imams recommended it. The great Imams of the Islamic Ummah did not recommend it.
As for whether this person is described as an innovator? This is looked into. If the man is one who has the capacity for independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), then we cannot describe him as an innovator, as he has ijtihad. And this is a practical matter. But if he does not have the capacity for ijtihad, it is said: that it is a religious innovation (bid'ah).It is originally a religious innovation, but do we say to the one who performed it: Is he an innovator, or is it a religious innovation? As long as it is not established, it is a religious innovation. So, regarding him, I do not call him an innovator, but the prayer itself is a religious innovation.