That worship be in accordance with the Shari'ah in its cause

The Shaykh : Whoever worships Allah with a worship for a cause that Allah has not prescribed, meaning that Allah has not made it a cause, then this worship is a bid'ah (religious innovation) because it is not in accordance with the Shari'ah in its cause. An example of this is a man who instituted a celebration on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab, because he claims it is the night of the Mi'raj of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The celebration includes prayer, dhikr (remembrance of Allah), recitation of the Qur'an, and charity on that night.

The questioner : Fasting.

The Shaykh : He fasts at night, O Shaykh, and the like of that. Why? Because he claims that it is the night in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ascended. What do we say to him?

The questioner : It is a bid'ah (religious innovation).

The Shaykh : It is a bid'ah (religious innovation). A man who recites the Qur'an—you say he is an innovator. A man who says "Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illa Allah, Allahu Akbar," and "O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad, and Glory to He who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa"—you say it is a bid'ah (religious innovation). We say, yes, it is a bid'ah (religious innovation). We do not say that the dhikr (remembrance) itself is a bid'ah (religious innovation); no. But we say that linking it to this cause and making this cause the reason for it is a bid'ah (religious innovation). Why? Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) knew when he was ascended. Do you agree with me on this?

The questioner : He does not know.

The Shaykh : He does not know when he was ascended. Well, if the Messenger does not know, then you are even less likely to know. The Messenger knows, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) know. Did they make a celebration for this occasion? If they did not make a celebration for this occasion, are they ignorant that this cause is a Shari'ah cause for this celebration? If you say they were ignorant, then you have accused the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and all his Companions of ignorance. And if you say they knew that this occasion should have this celebration but left it out of negligence and carelessness, then you have accused them of negligence and carelessness. So you do not escape from one of these two accusations against the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. And by this, it becomes clear that if the celebration of the night of the Mi'raj were truly from what Allah and His Messenger approve of, it would have been prescribed and known to the Ummah (the Muslim community). Since it was not prescribed, it is known that it is not from the Shari'ah of Allah, and worshipping Allah with it does not increase the doer except in distance from Allah. We ask Allah for safety, for Allah does not accept that you worship Him with what He has not prescribed. Allah the Exalted said, rebuking those who worshipped with what He had not prescribed: Well, the Mi'raj is not established to have been on the night of the twenty-seventh. Rather, the closest of the opinions is that the Mi'raj was in Rabi' al-Awwal, not in Rajab. So this bid'ah (religious innovation) is not valid, neither from the historical aspect nor from the Shari'ah aspect. And by this, judge all the occasions that are celebrated, even if they are celebrated with a prescribed worship at a time other than this occasion. We say that this is a bid'ah (religious innovation) and contains nothing of following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), because the following is not realized in it due to the absence of the cause.