Refuting the doubt of those who permit religious innovations and divide innovation into good and bad? (And clarifying the weakness of the hadith: "What the Muslims consider good is good")

The Shaykh : Here, two doubts are mentioned on this occasion. The first one I mentioned along with the other is: "What the Muslims see as good is good." It is rare for a knowledgeable scholar who is well-versed in the religion to deny a matter he knows has no place in Islam without being confronted with the argument: "My brother, the Muslims here do it this way," and they cite the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): . Some may also argue with another hadith. The first hadith is not authentic, and I will return to it later so that I do not forget. As for the other hadith, it is authentic, but it is not valid to use it as evidence to contradict his statement (peace be upon him) in the previous hadiths: , and the hadith of al-'Arba' ibn Sari'ah, and others. This second hadith is his statement (peace be upon him): . This hadith is authentic, whereas the first hadith is not authentic. Nevertheless, each of these two hadiths has a meaning different from the meaning that those who rely on this concept assume. The fundamental principle that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to remind his Companions of before every sermon is... As for the first hadith, , we now examine the hadith from the perspective of hadith sciences, and then we will discuss its jurisprudential aspect. From the hadith perspective, the hadith was narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad through the route of Abu Dawud al-Tiyalasi, and this is also in his Musnad. Both are with a good chain of narration from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). He said "he" and did not say "the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said" in this hadith that you have heard. Its source is from the Musnads of Abu Dawud al-Tiyalasi and Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Shaybani: "Indeed, Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) sent Muhammad as a Messenger and appointed for him ministers and supporters. So what the Muslims see as good is good from Allah." I think anyone among you who knows something of the Arabic language and its literature will quickly and clearly understand what I am saying. The phrase "what the Muslims see" here, in the terminology of scholars, either the article "al" indicates comprehensiveness and inclusion, covering all Muslims in all eras and all times, or the article "al" here is for specification, known among them as "al 'ahd" (the article of reference), which implies specification and does not imply generality and comprehensiveness. This second meaning is what is intended in this hadith, which is mawquf (stopped at a Companion) with Ibn Mas'ud. Why? Because the context that follows this phrase speaks about the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him). After mentioning that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) sent Muhammad as a Messenger, he said: "He appointed for him ministers and supporters." So these ministers and supporters are the ones intended in the statement "what the Muslims see as good is good with Allah." Especially since he mentioned this mawquf hadith on the occasion of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) choosing Abu Bakr al-Siddiq as Caliph after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: "So what the Muslims see as good is good with Allah." That is, as long as the Muslims chose Abu Bakr as Caliph after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and saw it as a good, indeed obligatory, matter, it is good with Allah. In that case, this mawquf hadith has absolutely no relation to the issue of a group of Muslims in a certain era seeing something as good. No, no, this hadith, being mawquf, I repeat to your ears, does not permit a Muslim to say "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What the Muslims see..." Rather, one should say "A Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, said: 'What the Muslims see as good is good with Allah,'" and interpret it in the manner I mentioned, the manner indicated by the occasion on which this mawquf hadith was mentioned. First, the "al" in "the Muslims" is for reference, meaning those mentioned before his statement: . In that case, this hadith aligns perfectly with a verse in the Noble Qur'an, which is the statement of the Lord of the Worlds: , meaning what the Muslims see as good is good with Allah, meaning these Muslims mentioned in this verse, that if someone contradicts the path of the Muslims, as if he contradicted the Master of the Messengers. And I think I also addressed this verse in the previous session: , meaning he contradicts the path upon which the Salaf al-Salih (the righteous predecessors) were. Did the Salaf al-Salih see in Islam a form of worship that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not legislate and the noble Companions did not practice, yet it is permissible for a Muslim to draw near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) with it? The answer is no. Especially since we mentioned to you the statement of Ibn 'Umar clarifying the statement of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): . Ibn 'Umar said: "Even if people see it as good." As for the other statements that were transmitted and narrated from the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), affirming with their words and actions this general principle that every religious innovation is misguidance, they are many and very numerous, and it is not possible to enumerate them in this session. However, there is no harm in reminding you of some of them. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who is among the great scholars of the Companions and their readers, especially since it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: . It is Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). This noble Companion, by his grace, the jurisprudence of Imam Abu Hanifa, the first of the four Imams (may Allah have mercy on them, Blessed and Exalted is He), most of this Imam's jurisprudence is based on the hadiths and fatwas of Ibn Mas'ud. What did this noble Companion say? He said: "Follow, follow, and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed. Hold fast to the ancient matter." This truth is the advice of a scholar. How much we need to advise ourselves with it. Follow, meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, because they are the ones who represent the path of the believers. The first to represent this path are the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and at their head is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Ibn Mas'ud said: Follow and do not innovate. Why? "For you have been sufficed. Hold fast to the ancient matter." "You have been sufficed" refers to the texts in the Book and the Sunnah, including the famous verse, which is His statement (Blessed and Exalted is He): , "Today I have perfected for you your religion." So you have been sufficed. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has come with this Qur'an and the explanation of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with everything the Muslims need in terms of worship. Therefore, there is no qiyas (analogical reasoning) in worship. Qiyas is the fourth of the four principles according to the majority of scholars: the Book, the Sunnah, valid ijma' (scholarly consensus), and qiyas. But this fourth principle, qiyas, is not permissible to be resorted to in acts of worship. This is because acts of worship are limited, unlike the events that occur among people, which cannot be exhausted. Therefore, the stronger opinion among scholars is that qiyas is a source, indeed the fourth source of the Shari'ah, but this qiyas does not function to expand the scope of worship, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has completed the legislation of worship in its entirety. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said two hadiths. The first hadith is in Sahih Muslim: Undoubtedly, he fulfilled it in the best manner. And our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) said to him in the Qur'an: . The second hadith is closer to our topic than the first hadith, which is his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): , narrated by Imam al-Shafi'i in his Musnad or in his Sunan. So Allah told the truth when He said: . The religion is what a person practices and draws near to the Lord of Mankind with. So Ibn Mas'ud told the truth when he said in the previous athar: "For you have been sufficed." That is, why do you exhaust yourselves by innovating acts of worship in the religion, when the Lord of the Worlds has sufficed you by sending to you a Messenger who explains and clarifies everything you need in terms of worship in detail? There is absolutely no need for qiyas in it, especially if this qiyas contradicts the explicit texts mentioned earlier and the established athars from the Salaf al-Salih. Second, among them is the statement of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed. Hold fast to the ancient matter." This is his statement.