The Answer to the Second Doubt of Those Who Divide Innovations into Good and Bad Innovations by the Statement of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: "This is a good innovation"

The Shaykh : Here, to elaborate and explain this issue; because a problem may arise from some who may have some knowledge and insight in this field from simplified books; we believe that anything introduced in the religion with the intention of drawing closer to Allah is all misguidance, and there is no exception to that, but this may be difficult for some people due to events that occurred in the era of the Salaf, so they think that these events contradict this general rule, and the reality is that there is absolutely no contradiction to it; and therefore, I will first mention a correct report narrated by Imam al-Bukhari in his "Sahih" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out in the last ten days of Ramadan in the final Ramadan of his blessed life, and he prayed in the mosque in one of the corners of the mosque, and they spread a mat for him there, so when some of the Companions saw him praying, they followed behind him - and their knowledge of him (peace and blessings be upon him) was that he used to keep the night alive in his house where no one saw him except on that night -; so when they saw him praying in the mosque, those who were present followed him, and during the day the news spread and the people gathered at night, so the Messenger (peace be upon him) came out and prayed as he did on the first night, the prayer of standing and the known rak'ahs in all his life (peace be upon him) that it is eleven rak'ahs, so the people gathered on the second night more than they gathered on the first night, and so on the third night the mosque was crowded and filled with worshippers, then they gathered on the fourth night and waited for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to come out to them as he did in the three nights, and they were not surprised by his coming out (peace be upon him) except angry after some of the Companions pelted his door with pebbles, thinking that he (peace be upon him) had fallen asleep, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was not asleep, but he was awake, and he had not deviated from a Shari'ah plan; and therefore, when he appeared to them, they saw him angry, and he said to them: , then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away after this Ramadan, and he did not reach the following Ramadan; because he died, as you know, in Rabi' al-Awwal.
In the second and third Ramadan and to as many Ramadans as Allah wills, the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to pray the standing prayer of Ramadan in the Prophet's Mosque in groups and individually, until the caliphate of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came, and he went out as usual to check on the conditions of the people in the mosques and in the streets, he entered the mosque and his eyes fell upon what he had seen before, scattered here and there, so he said - and this is from the inspirations of Allah Mighty and Majestic to al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) - he said: "If we were to gather these people behind one imam," then it occurred to him later to gather them behind one imam, so he prayed with them, rather he ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b to pray with them as one group eleven rak'ahs, then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went out on the following night or the one after that, so when he saw them thus gathered behind one imam, he was pleased with that, and he said: "This is a good innovation, and that which they sleep from is better." So some of the deluded cling to this statement of 'Umar: "This is a good innovation" that there is then in Islam an innovation that has no basis in the past time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his life.
The researchers among the scholars answered that, such as Imam al-Shatibi in his great book "Al-I'tisam" which we advise every student of knowledge who wants to be on clear evidence of this rule: , and to know the doubts that the opponents bring and the strong scientific answer to them; we advise everyone who wants this to acquire this great book "Al-I'tisam" by Imam al-Shatibi, then he will truly understand in ...
... Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his great book - also - which is known by the name "Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim Mukhalafat Ahl al-Jahim," so he addressed on the occasion of this great title that the disbelievers are in the habit of innovating in the religion; as the Lord of the Worlds said regarding the monasticism of the Christians: , so Ibn Taymiyyah addressed innovation in the religion and detailed the speech in that with a wonderful detail, and it was among what he and Imam al-Shatibi spoke that they said that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in this statement does not mean the innovation that the Messenger intended in the rule: meaning: every innovation in the religion is misguidance; 'Umar does not intend this specific meaning; why? Because 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) only gathered the Companions on a Sunnah and not on an innovation.
The reality is that this report meets the first hadith completely in that the people who misunderstood the hadith also misunderstood the report, and that those who understood the hadith well also understood the report well and did not deviate from the occasion in which the hadith was said and the occasion in which that report was said.
We mentioned earlier that in the authentic hadith that the Messenger (peace be upon him) kept the standing prayer of Ramadan in congregation for three nights; so then, can it be said about something the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) did that it is an innovation? Far be it from one who is far below 'Umar in stages to think that the standing of the Messenger (peace be upon him) in those nights does not remove the color or nature of innovativeness from this worship, rather he is certain that this standing is a Sunnah that the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) established by his action in these three nights; so then, it is impossible, it is impossible that 'Umar meant that the prayer of the Companions of tarawih in congregation is an innovation with no basis in the Shari'ah, and this is its basis from his action (peace and blessings be upon him).
And more than that, the standing prayer in Ramadan has been established as a Sunnah by something added to the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of it; that is, it came in "Sunan Abu Dawud" and "Musnad Imam Ahmad" and others with a strong chain from the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So in this hadith there is a very important benefit, especially regarding this topic that we are addressing; namely: that this hadith legislated for the Muslims after the Messenger (peace be upon him) to gather in the standing prayer in Ramadan; because it made an eternal Shari'ah until the Day of Resurrection that whoever prays the night prayer in Ramadan is written for him as if he kept the whole night alive, so if we combine this verbal hadith with that practical hadith, it is established for us with certainty that the prayer of tarawih in congregation is impossible for 'Umar ibn al-Khattab to say that it is an innovation in the meaning that these people who interpret the report of 'Umar want; namely: it was not, this worship was not, then it happened afterwards; and therefore 'Umar named it and praised it with his previously mentioned statement; this is false.