But why did 'Umar not pray with them, nor did he pray behind them?
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The questioner : ... He did not lead the people in prayer, nor did he pray behind them. The command... The hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not establish [the prayer] with Ubayy ibn Ka'b, nor did he lead the people in prayer. He only gathered the people when he saw them differing, just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw... So when 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the people differing, some praying here and some praying there, he gathered them for this reason. But he did not pray with them, nor did he lead them... He has the reward for standing in night prayer, but did he not pray?
The Shaykh : This is another matter. May Allah reward you. This is another matter. 'Umar did not pray because he was concerned with the conditions of the Muslims and inquiring into their affairs. There is nothing better for him than participating with the people in this prayer. The important thing is that this prayer which 'Umar revived is not a religious innovation, and it is not permissible for a Muslim to call it a religious innovation, even if he called it a good innovation. How can we say that this is a misleading innovation when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered it, the Companions responded to it, and the Muslims have practiced it until this day?[An-Nisa 4:115]
Another questioner: ... and increasing the rak'ahs... that the prayer of the Messenger... was eleven rak'ahs, and then after that...?
The Shaykh : This is contrary to the Sunnah. Why is that? The Messenger (peace be upon him) did not increase beyond eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs. There is no dispute here. The Sunnah is what we do not deviate from. Or should we say that 'Umar innovated, and this is a misleading innovation? No, we say he innovated, and this is a good innovation. This is wrong. But "Pity you! Some evil is less than some". The one who says this is a good innovation has less evil than the one who says this is a misleading innovation that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab innovated. May he be far from that. Rather, he revived a Sunnah. This applies to his saying (peace be upon him) This applies exactly to what 'Umar ibn al-Khattab did. This is what I wanted to draw your attention to, so that we do not fall into excess or negligence, as we said.
For example, some people disapprove of those who are not accustomed to eating with a spoon. Well, this has no relation to religion. Why disapprove? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ate properly. The Messenger of Allah did not ride in a car or an airplane, and so on. Would anyone say that this is a religious innovation? Religious innovation is in religion. As for eating with a spoon, riding in an airplane, not riding a beast, and the like, these are all matters of the world. And as we said, such means may also help us in performing some of the obligations that we might not be able to perform in this time. The important thing is that we must distinguish between religious innovation and innovation in the world.
Whoever prays with the imam the 'Isha' prayer and prays with him...
من صلى مع الإمام صلاة العشاء وصلى معه ...The Shaykh : This is another matter. May Allah reward you. This is another matter. 'Umar did not pray because he was concerned with the conditions of the Muslims and inquiring into their affairs. There is nothing better for him than participating with the people in this prayer. The important thing is that this prayer which 'Umar revived is not a religious innovation, and it is not permissible for a Muslim to call it a religious innovation, even if he called it a good innovation. How can we say that this is a misleading innovation when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered it, the Companions responded to it, and the Muslims have practiced it until this day?
And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers
ومن يشاقق الرسول من بعد ما تبين له الهدى ويتبع غير سبيل المؤمنين ...Another questioner: ... and increasing the rak'ahs... that the prayer of the Messenger... was eleven rak'ahs, and then after that...?
The Shaykh : This is contrary to the Sunnah. Why is that? The Messenger (peace be upon him) did not increase beyond eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs. There is no dispute here. The Sunnah is what we do not deviate from. Or should we say that 'Umar innovated, and this is a misleading innovation? No, we say he innovated, and this is a good innovation. This is wrong. But "Pity you! Some evil is less than some". The one who says this is a good innovation has less evil than the one who says this is a misleading innovation that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab innovated. May he be far from that. Rather, he revived a Sunnah. This applies to his saying (peace be upon him)
Whoever introduces a good practice in Islam will have the reward of it and the reward of whoever acts in accordance with it until the Day of Resurrection, without anything being deducted from their rewards...
من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بها إلى يوم القيامة دون أن ينقص من أجورهم شيء ...For example, some people disapprove of those who are not accustomed to eating with a spoon. Well, this has no relation to religion. Why disapprove? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ate properly. The Messenger of Allah did not ride in a car or an airplane, and so on. Would anyone say that this is a religious innovation? Religious innovation is in religion. As for eating with a spoon, riding in an airplane, not riding a beast, and the like, these are all matters of the world. And as we said, such means may also help us in performing some of the obligations that we might not be able to perform in this time. The important thing is that we must distinguish between religious innovation and innovation in the world.