Commentary on the Book of al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib ". . .
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The Shaykh : ... We read what remains of the marfu' hadiths and mawquf athar in this chapter. It says: "And from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: 'Moderation in the Sunnah is better than exertion in religious innovation' This is the statement of Ibn Mas'ud, not a hadith attributed and raised to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Here in the Book of al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib by al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri, in the section on encouraging adherence to the Book and the Sunnah. We have read some of the hadiths that are authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this chapter, and now we read what remains of the marfu' hadiths and mawquf athar in this chapter. It says: "And from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: 'Moderation in the Sunnah is better than exertion in religious innovation' This is the statement of Ibn Mas'ud, not a hadith attributed and raised to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather it is from the words of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, the noble Companion, known for his early companionship with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and for being among the great jurists of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). This noble Companion says: 'Moderation in the Sunnah is better than exertion in religious innovation' What is the meaning of this statement? It means that for the Muslim to act upon a little of the established Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is better for him than to exert himself and do much of the religious innovations that are not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And this person who acts upon these innovations thinks that he is doing good, while he is not doing any good. Therefore, acting upon a little of the Sunnah is better than doing much of the religious innovation, meaning the innovation they call the "good innovation," because it is not appropriate to compare the Sunnah with the innovation that everyone agrees is misguidance. Rather, it is appropriate here to compare the established Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him) with the innovation that has a tinge or trace of being good. So, acting upon a little of the established Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is better than doing much of these innovations that people think are innovations, because acting upon a little of the good is limited as being good, better than acting upon many matters in which it is not hidden from a person that there is good and that there is reward with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). And if we know the meaning of this statement of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), then this statement is in reality evidence that Ibn Mas'ud did not know that there is in acts of worship what can be called a "good innovation" for which its doer is rewarded and given reward by Allah. Because he encourages people to act upon a little of the Sunnah and to turn away from doing much of the innovation. And we cannot compare acting upon a little of the Sunnah with acting upon a little of the innovation, because the purpose of this mawquf statement from Ibn Mas'ud is to divert people and turn them away from acting upon innovation, whether much or little, to acting upon the Sunnah, even if it is a little. So, acting upon ... of the Sunnah, even if it is little, is better than acting upon much of the innovation, because this much is vain and worthless, like the scum of a flood, having no reward. And the athar that are authentic from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the prohibition of innovating in the religion and holding fast to the Sunnah are too many to mention or count. For example, he says (may Allah be pleased with him): "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed. Hold fast to the ancient matter." "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed." This means that the Lawgiver has sufficed you in legislation with what is sufficient for you and satisfies your desire and eagerness for obedience. So, it is only upon you to follow and hold fast to the ancient matter, meaning what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was upon.
Here in the Book of al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib by al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri, in the section on encouraging adherence to the Book and the Sunnah. We have read some of the hadiths that are authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this chapter, and now we read what remains of the marfu' hadiths and mawquf athar in this chapter. It says: "And from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: 'Moderation in the Sunnah is better than exertion in religious innovation' This is the statement of Ibn Mas'ud, not a hadith attributed and raised to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather it is from the words of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, the noble Companion, known for his early companionship with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and for being among the great jurists of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). This noble Companion says: 'Moderation in the Sunnah is better than exertion in religious innovation' What is the meaning of this statement? It means that for the Muslim to act upon a little of the established Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is better for him than to exert himself and do much of the religious innovations that are not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And this person who acts upon these innovations thinks that he is doing good, while he is not doing any good. Therefore, acting upon a little of the Sunnah is better than doing much of the religious innovation, meaning the innovation they call the "good innovation," because it is not appropriate to compare the Sunnah with the innovation that everyone agrees is misguidance. Rather, it is appropriate here to compare the established Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him) with the innovation that has a tinge or trace of being good. So, acting upon a little of the established Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is better than doing much of these innovations that people think are innovations, because acting upon a little of the good is limited as being good, better than acting upon many matters in which it is not hidden from a person that there is good and that there is reward with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). And if we know the meaning of this statement of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), then this statement is in reality evidence that Ibn Mas'ud did not know that there is in acts of worship what can be called a "good innovation" for which its doer is rewarded and given reward by Allah. Because he encourages people to act upon a little of the Sunnah and to turn away from doing much of the innovation. And we cannot compare acting upon a little of the Sunnah with acting upon a little of the innovation, because the purpose of this mawquf statement from Ibn Mas'ud is to divert people and turn them away from acting upon innovation, whether much or little, to acting upon the Sunnah, even if it is a little. So, acting upon ... of the Sunnah, even if it is little, is better than acting upon much of the innovation, because this much is vain and worthless, like the scum of a flood, having no reward. And the athar that are authentic from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the prohibition of innovating in the religion and holding fast to the Sunnah are too many to mention or count. For example, he says (may Allah be pleased with him): "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed. Hold fast to the ancient matter." "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed." This means that the Lawgiver has sufficed you in legislation with what is sufficient for you and satisfies your desire and eagerness for obedience. So, it is only upon you to follow and hold fast to the ancient matter, meaning what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was upon.