What is the ruling on celebrating the Isra and Mi'raj, and the claim by some that there is a difference between a worldly innovation and a religious innovation?
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The questioner : My question, O Shaykh, is about the topic of religious innovation in the recent past, on the occasion of the Isra and Mi'raj, that the Isra and Mi'raj
The Shaykh : Do not say "festival"; erase the word "festival." On the occasion of the Isra and Mi'raj and the celebration...
The questioner : And the celebration of it, O Shaykh. It was said that it is not a religious innovation, but rather a worldly innovation, and that there is a difference between a religious innovation and a worldly innovation. The preacher gave the example of the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. I wish, O our Shaykh, that you would clarify this matter for us, and what is this, and what is the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab?
The Shaykh : I think the doctor is referring to the statement of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab "What a good innovation this is", which was reported from the aforementioned preacher that he used this phrase as evidence that there exists a good innovation in Islam. It is not permissible for any Muslim who is zealous for his religion and his knowledge, and who wishes to preserve its soundness and not chew on people's tongues because of his deviation from the correct scientific methodology, for any preacher or lecturer, when speaking on an issue where there are many hadiths, to take one side of them and ignore the other sides. As some of you told me an hour ago, so-and-so, whom you know, says that in "Sahih al-Bukhari" the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) drank while standing. As if he wants to say that it is permissible to drink while standing, and he argues that in "Sahih al-Bukhari" the Messenger drank while standing. What is attributed to al-Bukhari is correct and there is no problem with it, but this is ignorance in the sense that whenever a person sees a hadith, even if it is in a sound book like al-Bukhari, he says such and such is permissible, because I saw a hadith in "Sahih al-Bukhari". I fear for him that one day this person or another will spend hours with his lawful wife and then get up and not perform the full ritual bath because he did not release water, because there is a hadith in "Sahih al-Bukhari" and also in "Muslim"Jami` at-Tirmidhi 112Da'if (Darussalam) meaning that it is not obligatory to pour water on the body unless water is released from the body. So if this man falls for this hadith and does what he did and then does not perform the full ritual bath, because I saw in "Sahih al-Bukhari"! This is not sufficient in the correct scientific methodology. One must at least encompass the hadiths related to this issue in all the books he can access. As for merely stumbling upon a hadith and saying it is permissible to drink while standing, and that a person after intercourse who does not release water does not have to perform the full ritual bath because there is a hadith in "Sahih al-Bukhari". This is the height of ignorance. And so the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said Mishkat al-Masabih 3732. This is not ijtihad; this is stumbling upon a hadith... in "Sahih al-Bukhari" and finding that the Messenger drank while standing, so he said it is permissible to drink while standing.
The Shaykh : Do not say "festival"; erase the word "festival." On the occasion of the Isra and Mi'raj and the celebration...
The questioner : And the celebration of it, O Shaykh. It was said that it is not a religious innovation, but rather a worldly innovation, and that there is a difference between a religious innovation and a worldly innovation. The preacher gave the example of the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. I wish, O our Shaykh, that you would clarify this matter for us, and what is this, and what is the story of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab?
The Shaykh : I think the doctor is referring to the statement of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab "What a good innovation this is", which was reported from the aforementioned preacher that he used this phrase as evidence that there exists a good innovation in Islam. It is not permissible for any Muslim who is zealous for his religion and his knowledge, and who wishes to preserve its soundness and not chew on people's tongues because of his deviation from the correct scientific methodology, for any preacher or lecturer, when speaking on an issue where there are many hadiths, to take one side of them and ignore the other sides. As some of you told me an hour ago, so-and-so, whom you know, says that in "Sahih al-Bukhari" the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) drank while standing. As if he wants to say that it is permissible to drink while standing, and he argues that in "Sahih al-Bukhari" the Messenger drank while standing. What is attributed to al-Bukhari is correct and there is no problem with it, but this is ignorance in the sense that whenever a person sees a hadith, even if it is in a sound book like al-Bukhari, he says such and such is permissible, because I saw a hadith in "Sahih al-Bukhari". I fear for him that one day this person or another will spend hours with his lawful wife and then get up and not perform the full ritual bath because he did not release water, because there is a hadith in "Sahih al-Bukhari" and also in "Muslim"