What is the meaning of the hadith (Whoever introduces a good practice in Islam 00)? And is there such a thing as a good religious innovation?

The Shaykh : Let the group who want to leave go, so that we do not inconvenience them.
Abu Layla : Do you have a car? We are ready to take you.

The questioner : On the occasion of your mentioning the hadith , I say that when we disapprove of certain actions of some people that are innovations, such as dhikr using the singular name of Allah, "Allah, Allah," or loud dhikr, or seclusion, and the thing following this is that they call these a good practice?

The Shaykh : The truth is that this hadith is very important, but by nature, I do not want to force people to sit, because the common people say, "Knowledge is dry; we need something to entertain us, something to lighten our hearts, something to drive drowsiness from our eyes," and so on. Therefore, I say: whoever wishes to sit, I will sit with him; whoever wishes to leave, he may leave with me, I am not certain. Regarding the hadith mentioned, we must know the reason for its occurrence. The scholars of tafsir say a very beautiful phrase: "Knowing the causes of revelation helps the researcher or the student of knowledge... to understand half the meaning of the verse, and the other half comes from the Arabic language and its styles." I quoted a rule from the scholars of tafsir and connected it to the science of the noble hadith, which is: "Knowing the reason for the occurrence of a hadith helps in understanding half its meaning, and knowing the other half comes from the Arabic language and its styles." So, we should ask: does this authentic hadith, and so on, have a reason for its occurrence? The answer is yes. And when we connect the reason for its occurrence to the hadith that was said in its context, we find a very wide gap between that deviated understanding of the hadith—which is the understanding of the Khalaf—and the intended meaning of the hadith. If we look at the reason for the hadith's occurrence, it is reported in Sahih Muslim as follows, with its authentic chain, from Jarir ibn 'Abd Allah al-Bajali (may Allah be pleased with him)... He said: We were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when a group of Bedouins came to him, wearing their cloaks and carrying their swords. Most of them were from Muzir, or rather all of them were from Muzir. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw them, his face changed, meaning his features changed out of sadness for their poverty. "Mujtabi al-nimar"—what does that mean? We need to explain it in the language known today: they were wearing blankets folded in half and draped over their shoulders. That was their clothing, not a jilbab, shirt, cloak, or jacket. No, they were a group of poor people; the signs of extreme poverty were apparent on them. Therefore, Jarir said that the face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) changed, and he stood among the Companions to give a sermon and recited a verse from the noble Qur'an: يا أيها الذين آمنوا أنفقوا مما رزقناكم من قبل أن يأتي أحدكم الموت فيقول رب لولا أخرتني إلى أجل قريب فأتصدق وأكن من الصالحين ⁽⁹⁾ O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that - then those are the losers. ⁽¹⁰⁾ And spend [in the way of Allah] from what We have provided you before death approaches one of you and he says, "My Lord, if only You would delay me for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous."[Al-Munafiqun 63:9-10] Then he (peace be upon him) said: تصدق رجل بديناره بدرهمه بصاع بره بصاع شعيره Let a man give charity with his dinar, his dirham, his sa' of wheat, or his sa' of barley. A man from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and went to his house to bring back whatever food he could manage, meaning wheat, barley, or dates, which was their food at that time, and he placed it in front of the Messenger (peace be upon him). When the other Companions saw what their brother had done, each of them went to bring back whatever charity he could manage. Jarir said that food, dirhams, and dinars gathered in front of the Messenger (peace be upon him) like mountains, meaning piles. Then the face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brightened, as if it were gilded. As if it were gilded; what does "gilded" mean? It means like silver coated with gold. It shone with beauty, light, joy, and happiness. Then he (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) said: من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بها إلى يوم القيامة دون أن ينقص من أجورهم شيء ، ومن سن في الإسلام سنة سيئة فعله وزرها ووزر من عمل بها إلى يوم القيامة دون أن ينقص من أوارهم شيء Whoever introduces a good Sunnah in Islam, he will have the reward of it and the reward of whoever works by it until the Day of Resurrection, without anything being deducted from their rewards. And whoever introduces a bad Sunnah in Islam, he will have the sin of it and the sin of whoever works by it until the Day of Resurrection, without anything being deducted from their sins. Now, those who differ from the Salaf in their interpretation of this hadith claim that the intended meaning of "whoever introduces a good practice in Islam" is "whoever innovates a good innovation in Islam," because they use this hadith to justify every innovation on earth on the pretext that it is a good practice. So, in their understanding, the hadith means "whoever innovates a good innovation in Islam." We say to them now: connect this meaning to the incident. Where is the innovation in the incident? There is none, praise be to Allah. In this incident, there was only the known Sunnah in the Book and the Sunnah prior to that moment. Before that, verses had come down regarding the obligation of zakah and the obligation of purifying souls through zakah. And at that moment, as you heard, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) gave them a sermon and said the verse: وأنفقوا مما رزقناكم ... And spend from that which We have provided for you... and so on. So, what the man did was not an innovation in Islam, but rather the implementation of a text from the Qur'an. Add to that that the Messenger encouraged them to give charity. The man gave his dinar, his dirham, his sa' of barley, his sa' of wheat... And I do not disown my lineage, because it is not permissible for a Muslim to disown his lineage. I mean, I am Al-Albani, meaning in other words, I am a non-Arab, Professor. So, I do not say I am Arab; I am Al-Albani, of non-Arab origin. I learned the Arabic language by the grace and mercy of Allah the Exalted from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet. But I, the non-Arab, am ashamed to say, on the occasion of such charity that took place, to apply to it the phrase "whoever introduces a good practice in Islam," meaning "whoever innovates a good innovation in Islam." I seek refuge in Allah! What brought this talk about? I mean, I do not say that on such an occasion this is a good innovation, "whoever innovates a good innovation in Islam." May Allah reward you. You have innovated a good innovation in Islam? How can this be said when the Messenger gave them a sermon with the Qur'an and gave them a sermon with the Sunnah, encouraging them to give charity? What is the connection between this charity and what you claim is an innovation? Because the Messenger said on this occasion: من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة He who sets a good precedent in IslamSahih Muslim 1017a Likewise, whoever does evil in Islam and innovates an innovation for the first time, and whoever follows him in that misguidance or that sin, he will bear the burdens of those who follow him until the Day of Resurrection." Therefore, it is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari that the son of Adam, the one who killed his brother, will carry the burden of every person who is killed unjustly and tyrannically until the Day of Resurrection; because he was, as he (peace be upon him) said: أول من سن القتل the first one to killSunan Ibn Majah 2616 This is its meaning. And one more thing, which may be the last: he (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever introduces a good practice in Islam, and whoever introduces a bad practice in Islam." What is the way to know the good practice and the bad practice? Is it the intellect or the Shari'ah? Without doubt, it is the Shari'ah. So, we say: whoever introduces a good practice in Islam, and the Shari'ah testifies that it is good and he acts upon it, he will have its reward and the reward of everyone who works by it until the Day of Resurrection. And whoever introduces a bad practice in Islam, and the Shari'ah judges it to be a bad practice, he will bear its sin and the sin of everyone who works by it until the Day of Resurrection. For example, whoever opens a tavern in the lands of the Muslims, and perhaps places this tavern opposite one of the houses of Allah, the mosque, this is introducing a bad practice, and he will bear its sin and the sin of everyone who works by it until the Day of Resurrection. But whoever opens a school where Muslims learn the sciences of the Shari'ah, look now, this is one of the deviations of some people who use this hadith as evidence that it means innovation. Whoever opens a school where Muslims learn the sciences of the Shari'ah, this is not called an innovation; this is called a good practice. Why? Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) first encouraged knowledge and encouraged gathering for knowledge, and opened the door for gathering within the limits of what was feasible at that time. Sometimes in the mosque for the men, and sometimes in some houses for the women, as it is reported that some women said, "O Messenger of Allah, the men have taken what you have of knowledge, so make a day for us." He made for them a day, but on that day there was no available house that we would call a school, we would call it the House of the Qur'an, we would call it the House of Distinction, and so on. But he established this, and then the need there did not call for the expansion that exists due to the expansion of the Islamic world. So, this is not an innovation in any way, but rather a good practice, and he will have its reward and the reward of everyone who works by it until the Day of Resurrection. And this hadith, in reality, has many, many tails, because some people argue with the saying of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: "What a good innovation this is," and some argue with the saying of Ibn Mas'ud: "What the Muslims see as good is good in the sight of Allah." All of this is due to poor understanding. Because the prayer of tarawih is a Sunnah and not an innovation. The answer regarding 'Umar is that he meant the linguistic innovation, because it was abandoned between the caliphate of Abu Bakr and the day 'Umar revived this Sunnah. Likewise, Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), when he said, "What the Muslims see as good is good in the sight of Allah," the Muslims, the Muslims; either the "al" here is from the Arabic language, either the "al" of "al-Muslimun" is for comprehensiveness and inclusion, or the "al" is for familiarity and specification, meaning the scholars of the Muslims, and not what the Muslims, meaning their ignorant ones, see in the end of time. No, the intended meaning is specifically the scholars of the Muslims. We say, on the head and the eye, what the Muslims see as good is good in the sight of Allah. And the evidence for that is the completion of the hadith, meaning its beginning; because Ibn Mas'ud said this hadith on the occasion of the death of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and the selection of his noble Companions of a caliph after him, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. He said, "The Muslims agreed to select Abu Bakr al-Siddiq as their caliph. Allah sent His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) as a Messenger and made for him ministers and supporters. So, what the Muslims, meaning these ministers and supporters, i.e., the Muhajireen and the Ansar, see as good is good in the sight of Allah." Where are those whom the Muslims, the Muhajireen and the Ansar, the Salaf, the first of the Salaf, see, and what some of the Khalaf see, even if we assume they have some knowledge? But there is a great difference, as it was said, "So where is the Pleiades from the dust, and where is Mu'awiyah from 'Ali" (may Allah be pleased with them both). But where are they in terms of knowledge? 'Ali was much more knowledgeable than Mu'awiyah, but Islam united them, companionship united them, knowledge united them. But that one, 'Ali, was much broader in knowledge than Mu'awiyah, by a lot and a very lot. Therefore, if some Muslims speak of the good innovation, their words are not considered, because they first contradict a verse in the noble Qur'an. This verse, and I am almost breaking with sadness for the Muslims who did not first appreciate its value, while a scholar from among the scholars of the Jews knew the value of this noble verse, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم وأتممت عليكم نعمتي ورضيت لكم الإسلام دينا This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.[Al-Ma'idah 5:3] A man from among the scholars of the Jews came to 'Umar and said: "O 'Umar, there is a verse in the Book of Allah that, if it had been revealed to us, the Jews, we would have taken the day of its revelation as a festival." He said: "What is it?" He said: اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم ... This day I have perfected for you your religion[Al-Ma'idah 5:3] and so on. It is not what came in the hadith with the word "Rejoice," but rather it is as if he is saying to him, "Rejoice, this verse was revealed on the day of two festivals, on a Friday, and the Messenger of Allah was at 'Arafah. This verse was revealed and the Messenger of Allah was at 'Arafah and it was a Friday, so it is truly a festival." Did the Muslims know the value of this noble verse? No, by Allah. If our Lord favors us with His saying: اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم وأتممت عليكم نعمتي ورضيت لكم الإسلام دينا This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.[Al-Ma'idah 5:3] We must say: Praise be to Allah, who has completed for us the religion and has not left us room to expand in the religion. The meaning of religion is worship. Therefore, it is reported from the Imam of the City of the People, the Imam of the City of Migration, the Imam Malik, regarding his complete understanding of this verse and his proper appreciation of it, what did he say? If the Muslims would only pay attention to the word of this Imam, they would be guided to the right path. He said: "Whoever innovates in Islam an innovation" not innovations, one innovation, "whoever innovates in Islam an innovation that he sees as good, has claimed that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) betrayed the message." Why? He said, Allah the Exalted said: اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم وأتممت عليكم نعمتي ورضيت لكم الإسلام دينا This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.[Al-Ma'idah 5:3] Malik said, in the completion of the word, which as was said in old times, is written in gold ink, he said in its completion: "So, whatever was not a religion at that time will not be a religion today." Absolutely. So, whatever was not a religion at that time will not be a religion today. The completion of this essential word is: "And the end of this Ummah will not be rectified except by what rectified its beginning." So, we must return to the previous verse وأن هذا صراطي مستقيما فاتبعوه ولا تتبعوا السبل فتفرق بكم عن سبيله And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way[Al-An'am 6:153] regarding following the paths, following the innovations. And what is the meaning of following the innovations? I believe that every Muslim who holds my belief does not differ with me in the previous difference, God willing, which is that Allah the Mighty and Majestic has legislated for the Muslims from the obligatory, mandatory, recommended, and encouraged acts of worship what the most worshipful of people, even if Dawud (peace be upon him) were alive, about whom the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: داوود أعبد البشر Dawud was the most worshipful of the people. or أعبد البشر داوود عليه السلام The most worshipful of the people is Dawud (peace be upon him)., if he were alive, would not be able to perform all these acts of worship that the Messenger (peace be upon him) legislated in their entirety. So, if that is the case, why innovate in the religion, and I mean the religion? As for the worldly affairs, expand in them as you wish, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not come to teach us the worldly affairs, but rather he explicitly said: أنتم أعلم بأمور دنياكم You know best the affairs of your worldly life. He came to teach us the religion. Therefore, if this is the reality, which I believe no one differs with me on, that all the acts of worship that the Messenger (peace be upon him) brought, in their different ranks, the most worshipful of people cannot perform them, what do we say about all the individuals of the Muslims today, starting from me and going down to the last Muslim? Is there anyone who can perform these acts of worship? The answer is no. So, what will be the outcome of worshipping Allah with one of the innovations? The outcome of that is that whenever you cling to an innovation, you neglect a Sunnah. You neglect a Sunnah because you, with these many prescribed acts of worship, are burdened by them and cannot rise to them. So, how do you come and place another burden on your back? For example, like a person in days of severe cold who wears on his body, for example, his shirt, wool, and over it a jacket, and over the jacket a blanket, and over the blanket a cloak, and so on, until he can barely walk as people walk, and so on. Does he also carry other clothes on himself and fall prostrate on the ground? This is the case of one who burdens himself with innovations that Allah the Mighty and Majestic has not legislated. And there are Sunnahs and acts of worship that have been neglected, and I give you a very simple example, and I hope you will bear with me, because this example is small, but it is great in the sight of Allah. And from another angle, it clarifies for us a word that came to us from some of the Salaf that people do not understand, which is: "No innovation is introduced except that a Sunnah is killed." The common people do not understand this athar, but if they had understood it truly, they would have believed in the understanding of the hadith in the correct way من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة He who sets a good precedent in IslamSahih Muslim 1017a So, I give you an example: one of us enters upon his brother who is performing wudu' and says to him, "There is something in Zamzam." If we say to him, "Do not say Zamzam," he says, "My brother, what is in this? I am making a dua for him." Hey, pay attention, what is in it, my brother? What is in it? Your duty is to warn and to be aware and to perform the religious duty, which is his saying (peace be upon him): حق المسلم على المسلم خمس إذا لقيته فسلم عليه The right of a Muslim over a Muslim is five: if you meet him, greet him with the salam. Why did you not greet him? Because the innovation took the place of the Sunnah. And this, by Allah, is not a Sunnah; this is an obligation: giving the salam to your Muslim brother. This is an obligation. The salam was lost and fell. What threw it and cast it to the ground?

The questioner : Did Zamzam take its place?

The Shaykh : Yes, Zamzam took its place.

The questioner : One person says that he combines them.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is fine, but look, this answer is just to get rid of the argument. My brothers, we are dealing with reality. The reality today is that no one says "As-salamu alaykum, Zamzam..." No one says it that way. Why? Because our Lord wants to establish His proof against His servants. No innovation has ever appeared without a Sunnah being killed. Yes, we combine the two. But if you combine the two, you have combined the good and the bad. However, the greater misguidance is that you restricted yourselves to the bad and left the good. Someone might say, "What is the matter, my brother?" and they say, "This means a supplication." What does Zamzam mean? It means, "May Allah grant you success, and may you perform Hajj and 'Umrah and drink from the water of Zamzam," meaning He brings it out for you. Yes, that is the meaning. I say, what should I call it? I do not know. Let us say it is a counter-argument. I oppose them. If it is permissible for me to supplicate for someone I see performing wudu with Zamzam, I say to them, "Kawthar." What do you think? Which is more important? Kawthar is more important. Why is it more important? Because one might perform Hajj, but as the old Arab says, "You did not perform Hajj, but the camels performed Hajj." He performed Hajj, but when you supplicate for him with Kawthar, it means he drinks from the water of Kawthar. Kawthar, as the Exalted said: إنا أعطيناك الكوثر Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], al-Kawthar.[Al-Kawthar 108:1] It is water in Paradise that flows and is poured into the basin of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the one with whom he was given glad tidings. One of its attributes is that whoever drinks a sip from it will never be thirsty again. So if we tell them that Zamzam is more important than that, why are you holding onto that and leaving this? Because the matter is like this: the first person who innovated this thing went ahead and it remained, and he said, "Give me your hand and walk," and the people did not think. This is people following innovations. But far be it from Allah, I do not say "Mukawthir" and I do not say "Muzamzam." Rather, when I meet my Muslim brother, I greet him with the salam, but sometimes I say "Muzamzam" and sometimes I say "Kawthar," so that our companion, our brother Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, who is not far from us, is pleased. Allow me to say, I sometimes do this? To implement the principle of supplicating for the Muslim brother with good, to implement it, but not as a habit, so that it becomes a Sunnah for the people and they adhere to it. And what was the result of adhering to it? Not the loss of a Sunnah, but the loss of an obligation. Our brothers know that sometimes we pray, we come out, and we meet with "As-salamu alaykum." I might say to one of them, and he is surprised, "May Allah accept it." He knows that this is an innovation. But I say to him, there is no harm in us supplicating for you sometimes. May Allah accept the supplication. As for the Muslim, and again, this one greets that one, as they say, exactly. Two people entered the mosque, one from this door and the other from that door. They prayed the Friday prayer or one of the five prayers. Then they met, either in the mosque or outside the mosque. One said to the other, "May Allah accept it." Where is the salam? The salam fell and went away. "No innovation has ever appeared without a Sunnah being killed." ... And welcome, and do not forget to greet us.

The questioner : I said, "Peace be upon you."

The Shaykh : I did not hear. I am an old woman, you want to take care of me... As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.