Are the lines on the carpets for straightening the rows and the loudspeakers considered religious innovations?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Mosques have carpets, and they have lines to straighten the rows. If someone were to say: "This is a bid'ah (religious innovation), and every bid'ah is misguidance," what would we say?
We say: This is a means to straighten the row, and straightening the row is an objective of the Shari'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it and threatened those who violate it, saying:Sunan Abi Dawud 663Sahih (Al-Albani), and he said: Sunan Abi Dawud 664Sahih (Al-Albani). So we do this not to worship Allah with this line, but because we want to establish the servants of Allah upon what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) commanded.
The loudspeaker, the loudspeaker. Was it present in the time of the Messenger? It was not present. Do we say that performing the adhan (call to prayer) and the prayer via a loudspeaker is a bid'ah (religious innovation)? Answer!
No, because we are not worshipping Allah by having the adhan via a loudspeaker or the prayer via a loudspeaker. But we have made it a means to convey the sound. We made it a means to convey the sound. Were it not for these loudspeakers, we would not hear the adhan of the mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) while we are here in the mosque, and were it not for these loudspeakers, we would not hear the takbir (saying Allahu akbar) of the imam while we are here. But this is from the facilitation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that He facilitated for us such devices to reach an objective intended by the Shari'ah. So what is a bid'ah (religious innovation)? It is what a person worships Allah with in terms of belief, speech, or action. As for matters of this world, nothing is forbidden from what has occurred in them unless it is forbidden in its essence or type.
And as for the means by which one reaches a Shari'ah objective, they are not a bid'ah (religious innovation) either, even if they were not known to the Salaf (the earliest generations), because people do not worship with them for their own sake, but rather they want to reach through them a matter intended by the Shari'ah.
Therefore, it is obligatory for a person to clarify this station, the station of bid'ah (religious innovation) and the station of the Sunnah (recommended practice), because some people have made everything that has occurred a bid'ah (religious innovation), and some people have innovated in the religion of Allah what is not part of it and made it a Sunnah (recommended practice).
We say: This is a means to straighten the row, and straightening the row is an objective of the Shari'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it and threatened those who violate it, saying:
Do not be irregular
لتسون صفوفكم أو ليخالفنّ الله بين وجوهكمDo not be irregular
لا تختلفوا فتختلف قلوبكمThe loudspeaker, the loudspeaker. Was it present in the time of the Messenger? It was not present. Do we say that performing the adhan (call to prayer) and the prayer via a loudspeaker is a bid'ah (religious innovation)? Answer!
No, because we are not worshipping Allah by having the adhan via a loudspeaker or the prayer via a loudspeaker. But we have made it a means to convey the sound. We made it a means to convey the sound. Were it not for these loudspeakers, we would not hear the adhan of the mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) while we are here in the mosque, and were it not for these loudspeakers, we would not hear the takbir (saying Allahu akbar) of the imam while we are here. But this is from the facilitation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that He facilitated for us such devices to reach an objective intended by the Shari'ah. So what is a bid'ah (religious innovation)? It is what a person worships Allah with in terms of belief, speech, or action. As for matters of this world, nothing is forbidden from what has occurred in them unless it is forbidden in its essence or type.
And as for the means by which one reaches a Shari'ah objective, they are not a bid'ah (religious innovation) either, even if they were not known to the Salaf (the earliest generations), because people do not worship with them for their own sake, but rather they want to reach through them a matter intended by the Shari'ah.
Therefore, it is obligatory for a person to clarify this station, the station of bid'ah (religious innovation) and the station of the Sunnah (recommended practice), because some people have made everything that has occurred a bid'ah (religious innovation), and some people have innovated in the religion of Allah what is not part of it and made it a Sunnah (recommended practice).