If someone were to say: There are some innovations that the scholars have approved of, and indeed the Rightly Guided Caliphs have praised them

The Shaykh : If someone were to say: There are some innovations that the scholars have approved of, and indeed the Rightly Guided Caliphs have praised them, then know that the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, is the best of creation, the best of this Ummah after Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both). He went out one night in Ramadan and found the people praying in scattered groups; a man would pray alone, or two, or three. He saw that the Ummah being scattered in one mosque in this manner was not sound, so he ordered Tamim al-Dari and Ubayy ibn Ka'b to lead the people in eleven rak'ahs and gathered the people behind a single imam. Then he went out one night and found the people praying behind a single imam, and he said: "What a good innovation this is". So he praised the innovation. How can the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, praise an innovation when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described innovation by saying that every innovation is misguidance? Answer!
The student: ...

The Shaykh : All right, establish for me this statement, that the Messenger said: "Follow me and follow the Companions"?
The student:

The Shaykh : Yes, but 'Umar himself called it an innovation; he did not call it a Sunnah. If he had said: "What a good Sunnah," we would say that it is from the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and is acceptable. But he called it an innovation.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : .
The student : .

The Shaykh : All right, but 'Umar did not call it a Sunnah; he called it an innovation. I mean, he called it an innovation. And if he had said: "What a good Sunnah this is," we would say there is no objection.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, rest. The brother says: 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) intended by "innovation" the linguistic innovation.
But we must know that the meanings of words are linguistic, legal, and customary. So when the one who brought the Shari'ah uses a word, it must be understood according to which meaning? The legal meaning.
And the correct answer in this matter is: The innovation here is a relative, additional innovation. How so? Because the people in the time of Abu Bakr and the beginning of 'Umar's caliphate were praying in scattered groups. Indeed, even in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), they were praying in scattered groups. Then 'Umar renewed the gathering behind a single imam, so this became an innovation relative to what? To what came before. It is an innovation relative to what came before, not an absolute innovation.
Why do we not say that it is an absolute innovation?
We say so for two reasons. The first reason is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led the people in prayer for three or four nights in Ramadan, then he stopped. And he said: This is one.
The second is that it is most unlikely that the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), would introduce into the religion of Allah something that is not part of it. If he had done so, the Companions would have objected to him, because the Companions could not approve of falsehood from anyone. When 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) completed the prayer in Mina during Hajj, and the Sunnah in Hajj in Mina is to shorten the prayer, so that a person prays two rak'ahs in Mina during Hajj, when 'Uthman completed it, they objected to him. So much so that when Ibn Mas'ud was told about it, he said: "Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we return", because he had contradicted the Sunnah, but he is excused (may Allah be pleased with him).
I say: It is absolutely impossible for 'Umar to innovate in the religion of Allah something that is not part of it. And if he had innovated, who would not have approved of it? The Companions. And with this, the status of this innovation as a true legal innovation is removed. But it is an additional, relative innovation relative to the time between the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the action of 'Umar, since the people were praying in scattered groups, and then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered them behind a single imam, following the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which he said: .
And with this, it becomes clear that a good innovation can never exist.