Among the customs and traditions in our city, when the Book of Allah is completed, they bring out various kinds of food and drink. Is this prescribed, or is it an innovation?
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The questioner : Among the customs and traditions in our city, when the Book of Allah is completed, they bring out various kinds of food and drink. Is this established in the Sunnah, or is it an innovation? And is there such a thing as a good innovation and a bad innovation?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
Nothing of this kind is prescribed when the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is completed. So no gatherings, no food, and nothing else are prescribed. If a person reads the entire Qur'an and then, upon completing it, wants to hold a feast and invite people to it, or give food in charity to the poor, or hold a gathering of words and sermons, all of this is not from the Sunnah. And if it is not from the Sunnah and is done for a religious occasion, which is the completion of the Qur'an, then it is an innovation.
And the one who knows the Shari'ah of Allah best, who is the most sincere in advising the servants of Allah, and who is the most eloquent in rhetoric and speech, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), said: and This is for the general case, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not exclude any innovation from the innovations that would be good.
By this comprehensive and exclusive principle, we know that dividing innovations into a good innovation and a bad innovation is a great error and speaking about Allah without knowledge. There is no innovation that is ever good. And whoever thinks that there is something among innovations that is good, that is in two ways:
The first way is that his belief that it is good is not correct, because whenever we verify that it is an innovation, it is bad.
The second way is that his belief that it is an innovation is a mistake; he thinks it is an innovation when it is not an innovation. But if we verify that it is an innovation, we verify that it is bad and not good. This is what this great word from the Master of the Messengers, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), requires:.
The division by some scholars of innovation into a bad innovation and a good innovation falls under what I mentioned earlier, which is that either this thing is not an innovation and they thought it was an innovation, or this thing is not good and they thought it was good. But with certainty that this thing is an innovation, it will never be good.
If someone were to say: Did not the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), when he gathered the people in Ramadan behind a single imam, say: "What a good innovation this is"? We say: Yes, he said this. But did 'Umar intend that it was an innovation in the religion of Allah? No, he did not intend this. And 'Umar was among the most stringent of people in adhering to the Sunnah and seeking it out. But he intended that it was an innovation only in relation to the time before it. That is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood with his Companions in Ramadan for two or three nights, praying with them in congregation, and then he left that off for fear that it would become obligatory upon his Ummah. So he prescribed praying in congregation in the standing prayer of Ramadan, but he left it off for fear of a greater harm, which is compelling the people to this congregational prayer. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, the fear of this harm, which is compelling the people to this standing prayer, was removed because the revelation had ceased. But the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) did not last long, for it was two years and some months, and he (may Allah be pleased with him) was occupied with the affairs of jihad and organizing the Muslim community after what occurred from some of them in terms of disobedience after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
When the time of 'Umar came and the obstacles were removed and the people were somewhat free, he (may Allah be pleased with him) went out one day and found the people praying in scattered groups; a man praying alone, two men, and three men. So he (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that it was better to gather the people behind a single imam, so he gathered them behind a single imam. Then he went out one night while they were gathered behind their imam, praying with his prayer, and he said: "What a good innovation this is". If it is an innovation, it is so in relation to the time before it, and it is not an innovation in relation to its prescribedness, for its prescribedness was established in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And on this basis, calling it an innovation is a relative usage, meaning that it is an innovation in relation to the time before it. And by this, the rope that the people of innovation held onto is cut, by which they innovated in the religion of Allah what is not from it and legislated in His religion what He did not permit. And they argued with such an expression that has a meaning other than the meaning they intend. And directing it to the meaning I mentioned is in accordance with the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):.
For it is not fitting for the Commander of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, to praise an innovation that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described as misguidance by saying that it is a good innovation. And doors of evil and innovations of the kind of the prohibited have been opened by this argument, which is the division by some scholars, may Allah forgive them and pardon them, of innovation into a good innovation and a bad innovation. If we had held fast to the saying of the Infallible, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him):, it would have been more fitting for us to be more obedient to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) than if we divided innovation into good and bad.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
Nothing of this kind is prescribed when the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is completed. So no gatherings, no food, and nothing else are prescribed. If a person reads the entire Qur'an and then, upon completing it, wants to hold a feast and invite people to it, or give food in charity to the poor, or hold a gathering of words and sermons, all of this is not from the Sunnah. And if it is not from the Sunnah and is done for a religious occasion, which is the completion of the Qur'an, then it is an innovation.
And the one who knows the Shari'ah of Allah best, who is the most sincere in advising the servants of Allah, and who is the most eloquent in rhetoric and speech, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), said:
Every innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةEvery
كلBy this comprehensive and exclusive principle, we know that dividing innovations into a good innovation and a bad innovation is a great error and speaking about Allah without knowledge. There is no innovation that is ever good. And whoever thinks that there is something among innovations that is good, that is in two ways:
The first way is that his belief that it is good is not correct, because whenever we verify that it is an innovation, it is bad.
The second way is that his belief that it is an innovation is a mistake; he thinks it is an innovation when it is not an innovation. But if we verify that it is an innovation, we verify that it is bad and not good. This is what this great word from the Master of the Messengers, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), requires:
Every innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةThe division by some scholars of innovation into a bad innovation and a good innovation falls under what I mentioned earlier, which is that either this thing is not an innovation and they thought it was an innovation, or this thing is not good and they thought it was good. But with certainty that this thing is an innovation, it will never be good.
If someone were to say: Did not the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), when he gathered the people in Ramadan behind a single imam, say: "What a good innovation this is"? We say: Yes, he said this. But did 'Umar intend that it was an innovation in the religion of Allah? No, he did not intend this. And 'Umar was among the most stringent of people in adhering to the Sunnah and seeking it out. But he intended that it was an innovation only in relation to the time before it. That is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood with his Companions in Ramadan for two or three nights, praying with them in congregation, and then he left that off for fear that it would become obligatory upon his Ummah. So he prescribed praying in congregation in the standing prayer of Ramadan, but he left it off for fear of a greater harm, which is compelling the people to this congregational prayer. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, the fear of this harm, which is compelling the people to this standing prayer, was removed because the revelation had ceased. But the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) did not last long, for it was two years and some months, and he (may Allah be pleased with him) was occupied with the affairs of jihad and organizing the Muslim community after what occurred from some of them in terms of disobedience after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
When the time of 'Umar came and the obstacles were removed and the people were somewhat free, he (may Allah be pleased with him) went out one day and found the people praying in scattered groups; a man praying alone, two men, and three men. So he (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that it was better to gather the people behind a single imam, so he gathered them behind a single imam. Then he went out one night while they were gathered behind their imam, praying with his prayer, and he said: "What a good innovation this is". If it is an innovation, it is so in relation to the time before it, and it is not an innovation in relation to its prescribedness, for its prescribedness was established in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And on this basis, calling it an innovation is a relative usage, meaning that it is an innovation in relation to the time before it. And by this, the rope that the people of innovation held onto is cut, by which they innovated in the religion of Allah what is not from it and legislated in His religion what He did not permit. And they argued with such an expression that has a meaning other than the meaning they intend. And directing it to the meaning I mentioned is in accordance with the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Every innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةFor it is not fitting for the Commander of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, to praise an innovation that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described as misguidance by saying that it is a good innovation. And doors of evil and innovations of the kind of the prohibited have been opened by this argument, which is the division by some scholars, may Allah forgive them and pardon them, of innovation into a good innovation and a bad innovation. If we had held fast to the saying of the Infallible, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him):
Every innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةThe questioner : May Allah bless you.