What is the criterion for religious innovations?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. He says:The questioner : What is the criterion for religious innovations?
The Shaykh : Religious innovations?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, the criterion for religious innovations is worshipping Allah the Exalted with what Allah has not prescribed. Not every new thing is a religious innovation; rather, it is worshipping Allah with what He has not prescribed, whether in belief, speech, or action.
And let it be known that the means of worship are not among the religious innovations. For example, did the classification of the Sunnah into chapters and sections exist in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? No. So we do not say that classifying it into chapters and sections is a religious innovation, because the intention is to preserve the Sunnah, and this is a means.
Did sound amplifiers exist in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to carry the voice of the preacher to those in the mosque? No, but they have appeared now, so we do not say they are a religious innovation because they are a means to conveying the sermon, for example.
These carpets that have recently appeared in mosques, with lines to straighten the rows, do we say this is a religious innovation? No, because this is a means to straightening the rows, and there are many examples of this.
So new matters are of three categories:
A category that is worship intended for its own sake; this is a religious innovation and is not permissible.
And a category that is not worship at all, but rather from the permissible things; this is fine if it is not specifically forbidden.
And the third category is what is a means to a legitimate religious objective; then it is required. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. The questioner asks: What if a man eats garlic before prayer, not intentionally?
The Shaykh : What if a man eats garlic? The man ate garlic. Correct the phrasing.
The Shaykh : Religious innovations?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, the criterion for religious innovations is worshipping Allah the Exalted with what Allah has not prescribed. Not every new thing is a religious innovation; rather, it is worshipping Allah with what He has not prescribed, whether in belief, speech, or action.
And let it be known that the means of worship are not among the religious innovations. For example, did the classification of the Sunnah into chapters and sections exist in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? No. So we do not say that classifying it into chapters and sections is a religious innovation, because the intention is to preserve the Sunnah, and this is a means.
Did sound amplifiers exist in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to carry the voice of the preacher to those in the mosque? No, but they have appeared now, so we do not say they are a religious innovation because they are a means to conveying the sermon, for example.
These carpets that have recently appeared in mosques, with lines to straighten the rows, do we say this is a religious innovation? No, because this is a means to straightening the rows, and there are many examples of this.
So new matters are of three categories:
A category that is worship intended for its own sake; this is a religious innovation and is not permissible.
And a category that is not worship at all, but rather from the permissible things; this is fine if it is not specifically forbidden.
And the third category is what is a means to a legitimate religious objective; then it is required. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. The questioner asks: What if a man eats garlic before prayer, not intentionally?
The Shaykh : What if a man eats garlic? The man ate garlic. Correct the phrasing.