What is the ruling on one who writes daily memoirs about himself, whether good or bad?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : What is the ruling on one who writes daily memoirs for himself, meaning he writes down what he did each day of good and evil to keep them and recall them after a while?
The Shaykh : He says: What is the ruling on a person who records what he did each day of good and evil to review it after a while?
The answer to that is: This is a bid'ah (religious innovation), and it is not from the practice of the righteous Salaf. A person may perform an act of obedience on one day and leave it off the next day because he is occupied with another act of obedience that is more important. For this reason, it was part of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to do whatever worship was facilitated for him. He would fast until it was said, "He does not break his fast," and he would break his fast until it was said, "He does not fast." He would sometimes stand in night prayer and perform witr with seven rak'ahs, sometimes with five, sometimes with nine, and sometimes with eleven. All of this was in accordance with what the public benefit required. A person is not always engaged in the same act, except for the obligatory duties, which must be performed in the manner prescribed. As for the voluntary acts, a person's circumstances change. Perhaps a person occupies you from performing the rawatib (regular voluntary prayers), for example, until the time passes, but you are occupied with him for a benefit, such as writing, teaching, maintaining family ties, honoring a guest, or something similar. In reality, acts of worship cannot be the same every day.
The Shaykh : He says: What is the ruling on a person who records what he did each day of good and evil to review it after a while?
The answer to that is: This is a bid'ah (religious innovation), and it is not from the practice of the righteous Salaf. A person may perform an act of obedience on one day and leave it off the next day because he is occupied with another act of obedience that is more important. For this reason, it was part of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to do whatever worship was facilitated for him. He would fast until it was said, "He does not break his fast," and he would break his fast until it was said, "He does not fast." He would sometimes stand in night prayer and perform witr with seven rak'ahs, sometimes with five, sometimes with nine, and sometimes with eleven. All of this was in accordance with what the public benefit required. A person is not always engaged in the same act, except for the obligatory duties, which must be performed in the manner prescribed. As for the voluntary acts, a person's circumstances change. Perhaps a person occupies you from performing the rawatib (regular voluntary prayers), for example, until the time passes, but you are occupied with him for a benefit, such as writing, teaching, maintaining family ties, honoring a guest, or something similar. In reality, acts of worship cannot be the same every day.