We return now to the report of Abu Hurayrah. First, we say:

The Shaykh : We return now to the report of Abu Hurayrah. First, we say: there is nothing in the text that suggests, let alone indicates, that Abu Hurayrah made this his constant habit, as it is said, just as preachers preach on Friday and just as teachers today teach on Friday before the prayer. There is nothing in the report indicating that Abu Hurayrah made this a custom for himself. What is most likely in my opinion is that he did so because he saw a need to admonish the people at that time due to a specific circumstance, just as you see today, for example, our preacher Abu Malik, may Allah reward him with good, often does not say a word after the prayer, and often he speaks and encourages charity, or he may complete some points he addressed in the sermon. This is for a specific circumstance, so it is not said of such a person that he innovated. All of this is a response to the report of Abu Hurayrah. As for if we imagine continuity in the admonition and advice in this report, as they do today, then there is no doubt or hesitation that this is a religious innovation. Here is the explanation: The scholars of knowledge say that the statement or action of a Companion is a proof if there is no contradicting evidence. Here, the contradicting evidence is abundant, because it is established that the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when they entered the mosque on Friday, would pray as many units as seemed appropriate to them until it was narrated from some of them that he would pray eight units. This is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered and encouraged in the authentic hadiths, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , and in a narration: . So, on Friday, the mosque before the sermon is a place for personal worship. Whoever wishes, the greeting of the mosque is obligatory, and whoever wishes to add, as we mentioned regarding some of the Companions, prays of the voluntary prayers what Allah has written for him, or sits and sends blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because he ordered that when he said in the authentic hadith: . They said: How is that when you have died? He said: , or sits and reads Surat al-Kahf, because this is from the Sunnah as is well known. So, before the preacher’s sermon on Friday, the mosque is a place of individual remembrance: this one prays, this one reads the Qur'an, this one sends blessings upon the Messenger (peace be upon him). The one who stands up to admonish the people and teach them disturbs and confuses these people, and this is undoubtedly contrary to this Sunnah, and contrary to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . Where did you forget your companion?
The student : ... .

The Shaykh : Where? Yes, move us then.
The student : No, I...

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. So, the point is that teaching or admonishing before the Friday sermon causes confusion for these praying people. A man may come and the preacher is preaching, and he is ordered to pray two units. He may come before that and pray, this one from here and this one from here. The one who teaches as a religious innovation confuses these praying people. Therefore, we say that the report of Abu Hurayrah is based on the principle we mentioned earlier with Abu Talha on some occasions: . So, we seek an excuse for the memorizer of the Companions, the most memorizing of the Companions of the hadith of the Messenger, Abu Hurayrah. We seek an excuse for him and say: perhaps it occurred to him to admonish, and it was not a regular or obligatory thing that had to be done. If the ways of seeking an excuse are narrow for us, we say this is his opinion, and we do not hold him accountable for it, nor do we follow him, because it is exactly like another thing of his: and he would let the water reach his leg. This was an opinion he had, and he tried to conceal it. Even when a man who was watching him asked him about it, he said: "You are here, Banu Farukh." He did not think there was a watcher there. So, the point is that the Messenger (peace be upon him) taught us how to perform ablution, and it was not his way to exaggerate in this exaggeration. This is established from Abu Hurayrah in "Sahih Muslim," so we do not follow him. But we do not say that he innovated, because the two conditions mentioned earlier were not present in him: that it was his custom to innovate in religion, and that he was not a scholar who performs independent legal reasoning. This is the answer regarding the report, and it is hopefully clear, if Allah wills. In the name of Allah.