The Meaning of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab's Statement: "What a Good Innovation This Is"

Question:
They speak of innovations as being good and bad, citing the statement of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the tarawih prayers: "What a good innovation this is." What is your opinion on this classification?

Answer:
Some scholars have held that innovations are divided into five categories and that the five rulings apply to them: prohibition, obligation, dislike, recommendation, and permissibility. A group adopted this view, while others among the scholars rejected it, stating that there is no classification of innovations; rather, they are all misguidance. This is what the leader of the Muslims and their imam said: .
No one has the right to contradict him by saying, "No, they are not all misguidance." This is an audacity toward the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Thus he (peace and blessings be upon him) stated and clarified. Therefore, it is not permissible for us or for anyone else to say that there is misguidance in innovation and also something other than misguidance. Rather, it is all misguidance. It is what people have introduced into the religion, and it is all misguidance. The evidence they cite for the classification is not valid evidence for them.
The things they cited as evidence for obligatory innovation, such as the diacritical marks in the mushafs, the vowelization of the mushafs, and the construction of mosques, none of this is from the category of innovation. Rather, this is what Allah and His Messenger commanded. Allah commanded the construction of mosques, and He commanded the care for the Qur'an, its preservation, and its recitation. Therefore, whatever aids in this falls within the command to preserve and care for it.
And the intended meaning: What they mentioned is not from the category of innovation, but rather from the category of religion, from the category of preserving religion, and from the category of cooperating in righteousness and piety.
As for the statement of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he saw the people gathering for the tarawih prayer by his order: the people in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray individually and in groups. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with them for nights and gathered them. He (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in standing prayer for three nights, then he left it off and said: He was concerned for his Ummah, (peace and blessings be upon him).
When he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction) occupied the people with the apostates, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them and grant them satisfaction) were occupied with them. When the caliphate of 'Umar came, he was more free for that, and his term was long. So he looked into gathering the people under one imam, instead of them praying in scattered groups in the mosque. He gathered them under one imam and ordered Ubayy to pray with them. When he went out one night and looked at them, he said: "What a good innovation this is." He called it an innovation from the linguistic perspective, not from the religious perspective; because in language, an innovation is what is done without a prior example.
The meaning is that they used to pray in scattered groups previously and did not gather under one imam. When he gathered them, he said: "What a good innovation this is," referring to what he did for them so that they would gather and cooperate in righteousness and piety. And because the Messenger did not continue with it; he only did it three times and then left it off. Therefore, 'Umar said this statement. It is a statement from him from the linguistic perspective, his intention being from the linguistic perspective, not from the perspective of the religious ruling. So it is not an innovation from the perspective of the religious ruling, but rather it is a sunnah and an act of drawing near to Allah. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did it, and the Rightly Guided Caliphs did it, 'Umar and those after him, and the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did it, and the Muslims did it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged it, saying: And he said: meaning in Ramadan This indicates the legitimacy of standing in night prayer, and that it has an imam and a congregation. So it is not an innovation in any way.