Dars 26

In the words of my master, my grandfather, may Allah spread his benefit when he explained the Saying of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

The most truthful speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of (our master) Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the worst matters are those that have been newly introduced and every newly introduced matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in hell-fire.

And it (the Qur’an) is the Great News about what happened before us and what will happen after us, and in it is the good of this world and the good of the Hereafter.

And the best guidance is the guidance of (Prophet) Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

The best (spiritual) path and the best way is the path and the way of (Prophet) Muhammad ibn ‘Abdillah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) which he took with his actions and his words and his approval, may Allah bless him and his Family.

And the worst matters are those that have been newly introduced, and every newly introduced matter is an innovation.

That is, in religion that was given to us by the one who brought the sacred Muslim law, may Allah bless him; the magnanimous, bright, sacred Muslim law, whose night is as clear as its day. It has been protected in the hands of the learned scholars. It has been protected in the books which are on the tongues of the learned scholars. So the sacred Muslim law in the Book (the Qur’an) and the Prophetic tradition is evident and clear for us. So if another person comes to us and says something that is against what is in the Qur’an and against what is in the Prophetic tradition and against what our learned scholars made clear for us, we say to him that you have come up with an innovation (bid‘a). For example the practices of the Christians and the laws of the Christians, and if he intends to insert these into our sacred Muslim law, then this is bid‘a (an innovation) that is not in the Book of Allah, nor in the tradition of the (Prophetic) Messenger of Allah. (Other) examples are some of the bad beliefs of sects such as the qadariyyah, the jahmiyyah, and the sab’iyya, and others, as all these did not exist in the time of the Prophet, may Allah bless him, and are matters of belief. So anything that comes to us which is contrary to what is in the religion of the Prophet and the way of the pious predecessors, then it is an innovation (bid‘a).

Why is it a misguidance? Because it is not on the path of the Prophet, nor on the path of his Companions, nor on the path of the pious predecessors. It is only on the path of the devils and the enemies of the religion. This is the innovation in which there is no good. But if there is an innovation in which there is goodness as when Sayyidina ‘Umar said about Salat at-Tarawih: “What a blessed bid‘a (innovation) this is!”, because it was not prayed in the time of the Prophet, like we pray the twenty raka‘āt. How may raka‘āt did he pray with them (his Companions) for some period of time? And afterwards, the Prophet, may Allah bless him, left it, fearing that it might be declared compulsory on them (by Allah), and he prayed them by himself. Until there came the time of Sayyidina ‘Umar, so he consulted with the Companions and he found that he (the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to pray twenty raka‘āt according to some narrations. So he gathered them for this in the masjid and he appointed Ubayy ibn Ka‘b as their imam (leader). So when Sayyidina ‘Umar saw this situation, he said, “What a blessed bid‘a (innovation) this is!”.

Anyone who introduces in Islam a good practice, then for him is its reward and the reward of whoever acts on it. And whoever introduces in Islam a bad practice, then on him is its sin and the sin of whoever acts on it till the Day of Judgment.

So bid‘a, the blameworthy, bad and erroneous innovation is that which does not return to goodness. But (how about) the innovation that connects you to religion like the binding of copies of the Qur’an? This copy of the Qur’an with thirty juz, printed with its parts and in its form and with its marks (of fatha, kasra, and so on), was not there in the time of the Prophet. Are we going to call this a bid‘a (an innovation)? If we say it is an innovation, then none of this will remain in the copy of the Qur’an. And an example is the knowledge we learn, like the learning of grammar and the learning of tafsir (exegesis of the Qur’an), and the learning of the language. None of it existed in the time of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Are we going to call that a bid‘a (an innovation)? They come and say this is an innovation (as) it did not exist in the time of the Prophet. Yes, it was not there in the time of the Prophet but there is an indication towards it and it enters into goodness.

Anyone who introduces a good practice, for him is its reward and the reward of whoever acts on it.

The whole of Ratib al-Haddad is the zikr (remembrance) of Allah narrated by the Prophet in his Hadith (Sayings). The mawlid is the history of the Prophet. Is the history of the Prophet a bid‘a (an innovation)?

They say that the recitation of Surah al-Fatiha is a bid‘a (an innovation). Is al-Fatiha a bid‘a (an innovation)? Al-Fatiha is the Seven Oft-repeated Verses about which Allah said:

And We have given you (O Beloved Prophet), seven of the Oft-repeated Verses and the Grand Qur’an. (al-Qur’an, 15:87).

Surah al-Fatiha combines the meanings of the Qur’an and all the knowledge is in it. If you recite al-Fatiha; as the Prophet, may Allah bless him, said, “When you intend a thing, recite al-Fatiha and you will obtain it”.

So someone came and he said al-Fatiha is a bid‘a (an innovation). See how foolish they are! These are the fools who hide away from the Qur’an, hide from the remembrance of Allah, hide from matters of goodness. And they reckon that (what they do) represents knowledge.

So the innovation that the Prophet prohibited about which he said: “And every innovation is a misguidance”, is that in which nothing is included of the Book (the Qur’an), or the Prophetic tradition, or the practice of the Muslim community. But how many are the matters that have happened and have been seen that were not in the time of the Prophet, like the building of big masajid, and the building of the minarets, and covering the masajid with carpets. None of it was in the time of the Prophet. The writing of all the books becomes an innovation. Anything that enters their intellect, they say is an innovation. They think that innovation has (only) one particular form (whereas) an innovation with a bad characteristic is the one which cannot be included as good.

We heard that some of the brethren who prayed with us left the masjid when they heard us doing Zikrullah (remembrance of Allah) after the Salah (Prayer) when we recited:

None is to be worshipped but Allah
Muhammad is the (Prophetic) Messenger of Allah.

Is (the Declaration) Lā ilāha Illallāh a bid‘a (an innovation)? Is (the Declaration) Muhammad-ur-Rasūlullāh a bid‘a?

This is a way to change us from the back, O Allah’s creation! What sort of talk is this? We do not include it in the Salah (Prayer) (as something additional). We leave the Salah as it is in its place, two rak‘a, two rak‘a. We do not add anything to it. And afterwards (after the completion of Salah), for the sake of relaxation, we do the Zikr (remembrance) of Allah. Is Zikrullah (the remembrance of Allah) a bid‘a? And we return to it to help revive the hearts. And as I have explained to you (in an earlier dars), it (the Zikrullah) is the nourishment of the souls and food for the souls.

Then he (my master) talked about the four Khulafa’ (of Rasulullah, Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), may Allah be pleased with them.

They are the ones who conveyed to us the religion, they are the ones who went over it carefully for us, and they are the ones who opened many openings. And how many are the benefits of talking about them, and invoking Allah’s blessings on the (Prophetic) Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him. And in saying Rady Allahu ‘Anhum (may Allah be pleased with them) about the Khulafa’, there is delight for the soul and nourishment for the heart. We feel as if we are in a garden from among the gardens of Paradise.

And this is separate from Salah (Prayer). If we included this in Salah, we could say it is an innovation.

They ask: why do you raise your voices? So we reply that it has been reported in a Saying of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his Family, that he said:

A people do not gather to remember Allah and to invoke blessings of Allah on the Prophet, may Allah bless him, except that tranquility descends upon them, and mercy envelopes them, and angels surround them and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him.

If he remembers Me alone by himself, I remember him by Myself, and if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than that.

And congregational zikr (remembrance of Allah) was there in the time of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his Family. There is no ambiguity in it.

But we have been afflicted with these problems at this time, O creation of Allah!

Someone who neither has knowledge nor studied, sits in a gathering and answers with two words like a bird. Bid‘a (innovation) (he says) but he does not know what underlies it, or what its head is, or what its feet are.

I am mentioning this issue, O brethren because many people have been frightened by them about some part of the issue of innovation. My aim is not to reject anyone or to refute anyone. But there is a reason why it is necessary to talk about it and necessary for us to believe in it. And there is a consensus of Muslims on it, from the east to the west, (including) the four Imams of Madh-hab, Hanafi, Shafi‘ī, Maliki and Hanbali and all the Muslims, millions upon millions, except for a few who are opposed on this matter. So, for this reason, it is necessary to explain. So, may we live by it, and die on it, and be raised up on it among the safe ones (on the Day of Judgment), if Allah wills.

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