The Prophet's Birthday ('Eed Milaad an-Nabee)

The Innovation of Celebrating the Prophet’s Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:11:00 +0000

By Muhammad Al ‘Uthaymeen

Summary
1) The great blessing of Allaah sending us Messengers.
2) Merits of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
3) How would the situation of the Muslim nation be if they were to adhere to the Qur'aan and the Sunnah?
4) How the Muslims can regain their might, honour and dignity.
5) Due to the fact that the religion of Islaam is comprehensive and complete; no new act of worship should be legislated other than what has been proven to be of the practice of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
6) How the innovators treat the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
7) Religious festivals and holidays are forms of worship and therefore it is forbidden to introduce new ones.

All praise is due to Allaah, Who conferred a great favour on the believers when He sent them a Messenger from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the signs of Allaah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in the Scripture and Wisdom (i.e., the Qur'aan and Sunnah), while before that, they had been living their lives in manifest error. I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allaah, with whom there are no associates. He is the Lord of the very first to the very last of creation. He has poured His bounties upon His servants in exceeding measures, and His Mercy overwhelms them, for He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.
I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, whom He sent to lead mankind out of the depths of darkness into light and complete His religion. Therefore, we must acknowledge that Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam left no means that draw people near to Allaah and benefit them without directing them to it, nor did he leave any means that drive people away from the way of their Lord or bring harm upon them without warning them against it. Thus, he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam left his nation on a clearly defined religion, which none deviate from except those who are destined to doom and destruction.
May Allaah bless him, his family, his companions and all those who follow them sincerely and correctly until the Day of Resurrection.

O people! Fear Allaah the Almighty and know that the greatest favour He has ever conferred upon His servants is sending them Prophets as warners and bearers of glad tidings. Allaah sent these prophets with scriptures so that He would judge between people in their disputes. The most effective and esteemed message of all of these was that of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam whom Allaah sent to guide all of mankind - and to seal prophethood.

Allaah sent Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam after a break in the series of His messengers, when people were in dire need of His guidance. It was through him that Allaah guided people after they were astray; united them after their disunity; and sufficed them after they were needy. They thus became brothers and supported the religion of Allaah, due to his grace and bounty. It was due to this that nations submitted to this religion and its adherents became a luminous series in the annals of history.

Due to the wholeheartedness of the early Muslims with regard to the comprehensive implementation of Allaah’s laws in personal issues, financial transactions, and social and community affairs in accordance with the precepts laid down by this religions guide and leader, Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, it naturally followed that they would be victorious in all their undertakings.

However, when the Muslims deviated from the correct path, the order and stability which they enjoyed collapsed, turning the Muslim nation into groups of disputing factions, whose enemies held as insignificant.

This nation will never regain its past power and dignity, nor will it re-live its glorious history, until and unless its people return to their religion and practice it in word as well as in deed, in compliance with the methodology of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and his companions, may Allaah be pleased with them.

As a consequence of the comprehensive implementation of the religion of Islaam, no devotional act or religious ceremonies can be initiated into it unless it has a basis in the conduct of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Mankind have been commanded by Allaah to do no more than the following: to worship Allaah alone; to offer him sincere devotion; and to be true in faith. Thus, whoever attempts to worship Allaah with any act that He has not prescribed will have that act rejected by Him. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “He who performs any deed which is not according to what we are upon (i.e., the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and his companions) then it is rejected.” Such acts are held as innovations in the sight of the lawgiver and every innovation is misguidance.

Among the innovations introduced into this religion is the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, which is celebrated in the month of Rabee’ Al-Awwal. People gather in the mosques or stay within their homes on the twelfth night of that month and send salutations upon the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam with innovated phrases as well as reciting laudatory poems and prose which concern him. These poems and prose are excessively commendatory and exceed the limits that were defined by the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Some people even spend their nights cooking certain types of food, to be served on this occasion. Thus, they uselessly spend their time and money in matters that are not prescribed either by Allaah or His Messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, nor were practiced by the four rightly-guided caliphs after him, nor any other of the Muslims who were from the first three distinct generations, whose merit was attested to by the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.

If these innovations were of any benefit, then surely the pious early Muslims would have preceded us in them? If they were meritorious then surely Allaah would never have deprived the early Muslims, including the rightly-guided caliphs of them? The fact of the matter is that this practice was first introduced by people who lived during the fourth Hijri century.

Shaykh Al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said in his book Iqtidaa’ As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem Mukhaalafatu Ashaabu Al-Jaheem [The Implication of the Straightforward Way Is to Contradict the Companions of the Fire]: “Some people, due to their imitation of what the Christians do on the claimed birth-date of ‘Eesaa (Jesus), peace be upon him, or because of their love of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam or out of their wish to glorify him, celebrate the Prophet’s birthday. This is despite the fact that there is controversy among the scholars regarding the exact date of his birth. The early Muslims did not practice this, although there was good reason to honour and express their love of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and no preventing factors existed. Thus, if the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday was something meritorious, they would have had a better right to precede us in this, as their love and esteem of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was far greater than ours. Also, they were far keener to perform good deeds in general than we were.
Loving and esteeming the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was thus represented by the early Muslims in following his methodology, obeying him, applying his Sunnah inwardly and outwardly, propagating his mission and striving in this cause with their hearts, bodies and tongues.
Most of those who instigate religious innovations are heedless when it comes to the application of the well-known principles that were brought by the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. They are like those who ornament the Qur’aan but do not recite it, or recite it but do not follow its teachings.”
O Muslims! The innovation of celebrating the Prophet’s birthday, which is done on the twelfth night of the month of Rabee’ Al-Awwal, has no historical basis. In fact, historians have differed greatly on the actual birth date of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Some have said that it was on the second of Rabee’ Al-Awwal , others said the eighth, ninth, tenth, twelfth, seventeenth or twenty-second; thus making up seven different opinions. None of these opinions have any evidence which would make them take priority over others.
Moreover, the innovation of celebrating the birthday of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam has no religious basis. Neither the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam nor any of his Companions or the followers did so. In fact, the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “You must hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs – cling to it stubbornly. Beware of innovations, for every innovation is misguidance." (Abu Daawood, Tirmidhi).
Religious celebrations, festivals and other such occasions which glorify Allaah and His Messenger are acts of worship. Only that which Allaah has prescribed among these is considered to be from the pure Sharee’ah, or Islamic law. None of these events can be taken as a means of devotion to Allaah except those that have been sanctioned by Allaah and His Messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
The Sharee’ah already contains the sufficient means with which a believer can glorify the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and show his love to him. So fear Allaah, O servants of Allaah, and limit yourselves to Allaah’s obligations and the Prophet’s Sunnah, to the exclusion of innovations.
Allaah the Exalted and Almighty said that which translates as: “And verily this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This; He has ordained for you that you may become the pious.” (Al An’aam: 153).

Innovative Excuses

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:21:00 +0000

By Abu Rumaysah

It is with much thought and debate amongst ourselves that we write this article. We understand the hostile reaction that it may cause, but we feel that there are sufficient, and important reasons for putting pen to paper about this subject. Over the past year or so we have been continually criticised by the local hierarchy, who have accused us of being "Wahabis", "followers of Arabs", "modernist Muslims" and of misleading the youth. It is with this constant criticism in mind that we write this article, in order to set the record straight. We ask all of you to keep an open mind; do not approach this subject from an emotional point of view, but rather an Islamic one. We ask the brothers and sisters to look for the 'clear argument', to consider the evidence that is provided herein. Do not let this article be a cause for creating more fitna (trials), but instead an opportunity to see a way forward for some reconciliation. If you do disagree with this article, then let this be a chance to start a dialogue between us and you rather than a war of words. You know our evidence, please show us yours and let us approach the issue with the scholastic behaviour of our predecessors. [Remember that at times, due its inherent power the truth can be somewhat painful at first, but acceptance and submission to it is ultimately the objective of every sincere student of knowledge. As Allaah The Truth says (what means), " Nay, We fling (send down) the truth (this Qur'ân) against the falsehood (disbelief), so it destroys it, and behold, it (falsehood) is vanished. And woe to you for that (lie) which you ascribe (to Us) (against Allâh by uttering that Allâh has a wife and a son) "
al-Anbiya 21:18 -]

Finally we praise Allaah, and ask for His forgiveness; we witness that there is only one Allaah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam is His last Messenger and slave. May Allaah always guide us closer to the truth, ameen.

Many people today are unaware of the many innovations (bid'ah) that have entered the religion, nor the importance of staying away from them. It is now common to see the people who speak out against innovations, being abused and vilified, and accused of being backed by Saudi Arabia etc. So we felt it our duty, as part of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, to clarify the position of Ahl us-Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah regarding this important subject.

We shall begin by examining the proofs that the deen (religion) is complete, and is therefore in no need of being added to. Next we illustrate the importance of sufficing with and submersing oneself in the Sunnah, along with some strikingly relevant prophecies regarding its abandonment, and a definition of the term 'bid'ah'. In case that is not enough to convince you, we then provide statements of the Sahaabah and scholars from the following two generations to reinforce these principles. With the ammunition in place, we then apply it to refute modern-day justifications for bid'ahs.

The Deen is complete

Allaah says (what means), "This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion." [al-Maa'ida 5:4] This ayah embodies a clear statement that the deen has been completed and thus has no need of addition or deletion. Also the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "There is nothing that Allaah ordered you with except that I have ordered you with it, and there is nothing that Allaah forbade you from except that I have forbidden you from it." [Bayhaqi] So the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam fulfilled the trust placed upon him by Allaah completely, explaining the religion to the people in its outward and inward form, making clear the lawful from the prohibited, the encouraged from the discouraged, to the extent that he taught us the manners of using the toilet, having sex with our spouses etc.

Allaah says in His Book (what means), "And We have revealed to you a Book explaining everything." [16:89]

"We have neglected nothing in the Book." [6:37]

So in the Qur'an are explained the principles of the religion, tawheed in all its categories, and even the manners of sitting in circles, visiting other people's houses, correct clothing and much more.

The Importance of Sticking to the Sunnah

Allaah says (what means), "Indeed you have in the Messenger of Allaah an excellent example for the one who hopes in Allaah and looks to the Last Day." [33:21]
He also says (what means), "So if you obey him (Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam), then you will be guided." [24:54]

Also the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "I have left behind me two things: as long as you cling to them you will never go astray. They are the Book of Allaah and my Sunnah (life example)." [al-Haakim] And he also said, "...and you will live to see great differing, so cling to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly-guided Khalifas after me, even if it be with your molar teeth..." [Bukhaaree]

The taabi'ee [2nd generation Muslim] Imaam az-Zuhree commented, "Clinging to the Sunnah is to be saved, as Imaam Maalik said, 'like the Ark of Nuh,' he who embarked upon it was saved, whereas he who did not was destroyed." [ad-Daarimee, one of the main collections of hadith that deals mainly with the sayings of the Sahaabah and those after them.]

In these narrations are clear evidence that the way of salvation and safety is to closely follow the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and not to deviate from his path; not accepting the guidance of another individual, nor a corrupted form of the Sunnah. Yet, we are taught that there will come a time when the Sunnah will become so corrupted that this corruption will become accepted as the norm by the general people, and those that call to reviving and purifying the Sunnah will be regarded as strangers and slandered. The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "Islaam began as something strange and it will return as something strange, the way it began. So Tooba (a tree in Paradise) is for the strangers." He was asked, "Who are the strangers?" to which he replied, "Those that purify and correct what the people have corrupted of my Sunnah." [at-Tabaraanee in al-Kabeer 6/202]

And what is this corruption of the Sunnah? It is innovation, introducing into the pure religion of Allaah the Most High new ways of worshipping Him which He has not taught us, blemishing His religion with our whims and desires, something which Allaah Himself condemns when He says (what means), "...or do they have partners that legislate some religion which Allaah has not given permission for?" [42:21]

And the Companion Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood lamented, "How will it be when the trials overcome you, in which the old grow senile and the young grow up. And the people take the bid'ah as the Sunnah, and when it changes they say the Sunnah has changed." It was then said, "When will that be O Abu Abdurrahmaan?" He replied, "When your speakers are many and your scholars are few, and your wealthy ones are plenty and trustworthy ones are few." [ad-Daarimee]

How true this statement is today, when the innovations have become so widespread in the religion that the people have taken them as the Sunnah. And when the true scholars speak out against the innovations they are looked down upon and called abusive names like 'Wahhaabee', because to the common folk it seems that the scholars are changing the Sunnah. To Allaah we complain of the ignorance of our time!

Only Allaah has the right to tell us how to worship Him

Allaah Says (what means), "Follow that which has been revealed from your Lord and do not follow as Friends and Protectors other than Him." [7:3] Ibn Kathir says that in this verse is a categorical statement that the privilege to tell people how to worship Allaah belongs to Allaah alone [paraphrased from his tafseer 2/208].

And how could it be otherwise when the true meaning of ibaadah (worship) is to worship Allaah in a way which He is pleased with - not according to our desires: "...and who is more astray than the one who follows his own whims and desires, devoid of Revelation?" [28:50]

In this regard Rasulallaah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "I warn you of the newly invented-matters (in the religion), and every newly-invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in Hellfire." [an-Nisaa'ee]

He also used to say at the beginning of his lectures, "...and the best speech is the speech of Allaah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and the worst of all affairs are the newly-invented matters (in the religion)." [Muslim]

And he commanded us, "Whosoever does an action which we have not commanded then it will be rejected," [Muslim] and also, "Whosoever introduces into this religion of ours that which is not part of it then it must be rejected." [Ahmad]

"And in this hadith is clear evidence that every action which is not legislated in the Sharee'ah (Islamic law) must be rejected." [Jamia al-Usool 1/120 of Ibn Rajab, the eighth century Hanbali scholar well-known for his extensive knowledge and great piety.] So every bid'ah that is introduced in the religion has to be rejected because only Allaah and His Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam have the right to legislate in the Sharee'ah of Islaam. So in the light of these hadith what is the complete Islamic definition of a bid'ah? "A newly- invented way (in beliefs or actions) in the religion, in imitation of the Sharee'ah, by which nearness to Allaah is sought, not being supported by any authentic proof - neither in its foundations nor in the manner in which it is performed." [As defined in 'al-I'tisaam' 1/231 of ash- Shaatibee, the sixth century Maaliki scholar of Usool.]

And in what has preceded is ample evidence for any fair-minded Muslim that all bid'ah is blameworthy and in fact a major sin.

The claims of the misguided people

Unfortunately however, the Muslims are in such a state today that the words of Allaah and His Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam are no longer enough to convince them. Certain groups of Muslims have come up with a new belief - the belief of "bid'ah hasanah". They claim that a scholar can introduce a new action of worship in Islaam, as long as it does not contradict any of the principles of Islaam, a belief which has absolutely no foundation in Islaam at all. So we are now forced to resort to the statements of the great Imaams of guidance after the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam in response.

The sayings of the Companions

Abdullah bin 'Umar said, "Every innovation is misguidance, even if the people regard it as good." [ad- Daarimee] This narration is sufficient to demolish the idea of a 'good bid'ah', for you have the like of this Companion from amongst the most knowledgeable Companions of Rasulallaah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam saying the exact opposite. So who do you choose to follow, Ibn Umar or these modern day shaykhs and mullahs who are Imaams of their own whims and desires?

Abdullah bin Abbaas said, "Do not sit with the people of innovation, for surely their sittings are a sickness for the hearts." [ash-Sharee'ah of al-Ajuri p65]

Whenever he sat in a circle of knowledge, Mu'aadh ibn Jabal used to say, "...and I warn you of what is innovated, for all that is innovated is misguidance." [ash-Sharee'ah p55 and Abu Dawud with similar wording.]

Abdullah ibn Mas'ood said, "Follow the Sunnah of Muhammad and do not innovate, for what you have been commanded is enough for you." [ad-Daarimee]

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman said, "Every act of worship which the Companions did not do, do not do it." [Abu Dawud]

'Amr ibn Salmah said, "We used to sit by the door of Abdullah ibn Mas'ood before the morning prayer, so that when he came out we would walk with him to the masjid. (One day) Abu Moosa al-Ash'aree came to us and said, 'Has Abu 'Abdurrahmaan come out yet?' We replied, 'No.' So he sat down with us until h (ibn Mas'ood) came out. When he came out we all stood along with him, so Abu Moosa said to him, 'O Abu Abdurrahmaan! I have just seen something in the masjid which I deemed to be evil, but all praise is for Allaah, I did not see anything except good.' He enquired, 'Then what is it?' (Abu Moosa) replied, 'If you live you will see it. I saw in the masjid people sitting in circles awaiting the prayer. In each circle they had pebbles in their hands and a man would say, "Repeat Allaahu Akbar a hundred times." So they would repeat it a hundred times. Then he would say, "Say Laa ilaaha illallaah a hundred times." So they would say it a hundred times. Then he would say, "Say subhaanallaah a hundred times." So they would say it a hundred times.' (Ibn Mas'ood) asked, 'What did you say to them?' (Abu Moosa) said, 'I did not say anything to them. Instead I waited to hear your view or what you declared.' (Ibn Mas'ood) replied, 'If only you had ordered them to count up the evil deeds they acquired and assured them that their good deeds would not be lost!' Then we went along with him (Ibn Mas'ood) until he came to one of these circles and stood and said, 'What is this which I see you doing?' They replied, 'O Abu Abdurrahmaan! These are pebbles upon which we are counting takbeer, tahleel and tasbeeh.' He said, 'Count up your evil deeds. I assure you that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O Ummah of Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam! How quickly you go to destruction! These are the Companions of your Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and who are widespread. There are his sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam clothes which have not yet decayed and his bowl which is unbroken. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! Either you are upon a religion better guided than the religion of Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam or you are opening the door of misguidance.' They said, 'O Abu Abdurrahmaan! By Allaah, we only intended good.' He said, 'How many there are who intend good but do not achieve it. Indeed Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said to us, "A people will recite the Qur'aan but it will not pass beyond their throats." By Allaah! I do not know, perhaps most of them are from you.' Then he left them."

Umar ibn Salmah (the sub-narrator) said, "We saw most of those people fighting against us on the day of Nahrawaan, along with the Khawaarij." [ad-Daarimee in his Sunan, 1/79]

Isn't this enough? The companions tell us to follow the way of Rasulallaah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and not invent new ways worship? "Whomsoever Allaah guides to the truth, none can misguide, and whomsoever Allaah misguides, none can guide." [Muslim]

The sayings from the second and third generation scholars

Hasan al-Basree said, "Do not sit with the people of innovation. Do not debate with them or listen to them." [ad-Daarimee 1/121]

Abul 'Aaliyah said, "Learn Islam. Then when you have learned Islam, do not turn away from it to the right or to the left, but be upon the Straight Path and be upon the Sunnah of your Prophet and that which his Companions were upon... and beware of these innovations because they cause enmity and hatred amongst you, but stick to the original state of affairs that was there before they divided." [al-Hilya of Abu Nuaym 2/218]

Sufyaan ath-Thawri said, "Innovations are more beloved to shaytaan than sin, since a sin may be repented from but an innovation is not repented from." [Sharh Usool I'tiqaad of al-Laalikaaee (d. 414h) no.238, the great 4th century Imaam who wrote on the belief of Ahl usSunnah.] This is because the innovator believes he is doing something good and therefore sees no need to repent. He also said, "...so cling to the original state of affairs," [al-Hilya 6/376] meaning the way of the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam and his companions.

Imaam al-Awzaa'ee said, "Patiently restrict yourselves to the Sunnah, and pause where the people paused, say what they said, and avoid what they avoided. Take to the path of the Salaf (predecessors), for indeed, what was sufficient for them is sufficient for you." [ash-Sharee'ah p58]

Ibraaheem al-Masayrah said, "He who honours an innovator has assisted in the demolition of Islaam." [Sharh Usool I'tiqaad 1/139]

The sayings of the Four Imaams

Imaam Abu Hanifah said, "Stick to the narrations and the way of the Salaf, and beware of newly-invented matters for all of it is innovation." [Sawnul Mantaq of as-Suyuti p32]

Imaam Malik said, "He who innovates an innovation in Islaam regarding it as something good, has claimed that Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has betrayed his trust to deliver the message as Allaah Says (what means), "This day I have perfected for you your religion." And whatsoever was not part of the religion then, is not part of the religion today." [al-I'tisaam] He also said, "How evil are the people of innovation, we do not give them salaam." [al-Ibaanah of Ibn Battah (died 387h) no. 441]

Imaam ash-Shaafi'ee said, "Whosoever considers an innovation to be good has corrected the Prophet." [Bulghul Maraam of Ibn Hajar (available in English) p190 footnote 2] And all that has been related from him that contradicts this statement, regarding innovation as being of two types is either weak or baseless as al-Haafidh adh-Dhahabee and others from the scholars of hadith state.

Imaam Ahmad said, "The fundmental principles of the Sunnah with us are: ... avoiding innovation and every innovation is misguidance." [Usool usSunnah (available in English) p.1]

Imaam al-Bukhari said, "I have met more than a thousand scholars...(then he named the more prominent in each of the lands he visited) and I found that they all agreed on the following points: ...they all used to prohibit bid'ah - that which the Prophet and his Companions were not upon, because of the saying of Allaah, '...and hold fast to the rope of Allaah and do not separate.' " [From his article on belief, quoted in Sharh Usool I'tiqaad 1/170. Amongst the scholars he met were Ahmad bin Hanbal, Abu Ubaid al-Qaasim, ibn Ma'een, ibn Aasim, ibn Abi Shaybah, and Abu Saalih the scribe of Layth bin Sa'ad]

What we have narrated to you here is a small number of narrations from amongst literally hundreds from the early scholars of Islaam with regard to the sin of innovation. It is unfortunate that the later generations of Muslims have lost contact with our Salaf, for it is through them that we gain the true understanding of the religion, and they were prolific in speaking out against and writing about innovation - even today we have whole volumes of works from them dealing with this topic alone. If only we would turn our attention to the legacy of our Salaf!

The arguments of the innovators

This is a time when everyone is satisfied with his opinion, hence the multitude of innovations commonly witnessed today, despite the plethora of proofs presented above. Know that every example which the ignorant ones bring, from the actions of the Companions, to support their belief in 'good innovations', is misunderstood and manifests their lack of knowledge and concern for the Sunnah. All of the following examples either have a clear basis in the Sharee'ah, or occurred due to necessity, or from the ijtihaad of the Companion in question - none of them being an innovation. Insh'Allaah we shall mention a few of the more common excuses:

1. When Umar, raddi Allaahu anhu, was the Khalifah, he collected the Muslims to pray in congregation for tarawih prayers, and said, "What a good bid'ah this is." [Bukhari] From this, they derive their belief of a good innovation. Firstly, it becomes necessary to explain the context of what happened. When the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam first emigrated to Madeenah, the Muslims prayed tarawih individually, and then for three nights they prayed in congregation behind the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam. After this, he stopped them doing so saying, "I feared that it would become obligatory upon you." So after this the Muslims would pray individually or in small congregations throughout the rule of Abu Bakr, and the beginning of 'Umar's rule. Then 'Umar came to the masjid and saw the Muslims praying in small groups behind different Imaams, so he collected them together in one congregation behind one Imaam and made the aforementioned statement [Bukhari]. So how can this action of 'Umar be understood to be a new act of worship when the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam did it during his lifetime? Secondly, the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam gave the reason why he stopped the congregational prayer, because revelation was still descending, and he feared that praying in congregation might become obligatory upon his nation and hence make the religion hard upon them.

After the death of Rasulallaah sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, revelation ceased so this concern was no longer necessary. Hence Umar raddi Allaahu anhu reinstated the tarawih prayer in congregation during his rule because he knew that his action could not be made obligatory upon the Ummah. Thirdly, all the companions agreed upon this action of 'Umar, thus there was a consensus (ijma) on it. And the scholars of Usool (fundamental principles) have stated that ijma cannot occur except when there is a clear text for it in the Sharee'ah.

So what is the correct understanding of 'Umar's words, "a good bid'ah"? The word bid'ah here is to be understood in its linguistic sense, "something new," because tarawih in one congregation was not present during the rule of Abu Bakr and the beginning of 'Umar's rule, hence in that sense it was something new. The Sharee'ah sense (defined earlier) cannot be understood here because it does not fulfi the conditions of being a new act of worship. Abu Yusuf said, "I asked Abu Hanifah about the tarawih and what 'Umar did and he said, 'The tarawih is a stressed Sunnah, and 'Umar did not do that from his own opinion, nor was there in his action any innovation, and he did not enjoin it except that there was a foundation for it with him and authorisation from the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.'" [Sharh Mukhtaar as quoted from him in al- Ibdaa of Shaykh Ali Mahfooz p80]

2. The collection of the Qur'aan into one book after the death of Rasulallaah sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam and the statement of Abu Bakr, "How can we do that which was not done by the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam." [Bukhari] The proof, according to them, being that the companions collected the Qur'aan in a book form after the time of the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam without him enjoining it - hence it being an innovation which the companions agreed upon as being good.

Upon closer examination this is actually an evidence against these people, not for them. When 'Umar came to Abu Bakr and said that the Qur'aan had to be collected as a book, he did not argue on the basis of bid'ah hasanah, rather he argued on the basis of necessity - because many of the people who had memorised the Qur'aan by heart were being martyred, and therefore the Qur'aan was in danger of being lost and hence it had to be collected in book form. When Abu Bakr replied, he did not say, "Oh yes I agree with you, this is a bid'ah hasanah," rather he argued that the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam did not do this, so how could they? It was only after the necessity was made clear to him that he agreed.

So, in conclusion, the collection of the Qur'aan as a book was something the companions agreed upon due to necessity, not considering it to a good bid'ah.

3. The hadith, "Whoever starts in Islaam a good practice (sunnah), he gets the reward of it and the reward of all those that act on it. And whosoever starts in Islaam an evil practice (sunnah), he gets the evil of it and the evil of all those that act on it." [Muslim] The evidence that they derive from this hadith is that people can invent new practices in Islaam which are either good or bad. Of course, if they were to take the hadith in its full context then it is not possible to derive this meaning.

The context of the hadith states that a group of poor people came to the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam so he asked those around him to give charity, but no one came forward - so much so that signs of anger could be discerned on the face of Rasulallaah sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, so one of the companions stepped forward and gave charity, so the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam said the above hadith.

Firstly, the word 'sunnah' which is used in this hadith cannot be understood to mean the Sunnah of Rasulallaah sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, because that would imply that there is something bad in the Sunnah; rather it is to be understood in its linguistic meaning of 'practice'.

Secondly, this action the companion did was not something new in Islaam, since giving charity was already legislated from the very first days of Islaam; rather he was simply implementing it, so the statement of the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam "a good sunnah" was said at a time when the people were reluctant to give charity, so one man started to give the charity and others followed him in it. Thus, he revived a Sunnah at a time when the people were reluctant to practice it, and this is the meaning of "a good sunnah." Hence, in the early works of 'aqeedah, this hadith was included under the chapter headings, "The reward of the one who renews the Sunnah." [For example Sharh Usool I'tiqaad 1/50]

The meaning of "a bad sunnah" is similar. It is renewing or starting something that the Sharee'ah has already declared to be bad, and the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam gave the example of the two sons of Aadam alayhis salaam wa 'alaa Nabiyina, one killing the other. So upon the murderer was the sin of the killing and the sin of all those that killed after him, without their sins being reduced.

Thirdly, the hadith uses the terms 'good' and 'bad', and the Sharee'ah has already defined in its totality all that is good and all that is bad. This is what is pointed to in the statement of Imaam ashShaafi'ee in his refutation of Istihsaan (declaring something to be good) when he said, "Whoever declares something to be good, he has declared it part of Sharee'ah." [ar-Risaala]

These are just a few of many of the feeble examples that these misguided people bring to support their belief, and it should now be clear that none of them hold any weight, so let us learn from this the great importance of studying the Qur'aan and Sunnah in its context, with the explanation of the Companions - after that, we leave them floundering in the abyss of misguidance that they have dug for themselves, whilst asking Allaah to guide them!

So once this basic subject becomes clear, a subject which no one can deny, then know that all these innovations in the deen such as kissing the thumbs when the name of Muhammad sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam is mentioned, doing dhikr in congregation with one voice, doing dhikr with excessive bodily movements such as swinging the head from left to right or dancing in circles, invoking salaam upon the Prophet sallaallaahu alayhi wa sallam before the adhaan is called, seeking intercession and blessings at the graves of dead 'saints', raising graves and building memorials over them, the 'Eed of the Prophet's birthday and hundreds of others; all of them are a clear denial of the above ayaat, ahaadeeth and narrations of the Salaf, for none of them were practised by the Companions.

We leave you with this hadith: "...so he who follows my Sunnah has been guided, and he who follows the innovation has been destroyed." [Ahmad]

And the Saying of Allaah the Most Wise (which means), "And whosoever contends with the Messenger after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a way other than the way of the believers (the Companions), We shall leave him in the path he has chosen and land him in Hell - what an evil destination!" [4:115]

And Allaah Knows Best.

Good Innovations

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:44:00 +0000

By : Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan hafidhahullaah

Translation and Footnotes by Maaz Qureshi

Whoever divides innovation [in the religion] into good innovation (bid'ah hasanah), and sinful innovation (bid'ah sayyi'ah), then he has committed wrong, and has opposed his sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam statement, "Every innovation is a misguidance", [1] because the Messenger sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ruled that innovation - all of it - is misguidance, [2] and this says that not all innovation is misguidance, rather there is good innovation. Al-Haafidh Ibn Rajab said in his commentary to al Arba'een: 'So his sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam statement, "Every innovation is misguidance" is from the all encompassing word, not excluding from it anything. And it is the greatest principle from the principles of the Religion. And it is associated with hissallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam statement, "Whoever invents in this affair of ours, what is not from it, then it is rejected" So whoever invents things and attributes them to the religion, and it does not have an origin in the religion to return to, then it is misguidance, and the Religion is free from those things. And equal to that are matters of beliefs, or actions, or statements whether hidden, or manifest.' [end] [Jaami'ul 'Uloom Wal Hikam, p. 233] [3]

And there is not a proof for them that there is good innovation, except for the statement of 'Umar radiallaahu 'anhu regarding the taraaweeh prayer, "What a good innovation this is!" (ni'imatul bida'atu hadhihi).

And they also say, 'Verily there were things invented, and they were not objected to by the Salaf, like the collection of the Qur`aan into one book, and the writing of the Hadeeth, and recording them.' So the answer to these is that these are matters which have an origin in the law (shar'), so they are not newly invented. And the statement of 'Umar radiallaahu 'anhu "What a good innovation", he desires the linguistic innovation, and not the religious innovation (al bida'atush Shar'iyyah). So whatever has an origin in the law, returns to it. If it is said that it is an innovation, then it is an innovation in language, and not in Islaamic Law. So the religious innovation is what does not have an origin for it to return to. So the collecting of the Qur`an into one book has for it an origin in the law to return to, because the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam had commanded the recording of the Qur`aan, but it was written scattered so the Companions collected it into one book for it's protection. Indeed the Prophet prayed taraaweeh with his Companions radiallaahu 'anhum nightly, and they had preferable fear about it in the appointment [of an Imaam], and the continuing of the Companions radiallaahu 'anhum in praying in separate groups in the lifetime of the Prophet and after his sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam passing, up until 'Umar Ibnul Khattaab united them on one Imaam like how they used to be behind the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and this is not an innovation in the Religion. And the writing of the Hadeeth also has an origin for it in the Law. Indeed the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam commanded the writing of some hadeeths for some of his Companions radiallaahu 'anhu, so as to study that from it. [4]

And there was warning against writing it on regular paper according to his sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam advice fearing that there would get mixed with the Qur`aan, that which was not from it. So when the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam passed away, this warning was done away with - because the Qur`aan was completed, and vowelized before his sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam passing. So the Muslims recorded the hadeeth after that, preserving it from destruction. And may Allah reward Islaam and the Muslims with good when they preserve the Book of their Lord, and the Sunnah of their Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam from destruction, and the mockery of the scornful. [5]

________________________________________
Footnotes:
1. Many of the people of innovation say that the word 'kullu' in the hadeeth about innovated matters does not mean everything, al-Haafidh Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee says in Jaami'ul Uloom Wal Hikam (2/89) in commentary to the part of the hadeeth, "and beware of the newly invented matter." "His saying, 'and beware of the newly invented matters, and every bid'ah is a misguidance' contains a warning to the ummah from following the newly invented innovations, and he stresed this by saying, 'and every innovation is a misguidance'. And the meaning of bid'ah is everything that is newly invented that has no basis in the share'ah that would prove it. As for that which has a basis in the share'ah that would prove it then this is not a bid'ah in the sharee'ah even if it be a bid'ah according to the language. And in the saheeh of Muslim from Jabir (radiyallahu 'anhu) from the Prophet that he used to say in his sermons, 'the best speech is the Book of Allaah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, and the worst of matters are the newly invented matters and every bid'ah is a misguidance.'.And Imaam Ahmad reports from the report of Ghadeef Ibnul Haarith ash-Shimaalee, 'Abdul Malk Ibn Marwaan sent (someone) to me and he said: Indeed we gather the people for two matters: raising the hands (for supplication) upon the minbar on the day of Jumu'ah and giving exhortations after the fajr and 'asr prayers. So he said: As for these two matters, then they are examples of your innovations in my opinion and I will not accept anything of them from you because the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, 'A people do not introduce an innovation except that the likes of it is raised from the sunnah (ie. forgotten and neglected) and sticking to the sunnah is better than innovatig an innovation.' And something similar is reported from Ibn 'Umar. And as for what has occurred from some of the Salaf in their declaring some bid'ahs to be good then this is regards to bid'ah in it's linguistic meaning not it's sharee'ah meaning, and from these is the saying of 'Umar radiallaahu 'anhu when he gathered the people for the standing of Ramadhaan behind one Imaam. He gives reasons as to why this is so, but these have already been mentioned in other articles, and some of them above, so I will not repeat them] And from them: the adhaan for jumu'ah that was increased on by 'Uthmaan due to the need of the people.and it is reported from ibn Umar that he said this was a bid'ah. And maybe he meant what his father meant concerning the standing during the month of Ramadhaan. And from them: collecting the mushaf as one book and the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam used to command that the revelation be written and there is no difference in this between writing separately or as one collection, rather one collection has more benefit...[mentioning more examples]... And Abu Nu'aym reports with a chain of narration from Ibraaheem Ibn Junayd who said: I heard ash-Shaafi'ee saying: 'bid'ah is of two types..' And he depended upon the saying of 'Umar radiallaahu 'anhu, 'what a good bid'ah this is' and the meaning of ash-Shaafi'ee (rahimahullaah) is as we have mentioned previously: that the foundation for the blameworthy bid'ah is that which does not have a basis in the sharee'ah that can be referred to - and this is a bid'ah in the convention of the sharee'ah. As for the praiseworthy bid'ah then that is what agrees with the sunnah - meaning that is has a basis in the sunnah that can be referred to, and this is a 'bid'ah' in it's linguistic meaning not in it's sharee'ah meaning due to it's conforming with the sunnah. And another statement has been reported from ash-Shaafi'ee that explains this, and that is: 'newly invented matters are of two types.'" [end] So every innovation is a misguidance, contrary to what some may have you believe.

2. The alleged statement of Imaam ash-Shaafi'ee is another ploy used by the people of bid'ah to try to legislate their innovations into the complete and perfected Religion of Allaah.

3. The shaykh, Saalih al-Fawzaan quoted from al-Haafidh Ibn Rajab, so it would be useful to quote the full discussion: al-Haafidh Ibn Rajab said in commentary of the hadeeth, whosoever introduces something in this affair of ours which is not part of it then it must be rejected.' And the hadeeth, 'whosoever does an action which we have not commanded must be rejected': "This hadeeth contains a great principle from amongst the principles if Islaam, for just as the hadeeth 'indeed actions are by intentions' is the scale (to judge the action in) it's inward form this hadeeth is the scale (to the action in) it's outward form. Just as any action that is not done seeking the Face of Allaah the Exalted does not bestow any reward upon the actor, similarly any action that has not been commanded by Allaah and His Messenger is rejected. And everyone that innovates in the religion that which Allaah and His Messenger have not given permission for, then it is nothing in the religion... And this hadeeth in it's wording indicates that every action that has not been commanded by the Legislator is rejected, and it's understanding indicates that every action that has been commanded is not rejected. And the meaning of 'his command' here is 'his religion and law' as is the meaning of his saying in the other narration, 'whosoever introduces something in this affair of ours which is not part of it must be rejected.' Therefore the meaning is that whosoevers action is outside the sharee'ah and not bound by the sharee'ah, is rejected. And his saying, 'which we have not commanded' indicates it is necessary for th actions of the actors to fall under the rules and regulations of the sharee'ah and that the rules of the Sharee'ah be the judge to command them or forbid them. So whosoevers action falls under the rules and regulations of the sharee'ah, in agreement with them, then his action is accepted, and otherwise it is rejected...and whosoever seeks to draw close to Allaah with an action that Allaah and His Messengersallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam have not appointed as a means of drawing close to Allaah then his action is false and rejected... And the Messenger sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam saw a person standing in the sun, and so he inquired about him and it was said in reply, 'he has taken an oath to stand and not to sit or take shade, and to fast.' So the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ordered him to sit and seek the shade and to complete his fast. [Bukhaaree] So he sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam did not make his standing and exposure to the sun a means of getting close (to Allaah) such that it would require fulfilling the oath. And it is reported that this event occurred on the day of jumu'ah at time of hearing the khutbah of the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam while he was on the minbar. So this man made the oath to stand and not sit or seek the shade for as long as the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) gave his sermon, in glorification/respect of listening to the sermon of the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and yet the Messenger sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam did not make this a means of getting close to Allaah that would require fulfillment of his oath. Despite the fact that standing is worship in other places such as prayer and adhaan and offering du'aa on 'Arafah. And exposure to the sun is a means of getting closer to Allaah for the one in ihraam, so this indicates that everything that is a means of getting close to Allaah on a particular occasion is not a means of getting close on every occasion, rather one follows what occurs in the Sharee'ah in it's correct place for everything." [it is known in the sharee'ah that an oath which involves disobedience to Allaah does not require fulfillment]

4. As for the deception of the people of bid'ah in saying that the collection of the ahaadeeth of the Messenger sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam as an innovation, then this is simply not true. From Abu Qabeel who said: We were with 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Amr Ibnul 'Aas and he was asked which city will be conquered first Constantinople or Rome? So 'Abdullaah called for a sealed trunk and he said: Take out a book from it. Then 'Abdullaah said: Whilst we were with the Messenger of Allaah sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam writing. The Messenger of Allaah sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam was asked: Which city will be conquered first, constantinople or Rome? So Allaah's Messenger (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: "The city of Heraclius will be conquered first" meaning Constantinople. [Related by Ahmad (2/176), ad-Daarimee (1/126) and al Haakim (3/422)] So this narration shows that some of the Companions did write the hadeeths of the Messenger sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam in his presence.

5. Ibn Hajar on bid'ah as in 'Fath (13/314+) Kitaabul-I'tisaam, Chapter: Following The Sunan of The Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. "His saying, 'and the worst of matters are the newly invented matters.', and muhadathaat means the newly invented matters that have no basis in the sharee'ah, and the are called according to the convention of the sharee'ah 'bid'ah', and that which has a basis in the sharee'ah that would prove it then it is not a bid'ah. So bid'ah in the convention of the sharee'ah is blameworthy in contravention to the language, for linguistically every thing that is newly invented, be it blameworthy or praiseworthy, is called bid'ah...and ash-Shaafi'ee said, 'bid'ah is of two types..' Reported by Abu Nu'aym via the route of Ibraaheem Ibn Junayd, and there occurs from ash-Shaafi'ee also what is reported by al-Bayhaqee in his 'Manaaqib', 'the newly invented matters are of two types.' end. And some of the scholars divided bid'ah into the five categories of ahkaam and this is clear. And it is established from Ibn Mas'ood that he said, 'indeed you have matured upon the fitrah, but indeed you shall innovate, and things shall be innovated for you, so when you see the innovations then stick to the original guidance'...And Imaam Ahmad reported with a good sanad from Ghadeef Ibnul-Haarith who said, 'al-Malik Ibn Marwaan sent (someone) to me and he said: indeed we gather the people for two matters: raising the hands (for du'aa) upon the minbar on the day of jumu'ah, and giving exhortations after the fajr and 'asr prayers. So he said: as for these two, then they are examples of your innovations in my opinion and I will not accept anything of them from you because the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, 'a people do not introduce an innovation except that a sunnah the likes of it is raised (i.e. forgotten and neglected)' and sticking to the sunnah is better then introducing a bid'ah' so if this was the answer of this sahaabee concerning a matter that has a basis in the religion, then what do you think the case would be concerning a matter that has no basis in the religion? And how about when it includes things that contradict the sunnah?..and this matter (of giving exhortations) was present during the time of the Prophet sallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam but it was not done constantly like the jumu'ah khutbah rather it was done as the need dictated. And as for his saying in the hadeeth of al-Irbaadh, 'indeed every bid'ah is a misguidance' after saying, 'and beware of the newly invented matters' proves that newly invented matters are called bid'ah. And his saying, 'and indeed every bid'ah is misguidance' is a complete sharee'ah principle both in wording and understanding. As for in wording then it is as if it is said, 'the ruling of such and such is that it is a bid'ah and every bid'ah is a misguidance' and so it would not be from the sharee'ah because the sharee'ah, in it's totality, is guidance...and the meaning of his words 'every bid'ah is a misguidance' is that which has been introduced that has no evidence in either a specific or general way...Ibn 'Abdis Salaam said at the end of 'al-Qawaa'id': bid'ah is of five classifications [mentioning the five and some examples of them]" [End of Ibn Hajar's words] There are some points to be recognized here:

1. Ibn Hajars quoting from Imaam ash-Shaafi'ee after making clear that in the language bid'ah is of two types but in the Sharee'ah it is only one.

2. Indicating that he understands the statement 'praiseworthy bid'ah' in the linguistic sense as did Ibn Rajab.

3. His quoting Ibn 'Abdis Salaam in his classifying bid'ah into 5 categories but he himself saying, 'and the meaning of his words 'every bid'ah is a misguidance' is that which has been introduced that has no evidence in either a specific or general way' and other similar statements.

And Verily Allaah the Exalted Knows Best.

Good Bid'ah

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:53:00 +0000

Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Uthaymeen {Rahima-hullaah}

From 'Bid'ah - The Unique Nature of the Perfection found in Islaam and the Grave Danger of Innovating in to it', pp: 11-20

THE SAYING OF ALLAAH'S MESSENGER sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, "EVERY BID'AH LEADS ASTRAY"

And you should be amazed at a people who recognise the words of Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, "Beware of the newly-invented matters, for every such matter is a bid'ah and every bid'ah leads astray, and everything that leads astray is in the Fire," [Reported by Aboo Daawood, Tirmidhee and others, no. 2549 in Saheehul-Jaami' without, "... every thing that leads astray is in the Fire ...", and hadith no.28 in an-Nawawees Forty Hadith] and they know that his words, "...every bid'ah..." are complete, comprehensive and universal, being encompassed by the strongest grammatical particle used to make a noun universal and all-encompassing, i.e., kullu (which means everything), and (they know that) the one who used this word, may Allaah's salawaat and salaam be upon him, knew what this word indicated and he was the most eloquent of all (in the Arabic language) and he was the sincerest of the creation towards the creation. Hence he would not use a word unless its meaning was that which he intended. Hence (they know that) when the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "... every Bid'ah leads astray ..." he knew what he was saying and he knew its meaning and this saying of his eminated as a result of complete sincerity and concern for the Ummah.

(They know that) when these three characteristics were all present in his words, i.e., complete sincerity and good wishes, complete clarity and eloquence and complete knowledge and understanding -then it is clear that what he said was what he wanted to say in order to convey his desired meaning. So (you should be amazed, that such a people, after recognising all this) think that bid'ah can be of three or five categories? Can this be correct? Never! And what some scholars do claim is that there exists the good innovation. But if this is so, then they can only be referring to two cases:

(i) that it is not an innovation but they do consider it to be one, or

(ii) it is an innovation, and hence it is something evil, but they do not know of its evil.

(And these are the only two possibilities, bearing in mind that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "... every bid'ah leads astray ...")

THE SHARP SWORD AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF INNOVATION

So for everything that is used to claim that there exists a good bid'ah, then the answer for it is all the above. Thus there can be no room for the People of Innovation to claim that their innovations are good while we have in our hand the sharp sword that Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam gave us - i.e., his saying that "... every innovation leads astray." Indeed, this sharp sword was forged in the steel-works of Prophethood and Messengership. It was not forged in some second rate iron-mill, rather in the steelworks of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and he sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam forged it so eloquently, that anyone who has the likes of this sharp sword in his hand would never be dumb-founded by someone claiming that bid'ah is good, for the Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said that, "...every bid'ah leads astray."

WHAT ABOUT THE SAYING OF 'UMAR radiallaahu 'anhu I AM PLEASED WITH THAT BID'AH?

Now I can sense that there is in your hearts a creeping doubt saying, 'But what about the words of the Chief of the Believers 'Umar bin al-Khattab radiallaahu 'anhu who succeeded in achieving something good when he ordered Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Tameem ad-Daaree to lead the people in prayer during Ramadaan. Hence he left having united the people behind a (single) Imaam, and so said, "I am happy with this innovation, but the part of the night they used to sleep through is better than the part they use to pray in." [Reported by al-Bukhaaree, (Eng. trans. vol. 3, p. 126, no.227).]

The reply to this is from two angles. Firstly, it is not permitted for anyone to oppose the saying of the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam by preferring the opinion of any other -be it the opinion of Abu Bakr who is better than anyone else in this ummah after its Prophet, or that of 'Umar who is the second best after its Prophet, or 'Uthmaan who is the third best after its Prophet, or 'Alee who is the fourth best after its Prophet or that of anyone else. As Allah, the Most High, says:

"So let those who oppose his (Muhammad's sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) command beware that they will be afflicted with a trial or a painful punishment." (24: 63)

Imaam Ahmad rahimahullaah said, 'Do you know what the trial mentioned here is? The trial is shirk - perhaps when someone opposes the Prophet's saying, some deviation may affect his heart such that he will be destroyed.' And Ibn Abbaas radiallaahu 'anhu said, 'Stones are about to be sent down from the sky! I say that, 'Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said so and so ...' while you reply with what Aboo Bakr and 'Umar said!'

Secondly, we know for certain that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab radiallaahu 'anhu was one of the strongest in glorifying the Words of Allaah and His Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and he was famous for halting short of the limits laid down by Allaah, the Most High. To the extent that he was attributed with being a warden and safe-guard of the Speech of Allaah, the Most High.

And what about the story of that woman who opposed him, (assuming it is authentic), when he wanted to limit the dowries, by an unknown amount? Then a woman opposed him using the Saying of Allaah, the Most High:

"And (even if) you gave one of them a huge amount (of gold)." [4:20]

Hence 'Umar abandoned his wish to limit the dowries. However, the authenticity of this story needs to be looked into. But the point is clear - that 'Umar would safeguard the limits laid down by Allaah, the Most High, and would not transgress them. So it would not be befitting for 'Umar radiallaahu 'anhu being who he was, to oppose the words of the best of mankind, Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam by saying 'What a pleasing innovation about any bid'ah. So can this innovation be that which Allaah's Messenger was referring to when he said that "... every innovation leads astray ..."? No. Rather it can be said with certainity that this innovation about which 'Umar said, 'I am pleased with this innovation ...' falls outside what was intended by Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam when he said, "... every bid'ah leads astray." Thus when 'Umar said, 'I am pleased with this innovation ...' he was referring to the effect - that the people had gathered together behind one Imaam while before that, they were (praying) in separate groups. And this praying (behind a single Imaam) during Ramadhan had its origin from the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, as is proven from that which is reported by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim from 'Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam led the people in prayer for three nights and then hesitated doing so on the fourth night, saying, "Indeed I feared that it would become obligatory upon you, but you would not be able to cope with that." [Reported by Bukhaaree (Eng. trans. vol.1, no.696) and Muslim (Eng. trans. vol.1, no.1666].

Thus performing the night prayer in Ramadaan as a single Jamaa'ah is from the Sunnah of the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and 'Umar radiallaahu 'anhu referred to it as a 'bid'ah' considering the fact that after the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam had left leading the prayer, the people became separated such that one person would he praying alone, and elsewhere two would be praying together, and somewhere else three would be praying in Jamaa'ah. So throughout the mosque there were people praying alone and in groups, so 'Umar, the chief of the Believers, had the idea - and this idea was perfectly correct - to gather the people to pray behind a single Imaam. So this action was an innovation in the sense that it was new and different to how the people were before, i.e., praying in separate groups. Hence this bid'ah was relative and subjective - not original and absolute, being set up by Umar radiallaahu 'anhu, as this sunnah was there during the time of the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam So it indeed was a Sunnah (not a bid'ah), which had been abandoned since the time of the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, until Umar radiallaahu 'anhu revived it.

As a result of all this, it should never be possible for the People of Innovation to use this saying of 'Umar as a way to condone their bid'ah.

AHKAAM AL-MAQAASID

Now someone could say: There are a number of innovated things that the Muslims have approved of and acted upon that were not known of during the time of the Prophet ~ Such as religious schools, compiling books and the like. These innovations have been condoned by the Muslims and they have acted upon them and considered them to be some of the most excellent ideas. So how can you harmonise this - where the Muslims are almost unanimous in considering these things to be good - with that saying of the Leader and Prophet of all the Muslims, the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds (Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, where he sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "..every bid'ah leads astray."?

So in reply, we say that these things in these circumstances are not innovations, rather they are a means towards achieving that which is already from the sharee'ah. And these means will differ according to the location and the time, but there are established rules for them. One such rule is that their permissibility depends on the goal, i.e., those means that are used to achieve a prescribed matter are themselves prescribed; those means that are used to achieve something that is not ordained are themselves not ordained; and those means used to achieve the forbidden are themselves forbidden. Even something good maybe evil and forbidden if it necessarily leads to evil. Listen to Allaah, the Mighty and Glorious, when He says:

"Do not insult those whom they call upon, instead of calling upon Allah, for they may insult Allaah out of hostility and ignorance" [6:108]

Yet cursing the gods of the mushriks is not wrong, rather it is correct and quite proper. However cursing the Lord of all the Worlds is indeed wrong, improper, hostile and a transgression. Therefore, where this praiseworthy insulting of the gods of the mushriks is a cause that leads to Allaah being insulted, then it becomes prohibited and forbidden. I have put this forward to show that the means are according to their related goal. Hence regarding schools, writing down knowledge and compiling books, then even though they are innovations, in the sense that they were not found during the time of Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam nevertheless they are not goals in themselves, but are means, and the means are according to their goals. So, for example, if someone were to set up a school to teach forbidden matters, then this act of setting up the school woudld be forbidden. If a person were to set up a school in order to teach knowledge of the sharee'ah, then this act would be good and sanctioned by Islaam.

WHAT ABOUT THE SAYING OF THE PROPHET sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam "WHOEVER ENACTS A GOOD SUNNAH ..."?

What if someone asks: How do you respond to what the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said i.e., "Whoever enacts a good sunnah into Islam, he will get the reward of it and of all those who act upon it up to the Day of Judgement," with the verb Sanna (i.e., 'enact') meaning Shara'a i.e., to introduce or to prescribe?

The reply to this is: Who is the one who said, "Whoever enacts a good sunnah into Islaam ... ?" He is the same one who also said, "... every bid'ah leads astray." It is not possible for a phrase to eminate from someone who is truthful and proven to be truthful, such that it would deny and negate another phrase of his, and it is absolutely impossible for any speech of Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam to be self-contradictory, nor is it possible to refute any particular meaning by claiming it to be contradictory. Whoever thinks that the words of Allaah's Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam are self-contradictory, then let him look again, for indeed this kind of thought eminates from a person possessing thoughts that are either deficient or limited. Indeed it is completely impossible that one would find a contradiction in the words of Allaah, the Most High, or that of His Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.

If this is so, then it should be clear that the hadith, "... every innovation leads astray ..." does not contradict the hadith "Whoever enacts a good sunnah into Islaam ..." for the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "Whoever enacts a good sunnah into Islaam...," while innovations are not from Islaam. And he sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said "... a good sunnah ..." while innovation is not good. So he sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam made a distinction between enacting a Sunnah on the one hand and enacting an innovation on the other.

In any case, there is a reply that no one should have a problem with - that the meaning of, "Whoever enacts a sunnah ..." is, 'Whoever revives a sunnah that was present and then was lost.' Therefore it means that a matter has been revived, and thus in this way "... enacting a sunnah ..."is relative and secondary just as (in the case of 'Umar, where his use of) the word bid'ah (innovation) was relative and secondary in the sense that it involved the revival of a sunnah that had been abandoned.

There is even a second reply that can be given: That is the background of the whole hadith, for it is a story concerning the tribe that came to see the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam while being in exceptionally difficult circumstances. So the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam urged that donations be given to them, and hence one man form the Ansaar came forward with a bag of silver in his hand which was almost too heavy for him to carry. He placed it down before the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam This made the face of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam glow with joy and happiness and so he said, "Whoever enacts a good sunnnah into Islaam will have the reward of it and the reward of oil those who act upon it until the Day of Resurrection." So we have here that the meaning of " ... enacting a sunnah ..." means to enact an action in the sense of implementing it and not in the sense of setting up a new thing into the sharee'ah. Hence the meaning of his sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam saying, "Whoever enacts a good sunnah into Islaam ..." turns out to be, 'Whoever acts upon a good sunnah in the sense of implementing it as opposed to introducing a new thing in the sharee'ah,' for that would be prohibited as he sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "... every bid'ah leads astray."

Supplicating: 'O Messenger of Allaah!'

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:03:00 +0000

By Imaam Sayyid Nadheer Hussayn ad-Dahlawee

Translator: Zulfiker Ibrahim al-Memoni al-Athari

Is it permissible to say ‘O Messenger of Allaah’ (يا رسول الله) any where other than in the presence of the Prophet of Allaah’s grave?

Answer:

The phrase ‘O Messenger of Allaah’! (يا رسول الله) is used to call upon and invoke the Messenger of Allaah. However, when invoking someone, it is important that the one being called upon is present or else he would not be able to listen to or respond the call. There are some people who believe that the Messenger of Allaah is omnipresent [1] according to their belief, the one that is omnipresent encompasses the knowledge of all things. However, the one that truly encompasses the knowledge of all things is none other than Allaah, the Most High alone, and this is one of His unique attributes. To assign such a unique attribute to anyone other than Allaah is to associate partners with Him, which is the greatest sin one can commit. In his book entitled ‘Miftahul-Quloob’, Mulla Husain Khabbaz[2] has written that:

‘To call upon the dead believing that they are omnipresent [as Allaah is with His knowledge], for example to say ‘O Messenger of Allaah’! (يا رسول الله) or ‘O Shaykh Abdul-Qadir Jailaanee! [3]’ etc., then know that this is disbelief. It is for this reason that in the books of [Hanafi] Fiqh[4], it has been narrated that if a person was to conduct a marriage, bear witnessing that Allaah & His Messenger are both his witnesses, then this marriage contract would be considered invalid, whilst the one who conducted this marriage would be considered a disbeliever because of their belief that the Prophet of Allaah knows the knowledge of the unseen.’ Refer to Bahrur-Ra’iq[5] and others.

I say [Sayyid Nadhir Husain Dehlawi] to make a distinction whilst calling upon somebody by saying ‘O so and so!’, whether it be a prophet or anybody else, whether it is whilst sending prayers on the prophet in Salaah or on any other occasion… then this is not feasible because you should only call upon somebody that is present and can hear you, and the Prophet is not omnipresent [as Allaah’s knowledge is omnipresent].With regards to sending prayers upon the Prophet, then this is something that has been established in authentic Hadeeth where the angels convey the prayers that are sent upon him[6]. Therefore the person who calls upon and invokes somebody that is not present is indicating that they believe that the one being called upon is omnipresent and it is this type of belief that has been defined as associating partners with Allaah. Therefore, it is very important that a Muslim abstains from using such words and actions that imply such heretical beliefs i.e. associating partners with Allaah. If somebody was to argue by using the prayer ‘Salaatul-Hajjah[7]’ as a proof and evidence then the answer to that is that at the time when Salaatul-Hajjah was prayed, the Prophet of Allaah was alive and present amongst the believers, but now he is dead and no longer with us. Although the same wording is adopted, it is only said in its narrative form in the past tense, just as one does when he supplicates in the Tashhahud. In his book entitled ‘To attain the blessings of Allaah by explaining the meaning of At-Tahiyyat [Tashhahud], Sheikh Abdul-Huq Muhaddeeth Dehlawi[8] has written:

‘That the response to those who argue that in the Tashhahud we send prayers on the Prophet by addressing him in the first person [i.e. saying O Prophet!], although he is not present is as follows: The prayer upon the Prophet in the Tashhahud is in its narrative form in the past tense which occurred during the incident of Miraj. Further, it has been narrated by Imam Bukhari in his Saheeh on the authority of Abdullah ibn Masood who said:

‘The messenger of Allaah taught me the Tashhahud [with] my palm between his palms, the way he taught me the Surahs of the Qur’an [which began with the following words]: ‘’All compliments, prayers, and pure words are due to Allaah, Peace be on you, O Prophet…’’ This was while he was among us, but after he passed away, we would say ‘Peace be on the prophet.’[9]

Therefore, to use the aforementioned words as proof and evidence [is out of context and] is incorrect. And Allaah knows best!

16th Ramadan 1267 AH,
Fataawa Nadheeriyah
Book of Eemaan and Beliefs
Volume 1 page 159-161.

[1] Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jam’aah do not believe that Allaah is omnipresent. Rather they believe that Allaah’s knowledge is omnipresent [i.e. His knowledge encompasses all things apparent and hidden). Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jam’aah further believe that Allaah, the Most high, is above the seven heavens, above His Arsh, and separate from His creation in a manner that befits His majesty. This is established from the Qur’an & Sunnah, as well as the consensus of the companions of the messenger of Allaah. [TN]

[2] I could not find a biography of Mulla Husain Khabbaz. After asking Sheikh Uzair Shams Al-Hindee of Makkah, he informed me that in his opinion it may be that Imam Nadhir Husain Dehlawi quoted this reference from a manuscript, and Allaah knows best. [TN]

[3] Abdul Qadir Jilani [in Arabic] or Gaylani [in Persian] was born in Ramadan 470 AH in the Persian province of Jilan in Iran south of the Caspian Sea. He went to Baghdad to seek knowledge when he was 18 years old, where he studied Aqeedah, Hadeeth and the Hanbali Fiqh with many scholars. Many fabricated books have been attributed to him along with false allegations of his involvement of a Sufi order known as Qadariyyah. What is known is that he was a man of Sunnah and upon the Aqeedah of Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal, and Allaah knows best. He died in Baghdad in the year 561 AH at the age of 91 years. [TN]

[4] For example refer to the English translation of Fatawa-I-Qazi Khan, Volume 1, page 34 with Arabic text relating to Islamic Law, by Fakhruddin Hasan bin Mansoor Al-Uzjandi Al-Farghani (d.592 AH), translated and edited into English by Maulvi Muhammad Yusuf Khan Bahadur & Maulvi Wilayat Husain, Published by Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi, India, reprinted 1994. The text is as follows: A man marries a woman citing as witnesses Allaah and His Prophet, the marriage is void, (on the authority of the Prophet himself, on whom be the blessings of Allaah), the Prophet having laid down , that “There is no marriage except when there are witnesses,” whilst every marriage that takes place is witnessed by Allaah: and some of the learned have held that such marriage involves Kufr (blasphemy or infidelism), because it involves belief that the Prophet knows the hidden things, which is blasphemy. [TN]

[5] Bahrur-Ra’iq’ is an explanation of one of the most eminent books of Hanafi Fiqh known as Kanzud-Daqa’iq by Abul-Barakat Abdullah bin Ahmed bin Mahmood An-Nasafi (d.710 AH). It was authored by Zainul-Abedeen bin Ibrahim bin Nujaim Al-Hanafi who also authored ‘Al-Ashbaa wan-Nadhaair’ (another important book of Hanafi Fiqh). He died in the year 969/970 AH. For more details for his biography refer to Abdul-Hay Lucknowi’s marginal notes on Al-Fawaaid-Al-Bahiyyah, and the publisher’s introduction of Al-Ashbaa wan-Nadhaair page 20-21, Idaratul-Qur’an wa Uloomul-Islamiyyah, Karachi Pakistan, second edition 1424 AH/2004 [TN]. The text of ‘Bahrur’Raiq’ is as follows: “If a person conducting a nikaah was to testify that Allaah and Muhammad were his witnesses, then this person has actually believed that Allaah’s prophet has knowledge of the unseen, thus making him a kaafir” [Bahrur-Ra’iq (5/16)].

[6] Refer to Saheeh Ibn Hibban Hadeeth no: 2293 and Al-Hakim: 2/421 which has been graded Saheeh [authentic] by Imam Dhahabee. Also refer to Sunan Abee Daud Hadeeth no: 2041 graded Saheeh [authentic] by Imam Ibn Taymiyah. [TN]

[7] In praying Salaatul-Hajjah, one is required to properly undertake Wudhoo, pray two rak’ahs, and then to single out Allaah alone in supplication [asking only Allaah for whatever one is in need of]. The supplication that was referred to by Imam Nadhir Dehlawi and by which some people take out of context and try to use as proof and evidence for their deviant ways is based on a Hadeeth reported by Uthmân bin Hunaif (may Allaah be pleased with him) where a blind man afflicted with the sickness having lost his eyesight came to the Messenger of Allaah (Allaah bless him & give him peace) requesting him to supplicate to Allaah for him to restore his eyesight. The wording of this supplication is as follows: ‘Oh Allaah, I ask you and turn to you through the intermediary of Muhammad, the prophet of mercy, O Muhammad! I turn to my Rubb through you [supplicating to Him alone] that He may restore [cure] my eyesight. O Allaah! Accept his supplication [intercession] with respect to me, and accept this supplication of mine by giving me [good] health. Reported by Imam Al-Bayhaqi in Dalaail-An-Nubuwwah 6/167-168, Imam Ahmed in his Musnad 4/138, Imam An-Nisa’ee in Amalul-Al-Yawm wal-Lailah 418, while Imam Al-Hakim declared it Saheeh [authentic] according to the conditions of Imam Bukhari & Imam Muslim. Imam At-Tirmidhee has reported another similar narration but with out the wording of ‘pray two rak’ahs’, refer to Sunan Tirmidhee Hadeeth no 3578 declared Saheeh [authentic] by Allamah Albani. An important factor in relation to understanding the aforementioned narration that was mentioned by Allamah Albani and is valuable in obtaining the proper understanding of this Hadeeth is that the blind man sought intermediary through the supplication of the Messenger of Allaah, he did not seek the intermediary of the Messenger of Allaah himself. For further details refer to the book of Allamah Albani At-Tawassul its different types and its rulings. [TN]

[8] His full name is Shah Abdul-Aziz bin Al-Muhaddeeth Shah Waliulllah bin Abdur Rahim Al-Muhaddeeth Ad-Dehlawi Al-Umaree Al-Farooqee. Born in the year 1159 AH, he started to memorise the Qur’an at the age of five. Among the books he authored are: 1. Fathul-Aziz which is an explanation of the Qur’an in Persian. 2. Majmooah-Fatãwaa 3.Tauhfa Ithnaa-Ashariyyah is a refutation of the Shias, and numerous other books. In the later period of his life he tried to reform the Muslims of India by calling them to follow the Sunnah and abandoning the blind-following of Madhabs. He died on the 7th Shawwal 1239 AH and was buried next to his father. Refer toTaraajim Ulema Ahlil-Hadeeth fil al- Hind page 84-94. [TN]

[9] Recorded in Saheeh Bukhari, vol. 8, The book of asking permission, Chapter 28, Hadeeth number: 6265 [English Edition, Darussalam] [TN]

[10] He is Imam Sayyid Nadhir Husain Dehlawi. born in the year 1220 AH corresponding to 1805 CE. He left home at the age of 17 in search of Islamic knowledge. He arrived in Delhi on the 13th Rajab 1243 AH where he studied under the most prominent scholars of Islam of that era. From amongst his teachers include Allamah Shah Muhammad Ishaaq Dehlawi (1192 AH-1262 AH) who was the grandson of Allamah Shah Abdul-Aziz Dehlawi. Imam Sayyid Nadhir Husain Dehlawi authored over 60 books, from amongst them is his Fatãwaa known as Fatãwaa Nadheeriyyah in 2 volumes, and Mayaarul-Huq on the issue of Taqleed (blind-following a particular Fiqh Madhab). He called to Tahweed and taught Hadeeth and defended the Sunnah all his life. He is considered unanimously amongst Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’aah as one of the Imams of his time who revived Ad-Dawah-Salafiyyah in the Indian subcontinent. He died on the 10th Rajab 1320 AH corresponding to 15th October 1902 CE. Those amongst his senior students include Allamah Shamsul-Huq Adheemabaadee (d. 1329AH), Allamah Abdur-Rahmãn Mubarakpuree (d.1353 AH), Allamah Thanaullah Amritsaree (d.1368 AH.) and many others. Refer to the introduction of Fatãwaa Nadheeriyyah page 26-51 for a detailed biography of the Imam. [TN]

Conditions for deeds to be acceptable to Allaah

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:12:00 +0000

Question:

When a Muslim does an action, what conditions make it acceptable and therefore rewarded by Allah. Is it simply that you intended to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah, and therefore you will be rewarded even though you may have been wrong in your action. Or is it that you must have the intention, but you also need to follow the correct Sunnah as well.

Answer

Praise be to Allaah.

For acts of worship to be acceptable to Allaah and for a person to be rewarded for them, there are two conditions which must be met:

The first condition: it should be devoted to Allaah Alone. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allaah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him)”

[al-Bayyinah 98:5]

The meaning of worshipping Allaah alone is that the person should intend in all his words and deeds, both inward and outward, to seek the Face of Allaah (i.e., His pleasure). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And who has (in mind) no favour from anyone to be paid back,

Except to seek the Countenance of his Lord, the Most High”

[al-Layl 92:19]

“(Saying): “We feed you seeking Allaah’s Countenance only. We wish for no reward, nor thanks from you”

[al-Insaan 76:9]

“Whosoever desires (by his deeds) the reward of the Hereafter, We give him increase in his reward, and whosoever desires the reward of this world (by his deeds), We give him thereof (what is decreed for him), and he has no portion in the Hereafter”

[al-Shoora 42:20]

“Whosoever desires the life of the world and its glitter, to them We shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no diminution therein.

They are those for whom there is nothing in the Hereafter but Fire, and vain are the deeds they did therein. And of no effect is that which they used to do”

[Hood 11:15-16]

It was narrated that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:

‘The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.’”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, Bad’ al-Wahy, 1).

It was narrated by Muslim from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, says: ‘I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.’” (Narrated by Muslim, al-Zuhd wa’l-Raqaa’iq, 5300)

The second condition is that the action should be in accordance with the only way which Allaah has prescribed for worship, which is by following the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the laws that he has brought. It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does any action that is not in accordance with this matter of ours (i.e., Islam), will have it rejected.” (Narrated by Muslim, al-Aqdiyyah, 3243).

Ibn Rajab (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “This hadeeth forms one of the most important principles of Islam. It is like a scale for weighing up deeds according to their outward appearance, just as the hadeeth ‘The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions’ is the means of weighing up the inner nature of deeds. Just as every action which is not intended for the sake of Allaah brings no reward to the one who does it, so too every deed which is not in accordance with the command of Allaah and His Messenger will also be rejected and thrown back at the one who does it. Everyone who innovates in Islam something for which Allaah and His Messenger have not granted permission, that thing is nothing to do with Islam.

(Jaami’ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hukam, part 1, p. 176)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined following his Sunnah and teachings, and made them binding. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You have to follow my Sunnah (way) and the way of my rightly-guided successors (al-khulafa’ al-raashidoon); bite onto it with your eyeteeth (i.e., cling firmly to it).” And he warned against bid’ah (innovation), as he said: “Beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is a going astray.” (narrated by al-Tirmidhi, al-‘Ilm, 2600; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. 2157)

Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Allaah has made devotion of worship to Him alone and following the Sunnah the means of deeds being accepted; if these conditions are not met, then deeds are unaccaptable.”

(al-Rooh, 1/135)

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Who has created death and life that He may test you which of you is best in deed”

[al-Mulk 67:2]

al-Fudayl said: “’best in deed’ means, most devoted to Allaah alone and most in accordance with the Sunnah.

And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Mawlid al-Nabi (the Prophet’s birthday)

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Question:

Why some people accept and some unaccept the celebration of the prophet (pbuh )? What is your opinion?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

There is nothing in the Qur’aan to say that we should celebrate the Mawlid or birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Prophet himself (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do this or command anyone to do it, either during his lifetime or after his death. Indeed, he told them not to exaggerate about him as the Christians had exaggerated about Jesus (upon whom be peace). He said: “Do not exaggerate about me as the Christians exaggerated about the son of Maryam. I am only a slave, so say, ‘The slave of Allaah and His Messenger.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari). What has been reported is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made the day of his birth a day of worship, which is different to celebration. He was asked about fasting on Mondays, and he said: “That is the day on which I was born and the day on which I was entrusted with the Mission or when I was first given Revelation.” (Reported by Muslim, al-Nisaa’i and Abu Dawood).

Moreover, we know that the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) were the people who loved the Prophet most. Was it reported that Abu Bakr, who was the closest of people to him and the one who loved him the most, celebrated the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? Was it reported that ‘Umar, who ruled for twelve years, or ‘Uthmaan, did this? Was it reported that ‘Ali, his relative and foster son, did this? Was it reported that any of the Sahaabah did this? No, by Allaah! Is it because they were not aware of its importance, or did they not truly love the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? No one would say such a thing except one who has gone astray and is leading others astray.

Did any of the imaams – Abu Haneefah, Maalik, al-Shaafi’i, Ahmad, al-Hasan al-Basri, Ibn Seereen – do this or command others to do it or say that it was good? By Allaah, no! It was not even mentioned during the first and best three centuries. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in a saheeh hadeeth: “The best of mankind are my generation (or my century), then those who come after them, then those who come after them. Then there will come a people who will not care if their testimony comes before their oath or vice versa (i.e., they will not take such matter seriously).” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Muslim and al-Tirmidhi). The celebration of the Prophet’s birthday appeared many centuries later, when many of the features of true religion had vanished and bid’ah had become widespread.

Thus this celebration became a sign of one’s love for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? But can it be possible that the Sahaabah, the imaams and the people of the best three centuries were unaware of it, and it was only those who came later who were aware of its importance?! What the Qur’aan tells us is that love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is demonstrated by following the guidance he brought. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): ‘If you (really) love Allaah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Say: ‘Obey Allaah and the Messenger.’ But if they turn away, then Allaah does not like the disbelievers.” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:31-32]

The first aayah explains that love is just a claim, but the proof of sincerity is following what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) brought. The second aayah reaffirms the importance and necessity of obeying Allaah and His Messenger. Hence Allaah ended the aayah with a very stern warning in which those who refuse to obey are described as kaafirs, and Allah does not love the disbelievers. We ask Allaah to keep us safe from that. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us of the danger of not obeying him, and the danger of adding to what he brought. The celebration of Mawlid or his birthday is indeed an addition to what he brought – as all the scholars agree. He said: “The best of speech is the Book of Allaah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The most evil of things are those which are newly-invented (in religion), and every innovation is a going astray.” (Reported by Muslim and al-Nisaa’i).

We ask Allaah to protect us from bid’ah and to bless us by helping us to follow. Allaah knows best. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Bid'ah Hasanah ("Good Innovations")

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:23:00 +0000

As Salaam Alaikum Wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakatu

I have a question in the area of what is and isn't Bidaa. Over and over again I hear people terming certain actions as Bidaa. I am however confused. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't there a hadith by Prophet Muhammed (SAW) that says that anyone who introduces a new helpful hadith will be rewarded. If this is true, then why are all new inovations frowned upon. Jazak Allah Khul Khayer.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly, we should know what "bid'ah" means according to Islamic teaching.

It is defined as: any invented way in religion that is aimed at worshipping or drawing closer to Allaah. This means anything that is not referred to specifically in Sharee'ah, and for which there is no evidence (daleel) in the Qur'aan or Sunnah, and which was not known at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his Companions. At the same time, it is quite obvious that this definition of religious inventions or innovations, which are condemned, does not include worldly inventions [such as cars and washing machines, etc. - Translator].

If your confusion has to do with an apparent contradiction between the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah and the hadeeth narrated by Jareer ibn 'Abdullaah, then let us examine these two reports and find out what they mean:

Jareer ibn 'Abdullaah al-Bajali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Whoever starts a good thing and is followed by others, will have his own reward and a reward equal to that of those who follow him, without it detracting from their reward in any way. Whoever starts a bad thing and is followed by others, will bear the burden of his own sin and a burden equal to that of those who follow him, without it detracting from their burden in any way.'" (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2675. He said, This is a saheeh hasan hadeeth)

There is a story behind this hadeeth, which will explain what "whoever starts a good thing" means. Imaam Muslim reported this story from Jareer ibn 'Abdullaah, who also narrated the hadeeth itself. He said: "Some people from the Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), wearing woollen garments. He saw that they were in bad shape and in desperate need, so he urged the people to give them charity. They people were very slow to respond, and it could be seen in his face (that he was upset). Then a man of the Ansaar brought a package of silver, then another came, and another and another, and his face was filled with joy. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Whoever starts a good thing in Islam, and others do likewise after him, there will be written for him a reward like that of those who followed him, without it detracting in the least from their reward. Whoever starts a bad thing in Islam, and others do likewise after him, there will be written for him a burden of sin like that of those who followed him, without it detracting in the least from their burden.'" (Reported by Muslim, no. 1017)

Further explanation may be found in a report recorded by al-Nisaa'i, also from Jareer ibn 'Abdullah, may Allaah be pleased with him, who said: "We were with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) early one day, when some people who were almost naked (not dressed properly) and barefoot, with their swords by their sides, came to him. Most, if not all of them, were of (the tribe of) Mudar. The Messenger's face changed when he saw how poor they were (i.e., he became upset). He went into (his house), then he came out and ordered Bilaal to give the call to prayer. He led the people in prayer, then he addressed them, saying: 'O people, "be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him He created his wife, and from them both he created many men and women, and fear Allaah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship)" [al-Nisaa' 4:1].

"Fear Allaah, and keep your duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow…" [al-Hashr 59:18].

Let a man give charity from his dinars, his dirhams, his clothing, his wheat or his dates - even if it is only half a date.' A man from the Ansaar brought a package which he could hardly carry in his hand, then another and another came, until there were two piles, of food and clothing, and I saw the face of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) beaming with joy. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Whoever starts a good thing in Islam will have his own reward and a reward equal to that of those who follow him, without it detracting in the least from their reward, and whoever starts a bad thing in Islam will have to bear the burden of his own sin and a burden equal to that of those who followed him, without it detracting in the least from their burden. (Reported by al-Nisaa'i in al-Mujtaba: Kitaab al-Zakaat, Bab al-Tahreed 'ala al-Sadaqah).

From the context of the story, it is clear that what is meant by the words "whoever starts a good thing (sunnah hasanah) in Islam" means: Whoever revives a part of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or teaches it to others, or commands others to follow it, or acts according to it so that others see him or hear about it and follow his example. This is also indicated by the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him, who said: "A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he urged the people to give him charity. A man said: 'I have such-and-such,' and there was no person left in the gathering who did not give something in charity to him, whether it was a large amount or a little. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Whoever starts something good, and others follow his lead, will have a complete reward and a reward like that of those who followed him, without it detracting in the least from their reward. Whoever starts something bad, and others follow his lead, will bear a complete burden of sin, and a burden like that of those who followed him, without it detracting in the least from their burden. (Reported by Ibn Maaajah in al-Sunan, no. 204)

It should be clear from the above, with no room for doubt, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not allowing innovation in matters of deen (religion), nor was he opening the door to what some people call "bid'ah hasanah," for the following reasons:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stated repeatedly that: "Every newly-invented thing is a bid'ah (innovation), every bid'ah is a going astray, and every going astray will be in the Fire." (Reported by al-Nisaa'i in al-Sunan, Salaat al-'Eedayn, Baab kayfa al-Khutbah). Reports with the same meaning were narrated via Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) by Ahmad, via al-'Irbaad ibn Saariyah by Abu Dawud and via Ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) by Ibn Maajah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say, when beginning a khutbah (sermon): "… The best of speech is the Book of Allaah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The worst of things are those which are newly-invented, and every innovation is a going astray…" (reported by Muslim, no. 867)

If every bid'ah is a going astray, how can some people then say that there is such a thing in Islam as "bid'ah hasanah"? By Allaah, this is an obvious contradiction of the statement and warning of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stated that whoever innovates something new in the deen (religion) will have his deed rejected, and Allaah will not accept it, as is stated in the hadeeth narrated by 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), who said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that is not a part of it will have it rejected.'" (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath al-Baari, no. 2697). How can anybody then say that bid'ah is acceptable and it is permitted to follow it?

When a person innovates something and adds to the deen something that does not belong to it, he is implying a number of bad things, each worse than the last, for example:

That the religion is lacking, that Allaah did not complete and perfect it, and that there is room for improvement. This clearly contradicts the statement in the Qur'aan (interpretation of the meaning): "… This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion…" [al-Maa'idah 5:3]

That the religion remained imperfect from the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) until the time when this innovator came along and completed it with his own ideas.

That the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was "guilty" of either of two things: either he was ignorant of this "good innovation," or he knew about it but concealed it, thus letting his ummah down by not conveying it.

That the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), his Companions and the righteous salaf (early generations) missed out on the reward of this "good innovation" - until this innovator came along and earned it for himself, despite the fact that he should say to himself, "If it was truly good, they would have been the first to do it."

Opening the door to bid'ah leads to changing the deen (religion) and opens the way for personal whims and opinions, because every innovator implies that what he is introducing is something good, so whose opinion are we supposed to follow, and which of them should we take as a leader?

Following bid'ah leads to the cancelling out of sunnah practices and the ways of the salaf. Real life bears witness that whenever a bid'ah is followed, a sunnah practice dies out; the reverse is also true.

We ask Allaah to save us from the misguidance of personal whims and from all trials whether they are open or secret. And Allaah knows best.

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Detailed discussion of bid’ah and shirk

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:14:00 +0000

Qsn:

Can we call people who do shirk and bid'ah muslims?

Ans:

Praise be to Allaah.

This question involves two issues, bid’ah (innovation) and shirk (polytheism, association of others with Allaah).

A. A- Bid’ah.

This issue may be divided into three topics:

Definition of bid’ah

Categories of bid’ah

Rulings on one who commits bid’ah – does that make him a kaafir or not?

1. Definition of bid’ah.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “According to sharee’ah, the definition is ‘Worshipping Allaah in ways that Allaah has not prescribed.’ If you wish you may say, ‘Worshipping Allaah in ways that are not those of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or his rightly guided successors (al-khulafaa’ al-raashidoon).’”

The first definition is taken from the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Or have they partners with Allaah (false gods) who have instituted for them a religion which Allaah has not ordained?” [al-Shooraa 42:21]

The second definition is taken from the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said:

“I urge you to adhere to my way (Sunnah) and the way of the rightly-guided successors (al-khulafa’ al-raashidoon) who come after me. Hold fast to it and bite onto it with your eyeteeth [i.e., cling firmly to it], and beware of newly-invented matters.”

So everyone who worships Allaah in a manner that Allaah has not prescribed or in a manner that is not in accordance with the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or his rightly-guided successors (al-khulafa’ al-raashidoon), is an innovator, whether that innovated worship has to do with the names and attributes of Allaah, or to do with His rulings and laws.

With regard to ordinary matters of habit and custom, these are not called bid’ah (innovation) in Islam, even though they may be described as such in linguistic terms. But they are not innovations in the religious sense, and these are not the things that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was warning us against.

And there is no such thing in Islam as bid’ah hasanah (good innovation).”

(Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, vol. 2, p. 291)

2. Categories of bid’ah

Bid’ah may be divided into two categories:

A. bid’ah which constitutes kufr

B. bid’ah which does not constitute kufr

If you ask, what is the definition of bid’ah which constitutes kufr and that which does not constitute kufr?

The answer is:

Shaykh Haafiz al-Hukami (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The kind of bid’ah which constitutes kufr is when one denies a matter on which there is scholarly consensus, which widely-known, and which no Muslim can have any excuse for not knowing, such as denying something that is obligatory, making something obligatory that is not obligatory, or making something haraam halaal, or making something halaal haraam; or believing some notion about Allaah, His Messenger and His Book when they are far above that, whether in terms of denial of affirmation – because that means disbelieving in the Qur’aan and in the message with which Allaah sent His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Examples include the bid’ah of the Jahamiyyah, who denied the attributes of Allaah; or the notion that the Qur’aan was created; or the notion that some of the attributes of Allaah were created; or the bid’ah of the Qadariyyah who denied the knowledge and actions of Allaah; or the bid’ah of the Mujassimah who likened Allaah to His creation… etc.

The second category, bid’ah which does not constitute kufr, is defined as that which does not imply rejection of the Qur’aan or of anything with which Allaah sent His Messengers.

Examples include the Marwaani bid’ahs (which were denounced by the greatest Sahaabah who did not approve of them, although they did not denounce them as kaafirs or refuse to give them bay’ah because of that), such as delaying some of the prayers until the end of the due times, doing the Eid khutbah before the Eid prayer, delivering the khutbah whilst sitting down on Fridays, etc.

(Ma’aarij al-Qubool, 2/503-504)

3- The ruling on one who commits bid’ah – is he regarded as a kaafir or not?

The answer is that it depends.

If the bid’ah constitutes kufr, then the person is one of the following two types:

Either it is known that his intention is to destroy the foundations of Islam and make the Muslims doubt it. Such a person is definitely a kaafir; indeed, he is a stranger to Islam and is one of the enemies of the faith.

Or he is deceived and confused; he cannot be denounced as a kaafir until proof is established against him, fair and square.

If the bid’ah does not constitute kufr, then he should not be denounced as a kaafir. Rather, he remains a Muslim, but he has done a gravely evil action.

If you ask, how should we deal with those who commit bid’ah?

The answer is:

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “In both cases, we have to call these people – who claim to be Muslim but who commit acts of bid’ah which may constitute kufr or may be less than that – to the truth, by explaining the truth without being hostile or condemning what they are doing. But once we know that they are too arrogant to accept the truth – for Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning), ‘And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allaah, lest they insult Allaah wrongfully without knowledge.’ [al-An’aam 6:108] – if we find out that they are stubborn and arrogant, then we should point out their falsehood, because then pointing out their falsehood becomes an obligation upon us.

With regard to boycotting them, that depends upon the bid’ah. If it is a bid’ah which constitutes kufr, then it is obligatory to boycott the person who does it. If it is of a lesser degree than that, then it is essential to examine the situation further. If something may be achieved by boycotting the person, then we do it; if no purpose will be served by it, or if it will only make him more disobedient and arrogant, then we should avoid doing that, because whatever serves no purpose, it is better not to do it. And also in principle it is haraam to boycott a believer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘It is not permissible for a man to forsake [not speak to] his brother for more than three [days].’”

(Adapted from Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, vol. 2, p. 293)

B. Shirk, its types and the definition of each

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

“Shirk is of two types, major shirk which puts a person beyond the pale of Islam, and lesser shirk.”

The first type, major shirk, is “Every type of shirk which the Lawgiver described as such and which puts a person beyond the pale of his religion” – such as devoting any kind of act of worship which should be for Allaah to someone other than Allaah, such as praying to anyone other than Allaah, fasting for anyone other than Allaah or offering a sacrifice to anyone other than Allaah. It is also a form of major shirk to offer supplication (du’aa’) to anyone other than Allaah, such as calling upon the occupant of a grave or calling upon one who is absent to help one in some way in which no one is able to help except Allaah.

The second type is minor shirk, which means every kind of speech or action that Islam describes as shirk, but it does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam – such as swearing an oath by something other than Allaah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that whoever swears an oath by something other than Allaah is guilty of kufr or shirk.”

The one who swears an oath by something other than Allaah but does not believe that anyone other than Allaah has the same greatness as Allah, is a mushrik who is guilty of lesser shirk, regardless of whether the one by whom he swore is venerated by people or not. It is not permissible to swear by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or by the president, or by the Ka’bah, or by Jibreel, because this is shirk, but it is minor shirk which does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam.

Another type of minor shirk is showing off, which means that a person does something so that people will see it, not for the sake of Allaah.

The ways in which showing off may cancel out acts of worship are either of the following:

The first is when it is applies to an act of worship from the outset, i.e., the person is not doing that action for any reason other than showing off. In this case, the action is invalid and is rejected, because of the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah which was attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which says that Allaah said, “I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.”

(Narrated by Muslim, Kitaab al-Zuhd, no. 2985)

The second is when the showing off happens later on during the act of worship, i.e., the action is originally for Allaah, then showing off creeps into it. This may be one of two cases:

The first is when the person resists it – this does not harm him.

For example, a man has prayed a rak’ah, then some people come along during his second rak’ah and it occurs to him to make the rukoo’ or sujood longer, or makes himself weep, and so on. If he resists that, it does not harm him, because he is striving against this idea. But if he goes along with that, then every action which stemmed from showing off is invalid, such as if he made his standing or prostration long, or he made himself weep – all of those actions will be cancelled out. But does this invalidation extend to the entire act of worship or not?

We say that either of the following must apply:

Either the end of his act of worship was connected to the beginning (with no pause); so if the end of it is invalidated then all of it is invalidated.

This is the case with the prayer – the last part of it cannot be invalidated without the first part also being invalidated, so the whole prayer is invalid.

Or if the beginning of the action is separate from the end of it, then the first part is valid but the latter part is not. Whatever came before the showing off is valid, and what came after it is not valid.

An example of that is a man who has a hundred riyals, and gives fifty of them in charity for the sake of Allaah with a sound intention, then he gives fifty in charity for the purpose of showing off. The first fifty are accepted, and the second fifty are not accepted, because the latter is separate from the former.”

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, and al-Qawl al-Mufeed Sharh Kitaab al-Tawheed, vol. 1, p. 114, 1^st edition

“Good innovation”

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Question:

I know that practices like celebrating the Prophet's birthday and honoring the 27th of Rajab are innovations. However, there is a group of people who are arguing that they are good innovations and that such practices can be defended by the following hadîth: "Whoever starts in Islam a good practice (sunnah), he gets the reward of it and the reward of all those that act on it. And whosoever starts in Islam an evil practice (sunnah), he gets the evil of it and the evil of all those that act on it."

Answered by Sheikh Sâlim al-Qarnî

There is nothing in our religion that is known as a “good innovation” because the word innovation (bid`ah) in Islamic discourse means to introduce into the religion something that is alien to it. On the other hand, there is such a thing as a “good Sunnah” as mentioned in a hadîth that can be found in Sahîh Muslim.

Jarîr narrates:

Some desert Arabs clad in woolen clothes came to the Prophet (peace be upon him). He saw them in a sad plight as they had been in dire need. He exhorted the people to give charity, but they showed some reluctance until (signs) of anger could be seen on his face. Then a person from the Ansâr came with a purse full of silver. Then another person came forth and then others followed suit until signs of happiness could be seen on his face.

Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever starts in Islam a good practice (sunnah hasanah) and is emulated by others in doing so will get the reward of it and the reward of all those who act upon it without their rewards being diminished in any respect. And whosoever starts in Islam an evil practice (sunnah sayyi’ah) and is emulated by others will bear the sin of it and the sin of all those who act on it without their burden being diminished in the least. [Sahîh Muslim: (1017)]

This is talking about the person who takes the initiative to do something that complies with Islamic teachings. Whoever does this will be engaging in a good Sunnah.

This is not referring to any sort of innovation. An innovation can never be good, because it is, by definition, something that contradicts with the religion. An innovation is something that neither the Prophet (peace be upon him) did nor the people who followed him.

Therefore, innovations would include observing the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday or engaging in special observances on the occasion of his night journey and ascension (al-isrâ’ wa al-mi`râj).

May Allah guide us all.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Answered by: Sheikh `Abd al-Rahmân al-`Ajlân
Professor at the Mecca Grand Mosque

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever starts in Islam a good practice (sunnah hasanah) and is emulated by others in doing so will get the reward of it and the reward of all those who act upon it without their rewards being diminished in any respect. And whosoever starts in Islam an evil practice (sunnah sayyi’ah) and is emulated by others will bear the sin of it and the sin of all those who act on it without their burden being diminished in the least. [Sahîh Muslim: (1017)]

A Muslim is obligated to preserve and uphold the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and to eschew innovations.

The meaning of “good Sunnah” in this hadîth – and Allah knows best – is to renew a Sunnah of our Prophet (peace be upon him) that has disappeared, been forgotten, or has become neglected.

It does not mean to initiate a new practice that has no basis in Islamic teachings. That would be an innovation.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that is not part of it, then it will be rejected.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

And Allah knows best.

Mawlid Celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:14:00 +0000

Question:

We celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). On this day, we read a lot of salutations on him and engage in a lot of prayers to Allah. We try to show our love for our Prophet (peace be upon him). How come you say we cannot do it?

Answered by Sheikh `Abd al-`Azîz b. `Abd Allah b. Muhammad Âl al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia

Among the innovations that have become widespread in Muslim societies is the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him). This celebration is observed in the month of Rabî` al-Awwal. Since it has become such a widespread problem in these days, I see it as necessary to address this issue here.

A basic principle of this religion is to worship Allah strictly in accordance with the manner that He stipulates to us in the Qur’ân and Sunnah. This is why the scholars say that acts of worship are restricted to what is defined by the sacred texts. A person should not try to attain nearness to Allah by means that he concocts in his mind or takes from other human beings, no matter who they are. Such acts are unlawful innovations and they are rejected no matter how noble the intentions might be of the person doing them.

For this reason Ibn Mas`ûd observed: “How many people intend good but never actually attain it.” He made this statement to a group of people who were glorifying Allah in various ways and keeping track of their efforts using pebbles. He forbade them from doing so and they said to him: “We only intend good.” So Ibn Mas`ûd said to them what he said.

There is another established principle that scholars of Islam are well aware of. It is the principle of referring all disputes back to the Qur’ân and Sunnah. What we find therein we must act upon. What we do not find in these two sources we should not adopt as a means to worship Allah.

Allah says: “If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is best, and most suitable for final determination.” [Sûrah al-Nisâ’: 59]

He also says: “Whatever the Messenger gives you, then take it, and whatever he prohibits you, abstain from it.” [Sûrah al-Hashr: 7]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever works a deed that is not part of our affair will have that deed rejected.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (8/156) and Sahîh Muslim (3/1343-1344)]

He also said: “Whoever introduces something new into this affair of ours that is not of it will have it rejected.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (3/167) and Sahîh Muslim (3/1343)]

This principle is well established and understood by the scholars of Islam. From here, we can return to the topic of celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

We find that some later scholars viewed the practice favorably while others condemned it and declared it an unlawful innovation in matters of religion. Here we have a dispute. Therefore, we must follow our principle of referring our disputes back to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him).

When we do so, we find no indication of this practice in the Qur’ân nor in the Sunnah. There is no indication that the Prophet (peace be upon him) ever celebrated his birthday or encouraged anyone else to do so.

There is no evidence that anyone celebrated his birthday during the sixty-three years of his life. His Companions had the most ardent love possible for him. They revered him more than anyone else. They also had a better appreciation of what Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) wanted from them and went to the greatest lengths to defend their Prophet and their faith. They were keen on emulating the Prophet (peace be upon him) in every matter, great or small. They faithfully preserved every detail of his life for posterity. They even mentioned how his beard moved when he commenced his prayers. There is no way they would have failed to mention the observance of his birthday if it had even once taken place.

When we look at the preferred centuries that followed his death, we see that no one celebrated his birthday, not even his most beloved Companions. It was not observed by any of his family members, or by the Rightly Guided Caliphs, namely Abû Bakr, `Umar, Uthmân, and Alî. It was an unknown practice for the first three centuries of Islam.

Observing this day is prohibited in Islamic Law, since it has not been legislated by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him). Therefore, it cannot be something beloved to Allah and cannot be used as a means of attaining nearness to Him. It is clearly an innovated practice, completely unknown to the best generations of Muslims who ever lived.

It is an historical fact that the earliest generations of Muslims did not celebrate the Prophet’s birthday. This is not called into question by anyone, even those who advocate celebrating it.

The Prophet’s birthday was first celebrated by the Fatimid rulers of Egypt in the fourth century of Islam. The Fatimids were a deviant sect of Ismâ`îlî Shiites. They were adherents to the idea of hidden doctrines and were known for their heresies and open unbelief, not to mention a host of other religious innovations. They were definitely not a group of people to take as role models.

Moreover, we should keep in mind that Allah has perfected His religion for us and completed His favor. Allah says: “This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [Sûrah al-Mâ’idah: 3]

Introducing a new practice like this birthday observation is tantamount to second-guessing Allah. It implies that the religion has not been perfected and completed by Allah and people had to come later on with supplementary practices. This is a denial of the direct word of the Qur’ân.

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “There has never been a Messenger before me except that it was his duty to teach his people what was best for them.” [Sahîh Muslim (3/1372-1373)]

There can be no doubt that our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), being the final and most noble of all the Prophets, carried out this duty to the greatest degree. It follows that if celebrating his birthday was a good practice for us, then he would have initiated it and encouraged it. How is it then that not a single statement has been conveyed to us from the Prophet (peace be upon him) on this matter? There clearly can be no good in this practice and it most definitely cannot be a means of worshipping Allah.

A good question to ask those who wish to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is this: On which day do you propose to celebrate it? There is no agreement as to when his birthday actually was. Some biographers have place it in Ramadân. Others said it was on the 8th of Rabî’ al-Awwal. Still others have suggested the 12th. These are but a few of the suggestions that have been advanced. So how can you possibly hope to observe it? Or are you suggesting that his birth took place more than once?

The uncertainty surrounding the date of his birth is a sure sign that its observance is not part of our religion, for if it was, the Muslims would have taken care to know precisely when it took place.

Assuming it took place some time in the month of Rabî` al-Awwal, well so did his death. It does not appear that anyone is seriously suggesting that we should mourn in this month on account of his death, though it is no less appropriate that we do so than celebrating his birth.

This is clear to anyone who cares to look at the matter closely and objectively. However, blind following of tradition has confused the issue for many people. The celebration of the Prophet’s birthday has brought with it a number of ill consequences that help to show just how far removed from the truth it is.

Among these consequences is that some people believe that celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a means of worshipping Allah. We have already clarified the principle that all acts of worship must be established by the Qur’ân and Sunnah.

A number of things go on at these celebrations that violate Islamic beliefs. Among the most serious of these are the exaggerated words of praise that are offered by some people to the Prophet (peace be upon him). Many of these praises elevate the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the level of Godhood.

Take, for instance, the following words of praise penned by al-Bûsîrî:
"O Most Noble of Creation! I seek refuge with none other than you when general calamity befalls us."

This is serious. Where is mention of the Lord of the heavens and the Earth? Where is mention of the Beneficent, the Merciful? How can we seek refuge with no one besides the Prophet (peace be upon him) in our distress when we should be seeking it with no one other than Allah?

In another place, he writes about the Prophet (peace be upon him):
"From your magnanimity is the milk of the Earth and from your knowledge is the tablet and the pen of decree."

We must have no doubt that these attributes are the exclusive domain of Allah. Applying them to the Prophet (peace be upon him) is blatant polytheism, a sin that Allah tells us He will not forgive.

Moral decency also has a tendency to break down during these celebrations. Men mix with women and dance with them all night long. Licentious people take full advantage of the permissive atmosphere that these festivities offer.

Another negative consequence of these celebrations is the fact that some people condemn those who do not participate, sometimes to the extent of declaring those people unbelievers. This is clearly from Satan who has made the hearts of those people so enamored of deviance and innovations that they would take matters to this extent. First, they initiate an innovative practice in their religion. Then they make it their practice. Ultimately, they declare as unbelievers anyone who refuses to participate in it with them.

Some of the people who advocate these celebrations claim to have evidence to support them. Some of their evidence comes from authentic texts which they take out of context or misinterpret. Other evidence is simply weak and unauthentic.

Some of them quote the verse: “Say: In the bounty of Allah and His mercy let them rejoice”. [Sûrah Yûnus: 58]

They advance the argument with this verse that rejoicing in the Prophet (peace be upon him) is commanded by Allah, since Allah commanded us to rejoice in His mercy and the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the greatest manifestation of this mercy. For this latter claim they cite: “We sent you not but as a mercy to all humanity.” [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ’: 107]

In response, we argue that none of the early scholars ever had such an understanding of this verse. If this interpretation was sound, they would have mentioned it. Such an unfounded interpretation, therefore, must be rejected. Actually, the bounty and mercy mentioned to in the verse refer to Islam and the Sunnah. This was the gist of the interpretations provided by the earliest scholars as is elucidated by Ibn al-Qayyim in his work Ijtimâ` al-Juyûsh al-Islâmiyyah `alâ Ghazw al-Mu`attilah wal-Jahmiyyah.

As for the second verse mentioned in their argument, it pertains to the sending of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the Message and not to his birth. The events were forty years apart. Every text that describes the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the attribute of mercy refers to him after he received the Message. There is no text that describes his birth as a mercy. Therefore, the above argument collapses.

Some of them argue that the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed an `aqîqah ceremony for himself. Al-Suyûtî is one of the people who advances this argument in support of observing his birthday.

The difficulty with this argument is that the hadîth in question, which is to be found in Sunan al-Bayhaqî, is unauthentic and rejected by the scholars of hadîth. When Mâlik was asked about it, he said: “Did you see the Companions who did not have an `aqîqah ceremony performed for them in the time of ignorance perform such ceremonies for themselves after accepting Islam? This is abjectly false!”

The hadîth contains `Abd Allah b. Muharrir, who is a weak narrator, in its chain of transmission. `Abd al-Razzâq mentions this hadîth in his Musannaf, then comments: “The only reason they abandoned Ibn al-Muharrir is on account of this hadîth.” When someone mentioned this hadîth to Ahmad, he renounced it and called `Abd Allah b. Muharrir a weak narrator. [Masâ’il Abî Dâwûd]

Al-Bayhaqî - the one who collected this hadîth - had this to say: “`Abd Allah b. Muharrir relates a false hadîth about the Prophet (peace be upon him) performing an `aqîqah for himself.” Then al-Bayhaqî narrates the hadîth and says: “`Abd al-Razzâq says that the only reason they abandoned `Abd Allah b. al-Muharrir is on account of this hadîth. It has been related with other chains of transmission from Qatâdah and Anas, but those transmissions also do not amount to anything.” [Sunan al-Bayhaqî (9/300)]

Al-Nawawî also declared this hadîth to be false. This is sufficient to show its unsuitability as evidence for celebrating the Prophet’s birthday.

All the other arguments offered by those who advocate such celebrations are equally baseless. They are as Allah describes: “They follow nothing but conjecture and what their own souls desire, even though there has already come to them guidance from their Lord!” [Sûrah al-Najm: 23]

The advocates of these celebrations are merely chasing after ambiguities, a practice Allah attributes to people of deviation.

It should now be clear to us that such celebrations are innovations that are not sanctioned by Allah. In fact, they resemble the behavior of the Christians who concoct numerous celebrations and festivals for themselves. This is an indication of a paucity of knowledge and a lack of true religious conviction.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us that we would eventually imitate them when he said: “You will follow the ways of who came before you more and more until, if one of them were to enter into a lizard hole, you would go in after him.” [Musnad Ahmad (2/511) and Sahîh al-Bukhârî (8/151)]

We pray to Allah to bless us and all the Muslims with guidance and success.

Who Really Loves the Messenger of Allah? (In the light of Mawlid Celebrations)

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:36:00 +0000

Source: As-Sunnah Bi-monthly Islamic Newsletter

The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) was born in Makkah during the month of Rabe'i al-Awwal. Scholars differ regarding his exact birth-date but they all agree that it was on Monday, as is mentioned in an authentic Hadeeth.

Rabe'i al-Awwal sparks off the debate whether the 12th Rabe'i al-Awwal (the Prophet's assumed day of birth) should be celebrated or not. And if it is celebrated, then how should the celebrations be?

Celebrations are part of the complete religion (Deen), and thus complete guidance on the days and manner of celebration is found in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam).

Those who insist on celebrating Mawlid, claim that those who do not follow them in celebrating Mawlid, do not love the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam).

In Islam, claims carry no weight in themselves, unless they are backed by Proofs. The stronger the Proof, the stronger the claim. Allah, the Exalted mentioned in the Qur'aan the claim of some of the misguided, who said: “None will enter Paradise, unless he be a Jew or a Christian” Allah questioned them, saying - “Produce your Proof (Burhaan) if you are truthful”. [Soorah al-Baqarah (2): 111]

Thus, this verse gives the principle of judging a claim. Furthermore, Allah explicitly points out to the acceptable proof (Burhaan), that justifies a claim. He said: “O Mankind! There has come to you a convincing proof (Burhaan - Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)) from your Lord and We sent down to you a manifest light (this Qur'aan).” [Soorah an-Nisa (4): 174]

Consequently, Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) is the Burhan (Proof) and the Criterion and thus every claim has to be supported with strong proofs from his Sunnah (Way).

Loving the Messenger of Allah - An Obligation:

Loving the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), is obligatory for every Muslim. It is the proof of one's Faith. A believer has to love him (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) more than everything else, as the Qur’aan says: “Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwelling in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) and striving hard and fighting in His cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are disobedient.”[Soorah At-Tawbah (9): 24]

Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all of mankind.” [Bukharee and Muslim]

Once, Umar Ibn Khattab (radhi allahu anhu), made a statement to Allah's Messenger: “O Messenger of Allah! You are more beloved to me than anything except my own self.” Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) remarked saying: “No, by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, not until I am more beloved to you than your own soul.” Umar (radhi allahu anhu) then declared his love for the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) saying: “By Allah, now you are more beloved to me than my own soul.” Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) then informed him that he had the complete and correct faith.” [Saheeh Bukharee]

What is LOVE?

Love of Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) refers to complete submission to their orders and commandments. Allah says in the Qur'aan: “Say (O Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)): 'If you truly love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.” [Soorah al-Imraan (3): 31]

And Allah has described the hypocrites as disobedient to Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam): “They (hypocrites) say: “We have believed in Allah and in the Messenger and we obey’, then a party of them turn away thereafter, such are not believers.” [Soorah An-Nur (24): 47]

He also said: “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” [Soorah an-Nisa (4): 65]

“The only saying of the faithful believers, when they are called to Allah (His Words: the Qur'aan) and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) to judge between them, is that they say: 'We hear and we obey'. It is such as these who will attain success.” [Soorah an-Noor (24): 51]

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “All the people of my Ummah will enter Paradise except he who refuses.” The Companions (radhi allahu anhu) asked: 'Who refuses?' The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) explained: “He who obeys me will enter Paradise and he who disobeys me is as if he has denied me.” [Saheeh Bukharee]

Once, a companion of the Messenger of Allah approached him and said: “I love you more than I love my family and get restless to see you, I run to you to have a glimpse of you but when I am reminded of my own death and yours, I am distressed to think that you will be in the company of Prophets (alaihi as-salaam) in high Heavens and I, if admitted to Heaven, would not be able to approach you and would be deprived of your sight."

On this occasion Allah revealed the following verse: “And those who obey Allah and the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophet, the Siddiqun (those followers of the Prophet who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (radhi allahu anhu)), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!” [Soorah an-Nisa (4): 69]

The revelation of the verse, on the declaration (expressions) of love towards Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), indicates the importance of love and clarifies it's meaning in the true sense i.e. Obedience.

Thus, love of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) should be accompanied by total submission.. In other words, faith (in Allah) and obedience to Allah's Messenger are inseparable. Allah says:

“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and make not vain your deeds.” [(47): 33]

“He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah” [(4): 80]

“Whatsoever the Messenger gives you take it and whatsoever he forbids you refrain from it.”[(59): 7]

Disobedience to Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) is a sign of hypocrisy and disbelief.

Allah said: “Verily, those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger and wish to make a distinction between Allah and the Messenger saying, 'We believe in some but reject others' and wish to adopt a way in between. They are in truth disbelievers. And We have prepared for disbelievers a humiliating torment.” [Soorah an-Nisaa (4): 150]

“And let those who oppose the Messenger's commandments beware, lest some fitnah befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.” [Soorah Nur: 63]

Celebrating Mawlid – Is there any Proof?

The Celebration of Mawlid was introduced by the ruler of Irbil; Muzaffar ad-Din ibn Zain al-Din. He was assisted by Abdul Khattab Umar ibn Dihya, who composed a book al-Tanwir fi Maulid al-Siraj al-Munir, in an attempt to justify Mawlid celebrations. [Ibn Katheer, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, Vol.I3 pp.144-146]

Ibn Katheer has reported on the authority of al-Sabt about Ibn Dihya: "He used to defame the Muslims and belittle them. He would make additions in his report and exaggerate. So, the people gave up narrating traditions from him and falsified him. …" [Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, Vol.I3 pp.144-146]

Celebrating Mawlid (the Prophet's assumed birthday) has no origin from the Book and Sunnah, rather it is an innovation from the one, who was known for making additions and exaggerations in the Religion. A practice that came into existence 600 years, way past the time of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), his Companions (radhi allahu anhu) and their followers, can never be a part of Islam because the religion of Islam is based upon the revelation from Allah. To introduce the celebration of Mawlid in the religion, one will have to break the seal of Allah, Who said: “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed my Favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [Soorah al-Maidah (5):3]

Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) was sent as a guide and warner. Allah says: “We have not sent you, but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sins)” [as-Saba (33): 28]

And he (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “There is nothing that will take you closer to Paradise but that I have enjoined it upon you, and there is nothing that will take you closer to Hell but that I have warned you from it.” [Musnad ash-Shafa'ee and others]

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) never celebrated his birthday, nor did he instruct or order his Companions (radhi allahu anhu) to do so. If Mawlid was an expression of love or an act of drawing closer to Allah, then he (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) would have certainly guided his Companions (radhi allahu anhu) to it. Thus, Mawlid is neither an act of righteousness, nor an expression of love for the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam).

Those who loved the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) the most

The Best Generations - the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), loved Allah’s Messenger to the highest degree. They were the most severe in obeying him, and reviving his Sunnah. They sacrificed their wealth and lives and fought bravely in Jihaad alongside with the Prophet, when Allah called upon them saying:

“O you who believe! Answer Allah and His Messenger, when he ((sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)) calls you to that which gives you life …” [Soorah al-Anfal (8): 24]

They knew that they could loose their lives, or loose a limb or face pains and sufferings, yet this did not deter (discourage) them in the least, from responding to the call of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). Thy kept going and fought to their last.

These true believers who responded to every call of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), did not express their love for Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) by celebrating his birthday.

It was not difficult for them to parade in the streets, distribute sweets, wave red and green flags, read poetry in praises of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), shout slogans, etc... Jihaad was no party or picnic time - it was putting everything at stake. If celebrating Mawlid was genuinely good or preferable then they would have been the first ones to do so. Celebrating Mawlid - Imitation of the Kuffar

Celebrating birthdays is an imitation of the Christians, resembling their tradition of celebrating the birthday of Prophet Jesus (alaihi as-salaam). However, a Muslim is commanded to be distinctively different from the non-believers. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said:

“Be different from the Jews and the Christians.” [Saheeh al-Bukharee and Saheeh Muslim]

He (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) also said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” [Saheeh - Reported by Ahmad]

The Christian New Year starts from the Birthday of Jesus (alaihis-salaam) (exaggerating the status of Jesus (alaihi as-salaam), whereas the Islamic New year starts from the Hijrah (migration) of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) from Makkah to Madinah. Narrated Sahl ibn Saad (radhi allahu anhu): “The Prophet's Companions (radhi allahu anhu) did not take as a starting date for the Muslim calendar, the day the Prophet of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) has been sent as a Messenger nor the day of his death, but the day of his arrival to Madinah.” [Sahaaeh al-Bukharee]

If Birthdays had any significance in Islam, then the Sahabah (radhi allahu anhu) would have surely commenced the Islamic Year from the Birth of Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam).

The Sahabah (radhi allahu anhum) expressed their love to Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) and obeyed him, when they initiated the Islamic Year from the Hijrah of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam).

Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) had warned them from exaggeration, he said: “Do not exaggerate me, as the Christians exaggerated about the son of Maryam. I am only a slave, so say 'the slave of Allah and Messenger of Allah” [Saheeh Bukharee]

Thus, birthdays have no significance or merits in Islam and celebrating the Prophet's Birthday is an evil innovation resembling the Kuffar.

Celebrations in Islam are Legislated Religious Occasions.
Celebrations in Islam are legislated by Allah, and He has legislated only two days of celebration and joy; Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr that succeed the performance of two great pillars of Islam - Hajj and Fasting. Anas (radhi allahu anhu) narrated: “The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) came to Madinah and the people of Madinah had in Jahiliyah two days of play and amusement. So the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “I came to you and you had, in Jahiliyah two days of play and amusement. Indeed, Allah has replaced them for you by that which is better than them. The day of Nahr (Slaughtering) and the day of Fitr (Breaking Fast).”[Saheeh - Ahmad (3/103, 178, 235) Abo Dawood (1134)]

Apart from these two days no other day is to be taken as a celebration, because celebrations are truly religious occasions. Any addition to the religion is a Bid'ah (innovation). To formulate the Religion is exclusively the Right of Allah. Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said, “I warn you of the newly invented matters in the religion; and every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance and every misguidance is in the Hellfire.” [An-Nisa'ee]

And all innovations are rejected as he (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “Whoever does an action, which we have not commanded then it must be rejected.” [Saheeh Muslim]

And: “Whosoever introduces in the religion of ours that which is not a part of it then it must be rejected.” [Ahmad]

Many great events took place during the life of Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam); like the victory of Badr, Hunain, al-Khandaq etc. The day when he (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) was granted Prophet-hood, his ascending to the heavens and his direct talk with Allah (al-Miraaj), his migration to Madinah, and the conquest of Makkah. All these events are of great significance in the Islamic history, BUT the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) never celebrated nor commanded his Sahabah (radhi allahu anhu) to celebrate any of these days. Rather, his approach was praying and thanking Allah in recognition for His Favor and Grace. The Etiquette of Celebration

The Etiquettes of Celebrations are very evident in the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). For example; the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), prescribed fasting on the day of Aashoorah - ‘the day when Allah saved Moosa (alaihi as-salaam) from drowning” [Saheeh Bukharee]

[NOTE - Here, too, Allah’s Messenger ordered the Muslims to fast two days (a day before or after Ashoorah), to differ from the practice of the Jews].

The Conquest of Makkah - the day of great victory for Muslims. Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) offered prayers of thanks to Allah - All Mighty - for this splendid victory. He did not make it a day of celebrations or processions.

Likewise, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) never commemorated his birthday as a celebration or Eid. Instead, when he was asked about fasting on Mondays, he replied: “That is the day on which I was born and the day on which I was entrusted with the Mission or when I was first given Revelation.” [Saheeh Muslim]

In contrast, Mawlid is celebrated more like Carnivals, with processions, music, free-mixing of sexes, chanting slogans, parading on camels with Arabian costumes, etc. It does not bear resemblance to the manner in which significant days are commemorated in Islam.

False Beliefs and Practices related to Mawlid
Those who promote the celebration of Mawlid, agree themselves that it was not the practice of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), and neither of his Companions. Moreover, they too consider it to be an innovation in the religion. BUT they try to justify their actions by vague arguments. They say:

Every innovation is evil

The saying that some Bid'ahs are good and not every Bid'ah is a sin is a clear misguidance. This saying is in complete opposition to the authentic Hadeeth ... “Every Bid'ah is a sin” [Abu Dawood]

He (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) also said: “The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), the worst of affairs are Bid'ahs (the innovated ones), every Bid'ah is heresy and every heresy is going astray.” [Saheeh Muslim]

And: “Whoever does an action, which we have not commanded then it must be rejected.”[Saheeh Muslim]

Thus, every innovation in the religion, whether it be small or big, is a sin. But some justify innovations by misinterpreting the actions of the Sahabah (radhi allahu anhu).like … “When Umar (radhi allahu anhu) was the caliph, he collected the Muslims to pray in congregation for taraweeh prayers and said: “What a good Bid'ah this is.” [Saheeh Bukharee]

This statement has been misinterpreted. If it is read in the right context, it’s meaning is clear. The full narration reads: “When the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) first prayed taraweeh, the Muslims used to pray taraweeh individually in small groups, and then for three nights they prayed in a congregation behind the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) and after this he (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) stopped them from doing so by saying: “I feared that it would become an obligation upon you.”

The Statement of Imam Bukhaaree Concerning Innovations

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:29:00 +0000

Imaam Bukhaaree (rahimahullaah) said:

I met more than a thousand men amongst the people of knowledge from the people of al-Hijaaz, al-Makkah, al-Madinah, al-Koofah, al-Basrah, Waasit, Baghdaad, Shaam and Misr... and I never saw a single one of them differ with respect to the following matters...

... And they used to forbid and prevent [people] from the innovations - those that the Messenger and his Companions were not upon, due to His saying:

And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh (i.e. this Qur'ân), and be not divided among yourselves[Soorah Aali Imraam 3:103]

and due to His saying:

If you obey him [the Messenger], you shall be on the right guidance [Soorah an-Noor 24:54]

[Reported by al-Laalikaa'ee (2/172-5), The Creed of Imaam Bukhaaree p.13,28 - al-Maktabah as-Salafiyyah Publications]

Notes

In the words of Imaam Bukhaaree is a clear indication that Muslim unity is to be attained by removing the innovations - and that is the unanimous understanding of the greatest of scholars of the noble ayah in question. Since it is the newly-invented matters (in the issues of belief, action and methodology) that have divided the hearts of the Muslims and set them against each other. Thus, in order for the hearts of the Muslims to unite and consequently, their word and rank, it is necessary for them to purify their beliefs, actions and methodologies from everything that was never taught by the Messenger and which was never acted upon by the Noble Companions (ra) - whilst humbly submitting to the Pure and Clear Sunnah. But this cannot be attained until the Muslims attend to the authentic and beneficial knowledge - that which has been left by the Messenger and which has been inherited by the Scholars after him, the Ahl ul-Hadeeth (the People of Authenticating the Narrations) and then to nurture themselves upon it. This issue was so clearly understood by the Companions of Allaah's Messenger and those after them, as will become evident by the narrations below.

The Messenger of Allaah said: Every innovation is misguidance and going astray. Reported by Abu Daawood, no.4607 and it is saheeh.

The Messenger also warned against the people of innovation, from befriending, supporting or taking from them saying: Whoever innovates or accomodates an innovator then upon him is the curse of Allaah, His Angels and the whole of mankind. Reported by Bukhaaree (12/41) and Muslim (9/140)

And in his footsteps, we find the Noble Companions and the Taabieen after them warning from the danger of innovations upon the Ummah, its people and their unity.

Ibn Abbaas (d. 68H) said: Indeed the most detestable of things to Allaah are the innovations. Reported by al-Bayhaqee in as-Sunan al-Kubraa (4/316)

Ibn Umar (d. 84H) said: Every innovation is misguidance, even if the people see it as something good. Reported by Abu Shaamah (no. 39)

Sufyaan ath-Thawree (d. 161H) said:Innovation is more beloved to Iblees than sin, since a sin may be repented from but innovation is not repented from. Reported by al-Laalikaa'ee (no. 238)

Al-Fudayl bin 'Iyaad (d. 187H) said: I met the best of people, all of them people of the Sunnah and they used to forbid from accompanying the people of innovation. Reported by al-Laalikaa'ee (no.267)

Al-Hasan al-Basree (d. 110H) said: Do not sit with the people of innovation and desires, nor argue with them, nor listen to them. Reported by ad-Daarimee in his Sunan (1/121)

Ibraaheem bin Maysarah (d.132H) said: Whoever honours an innovator has aided in the destruction of Islam. Reported by al-Laalikaa'ee (1/139).

Sufyaan ath-Thawree (d. 161H) said: Whoever listens to an innovator has left the protection of Allaah and is entrusted with the innovation. Reported by Abu Nu'aym in al-Hilyah (7/26) and Ibn Battah (no.444).

Imaam Maalik (d. 179H) said: How evil are the people of innovation, we do no give them salaam. Reported by al-Baghawee in Sharh us-Sunnah (1/234).

Imaam ash-Shaafi'ee (d. 204H) said: That a person meets Allaah with every sin except Shirk is better than meeting Him upon any one of the innovated beliefs. Reported by al-Bayhaqee in al-I'tiqaad (p.158)

Al-Fudayl bin 'Iyaad (d. 187H) said: Whoever sits with a person of innovation, then beware of him and whoever sits with a person of innovation has not been given wisdom. I love that there was fort of iron between me and a person of innovation. That I eat with a Jew and a Christian is more beloved to me than that I eat with a person of innovation. Reported by al-Laalikaa'ee (no.1149)

Al-Layth bin Sa'd (d. 175H) said: If I saw a person of desires (i.e. innovations) walking upon the water I would not accept from him." So Imaam as-Shaafi'ee then said: "He (al-Layth) has fallen short. If I saw him walking in the air I would not accept from him. Reported by as-Suyooti in al-Amr bil 'Ittibaa wan-Nahee anil Ibtidaa'.

Ibn Hajr and Ibn Kathir on the Inventor of the Milad

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:20:00 +0000

As regards the celebration of the birthday of the Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam), the scholars have clearly stated that the person who first introduced this innovation (bid'a) was Muzaffar ad-Din ibn Zain al-Din, the ruler of Irbil. "He was a prodigal monarch. He commanded the scholars of his time to follow the conduct based on their own derivation and independent thinking (ijtihad), and that they should not follow any school of law of any master except their own. A group of scholars and a body of the servants inclined towards him. He used to celebrate the birthday of the first monarch to introduce this practice among the Muslims"[1]

He used to spend one hundred thousand (dirhams) on the celebration of the birthday of the Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) every year.[2]

His assistant and helper in this innovation was Abdul Khattab Umar b. Dihya. "He was employed in the Maghrib, then travelled to Syria, then to Iraq, and then went to Irbil in 604 A.H. and found its monarch Muzaffar al-Din b. Zain al-Din who took keen interest in celebrating the birthday of the Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam). He composed a book for him al-Tanwir fi Maulid al-Siraj al-Munir and recited it to him. He rewarded him with one thousand dinars."[3]

Ibn Kathir has reported on the authority of al-Sabt about Ibn Dihya: "Ibn Unain used to defame the Muslims and disparage them. He would make additions in his report and exaggerate. So the people gave up narrating traditions from him and falsified him. Kamil was favouring him. When his conduct was disclosed to him, he withdrew Dar-al-Hadith from him and disgraced him."[4]

We give below the resume of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's comments on him: "He was a liar, lied frequently, and a fabricator. He often slandered the scholars and the jurists of the past, used evil toungue, self-conceited, lacked insight in religious matters, and looked down upon religion. This has been reported from al-Hafiz Diya. He further says: Ali b. al-Hussain Abul Ali al- Isbahan narrated to me - it is enough to mention his name as an authority - when Ibn Dihya came to us in Isbahan, he stayed with my father in the hospice. He honoured and respected him very much. One day he came to my father with a carpet. He kissed it and placed it before him saying, "I offered such and such thousand rak'ahs of prayer on this carpet, and recited the whole Qur'an in the Ka'ba." He said: My father took it, kissed it, placed it on his head, and accepted it from him with a great pleasure. At the end of the day an inhabitant of Isbafian came and began to talk to us. During his conversation he said by chance: The faqih of Maghrib who is staying with you has purchased a beautiful carpet today for such and such a price. Therupon my father ordered to bring the carpet. Seeing it the man said, "Yes by Allah, this is the same." My father kept silent, and the eyes of Ibn Dihya fell down.[5]

1. Ahmad b. Muhammad el-Misry, el-Qawl el-Mu'tamad fi 'amal al-Mawlid

2. Al-Dhahabi, Duwal al-Islam, Vol.11 p.102

3. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, Vol.I3 pp.144-146

4. Ibid

5. Ibn Hajar el-Asqalani, Lisan al-Mizan, VoL 4 p.295

Did Ibn Katheer Author a Book Endorsing the Mawlid?

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:13:00 +0000

Source: Al-Qawal al-fasl fee al-Ihtifaal bi Mawlid Khayr al-Rusul (trans. Abu Rumaysah)

From al-Qawal al-fasl fee al-Ihtifaal bi Mawlid Khayr al-Rusul (pg. 110+) of Shaykh Ismaaeel al-Ansaaree:

As for the claim of the author of the letter published in the magazine al-Mujtama (no.559), while listing the authors who considered the celebration of the Mawlid to be permissible and their works (concerning this), that the author of Kashf al-Dhunoon fee Usaamee al-Kutub wa al-Funoon mentioned on page 319 that al-Haafidh ibn Katheer authored a number of treatise concerning the noble Mawlid. From amongst them: Jaami al-Aathaar fee Mawlid al-Nabiyy al-Mukhtaar in three volumes, al-Lafdh al-Raaiq fee Mawlid Khayr al-Khalaaiq and it is succinct. And his claim that ibn Fahd mentioned that ibn Katheer authored a book which he entitled, Mawrid as-Saadee fee Mawlid al-Haadee. And his saying that al-Haafidh as-Sakhaawee had a book concerning the Mawlid entitled, at-Tibr al-Masbook fee Dhail as-Sulook then all of this is a grievous error having no basis for being correct.

As for Jaami al-Aathaar fee Mawlid al-Nabiyy al-Mukhtaar then we looked up Kashf al-Dhunoon to ascertain the truth of his words and we found it under the letter jeem (pg.533) and the text is, Jaami al-Aathaar fee Mawlid an-Nabiyy al-Mukhtaar of Shams ad-Deen Muhammad bin Naasir ad-Deen ad-Dimishqee, died in the year 842, being in three volumes commencing with the words, "all praise is due to Allaah Who displayed Muhammad as the most purest of the Universe"

And we found under the letter laam page 1559 the words, al-Lafdh al-Raaiq fee Mawlid Khayr al-Khalaaiq a short booklet by al-Haafidh Shams ad-Deen Muhammad bin Naasir ad-Deen ad-Damishqee who died in the year 842.

And we found under the letter meem page. 1910 the words, al-Haafidh as-Sakhaawee mentioned in his Daw al-Laami a group who wrote concerning the Mawlid of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) from amongst them al-Haafidh ibn Naasir ad-Deen ad-Damishqee who authored in this regards Jaami al-Aathaar fee Mawlid an-Nabiyy al-Mukhtaar in three volumes and a booklet al-Lafdh al-Raaiq fee Mawlid Khayr al-Khalaaiq and it is shorter than the one mentioned before it

As for Mawrid as-Saadee fee Mawlid al-Haadee then the claim of the author of that article that ibn Fahd attributed it to ibn Katheer is without basis for ibn Fahd said in Lahdh al-Alhaadh bi Dhail Tabaqaat al-Huffaadh (pg. 320-321) under the biography of ibn Naasir ad-Deen ad-Damishqee, he authored, and some of them concerned the Mawlid of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) and it is Jaami al-Aathaar fee Mawlid al-Mukhtaar in three volumes, and Tawdeeh al-Mushtabah and Mawrid as-Saadee fee Mawlid al-Haadee..

And this which is mentioned by ibn Fahd is declared with certainty by as-Sakhaawee and ash-Shawkaanee.

So it becomes clear with all of this that the claims of the author of that article published in al-Mujtama magazine has no basis.

Then what ibn Katheer mentions in the section on the Prophetic biography in his Bidaayah wan Nihaayah, and in his lengthy Seerah and in the sections of Ikhtisaar Seerah ar-Rasool, and in his stand alone treatise on the Mawlid published with the tahqeeq of Salaah ad-Deen al-Manjad, and in his revision to the Mawlid of his shaykh Kamaal ad-Deen Abee Maaalee Muhammad bin Alee al-Ansaaree contained in the section detailing Dalaail an-Nubuwwah in his Bidaayah wan Nihaayah he does not present anything in these concerning the celebration of the Mawlid of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) and neither of the evil practices that have occurred amongst the later generations with respect to the Mawlid. Therefore as long as the matter is like this then we cannot accept the claim of the author of that article.

[Note: and what Muhammad bin Alawee al-Maalikee vainly thinks in his work al-Ihtifaal bi Mawlid an-Nabawiyy ash-Shareef (pg. 38) that the Mawlid of al-Haafidh ibn Katheer is from those works that present celebrating the Mawlid of the Prophet is not correct.]

As for the saying of the author of that aricle that as-Sakhaawee authored a book about the Mawlid entitled at-Tibr al-Masbook fee Dhail al-Sulook then this is also incorrect as-Sakhaawee said in his autobiography contained in Daw al-Laami li Ayaan al-Qarn at-Taasi (8/17) while listing his works, and at-Tibr al-Masbook fee Dhail alaa Taareekh al-Maqreezee as-Sulook containing the events and deaths (of scholars) since the year 45 to this day in 4 volumes so this is what as-Sakhaawee himself clarifies and it is clear that the subject matter of the book is not the Mawlid even though it may contain things connected to the Mawlid.

Ibn Taymiyyah on the Mawlid

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:06:00 +0000

By: Brother Abû Rumaysah

Ibn Taymiyyah says,

"…because the Eeds are legislated laws from amongst the laws, so it is necessary to follow them, and not to innovate them, and the Prophet (SAW) had many lectures, treaties, and great events that happened on a number of (documented) days such as the Day of Badr, Hunain, al-Khandaq, the Conquest of Mecca, the occurrence of his hijrah, his entry to Madeenah…and none of this necessitated that these days be taken as days of Eed. Rather this sort of thing was done by the Christians who took the days in which great events happened to Jesus as eeds, or by the Jews. Indeed the Eed is a legislated law, so what Allaah legislates is followed, otherwise do not innovate in this religion that which is not part of it.

And like this is what some of the people have innovated, either in opposition to the Christian celebration of the birthday of Jesus, or out of love for the Prophet (SAW) and in honour of him. And Allaah will reward them for this love and ijtihaad, but NOT FOR THE BID’AH of taking the day of the birth of the Prophet (SAW) as an eed - this along with the difference of the people as to when he was born. For indeed this (celebration) was not done by the salaf, despite the existence of factors that would necessitate it and the lack of any factors that would prevent them from doing so if it were indeed good. And if this was genuinely good or preferable then the salaf, may Allaah be pleased with them, would have more right to doing so then us, for they had more severe love and honour of the Prophet (SAW) in following him, obeying him, and following his command, and reviving his sunnah inwardly and outwardly, and spreading that which he was sent with, and performing jihaad for this in the heart, with the hand and upon the tongue. So indeed this was the way of the Saabiqeen al-Awwaleen from the Muhajiroon and the Ansaar, and those that followed them in good.

And you will find the majority of these (who celebrate the birthday) in ardent desire of these sort of innovations - alongwith what they have of good intention and ijtihaad for which reward is hoped for - but you would find them feeble in following the command of the Messenger, that which they have been commanded to be eager and vigorous in, indeed they are of the position of one who adorns the Mushaf but does not read what is in it or reads what is in it but does not follow it. Or the position of one who decorates the mosques but does not pray in them, or prays in them rarely…

And know that from the actions are those that have some good in them, due to their including types of good actions and including evil actions such as innovation etc. So this action would be good with respect to what it includes of good and evil with respect to what it contains of turning away from the religion in it’s totality, as is the state of the hypocrites and faasiqeen. This has what has afflicted the majority of the ummah in the later times. So upon you is two manners (of rectification):

that your desire be to follow the sunnah inwardly and outwardly, with respect to yourself specifically and those that follow you, and you enjoin the good and forbid the evil.
that you call the people to the sunnah in accordance to ability, so if you were to see someone doing this (celebration) and he were to not leave it except for an evil greater than it, then do not call him to leaving the evil so that he may perform something more evil than this….[a page omitted in which he explains this principle]

So honouring the mawlid, and taking it as a festive season (mawsam) which some of the people have done, there is a great reward in it due to the good intention and the honouring of the Messenger (SAW) because of what I have previously stated to you - that it is possible that something be good for some of the people and be denounced/considered to be ugly by the strict believer. This is why it was said to Imaam Ahmad about some of the leaders, that he spent 1000 dirhams upon the mushaf or similar to this. So he replied, ‘leave them, for this is better than them spending it on gold (jewellery).’ This despite the fact that the madhhab of Imaam Ahmad was that it is abhorrent to decorate the mushafs, and some of the companions (of Ahmad) interpreted this to mean that the money was spent in renewing the pages and writing. But this is not the intent of Ahmad here, his intention here was that this action had a benefit in it, and it also contained corruption due to which it became abhorrent. But these people, if they did not do this, would have substituted this for a corruption that contained no good whatsoever, for example spending upon one of the books of evil…" [Iqtidaa Siraat al-Mustaqeem 2/618+ my copy has the tahqeeq of Shaykh Naasir al-Aql]

He says in another place of the same book, "there is no doubt that the one who practices these - i.e. the innovated festive seasons - either the mujtahid or muqallid will have the reward for his good intention and the what the action contains of legislated actions, and will be forgiven for what it contains of innovation if his ijtihaad or taqleed contains one of the excuses (that would lift this sin from him)…."

He continues: "But this does not prevent one from detesting and prohibiting it and to replace it with a legislated action containing no bid'ah.... Just as the Jews and Christians may find benefit in their worship because it is possible that their worship includes an aspect of what is legislated but this does not necessitate that you perform their actions of worship or you report their words because all of the innovations contain evil that outweighs their good, this due to the fact that if their good outweighed the evil then why would the Sharee'ah have disregarded it? So we depend upon the fact that it's sin is greater than it's benefit and this necessitates forbiddance."

He continues: "And I say: it's sin is removed from some of the people due to the reason of ijtihaad or other than it, as the sin of usury and alcohol (from dates) which has been differed about (by the salaf) is removed from the salaf (who allowed it), then despite this it is necessary to explain it's condition and not to follow those that considered it permissible.... So this is sufficient evidence in explaining that these innovations include corruptions of belief or condition contradicting what the Messenger (SAW) came with, and that what benefit they contain is marjooh (not to be relied upon) and it not correct to use for objection"

He continues: "As for what they contain - i.e. these innovated festive seasons such as the Mawlid - of benefit then they are opposed by what they contain of the corruption of innovations that outweigh the benefit, alongwith with what has preceded of the corruptions of belief and state - that the hearts become content with it at the expense of a large number of Sunnahs to the extent that you find that the elite and the general masses preserve this in a way that they do not preserve the Taraaweeh's or the five prayers...." mentioning many more cases.[al-Qawl al-Fasl (pg. 102) of Shaykh Ismaa’eel al-Ansaaree]

A number of points can be seen here:

ibn Taymiyyah regards the mawlid as a bid’ah which the strict believer is not allowed to follow.
he allows it only for those who would leave this bid’ah for a greater bid’ah.
he states that those practising this, either out of taqleed or ijtihaad, will get reward for their good intentions, but they will get no reward for their practising it.
that they will not get the burden of the sin of the innovation if their taqleed of ijtihaad contains the excuses that would life this from them.

Refutation of the Mawlid (Celebration of the Prophet's (saws) Birthday)

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:54:00 +0000

By: Brother Abû Rumaysah

A Refutation of some of the Arguments used by those who advocate this Innovation.

Discussion of the hadeeth The Prophet (SAW) performed Aqeeqah for himself after his Prophethood.

As-Suyutee said,

"Another primary text has occurred to me by which the legitimacy of the Mawlid can be derived, namely what is reported by al-Bayhaqee from Anas that "the Prophet (SAW) performed Aqeeqah for himself after his prophethood."And it occurs that his grandfather Abdul Muttalib performed the Aqeeqah for him when he was a child of seven years, and the aqueeqah is not repeated a second time. So therefore this is to taken to mean that what the Prophet (SAW) did was to openly manifest gratitude for Allaah making him the mercy for the universe and to legislate this for his ummah, just as he used to do by his sending salaam upon himself. Therefore it is recommended for us that we openly manifest gratitude for his birth." (‘Husnul Maqsad’ of as-Suyutee contained in his ‘Haawi lil Fataawi’)

These words were also quoted by the commentator to ‘al-Muwaahib al-Laduniyyah’ (1/140) - az-Zarkaanee.

The reply to this hadeeth:

When Imaam Maalik was asked about this hadeeth he replied, "do you see the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (SAW), for whom the aqeeqah was not performed in the days of Jaahiliyyah, performing Aqeeqah for themselves in Islaam? This is from the rejected (narrations)" [quoted from him by ibn Rushd al-Maaliki in the ‘Book of Aqeeqah’ of his work ‘al-Muqaddamaat al-Mumahhadaat’ 2/15]
Abu Dawood said in his ‘Masaa’il Imaam Ahmad’ his work in which he reports from him "I heard Ahmad….so Ahmad said, ‘Abdullaah bin Muharrar from Qataadah from Anas that ‘the Prophet (SAW) performed Aqeeqah for himself’. This hadeeth is munkar (rejected) due to the weakness of Abdullaah bin Muharrar’" [This was report was also mentioned by ibn al-Qayyim in his ‘Zaad al-Ma’aad’ and ‘Tuhfatul Mawdood bi Ahkaamil Mawlood’ (pg.51)]
Ibn Hibbaan said in his ‘Kitaab al-Majrooheen’ (2/29) in the biography of Abdullaah bin Muharrar, "he reported from Qataadah from Anas that ‘the Prophet (SAW) performed Aqeeqah for himself after Allaah had sent him as a Prophet.’…he (ibn Muharrar) used to be from the best of the servants of Allaah, except that he was from those that would lie without knowing it, and reverse (the meanings) of the narrations without understanding…..Abu Ishaaq at-Taalaqaanee said, ‘I heard ibn al-Mubaarak saying: if I was given the choice of entering paradise or accuse Abdullaah ibn Muharrar. I would choose to accuse him and then enter Paradise. For when I saw him I found dung to be more beloved to me than him.’ [this report is also narrated by Imaam Muslim in the introduction to his saheeh]. I (ibn Hibbaan) heard ad-Daarimee saying, ‘I heard Yahyaa bin Ma’een saying: Abdullaah bin Muharrar is not trustworthy and precise (thiqah)’"
al-Bazzaar said, "….from Abdullaah bin Muharrar from Qataadah from Anas that the Prophet (SAW)….Abdullaah bin Muharrar was alone in reporting the hadeeth and he is severely weak, one would find written from him what is not found with other than him." [‘Zawaa’id al-Bazzaar alaa Kutub as-Sitta’ in the chapter ‘Qadaa al-Aqeeqah’]
al-Bayhaqee said, "Abdullaah bin Muharrar reported a munkar (rejected) hadeeth concerning the Prophet’s performing Aqeeqah for himself …[quotes the hadeeth]…..Abdur Razzaaq said, ‘indeed they (scholars of hadeeth) abandoned Abdullaah bin Muharrar due to the state of this hadeeth and it is reported from another perspective from Qataadah and yet another perspective from Anas and it is nothing." [‘Sunan al-Kubraa’ (9/300) of al-Bayhaqee. Chapter: ‘al-Aqeeqah Sunnah’] This is the reference from which as-Suyutee quotes the hadeeth, yet it is strange that he did not quote the rest of al-Bayhaqee’s words.
an-Nawawee said, "as for the hadeeth that he -i.e. ash-Shayraazee - mentioned concerning the Prophet’s performing Aqeeqah for himself, then it was reported by al-Bayhaqee with his isnaad from Abdullaah bin Muharrar from Qataadah from Anas…[hadeeth]…and this hadeeth is false (baatil). Al-Bayhaqee said: this is a rejected hadeeth…(quoting previous words of Bayhaqee)….and Abdullaah ibn Muharrar is da’eef, being agreed upon to be so by the memorising scholars. He (Abdullaah ibn Muharrar) is abandoned." [‘Majmoo’ Sharh Muhadhdhab’ (8/330) of an-Nawawee chpt: ‘Aqeeqah’]
al-Mizzi in his biography to Abdullaah ibn Muharrar endorses the above words of Abdul Razzaaq. [‘Tahdheeb al-Kamaal’ of al-Mizzi]
adh-Dhahabee said during the course of presenting the biography of Abdullaah ibn Muharrar, "Ahmad said: the people have abandoned his hadeeth. Al-Jawzajaanee said: destroyed. Ad-Daaruqutnee and a group (of scholars) said: abandoned. Ibn Hibbaan said: he used to be from the best of the servants of Allaah except that he would lie without knowing it, and reverse (the meanings) of the narrations without understanding…." [‘Meezaan al-I’tidaal’ of adh-Dhahabee]
ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee said, "his saying - i.e. ar-Raafi’ee - it is reported that he (SAW) performed Aqeeqah for himself after his prophethood by al-Bayhaqee from the hadeeth of Qataadah from Anas. He (ibn Hajr) said: it is munkar, it contains Abdullaah bin Muharrar and he is severely weak. Abdur Razzaaq said…[the words previously quoted]. I (ibn Hajr) say: as for the other perspective from Qataadah then I have not found it as a hadeeth of the Messenger (SAW), all that is reported is in this regards is that Qataadah used to pass rulings on this as related by ibn Abdul Barr. Rather al-Bazzaar and others were certain that Abdullaah bin Muharrar is alone in reporting this hadeeth from Qataadah. As for the other perspective still from Anas then it is reported by Abu ash-Shaykh in ‘al-Adaahee’ and ibn Ayman in his ‘Musannaf’ via the route of Abdullaah bin Muthnaa from Thamaamah bin Abdullaah bin Anas from his father. An-Nawawee said in ‘Sharh Muhadhdhab’: this hadeeth is false." [‘Talkhees al-Habeer’ 4/147 of ibn Hajr chpt: ‘al-Aqeeqah’]
Likewise in Fath al-Baree he declares the hadeeth from all of it’s various perspectives to be da’eef. [Sharh Baab Imaatatul Adha]
Therefore az-Zarqaanee in his ‘Sharh Muwaahib’ (1/140) follows up his quote by quoting the verdicts of ibn Hajr and an-Nawawee on this hadeeth and then saying, "therefore to use it to derive the legitimacy (of the Mawlid) is not correct."
[Taken from 'al-Qawl al-Fasl' of Shaykh Ismaa'eel al-Ansaaree with summary]

The Claim That There Are ‘Good Innovations’ In The Religion

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:21:00 +0000

There is no such thing as a ‘good bid’ah' (innovation) as is claimed by some of the ignorant ones. Innovations – in their entirety are a going astray, as was judged by the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) in his saying:

((…Every innovation is a going astray.))* and in another narration:

((…And every going astray is in the Hell-fire.))**

As for the saying of Ameer ul Mu’mineen ‘Umar bin Al-Khattaab (radhiyallaahu ‘anhu) concerning the Taraweeh prayer: ‘What a good bid’ah this is’ – then he did not intend by this the bid’ah (innovation) in the Religion. Since he said this statement when the people gathered to pray the Taraweeh prayer, and the Taraweeh prayer is not an innovation. Rather it is a Sunnah which has been established from the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). He prayed it along with his companions on some of the nights of Ramadhaan. Then he kept away from them at the end for fear that it should seem obligatory upon them. The affair remained so during the Khilaafah of Abee Bakr, and for some time during the Khilaafah of ‘Umar, they would pray it separately whereupon ‘Umar gathered the people behind a single Imaam, just as they had gathered behind the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).

Thus ‘Umar revived this Sunnah, since the object of caution had ceased; which was: taking it as an obligation. So he revived a Sunnah – he did not come with an innovation.

Rather his saying: ‘What an good bid’ah this is’ – then his intent with that – and Allaah Knows best – was the linguistic meaning of an innovation not the Shar’ee (legislative) innovation. This is because legislative innovations are prohibited in Islaam, and the proof is based upon what we mentioned: that he intended by it the Taraweeh prayer – and the Taraweeh prayer is not an innovation – rather it is a Sunnah.

_________________________

*Reported by Aboo Dawood as Hadeeth no. 4607, and At-Tirmidhee as Hadeeth no. 2676, and it was declared Saheeh (authentic) by Shaikh Al-Albaani.

**Reported by An-Nasaa’i vol 3 pages 188-189 and was declared Saheeh (authentic) by Shaikh Al-Albaani. (See his Saheeh Sunan An-Nasaa’i vol 1 page 512 Hadeeth no. 1577)

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan

Muhaadharaat fil ‘Aqeedah wad da’wah vol 1 pages 196-197

Translated by Aboo Haatim Muhammad Farooq

How can one actualise one's love for the Messenger (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam)

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:05:00 +0000

Question: How can one actualise (their) love for the Messenger (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam)?

Response: Love of the Messenger (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) and love of Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala) is actualised by following the Messenger (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam), and everyone who follows the Messenger (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) is more eligible for the love of Allaah and the love of His Messenger. Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala) says:

{Say: "If you (really) love Allaah then follow me (Muhammad), Allaah will love you}, [Soorah Aal-'Imraan, Aayah 31].

And the sign of the love of the Messenger (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) is that a person inquires about his sunnah and then follows it and does not add nor take anything away from that. Based upon this, then those who innovate in anything related to the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) and state that this is from their love and honouring of him (the Prophet) then in reality they do not love him and nor honour him. And that is because true love and honouring of him is to follow his sayings and not to add to his Sharee'ah and nor to take away from it.

And indeed whoever desires to innovate in the Sharee'ah of Allaah that which is not from it, then his love of Allaah and His Messenger is limited without doubt, because completeness of manners and honouring is not to extend oneself before Allaah and His Messenger. Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala) said:

{O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allaah and His Messenger, and fear Allaah. Verily! Allaah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not}, [Soorah al-Hujuraat, Aayahs 1 and 2].

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
Fataawa Noorun 'alad-Darb - Volume 2, Page 522, Question 414

THE ISLAMIC LEGAL VIEW-POINT ON CELEBRATING THE ANNIVERSARY BIRTHDAY (MAWLID) OF THE PROPHET (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:06:00 +0000

By Abdul-Aziz Abdullah Bin Ba'z {Rahimahullah}

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In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Praise be to Allaah, and peace and blessings be unto his Apostle as well as unto the Apostle’s family, companions, and whomsoever was rightly guided by him. And now to our topic:

The question is, quite often, broached by a lot of people about the Islamic legal view-point on celebrating the anniversary birthday ( Mawlid ) of the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), keeping vigil in the meantime, and extending peace greeting to him, etc., such as what is quite often done on the feasts (Mawalid).

And the answer is that it is inadmissible to celebrate the anniversary birthday of the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) nor that of anyone else, since it is one of the heretic evils brought about in religion, as the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be unto him) never did so, and neither did his true Caliphs, nor others of his companions- may Allaah be pleased with all of them- nor those who followed them with good faith in the pre-eminent centuries; let alone the fact that they were more versed in Sunnah, and more perfect that their descendants in revealing their affection to the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as well as in observing his tradition. It is established as valid that the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (If anyone introduces into this affair of ours anything which does not belong to it, it is rejected.) In another tradition he said: (You must observe my own precepts [Sunnah], and the precepts of the Rightly Guided True Caliphs after me. Let all of you abide by them, and cling stubbornly to them, and beware of novelties, since each novelty is a heresy, and each heresy is an error). Both traditions involve a strong admonition against bringing about and acting on the strength of heresies. Allaah – glory be to Him – says in His Glorious Quran: (And so take what the Apostle assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you). He-glory be to Him- also says: (then let those beware who withstand the Apostle’s order, lest some trial should befall them, or a grievous Penalty be inflicted on them). The Almighty – praise be to Him – also says: (Verily in the Apostle of Allaah ye have a good example for him who looketh unto Allaah and the Last Day, and remembereth Allaah much). He says too: (The vanguard [of Islam] the first of those who forsook [their homes] and of those who gave them aid, and [also] those who follow them in [all] good deeds, - well- pleased is Allaah with them, as are they with Him: for them hath He prepared Gardens under which rivers flow to dwell therein for ever: that is the supreme Felicity). Allaah also says: (This day I have perfected your religion for you Islam as your religion). The verses to that effect are numerous. To bring about such birthday celebrations (Mawalid) purports that Allaah-praise be to Him-has not yet completed the religion to this nation, and that the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not announce what should be observed by the nation, till those later people came up, and introduced into the Religion of Allaah what Allaah has not sanctioned, on the pretence that this matter enables them to get close to the consent of Allaah, despite the fact that it, sure enough, involves a serious menace, and an opposition to Allaah-praise be to Him-as well as to His Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at a time when the Almighty Allaah-glory be to Him- had perfected the religion for His human beings, and completed His favour upon them. As also the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had fulfilled his plain true mission, and left no means leading to paradise, and keeping away from the Fire without being elucidated. It is established as valid in the authentic Hadith (traditions) that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr –may Allaah be pleased with both of them-passed on a report where in the Apostle of Allaah-peace be unto him-said : (Never was a Prophet sent out by Allaah without being assigned the task of guiding his people to the best of what he teaches them, and warning against the malice of what he teaches them)-Muslim transmitted it in his Sahih. Consider the fact that our Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is, no doubt, the most distinguished, and the Seal of the prophets; let alone the fact of his precedence with respect to information and guidance. If birthday celebrations (Mawalid) were considered religious, and sanctioned by Allaah –praise be to Him-the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have expounded the matter to the people, or done it himself in his lifetime; or his companions-may Allaah be pleased with them- would have performed it themselves at least. Since celebrations such as these were never performed, it has become known that they have absolutely nothing to do with Islam. The matter of such celebrations is rather one of the evil innovations against which the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) admonished his people, as it was demonstrated in the aforesaid traditions. There are many other traditions to that effect, such as the saying of the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the course of a Friday sermon: (and now to our topic: the best speech is that of the Qur'an, and the best guidance is that of Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the most wicked matter is that of heretic innovations, and each heresy is an error). Imam Muslim transmitted it in his Sahih.

Verses and traditions about this matter are a great many. A group of scholars has declared rejection of, and warning against such celebrations as these (Mawalid), in pursuance of the aforementioned evidences and their likes. Some later scholars, however, were at variance with the others, and approved of such celebrations, provided they are free from such reprehensible actions as being immoderate in their view about the characteristics of the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the company of men and women, and using musical instruments, and such other things as rejected by the immaculate Revelation, and still they held them to be good innovations. The Islamic legal standard is to refer the case at issue among people to the Scripture (Quran) of Allaah and the precepts (Sunnah) of His Apostle Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) Allaah-glory be to Him- also says: (O he who believe, obey Allaah, and obey the Apostle, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allaah and his Apostle, if ye do believe in Allaah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination). The Almighty also says: (Whatever it be wherein ye differ, the decision thereof is with Allaah). We have referred this matter, to wit, Mawalid celebrations, to the Scripture of Allaah-glory be to Him- and found out that it enjoins on us the duty of obeying the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in what he brought forth, admonishes us against what he prohibited us from doing, and informs us that Allaah-glory be to Him- has perfected the religion for this nation. Since this sort of celebration is not part of what the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did brought forth, it has nothing to do with the religion Allaah perfected for us, and enjoined us therein to obey the Apostle. We have, too, referred the matter to the precepts (Sunnah) of the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and found therein that he never performed such a thing, nor enjoined on us to do it, and neither did his companions – may Allaah be pleased with them. We have, thus, learned that such a matter has nothing whatsoever to do with religion, and that it is rather a kind of heretic innovations, and imitation of the people of the Scripture-Jews and Christians- in their festivals. Such being the case, it becomes quite clear for any person possessed of the least power of mental perception, the desire to know the truth as well as being fair in seeking it, that birthday celebrations (Mawalid) have nothing to do with Islam; yet they are rather some kinds of heretic innovations that Allaah-glory be to Him- and His Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined us to abandon and to be cautious of. Any sensible person should not be dazzled by the great number of people doing such a thing in all countries, since truth is not to be recognized through the numerousness of doers, but it is recognized through the Islamic legal evidences, as the Almighty Allaah says on Jews and Christians: (And they say: “None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or Christian.” …Those are their [vain] desires. Say: “Produce your proof if ye are truthful). The Almighty also says: (Wert thou to follow the common run of those on earth, they would lead thee away from the Way of Allaah).

Furthermore, most of these (Mawalid) –heretic as they are- are not quite free from other reprehensible actions, such as the company of men and women, use of songs and musical performances, drinking alcoholic beverages and narcotics as well as other evils. Besides, there may occur what is more tremendous; that is, gross polytheism through exaggeration and exceeding the proper characteristics of the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or those of others of holymen, as well as invoking him, appealing to him for aid, petitioning him, and believing that he is cognizant of the Unseen, and such other atheistic things as practiced by lots of people in the course of their celebrating the Mawlid of the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and of others of the so-called holymen. In the authentic hadith, the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (Beware of exceeding the proper limits of religion; since people, earlier on, were perished with this matter). He (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: (Do not lavish praise on me, as did the Christians with the Son of Mariem. Only I am a human being. Say the Servant and the Apostle of Allaah). Al-Bukhari excerpt it in his Sahih from the account of ‘Omar-may Allaah be pleased with him. The remarkable and atonishing thing about the matter is that lots of people attend actively to these innovated celebrations and uphold them, while they fail to do what Allaah made incumbent upon them such as attending Friday and congregational prayers. In spite of it, they pay no attention to them. Neither do they think they had committed a gross vile deed. This is due, beyond doubt, to weakness of faith and lack of discernment as well as to copiousness of various trespasses and sins reigning over the hearts. May Allaah favour us and all Muslims with the grace of safety from these evils. Among other things, some of them think that the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) attends the mawlid. They, therefore, rise in honour of him with pin arms. This is a sort of patent falsehood and the vilest ignorance, as the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) shall not rise out of his grave before the Day of Judgement, neither does he contact any human beings nor does he attend their meetings. He is rather abiding in his grave until the Day of Judgement, with his soul quite settled with his Rub highly elevated in the Eternal Abode, as Allaah-glory be to Him- says in the Quranic Chapter “Al-Mu’minoun”: (After that, at length, ye will die. Again, on the Day of Judgement, will ye be raised up). The Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (I am the first, whose grave will split on the Day of Judgement, and then I shall be the first intercessor, and the first to be granted the right of interceding).

This glorious verse in addition to the holy tradition, and all other verses and traditions to the same effect, all indicate that the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his likes of the dead will only rise out of their graves on the Day of Judgement. This matter is incontrovertibly based on the consensus of Muslim scholars. Every Muslim should, therefore, beware of such things, and be on his guard against such innovations of the ignorants and their likes as heresies and superstitions, for which Allaah has revealed no legitimization. What a perfect helper and trustee Allaah is. And there is no power and no strength save in Him.

As to praying for Allaah to bless his Apostle and grant him peace, it is the best of approaches and deeds of righteousness as the Almighty Allaah says: (Allaah and His Angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect). The Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: (Whoever sends blessings once on me, Allaah shall bless him the tenfold of it). Such an act is licit at all times, and confirmed at the end of each prayer. It is even imperative, according to a group of learned men, in the last Tashahud of each prayer, and a confirmed Sunnah on several occasions such as following the call-to-prayer, upon speaking of the Apostle (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and on Friday and Friday-nights according to so many a tradition (Hadith)

May Allaah grant us, along with all Muslims, success in comprehending his religion and maintenance of it. May He, too, favour us all with sticking fast to the Sunnah and caution against the heresy. Allaah is All-kind and Magnanimous, and may peace and blessing of Allaah be unto our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.

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Salaat al-Naariyah

noreply@blogger.com (Hussein) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0000

“Allahumma salli salaatan kaamilatan wasallim salaaman taamman ‘ala sayyidina muhammadin alladhi(allathi in some prose) tan’hil bihi il uq’ad· watatafarrij bih il karb· wataq’dhi bih il hawaa’ij· wa tanaal bih ir raghaa’ib· wa hasan al khawaayitam wa yastasq il ghamaam bi wajhih il kareem wa ‘ala ‘aalihi wa sah’bihi fee kulli lamhatin wa nafs”
The above recitation is called salaat un naaria in india and recited 4444 times whenever a calamity falls in a house by bringing many students and the chief of a madhrasaa.
1. What is the meaning of the above words and is there any shirk in the wordings?
2. People say if there is no shirk we can continue reciting because it is not harmful because it is a type of dhikr and it reminds them of allah and that we are doing some kind of additional dhikr to bring us closer to allah and to removesome museebath.
3. What is the ruling on maulid recitation· is there any harm in reciting it periodically by calling some students of madhrasaa or imam of masjid.

[The translation of these words is as follows:

“O Allaah, send perfect blessings and complete peace upon our master Muhammad by virtue of whom [as some of them say] all obstacles are removed, distress is relieved, needs are met, desires are fulfilled and a good end may be achieved and by virtue of whose noble face clouds may be sent, and [send blessings and peace] upon his family and companions with every breath and glance.”]

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

1. The words of this innovated prayer are clear enough, but there is nothing wrong with explaining them further.

“obstacles are removed” means, a way out is found from whatever obstacles and difficult matters one is faced with.

The phrase may also mean “by virtue of whom anger is calmed.”

“distress is relieved” means anxiety and grief are taken away.

“needs are met” means one gets what one is trying to achieve.

“desires are fulfilled and a good end may be achieved” means his wishes are fulfilled whether that is in this world or in the Hereafter, one of which is that one meets a good end.

“by virtue of whose noble face clouds may be sent” means that he is asked to pray to Allaah to send rain.

2. What some people have told you – that this prayer does not involve shirk and that it is permissible for you to continue to recite it – is wrong. This so-called prayer includes things which clearly go against Islam, such as the following:

(i) It is supposed to be said at times of calamity. This is a contrived reason for an innovated act of worship.

(ii) It is supposed to be recited a set number of times, 4444 times. This is a contrived amount for an innovated act of worship.

(iii) It is supposed to be recited in a communal fashion. This is a contrived method for an innovated act of worship

(iv) It contains phrases which go against Islam, which constitute shirk and which are an exaggeration about the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It attributes to him actions which cannot be attributed to anyone other than Allaah, such as meeting people’s needs, relieving distress, fulfilling their desires and granting a good end. Allaah commanded His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):

“Say: ‘It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to the Right Path’”

[al-Jinn 72:21 – interpretation of the meaning]

(v) It ignores what is taught in the sharee’ah, and makes up a contrived prayer and supplication. This implies that one is accusing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) of failing to explain everything that the people need, and that one is trying to fill gaps in the sharee’ah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever innovates anything in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not a part of it, will have it rejected”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2550; Muslim, 1718).

According to a report narrated by Muslim (1718), he said: “Whoever does any action that is not in accordance with this matter of ours (Islam) will have it rejected.”

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “This hadeeth represents one of the most important basic principles of Islam. It is like a yardstick for measuring the outward appearance of actions, just as the hadeeth ‘Actions are but by intentions’ is a yardstick for measuring the inward nature of actions. Just as actions which are not done for the sake of Allaah bring no reward to the one who does them, so too actions which are not done in accordance with the command of Allaah and His Messenger are rejected and thrown back at the one who does them. Everyone who innovates something in the religion for which Allaah and His Messenger have not granted permission, that action has nothing to do with the religion.”(Jaami’ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hukam, 1/180)

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “This hadeeth is one of the most important basic principles of Islam and is one of the most comprehensive sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It is a clear rejection of bid’ah and innovations. The second report adds a further idea, which is that some people may persist in doing some innovated action (bid’ah) for which there is a precedent, and when the first report – ‘Whoever innovates anything…’ – is quoted as proof, such a person may say, ‘But I did not innovate anything. Then the second report – ‘Whoever does any action…’ – may be quoted, which clearly states that all innovated actions are rejected, whether the one who does them invented them or they were previously invented. This hadeeth is one of those which should be memorized and used in denouncing evil actions, and it should be propagated widely.”(Sharh Muslim, 12/16)

3. With regard to celebrating the Mawlid (birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)), doing this is bid’ah. If it was good, those who love the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) more than we do would have done it before us, i.e., the Sahaabah, may Allaah be pleased with them. Most of what is recited on this occasion are weak or fabricated reports of the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it involves exaggeration about our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). There follow the comments of the scholars:

(a) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the one who completes the reading of the Qur’aan each year on the night of the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – is that mustahabb or not?

He replied:

“Praise be to Allaah. For the people to come together to eat on the two Eids and the days of Tashreeq is Sunnah. This is one of the symbols of Islam which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) set out for the Muslims. Helping the poor by giving them food during Ramadaan is also one of the ways of Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever gives a fasting person food to break his fast will have a reward like his.’ Giving poor Qur’aan-readers that which will help them to devote their time to the Qur’aan is a righteous deed at any time, and whoever helps them in this manner will have a share in the reward.

But taking as special occasions days which are not prescribed in Islam – such as one of the nights of Rabee’ al-Awwal which is called Laylat al-Mawlid (the night of the Prophet’s birthday), or some of the nights of Rajab, or the eighteenth of Dhu’l-Hijjah, or the first Friday of Rajab, or the eighth of Shawwaal, which the ignorant call ‘Eid al-Abraar (the Feast of the Righteous)’ – these are bid’ahs which the salaf did not regard as mustahabb and they did not do these things. And Allaah knows best.”(al-Fataawa al-Kubraa, 4/415)

(b) Ibn al-Haaj said:

“Some of them commit actions at this time which go against this meaning. When the month of Rabee’ al-Awwal begins, they hasten to indulge in idle entertainment, playing the daff (hand-drum) and reed flute, and other things as mentioned above.

Whoever wants to weep, let him weep for himself and for Islam, and how it and its people and those who follow the Sunnah have become alienated. If they simply wanted to sing songs and entertain themselves, I wish that they would limit themselves to that. But some of them try to follow proper etiquette, so they start the Mawlid with the recitation of Qur’aan. So they look for the one who can recite in the most melodious fashion and provoke enjoyment, and he reads ten aayahs. There are several things wrong with this:

(i) the way in which the reciter reads in this manner which is condemned in sharee’ah, with a quavering tone like that of a singer. This has been discussed above.

(ii) This involves a lack of proper respect towards the Book of Allaah.

(iii) They read Qur’aan briefly before turning to what they really desire, which is to listen to the entertainment of the tambourine and reed-flute, and the singing and quavering tones of the singers, etc.

(iv) They show outwardly something different from that which is in their hearts. This is the essence of hypocrisy, whereby a person makes an outward display of something when deep inside he really means something else – this is wrong except in cases specifically exempted by sharee’ah. They start with Qur’aan recitation when the thoughts of some of them are really focused on the singing.

(v) Some of them cut the recitation short, because they are thinking too much of the pleasure of that which comes after it, as mentioned above.

(vi) If the Qur’aan reading goes on for a long time, some of the audience begin to show signs of boredom, and they do not settle down until the entertainment they like begins. This is not what is meant by the description which Allaah gives of the humble believers, because they love to hear the words of the Lord, as He says in praise of them (interpretation of the meaning):

‘And when they listen to what has been sent down to the Messenger (Muhammad), you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth they have recognized. They say: “Our Lord! We believe; so write us down among the witnesses”’[al-Maa’idah 5:83]

This is how Allaah describes those who listen to His words. But some of these people do the opposite of that. After listening to the word of their Lord, they get up to dance and celebrate and enjoy themselves in unseemly ways. “Truly, to Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return” [al-Baqarah 2:156 – interpretation of the meaning. This phrase is an expression of grief and sorrow] for the lack of shame for committing sins. They do the deeds of the Shaytaan and seek reward from the Lord of the Worlds, claiming that they are doing acts of worship and goodness. Would that only the lowest of people did that, but now this problem has become widespread and you see those who claim to have some knowledge and good deeds doing that, and even some of those who claim to be shaykhs, i.e., those who have followers. All of them are included in what is said above.

It is strange that they have been deceived by this trick of the accursed Shaytaan. Do you not see that a wine-drinker, when the wine first starts to take effect, he begins to move his head non-stop. When the effect becomes stronger, he loses his shame and dignity before those who are with him, and what he wants to conceal will be exposed to his companions. Look at this singer, may Allaah have mercy on you and us. When he starts to sing, you will see people who have dignity and respect, who appear decent and are followed by people of knowledge, falling silent when he starts to sing. Then they start to move their heads a little, exactly like wine-drinkers, as described above. Then when they really start to enjoy the entertainment, they lose their shyness and dignity, exactly like the wine-drinkers, so they get up and start to dance and shout and weep in a show of fake humility. They move in and out and raise their arms and heads towards the heavens as if receiving divine inspiration. They start to foam at the mouth and may even rend their garments and play with their beards.

This is obviously something to be denounced, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade wasting money, and rending one’s garments is obviously included in that.

Secondly, this obviously goes beyond the limits of common sense, because they act like crazy people most of the time.”(al-Madkhal, 2/5-7)

“Celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is not permitted because it is an invented bid’ah (innovation) which was not done by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or by his rightly-guided successors (al-khulafa’ al-raashideen), or by the scholars of the best three generations [i.e., the first three generations of Islam].”

(Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 3/2)

(d) Shaykh Ibn Baaz was asked: is it permissible for the Muslims to hold celebrations in the mosque to commemorate the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on the night of 12 Rabee’ al-Awwal, to celebrate the Mawlid or birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), without taking that day off as an “Eid”? We are having some disputes concerning this. Some say that it is a bid’ah hasanah (“a good innovation”) and some say that it is not a good innovation.

He replied:

“The Muslims should not celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), whether on the night of 12 Rabee’ al-Awwal or on any other date, just as they should not celebrate the birthday of anyone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because celebrating birthdays is an innovation which has been introduced into the religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not celebrate his birthday during his lifetime, and he is the one who conveyed the religion and laws from Allaah. He did not enjoin that, and it was not done by his rightly guided successors or by any of his Companions or those who followed them in goodness during the best three generations. So it is known to be an innovation, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever innovates anything in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not a part of it, will have it rejected’ (Saheeh – agreed upon). According to a report narrated by Muslim, which al-Bukhaari narrated in a mu’allaq majzoom report: “Whoever does any action that is not in accordance with this matter of ours (Islam) will have it rejected.”

Celebrating the Mawlid is not in accordance with the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), rather it is something which the people innovated and introduced into their religion during later centuries, so it is to be rejected. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say in his khutbah (sermon) on Fridays: ‘The best of speech is the Book of Allaah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The most evil of things are those which are newly-invented, and every innovation is a going-astray.’ This was narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. It was also narrated by al-Nasaa’i with a jayyid isnaad, adding the words, ‘and every going-astray leads to Hell.’

Instead of celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), we should study his seerah (biography) and the history of his life during the jaahiliyyah and Islam, in schools, mosques and elsewhere. That includes describing the circumstances of his birth and death, with no need to innovate celebrations which are not prescribed by Allaah or His Messenger, and for which there is no evidence in sharee’ah.

Allaah is the Source of Strength. We ask Allaah to grant guidance and strength to all the Muslims and to help them to follow the Sunnah and avoid bid’ah.”

(Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 4/289)

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid