Questioner: Welcome, Your Eminence, Shaykh Muhammad.
Shaykh: May Allah preserve you.
Question:
Shaykh Muhammad, in a previous episode, we presented a question from our listener Abdul Samad Abdul Rahim, but we ran out of time for his second question, which is: Is a person who practices bid’ah (an innovation) punished or rewarded for it, especially regarding blessings and peace upon the Prophet after the adhan (call to prayer)?
Answer:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Regarding bid’ah (innovation), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is bid’ah (an innovation), every bid’ah (innovation) is a misguidance, and every misguidance leads to the Fire.”
Since this is the case, anyone who involves themselves in bid’ah (an innovation)—whether initiating it or continuing it—incurs sin. This is because, as the Messenger ﷺ said, it leads to the Fire; meaning, this misguidance becomes a cause for punishment in the Fire.
Furthermore, since the Messenger ﷺ warned his Ummah (nation) against innovations, it means they are a pure detriment; because the Messenger ﷺ made a general statement and did not make exceptions, saying: ‘Every bid’ah(innovation) is a misguidance.’
Furthermore, bid’ah (innovation) is, in reality, an indirect criticism of Sharia Islamiyyah (Islamic Law). This is because it implies that the Sharia was incomplete, and that this Mubtadi’ (religious innovator) completed it through the newly invented act of worship by which they claim to draw closer to Allah.
Based on this, we say: every bid’ah is a misguidance, and every misguidance leads to the Fire. It is mandatory to beware of all innovations, and a person must not worship except through what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ legislated.
Only then can his leader truly be the Prophet—meaning, so that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is truly his leader.
This is because whoever follows the path of bid’ah (an innovation) has taken al-Mubtadi’ (the religious innovator, one who introduces bid’ah into the religion) as his leader in this bid’ah, to the exclusion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.