IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL
BEING THE SECOND KHUTBAH FOR THE MONTH OF D. QA’DAH, DATED 13TH D.QA’DAH 1444AH (2ND JUNE, 2023CE)
TITLED: ADHERING TO THE SUNNAH AND AVOIDING INNOVATIONS (BID’A)
THE FIRST SERMON
All Praises belong to Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help and His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our own souls and from the evils of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides is the one who is rightly guided, and whoever is led astray has no guide. I testify that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone. He has no partner. And I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. He delivered the Message and discharged the Trust. He advised the Ummah, and left it on a clear conviction; Its night is (clear) like its day, nobody deviates from it except the doomed, may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions, and whoever propagate his Da’wah and follows his Sunnah until the Day of Judgment.
Thereafter… Servants of Allah! Fear Allah, and be mindful of Him. Adhere to His obedience, and obey His commands, and avoid His prohibitions. In that is immediate and the long term good, the good of this life and the hereafter. So fear Allah, o you servants of Allah, in what He has commanded, and abstain from what He has prohibited and forbade. (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ) “O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah.” (Aal-Imraan: 102).
The topic of our sermon today revolves around: adhering to the Sunnah and avoiding innovations (Bid’a).
We have been commanded to follow the Sunnah and forbidden to innovate, and that is for the perfection of the religion of Islaam, and being sufficed with what Allah Ta’alaa and His Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) has legislated and recommended, and the Ahu Sunnah Wal-Jama’ah received it with a welcome, from the Companions and those who followed them in goodness. And it was proven that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that is not part of it will have it rejected.” (Agreed upon).
And in another narration by Muslim, ‘whoever does a deed that is not in accordance with our command, it will be rejected’. And he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said in another hadith: “You must adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Khalifs who will come after me. Adhere to them and hold to it fast. Beware of new things (in the Deen) because every new thing in the Deen is an innovation (Bid’ah) and every innovation is a misguidance.” And he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to say in his sermon on the day of Jumu’ah: “To proceed, the best speech is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (ﷺ), the worst practice is the introduction of new practices in Islam and every Bid’ah is a misguidance”.
In these hadiths, there is a warning against inventing innovations, and a warning that they are misguidance, alerting the Ummah to its great danger, and discouraging them from committing it and acting upon it. There are many hadiths in this sense.
And the Allah Ta’alaa says:
)وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا(
“And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it), and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment.” (Al-Hashr: 7). And the Almighty, the Most Majestic says:
)فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ(
“So let those who go against His command beware, lest some calamity should befall them or they receive some painful punishment.” (An-Nuur: 63). He the Almighty also says:
)لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا(
“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad SAW) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.” (Al-Ahzab: 21). Allah Ta’alaa also says:
)وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ(
“And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajirun (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansar (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhajirun) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success.” (At-Tawbah: 100).
Also the Almighty says:
)الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا(
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But as for him who is forced by severe hunger, with no inclination to sin (such can eat these above-mentioned meats), then surely, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Al-Maa’idah:3).
These verses clearly indicate that Allah Ta’alaa has perfected this Ummah’s religion and completed His Favour upon it, and His Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) did not pass away until after he had delivered a clear Message, and he had detailed for the Ummah everything that Allah legislated for it both in actions and in sayings, and He made it clear that everything that people invent after him, and attribute it to the religion of Islaam, in sayings and deeds, are all innovations (Bid’ah) that is returned to whoever invented it, even if his intention is good. It is established on the authority of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and on the authority of the righteous predecessors after them, that they caution and warn against innovations, and that is only because it is an excessiveness in the religion, and a recommendation of what Allah did not authorize, and imitation of the enemies of Allah among the Jews and Christians, in their excessiveness in their religion, and their innovation in it of what Allah has not authorized, and because it adhering to it diminish the religion of Islaam, and insinuate that the Deen is not perfect nor complete, and we know the danger and great corruption and outlandish evil that this could bring, and the confrontation with the words of Allah Ta’alaa:
)الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا(
“This day I have completed your religion for you” (Al-Maaidah: 3), and the clear contradiction of the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and the warning against innovations and repulsion of it.
On the authority of Abu Najih Al-‘Irbaad ibn Saariyah (May Allah be pleased with him), it is reported: The Messenger of Allah prayed salaat for us one day and then faced us and admonished us with a very eloquent Khutbah on account of which eyes shed tears and hearts were full of tears. A man said: “O Prophet of Allah, this is as if it were a parting advice. So advise us”. He (ﷺ) said, “I admonish you to fear Allah, to listen and obey even if an Abyssinian slave is appointed as your leader. Because whosoever among you shall live after me, will see much discord. So hold fast to my Sunnah and the examples of the Rightly- Guided Caliphs who will come after me. Adhere to them and hold to it fast. Beware of new things (in Deen) because every Bid’ah is a misguidance” (Abu Daawud and Tirmidhi. He said it is a good and authentic hadith, and Ibn Maajah narrated a similar hadith).
This hadith includes a recommendation that the Messenger (ﷺ) recommended to his companions and to Muslims in general after him, and he combined in it the commandment to fear Allah Ta’alaa, and to hear and obey Muslim rulers, and in this is the attainment of happiness in this world and the Hereafter. He also recommended to the Ummah what would guarantee for it, success and guidance if it sticks to the Sunnah, and adheres to the Path, and it distances itself from misguidance and innovations.
Servants of Allah! You should know that it is mandatory to beware of innovations. Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, said: What is meant by heresy: what is new that has no basis in the Sharee’ah that points to it (as evidence). As for that that has a basis in the Sharee’ah that points to it (as evidence), it is not an innovation Sharee’ah-wise, even if it is a innovation linguistically.
Do not forget that every innovation is misguidance, and that there is nothing in innovation that is approved or that brings any good, rather all of them are misguidance, as it is an undesirable excess in religion, so whoever thinks that an innovation is good, then it is not devoid of one of two things: Either it is not an innovation, and it is thought that it is an innovation, or it is not good and it is thought that it is good. But that it is a good innovation, this is impossible, for the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ): “Every innovation is a misguidance.”
Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, said: His saying, (ﷺ) : “Every innovation is a misguidance” is one of comprehensive all-encompassing statement, and nothing is excluded from it, and it is a great principle from the fundamentals of the religion, and it is similar to his saying, (ﷺ): “Whoever introduces something into this our matter that is not a part of it, he is refuted.” So, whoever invents something and attributes it to the religion while it has no basis in the religion to refer back to, then it is a misguidance, and the religion is a free from it and needless of it, regardless of whether in matters of Aqeedah (beiefs), deeds, or sayings, whether done publicly or privately.
SECOND SERMON
All Praises belong to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and Blessings and Peace be upon His faithful Messenger and upon all his family and companions. Praise be to Allah for the safety of our country from the plots of the enemies. In our beloved country, we have moved from one era to a new one, as a new president has been inaugurated for us in the person of Alhaj Bola Ahmed Tinubu without the slightest problem. Grace and Favour belong to Allah, and Praise be to Allah, Lord of the universe.
Servants of Allah! The affairs of people, both the government and governed, are not rectified except by fearing Allah Almighty, so if the rulers fear Allah in what Allah has enjoined upon them of preserving the religion and good politics of the nation, and the governed fear Allah in what is obligatory for them, of the rights of Allah Almighty, and the rights of the leaders, and the rights of one over the other, a lot of good is achieved, and great deal of evil is prevented the nation. Allah Ta’alaa says: (وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَى آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَرَكَاتٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ) “And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, but they belied (the Messengers). So We took them (with punishment) for what they used to earn (polytheism and crimes, etc.).” (Al-A’raaf 96).
O believers! Indeed, Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) have imposed on those in authority necessary and obligatory rights, through which the people can practice religion properly and their good livelihood and wellbeing are achieved.
Servants of Allah! Among the most emphasized rights of the leaders in authority is to hear and obey them in what is good, so obedience to them is a great principle, which AllahTa’alaa commanded in His Precise Revelation: “Oh you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you”.
Same in other texts that command obedience to those in authority, so fear Allah, and obey those whom Allah has entrusted your affairs with in what he establishes, and hope for the reward from Allah Almighty, for whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.
O believers, the obligation to obey the leaders is not tied to their fulfilling all the rights and duties that are obligatory upon them to be done for their subjects, rather it is obligatory to obey them, even if they neglect the rights that are obligatory upon them. Therefore, every believer must fulfill whatever Allah has imposed on him regarding the rights and duties of the leaders, in any case, as long as they have not commanded disobedience to Allah. In the two Sahihs from Ibn Mas’ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “You will see after me favouritism (Exclusivity of something from those who has the right to it) and things which you will disapprove of.” They submitted: “What do you order us to do (under such circumstances)?” He replied, “Discharge your obligations and ask your rights from Allah”.
“After me, you will see traces and things that you deny.” They said: What do you command us, O Messenger of God? He said: Give them their right, and ask God for your right.” (Narrated by Ahmed)
In Sahih Muslim, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman – may Allah be pleased with them – said: The Messenger of Alalh, peace be upon him, said: “You will listen to the Amir and carry out his orders; even if your back is flogged and your wealth is snatched, you should listen and obey”. This is because, in obedience to the leaders guarantees bliss in life and stability for people’s livelihood. Nevertheless, let the leaders beware not to overstep the limit set forth with the excuse that they must be obeyed by their subjects, for all of you are shepherds and each of you shall be held accountable for his subjects, so the leaders should not consume the public wealth unjustly, for this is a great treachery and an abominable injustice, and the perpetrator of treachery will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, because every treacherous person will have a banner according to the level of his treachery on the Day of Resurrection, and the greatest treachery is that of those in public leadership.
O believers, among the rights of those in authority over their subjects is to sincerely advise them, for the religion is sincere advice to Allah, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk. And the best jihad is the one who speaks the truth in the presence of an unjust ruler. Dear Servants of Allah, sincerity to those in authority should be out of love for them to be on righteousness, guidance, and justice, and to love that the public is united with them even when speaking the truth, and that we dislike that public get disunited under their watch. Dear believers, advising the leaders should be a way of supporting them on the truth, guidance, and reminding of goodness and piety, using an approach of gentleness and politeness, devoid of violence, defamation, or repudiation, for whenever there is gentleness in something, it beautifies it, and whenever it is removed from something it disgraces it, that is because what people hate in unity/togetherness is better than what they love in disunity.
Supplication: Oh Allah, grant victory to Islam and the Muslims! Oh Allah, grant victory to Islam and the Muslims! Oh Allah, grant victory to Islam and the Muslims! And humiliate polytheism and the polytheists, and humiliate the tyrants, the atheists and all other enemies of the religion. O Allah, grant us safety in our country, O Allah, grant us safety in our country, and reform our religious and political leaders, and make leaders over us those who fear You and seek Your pleasure, o Lord of the worlds. O Allah, grant our president success with Your success, honor him with Your obedience, and exalt Your word in him, and make him a supporter for Islam and the Muslims. Oh Allah, grant the managers of the affairs of the Muslims to act according to Your Book and the Sunnah of Your Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him – and make them compassionate to Your servants, and unite their word on the truth and guidance, o Lord of the worlds. O Allah rectify the affairs of the Muslims! O Allah rectify the affairs of the Muslims! O Allah rectify the affairs of the Muslims! O Allah protect their blood from been spilled, unite their word on the truth and guidance, grant the best among them leadership over them, and protect them from the evil of the evil doers among them, spread for them, security, justice and prosperity in their homes, and protect them from evils and temptations, both apparent and concealed. Oh Allah, whoever wishes evil for us, our religion, our home, or for our nation, our security, our scholars, or wishes evil for the good people amongst us, or wishes evil for our security forces, or our unity, o Allah preoccupy them with his personal predicaments, and turn their plots and plans to the source of their destruction.