3. Does everyone who goes against the Sunnahfall into bid‘ah (innovation)? Notes on the meaning of following

3.
I have read many fatwa's about innovation and my question is. If the
prophet (peace be upon him) practiced something. Do we have to
practise EXACTLY as he did it? If wedont do it EXACTLY then is it
innovation? Because i'veread a lot of the fatwa's and in a lot of it
many of the practices are considered BIDAH. For example the Prophet
(Peace be Upon him) did emphasize on the virtue ofDua in congrenation.
Now if its practised after fardh salaah why is it an innovation? Is
the sunnah of the prophet subject to exactly the way he did, the time
he did etc etc. If we do it at a different time is it innovation? say
for example if its sunnah to read Surah Kahf on friday. Now if I read
surah kahf every monday and tuesday, will it be considered a bidah? Im
still making Ibadah. Why is it subject to TIME?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
No doubt it is obligatory for the Muslim to be a follower of his
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in what he
prescribed and it is not permissible for him to go against that or to
introduce any innovation into the religion, because of the evidence
that indicates that it is obligatory to follow and itis forbidden to
introduce innovation. But it should be noted that differing from the
way of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and
falling into bid'ah may mean one of two things:
(i)
introducing an act of worship for which there is no basis in Islam,
such as touching graves and seeking help from their occupants. The
scholars call this real innovation (al-bid'ah al-haqeeqah). This is
that which was not prescribed at all.
(ii)
the act of worship may be originally prescribed in Islam, and what is
contrary to the Sunnah may have to do with defining a certain time or
place for it, or a certain number of times it is to berepeated, or the
manner inwhich it is to be done or the reason for which it is to be
done. This is called innovation by addition (al-bid'ah al-idaafiyyah);
it is not bid'ah unless it is done regularly and repeatedly. If it is
done only once or twice without adhering to that, then it is not
bid'ah, such as if people pray qiyaam in congregation (jamaa'ah)on
some occasion, withoutthinking that there is any particular virtue in
doing so.
Hence ash-Shaatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, discussing the
"innovation by addition": The word bid'ah refers to an invented way of
doing something in Islam that is similar to what is prescribed, of
which the intention is to go to extremes in worshipping Allah, may He
be glorified.
That includes regularly adhering to certain manners and forms of
worship, such as reciting dhikr together in unison, taking the
birthday of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) as
an Eid (festival), and so on.
It also includes adhering to specific acts of worship at specific
times that were not defined as such in sharee'ah, such as always
fasting on the fifteenth of Sha'baan (an-nusf min Sha'baan) and
spending that night in prayer (qiyaam).
End quote from al-I'tisaam, 1/37-39
Adhering to a thing meansdoing it regularly and repeatedly.
Secondly:
Du'aa' (supplication) is prescribed during the prayer and following
it, according to the correct scholarly opinion. What is not allowed is
reciting du'aa' in unison. The evidence for it being prescribed to
offer du'aa' after the prayer is as follows:
1.
It was narrated that 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said the salaam at the end of the prayer, he would say: "Allaahumma
ighfir li ma qaddamtu wa ma akhkhartu wa ma asrartu wa ma a'lantu wa
ma astraftu wa ma anta a'lamu bihi minni. Anta al-muqaddim wa anta
al-mu'akhkhir laa ilaaha illa anta (O Allaah! Forgive me what I have
done in the past, and what I will do in the future, and what I have
concealed, and what I have done openly, and what I have exceeded in,
whatever You know about me more than I. You are the One Who brings
forward, and You are the One Who puts back, there is no god except
You)."
Narrated by Abu Dawood (1509); classed as saheeh by an-Nawawi in
al-Majmoo'. This does not contradict the report that says that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said this du'aa'
before the salaam. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) used to recite this du'aa' in bothplaces. See: al-Majmoo', 3/467
:->

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Hadeeth: “Two rak’ahs with siwaak are better than seventy rak’ahs without siwaak”

What is the meaning of the hadeeth: "Two rak'ahs with siwaak are
better than seventy rak'ahs without siwaak"?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Siwaak is Sunnah, and is an act of worship when done at the time of
prayeror when doing wudoo', because the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Siwaak is purifying for the mouth and
pleasing tothe Lord." Narrated by al-Nasaa'i with a saheeh isnaad from
'Aa'ishah (mayAllaah be pleased with her). And because he (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Were it not that it would be
too difficult for my ummah, I would have commanded them to use the
siwaak at every prayer." Saheeh – agreed upon. According to another
version: "Were it not that it would be too difficult for my ummah, I
would have commanded them to use the siwaak at at every wudoo'."
Narrated by Imam al-Nasaa'i with a saheeh isnaad.
With regard to the hadeeth "Two rak'ahs with siwaak are better than
seventy rak'ahs without siwaak", it is a da'eef (weak) hadeeth, and is
not saheeh (sound). The saheeh ahaadeeth are sufficient, praise be to
Allaah. End quote.
Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz(26/288).
Al-Bayhaqi said concerningit in al-Sunan al-Kubra (1/38): (It is)
da'eef and its isnaad is not strong. It wasnarrated in both marfoo'
and mursal reports. End quote.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Manaar al-Muneef (p. 17): Its isnaad is not strong.
And Allaah knows best.

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2. How can we explain the existence of some people who were born Muslims and others who expended a great deal ofeffort to achieve that?

2.
I have gone through somedifficult times with regard to my becoming
Muslim because of my parents, because they are of different religions
and cultures, and they are divorced. My question is: why do some
people struggle to acquire knowledge of Islam, whilst others have the
good fortune to be Muslim?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
One of the things concerning which there can be no doubt is that the
greatest blessing that Allah bestows upon His slave is to cause him to
be born to Muslim parents, tolive as a Muslim and to dieas a Muslim.
This is by the grace of Allah, may He be exalted. This is a blessing
from Allah, as the one whois so blessed does not need to seek through
different religions to find the true religion that Allahloves and is
pleased with, and does not accept any other religion. The individual
has not done anything to attain this favour; rather it is pure grace
from Allah his Lord, may He be exalted.
But this does not mean that everyone who is bornto Muslim parents
understands the extent of this blessing and acts in gratitude for it.
Rather we see many, many people who are ungrateful for this blessing
and do not benefit at all from the fact that from the moment they
opened their eyes on this world, they saw Islam and the mosque, and
the first thing they heard was the word of Tawheed. Hence these people
go astray and follow paths of misguidance and kufr, andthey are Muslim
in nothingbut name, and some of those who are seeking for the true
religion may be better than them – although it is not correct to make
such comparisons–when they come to knowthat Islam is the religion of
Allah and He does not accept any other religion from His slaves, and
they read and ponder until theyenter this religion with conviction and
adhere strongly to its rulings.
Hence the matter is nothing more than additional grace that Allah,may
He be exalted, bestows upon whomever He wills among His slaves that
they should be born Muslim. However He does not wrong others, as He
has made clear to them the paths of guidance and misguidance, and has
shown them His straight path and enjoined them tofollow it, and has
shown them the ways of the Shaytaan and warned them against following
them. And you see some of those who were born toMuslim parents yet
they go astray, and you see some of those who were born to kaafir
parents following true guidance.
One of the clear examples concerning this matter which will dispel
your confusion is what you know about the situation of some of the
Messengersand their call and the response to it. We see Nooh (peace be
upon him); what did it benefit his son and his wife, whenhe was the
Prophet sent by Allah who called them night and day, but they did not
respond and they died in kufr. What did it benefit the father of
Ibraaheem (peace be uponhim) when his son persisted in calling him,
advising him and exhorting him, but he rejected that and even played a
role in throwing him into the fire? What did it benefit the wife of
Loot, even though she wasthe wife of a Prophet sent by Allah and he
called her to the truth, but she insisted on following kufr?Yet at the
same time we see Pharaoh, who was oneof the greatest tyrants on earth,
yet his wife declared her Islam and disbelieved in her husband. This
is how human beings are; either Allah bestows upon some of them the
blessing of Islam, and they are grateful for it and strive toadhere to
it, and some are deprived of this blessing but they put a great deal
of effort into seeking until they arrive at the truth that Allah, may
He be exalted, revealed and commanded His slaves to follow His path.
And both parties must always say (interpretation of the meaning): "All
the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has guided us to this,never
could we have found guidance, were it not that Allah had guided us"
[al-A 'raaf 7:43], and say as the Companions of Muhammad (blessings
andpeace of Allah be upon him) used to say: By Allah, were it not for
Allah, we would not have been guided and we would not have given
charity or prayed.
For the one who used to follow a different religion, believing in it
and following its Prophet, thenAllah, may He be exalted, guided him to
the light of Islam and he believed in the Seal of the Prophets, the
glad tidings from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) are sufficient for him:
:->2a.

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2a. How can we explain the existence of some people who were born Muslims and others who expended a great deal ofeffort to achieve that?

2a.
Al-Bukhaari (3011) and Muslim (154) narrated from Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari
(may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said:
"There are three who will be given a double reward: a man who had a
slave woman whom he taught and taught her well, then he set her free
and married her – he will have a double reward; a believer from among
the people of the Book who believed (in his Prophet), then he believed
in the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and followed
him and believed in him– he will have a double reward;and a slave who
fulfils his duty towards Allaah and towards his master – he will have
a double reward."
See also the answer to question no. 11783 and 150930
Secondly:
With regard to what has happened between you and your parents of
differences in culture and religion, this is the same thing that
happens amonghuman beings. What has happened to them of divorce is
something that happens frequently, especially with repeated problems
that create serious friction between them.
What we advise you to do is to focus primarily on telling them about
the religion of Islam and calling them to it. If Allah blesses you by
guiding them, then there is the strong hope that they maybe
reconciled, in sha Allah. If it is decreed that they should remain
separated, they will have gained the true religion and will be
guaranteed salvation fromthe punishment of Allah.
In fact this is one of the greatest rights that they have over you,
that you should make them share this blessing that you enjoy, the
blessing of Islam and submission to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and
worshipping Him alone with no partneror associate. So do not spare any
effort in this matter, because it is an important mission, and you
will see its good effects, if Allah wills, in thisworld before the
Hereafter. Seek help in that by offering supplication (du'aa') for
them whilst striving to take practical measures in support of that
mission. You can also seek help from experienced people in your city
to achieve that. We ask Allah to guideyou and help you, and to accept
your righteous deeds and guide your parents to that which will bring
happiness in this world and in the Hereafter.
And Allah knows best.

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