Sufi formulas and bid'ah
Q: In your 'Innovations' sections, you
say it's bidah to recite, say a 100 times or something, suras
hoping for reward. After reading a Sufi book by Hakim Moinuddin
Chishti called 'Sufi Healing", I saw that it justified using such
formulas by saying that the formulas and other things had been
inspired by Allah through dreams or etc. to certain Muslims who
were very close to Allah. Would this make it a part of Shariah?,
How can we know that they are being truthful?, Is this acceptable
in Islam?
A: Praise be to Allaah.
1. Allaah
described His awliyaa' (close friends) as having two
characteristics: Eemaan (faith) and Taqwa (piety, awareness of
Allaah). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"No doubt! Verily, the Awliyaa' of Allaah [i.e., those who believe
in the Oneness of Allaah and fear Allaah much and love Allaah
much], nor fear shall be upon them nor shall they grieve, - those
who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah) and used to fear Allaah
much" [Yoonus 10:62-63].
{أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاء اللّهِ
لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (62) الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ
وَكَانُواْ يَتَّقُونَ},
Transliteration: 'Alā 'Inna 'Awliyā'a Allāhi Lā
Khawfun `Alayhim Wa Lā Hum Yaĥzanūna, Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Wa Kānū
Yattaqūna
2. The true
awliyaa' of Allaah do not go against what the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) brought. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against innovated matters
in religion, because Allaah has perfected His religion and
completed His favour upon His slaves. Allaah says (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].
{الْيَوْمَ
أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي
وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلاَمَ دِيناً}, Transliteration: Al-Yawma Ya'isa Al-Ladhīna
Kafarū Min Dīnikum Falā Takhshawhum Wa Akhshawnī Al-Yawma 'Akmaltu
Lakum Dīnakum Wa 'Atmamtu `Alaykum Ni`matī Wa Rađītu Lakumu
Al-'Islāma Dīnāan
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: «Whoever innovates something in this matter
of ours [i.e., Islam] that is not a part of it, will have it
rejected».
3. Therefore
one can distinguish between the walee (close friend) of Allaah and
the walee of the Shaytaan, by looking at the person's character,
behaviour and religious commitment - does he pray regularly in
jamaa'ah in the mosque, for example? Does he avoid wrongfully
consuming people's property? Does he avoid going against Islam by
either adding or taking away anything? And so on…
4. It is not
permissible for a Muslim to innovate any dhikr to recite regularly
or to tell others to do so - such as awraad/wird, ma'thooraat or
du'aas. The adhkaar that were reported in the saheeh Sunnah are
sufficient for this, otherwise a person is an innovator or one who
calls others to bid'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: «Whoever innovates
something in this matter of ours [i.e., 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:
«Whoever does any action that is not
in accordance with this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) will have it
rejected».
Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said:
"This hadeeth represents one of the most important principles in
Islam. It is like a scale against which the external appearances of
deeds are measured, just as the hadeeth "Actions are but by
intention" is the scale against which the inner motivations of
actions are measured. Just as every deed which is not done for the
sake of Allaah will bring no reward for the one who does it, so
also every deed which is not in accordance with the way of Allaah
and His Messenger will be rejected and thrown back at the one who
does it. Anyone who innovates new things in the religion and does
things for which Allaah and His Messenger have not granted
permission, this is not a part of the religion at all." (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 it is one of the most concise and comprehensive sayings
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It
clearly states that innovations and newly invented matters will be
rejected. The second report adds another idea, which is that some
of those who follow the innovations of others may become stubborn
when they are presented with the evidence of the first report which
says, «Whoever innovates
something…» They may say, "I am not innovating anything".
But he may in this case be presented with the evidence of the
second report, which says, "Whoever does any action…" This clearly
shows that all innovated actions will be rejected, whether the one
who does them innovates them himself or is following someone else
who innovated it… This hadeeth is one that should be learned by
heart and used to denounce evil actions and be spread as evidence
so that all people may use it." (Sharh
Muslim, 12/16).
5. Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said:
"No doubt adhkaar and du'aa's are among the best forms of worship,
and worship is one of the matters in which there is no room for
personal opinions - we have to follow what the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) did and taught, not our own whims
and desires or innovations. The du'aa's and adhkaar of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are the best that
anyone could find. The one who follows this way will be safe and
sound, and the benefits and positive results that he will gain are
beyond description. Any other du'aa's and adhkaar may be haraam or
they may be makrooh; they may involve shirk even though most people
do not realize that - the details of this would take too long to
explain here.
No one has the right to teach the people any kinds of du'aa's or
adhkaar apart from those that are mentioned in the Sunnah, or to
make it a kind of regular worship which he expects the people to do
regularly as they do the five daily prayers - this is the
innovation in religion which Allaah does not allow… As for adopting
a wird or regularly reciting a dhikr that is not prescribed in
sharee'ah, this is one of the things that is not allowed. The
du'aa's and adhkaar prescribed by sharee'ah are the best that
anyone could ever hope to find, and no one ignores them in favour
of newly-invented, innovated adhkaar except one who is ignorant,
negligent or a wrongdoer." (Majmoo'
al-Fataawa, 22/510-511).
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih
Al-Munajjid
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