Follow the Narrations of the Salaf
Innovating: to bring about, and to start, or to invent something; in the religion it means inventing something new in the religion, after it has been completed.
Allah, `Azza wa Jall, said,
﴿ وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا ﴾ [النساء: 115].
“And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers' way. We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination. (Surat an-Nisa’, Ayah 115)
From Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, ‘Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ، وَخَيْرُ الْهُدَى هُدَى مُحَمَّدٍ، وَشَرُّ الأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلاَلَةٌ
"
“As to what follows, truly, the best speech is the Book of Allah, the best of guidance is the Guidance of Muhammad, the worst of matters are those newly invented into the religion, and ever innovation is misguidance.” (Collected by Muslim)
Ibn Mas`ud said, “Follow, and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed.” (Sharh as-Sunnah of al-Barbahari, 1)
From al-`Irbadh bin Sariyah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, gave us advice from which the hearts trembled, and the eyes shed tears, so we said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger, it is as if this is the advice of someone who is parting, so give us counsels.’ He said, ‘I advise you with the fear and obedience of Allah, and hearing and obeying, even if an Ethiopian slave was put in charge of you; those who will live after me shall see much differing, so upon you is my Sunnah, and the Sunnah of the Righteous Caliphs after me-- bite onto it with the molar teeth; beware of newly invented matters in the religion, for indeed every innovation is misguidance.” (Collected by Abu Dawud, 4607, Ibn Majah, 43, and at-Tirmithi, 2676, who said, “This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.”)
From Abu Qilabah, who related that Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Seek knowledge before it is taken away, and the way it is taken away is by the death of its people, seek knowledge, because not one of you knows when he will be taken from this life or when he will be in need; and you will find some people alleging that they are calling you to Allah’s Book, however they have put it behind their backs. So seek knowledge, beware of innovation, beware of being overly strict, and overly investigating into issues, but rather be upon what is old (meaning what those of old (predecessors) were upon).” (Collected by ad-Darimi, 144, al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha by Ibn Wadhdhah 163, and as-Sunnah by Muhammad bin Nasr al-Mawrazi, 80.)
He, may Allah have mercy upon him, also said, “You have been brought up on the pure nature, but you will innovate, and things will become new to you, so if you see something new then remain upon the guidance of first.” (Collected by ad-Darimi, 169, and as-Sunnah of al-Mawrazi, 80)
Huthaifa used to enter the Masjid and go to the place where people were sitting, and say, “O reciters of the Qur’an, take the correct path, because if you do, then you will be ahead greatly, but if you take the paths to the left and right, then you have deviated in a great way.” (Collected by al-Bukhari, 7282, al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha by Ibn Wadhdhah, 12, as-Sunnah of Abdullah bin Ahmad, 106, as-Sunnah of al-Marwazi, 86)
Ibn Mas`ud al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, when to Huthaifa and said, “Make a promise to me.” Huthaifa replied, “Has not certainty in the religion come to you?” Al-Ansari said, “Nay but it has, by the Glory of my Lord.” He responded, “Then know that deviation truly is to acknowledge what you used to reject and to reject what you used to acknowledge, and beware of being unstable in Allah’s Religion because Allah’s Religion is one.” (I`tiqaad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Laalikaa’i, 120, al-Hujjah fi Bayaan al-Mahajjah of al-Asbahaani, 168)
Huthaifa bin al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, also said, “Any kind of worship that the companions of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, did not worship Allah with, then do not worship Allah with it, because those who were first did not leave any choice to those who were afterwards, so fear Allah O reciters of the Qur’an, and take the path of those who were before you.” (Al-Ibanah by Ibn Battah)
From Abdullah bin Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, “Whoever is taking up a Sunnah, then let it be the Sunnah of the Companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. They were the best of this Nation, had the most pious hearts, the deepest knowledge, and are the least who will be accounted for; they are a people who Allah chose for the companionship of His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and Allah chose them to relay to us this religion, so imitate their manners and their ways, because they were on the straight guidance.” (Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm wa Fadhluh of Ibn Abd al-Barr, 2/97, al-Hujjah fi Bayaan al-Mahajjah of al-Asbahaani, 498, and ash-Shari`ah of al-Ajurri, 1143)
From `Uthman bin Hadhir who said, “I said to Ibn `Abbas, ‘Give me advice.’ He said, ‘Be steadfast upon the religion, upon following the narrations, and beware of innovating.’” (Sunan ad-Daarimi, 141, al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah 164)
Az-Zuhri said, “Those who have died, from among our scholars, said, ‘Holding fast to the Sunnah is safety and salvation; knowledge is taken away quickly. The life of knowledge is the establishment of the Religion and livelihood, and the loss of scholars is the loss of all of that.” (Sunan ad-Daarimi, 96, I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Laalikaa’i, 136, and al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 166)
Muhammad bin Sireen said, “They used to view one who is on the correct path as one who follows the narrations.” (Sunan ad-Daarimi, 140, I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Laalikaa’i, 109, al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 250, and ash-Shari`ah of al-Ajurri, 30)
Mu`ath bin Jabal never used to sit in a group, except that he would say when he sat, “Allah rules with justice, those who are doubtful will perish.” One day he said, “After you will come trials wherein money is abundant, the Qur’an will be opened so that the believer and hypocrite will take from it, the man and woman, the slave and free, the small and big. Soon, a person will say, ‘Why do not the people follow me, I have read the Qur’an? They will not follow me unless I invent something other than it.’ So beware from whoever innovated because he has innovated a misguidance, and I warn you from the deviation of the perceived wise man, because Shaitan could say a deviant statement on the tongue of a wise man, and a hypocrite may say a correct statement.” So I said to Mu`ath, “How would we know, may Allah have mercy upon you, that the wise man is saying something deviant, and that the hypocrite is saying something true?” He responded, “Avoid everything unclear or ambiguous from the statements of the wise person, that if you heard it you would say, ‘What is this?’ but do not let that remove yourself from him, because he may retract, and follow the truth if he hears it, because whoever is upon the truth has a light.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, 4611, I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 116, al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 149, and ash-Shari`ah of al-Ajurri, 88)
`Umar bin al-Khattab said, “I fear not for this Ummah from a believer who hides his faith or from a sinner who makes his sin known; however I fear a person who reads the Qur’an until it is very near to his tongue, then interprets it in a false manner.” (Jami` Bayan al-Ilm wa Fadhluh of Ibn `Abd al-Barr, 1242, and Sifat al-Munaafiq, of al-Firyabi, 26)
From Ubaiy bin Ka`b, may Allah be pleased with him who said, “Obligatory for you is the path and the Sunnah because the fire will not touch a single slave who mentions Allah until his eyes tear from the fear of Allah. Likewise there is not a slave who is on the path and Sunnah who mentions Allah until his skin trembles from fear of Allah, except that his likeness is the likeness of a tree when all of the tree’s leaves dried up; it remains like that until a strong wind makes its leaves fall off, so just as these leaves fall off and are removed, the likeness will be that such a person’s sins will fall off and be removed. Know that following a Sunnah and the path is better than making Ijtihad only to end up in other than a Sunnah and the path. So look to your actions, if they are following, make sure they are following the Sunnah and the path, if they are making Ijtihaad make sure it is upon the methodology of the Prophets, and their Sunnah.” (Musannaf Ibn Abu Shaibah, 36675, I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 10, and al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 259)
Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, “There will be shortcomings and matters which will be unclear, so you must take things slowly, so that you will be a follower in good, which is better than being a leader in evil.” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaibah, 38343, and al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 184)
He, may Allah be pleased with him, also said, “A people will come who will abandon things from the Sunnah as much as this – meaning as much as a fingertip – and if you abandon them they will bring about a big calamity. The first thing people of the book abandoned was the Sunnah and the last thing was the Salah. Had it not been for the fact that they were people of the book, they would have completely stopped making prayer.” (Mustadrak of al-Hakim, 8584, I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 122, and al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 194)
He also said, “How will you be if the Fitnah takes you over, when there will be an increase in the number of youth and a decrease in the number of elderly and people take it as a Sunnah, so that if any of it is changed, they say, ‘The Sunnah has been changed.” They said, “When will that be O Abu `Abd ar-Rahman?” He responded, “When your reciters of the Qur’an become many, when those who are trustworthy among you decrease in number, when your leaders and rulers become many, when the number of scholars decreases in number, and when the Dunya is filled with actions of the hereafter.” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaibah, 38311, Sunan ad-Darimi, 185, I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 123, al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 764, and al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha of Ibn Wadhdhah, 261.
He, may Allah be pleased with him also said, “For every innovation that is brought up as a plot against Islam, Allah has one of his friends who defends the religion, and speaks about the true religions attributes, so seize the opportunity to be in such areas, and put your trust in Allah.” Ibn al-Mubarak said, “Allah is enough to put your trust in Him.” (al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha of Ibn Wadhdhah, 4)
Ibn `Abbas said, “By Allah, I do not see anyone that Shaitan would love to die as much as he would love for me to die.” It was said, “Why is that?” he said, “By Allah, an innovation is started in the East or West, then a person will bring it to me and by the time he finishes speaking, I reject it using the Sunnah, so it is rejected on him.” (I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 12)
From Abu Idrees al-Khawlani who said, “If I see a fire raging in the Masjid, it is more beloved to me than seeing an innovation in it, which is not changed.” (al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 601, al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha of Ibn Wadhdhah, 86, as-Sunnah of Abdullah bin Ahmad, 715, and as-Sunnah of al-Marwazi, 81)
From Ibn `Abbas who said, “There will not be a time when people do not innovate during it and kill a Sunnah, so that the bid’ah comes alive. This way, all of the Sunnah is killed.” (I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 125, al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 11, al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha of Ibn Wadhdhah, 93, and as-Sunnah of al-Marwazi, 98)
From Abdullah ad-Dailami who said, “The first thing to be abandoned in the religion is the Sunnah, then the religion will be lost, one Sunnah at a time, just as the rope is broken one string at a time.” (Sunan ad-Darimi, 97, I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 127, al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 234, and al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha, of Ibn Wadhdhah, 173)
From Salaam bin Miskeen who said, “Qatadah used to, when he recited the verse,
{ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا }
“Indeed those who said, ‘Allah is our Lord’, and then stood firm”
He used to say, “You people have said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’, so stand firm on Allah’s Orders and obey Him and follow the Sunnah of your Prophet, and remain back whenever you are ordered. Steadfastness is to remain on Islam and on the correct path, then do not go outside its boundary, or contradict that. Do not take an opinion that is contrary to the Sunnah and do not leave the opinion because those who leave the religion will have their actions will be cut off on the Day of Judgment. Furthermore, beware of bad manners, make your face one (meaning do not be two faced) and your Da`wah one, because we have been informed that whoever has two faces and two tongues, will have two tongues of fire on the Day of Judgment.” (al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 163)
From `Aasim who said, “Abu al-`Aaliyah said, ‘Learn Islam, then if you learn it, then do not stray from it. Follow the correct path, because it is al-Islam; do not change the religion neither to the right nor the left; upon you is the Sunnah of your Prophet that his companions were upon, and beware of desires that cause enmity and dissent among people, reject them and pass by them cautiously.’”
I told al-Hasan about this, he responded back, “He has told the truth and given good advice.”
`Aasim said, “So I told Hafsah bint Sireen, she said, ‘O Bahili, did you tell Muhammad about this (meaning Muhammad bin Sireen the great Imam)?’ I said, ‘No’, she said, ‘Then go and tell him.’” (Musannaf Abd ar-Razzaq, 20758, I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 17, al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 142, al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha of Ibn Wadhdhah, 75, as-Sunnah of al-Marwazi, 26, and ash-Shari`ah of al-Ajurri, 19)
Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab said, “Ponder upon what Abu al-`Aaliyah said here, and how great is what he said! He knew about his time and warned of the desires during that time, because whoever followed them would have strayed from Islam. Look at his explaining Islam by the Sunnah and his fear for those who would come after him, of their straying from the Sunnah and the Qur’an … as for the person who reads this, and thinks to himself that he is safe, and is certain about that, and thinks that it is regarding a people who thought they were safe in the plan of Allah, only those who are losers do that.”
From al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy upon him, who said, “If a man who lived in the time of the Salaf was resurrected in our times, he would not know anything about Islam.” Then he placed his hand on his thigh and continued, “Except this Salat.” He then said, “This is regarding a person who lives in this havoc, that the Salaf did not encounter, he would see an innovator calling to his innovation, he would see a person of Dunya calling to the Dunya, but Allah protected him from that, and made his heart go out to that Salaf as-Salih. He would ask him (the Salaf) about his path and would follow their ways, to attain a great reward, and that is how they were, inshaAllah.” (Al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha of Ibn Wadhdhah 176)
From the Commander of the Believers, `Umar bin `Abd al-`Azeez, rahimahullaah, who said, “Allah’s Messenger, salla-llaahu `alaihi wa sallam, gave us Sunnah and so did his commanders. To take these Sunnah means that one is affirming the Book of Allah and that he is following Allah’s Commands, and that he is strong upon Allah’s Religion, would not change it, distort it, nor look into anything contradictory to it. Whoever acts upon it is rightly guided, and whoever gives aid to it will be given aid, and whoever contradicts it and follows other than the path of the believer, Allah will turn him to where he chose to turn, and will give him the torment of the fire, and what an evil abode.” (I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 134, al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 239, and ash-Shari`ah of al-Ajurri, 90)
Imam al-Barbahari said in Sharh as-Sunnah, “Know that Islam is the Sunnah, and that the Sunnah is Islam, one cannot be established without the other, from the Sunnah is to remain in the Jama`ah, and whoever leaves the Jama`ah, has taken the rope of Islam off of himself, therefore being misguided, misguiding others.”
He also said, “Likewise know, may Allah have mercy upon you, that the Islam of a slave of Allah is not complete until he is a follower, a believer, and one who submits to Allah. Whoever alleges that there is some part of Islam that the companions of Allah’s Messenger did not know of has belied them, and this is enough of a disparagement of them.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taimiyyah said when explaining the obligation of following the way of the Salaf, “How great is what has come from `Abd al-`Azeez bin `Abdullah bin Abi Salamah, he said, ‘You must follow the Sunnah, because in it, by Allah’s Will, is your safety, because the Sunnah was made so that it is followed, and that it is restricted. The one who has made it as such is He who knows the mistakes, errors, and idiocy in other than it, so make yourself happy with what they have made themselves happy with, because they stopped based upon knowledge, and with valid insight, they halted from certain actions, and they knew it (the Sunnah) the best. Regarding the specifics, they were most proficient, for they are those who have preceded us in good, and their Prophet has told them about the trials which will befall [the Ummah] after the dawn of the three great generations. So if the true guidance is what you are upon, then you have preceded them in it, and if you say any type of innovation has come after them, because only those who have not chosen their path would innovate. Whoever sees himself self-sufficient from them, and has chosen what his mind has invented over what they reported from their Prophet [has deviated], since those who followed them in goodness have narrated from them, and they have explained it enough, and they have spoken with it as a cure. Therefore, whoever does not do like them is deficient, and whoever does more than what they did is extreme. Some people have not imitated them so because of that they became restless, and all the others, became extreme; however they (the Salaf) are upon a path in between those two, a straight path.” (al-Fatawa, 4/7)
Imam Malik said, “The Sunnah is like the Ark of Nooh, whoever rides it is saved, and whoever turns away from it will drown.” (Tareekh Baghdad, 3850)
From Abdullah bin al-Mubarak who said, “Know, O my brother, that death today is a pleasure for every Muslim who meets Allah upon the Sunnah, because indeed to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. To Allah we complain about our loneliness and the departure of our brothers, and the lack of help [in defending the Sunnah], and the appearance of innovation, and to Allah we complain about the great calamity that is the departure of the scholars, Ahl as-Sunnah, and the appearance of innovation.” (al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha of Ibn Wadhdhah, 95)
Imam al-Awzaa`i said, “You must follow narrations of the Salaf, even if the people reject you, and beware of the opinions of men, even if they adorn it for you with their speech, because this matter will become clear when it becomes clear, you are on the straight path.” (Sharaf As-hab al-Hadith, 6, ash-Shari`ah of al-Ajurri, 124, Siyaru A`lam an-Nubalaa’, 7/120, and Tabaqat al-Hanabilah, 1/236)
From Sa`eed bin Jubair who said, “No statement is accepted without an action, and no action is accepted except with a statement, and no statement and action is accepted except with intention, and no statement, action, or intention is accepted unless it complies with the Sunnah.” (I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah of al-Lalika’i, 18)
Ibn `Awn used to say, “May Allah have mercy upon a man who used to follow these narrations, and sufficed himself with them, even if things became difficult and slow (in gaining his sustenance and livelihood) for him.” (Al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 270)
From Wahb bin Munabbih who said, “The jurist, the chaste, the ascetic who follows the Sunnah: they are the followers of the Prophets in all times.” Muhammad bin al-Husain said, “May Allah make us and you from those who, because of which the Sunnah is brought to life, innovation is brought to death, the hearts of the people of the truth are strengthened, and the souls of the people of desires are crushed, by His bestowment and His generosity.” (Al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah, 39, and ash-Shari`ah of al-Ajurri, 3)
Sahl bin Abdullah at-Tustari said, “You must follow the narrations and the Sunnah, because I fear that in the near future, if someone mentions the Prophet, peace be upon him, and talks about following him, he will be censured, boycotted, the people will distance themselves from him, they will look down upon him, and they will insult them.”
From Saleem bin al-Akhdhar who said, ‘I heard Ibn `Awn say more than once, ‘Three things which I enjoy for myself and my brothers is that a Muslim will study the Qur’an, learns it, reads it, understands it, and looks through it. Secondly, that, a person studies the narrations and Sunnah, then asks about it, and exerts effort into following it, and thirdly, that they refrain from everything, except that which is good.’” (as-Sunnah of al-Marwazi, 106)
From Ibn al-Majishun who said, “I heard Malik say, ‘Whoever invents something in Islam and sees it as something good, has alleged that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has betrayed the message, because Allah says,
{ الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ }
‘I have completed your religion for you.’ So whatever is not religion on that day, is not religion today.’” (al-I`tisam of ash-Shatibi, 1/62)
Imam Ibn Battah al-`Akbari said, “I have mentioned in this chapter, what the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, and ordered his companions to do, as well as those who follow them in goodness, that is to follow the Sunnah, and to follow the narrations which talk about the Sunnah; this should be enough for he who Allah has made his heart able to understand and made his heart open to accepting it, because Allah, `azza wa jall, promised the good of this world and the next for whoever follows Allah and His Messenger, saying,
{ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاء وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ رَفِيقًا }
‘Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, then such are with those who Allah has bestowed His bounty upon: the Prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs, and the pious, and what a good company that is.’
He also promised whoever contradicts that, that which we ask Allah to save us from, and we seek refuge from it, and whoever is described with it, He said,
{ وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا }
‘And whoever disobeys the Messenger after the guidance has been made clear to him and follows other than the path of the believers, then we will direct him to where he chose to go, and will give him hellfire; and what a bad abode!’
So may Allah have mercy upon a slave who obeys this warning, and follows the narrations, and followed the clear truth, and stayed away from the destructive innovations.”
Taken from the books:
• Al-Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaibah, D. 235
• Al-Bida` wa an-Nahi `Anha of Ibn Wadhdhah al-Qurtubi, D. 287
• As-Sunnah of Ibn Abi `Aasim, D. 287
• As-Sunan of `Uthman bin Sa`eed ad-Darimi as-Sijistani, D. 280
• As-Sunnah of Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Hanbal, D. 290
• As-Sunnah of Muhammad bin Nasr al-Marwazi, D. 202
• Sifat al-Munafiq of al-Firyabi, D. 301
• Sharh as-Sunnah of al-Barbahari, D. 329
• Ash-Shari`ah of al-Ajurri, D. 360
• Al-Ibanah `An Shari`ah al-Firqah an-Najiyah of Ibn Battah al-Akbari, D. 387
• Sharh I`tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama`ah of Hibbatullah bin al-Hasan at-Tabari al-Lalika’i, D. 418
• Al-Hujjah fi Bayan al-Mahajjah wa Sharh `Aqeedat Ahl as-Sunnah of Abu al-Qasim al-Asbahani
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