3 Fiqh Rules Derived from the Hadith on Rejecting Innovation

He (RH) said:

The fifth hadith: On the authority of the Mother of the Believers,

Umm 'Abdullah, 'A'ishah (RA), who said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

"Whoever innovates in this matter of ours what is not of it, it is rejected."

[Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.]

And in a narration by Muslim:

"Whoever does an act not in accordance with our matter, it is rejected."

Al-Bukhari recorded it as a mu'allaq narration.

This hadith is one of the foundations of religion,

as Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud (RA) said, and upon it the religion revolves.

And this Hadith entails a number of universal rules in Sharia.

Among the first of these rules is the prohibition of bid'ah,

for everything by which a servant worships his Lord, Jalla wa 'Ala,

without what Allah 'Azza wa Jall has legislated, is prohibited,

We do not worship Allah ﷻ except with what He has legislated.

The rule among scholars is that the default in acts of worship is prohibition,

unless a Sharia evidence indicates its permissibility.

This is the first rule. The second rule is that

this hadith indicates a universal rule in the branches of fiqh,

which is the rule that prohibition implies invalidity.

This rule is one of the most contested among scholars,

and two opinions concern us in this dispute.

The first opinion — the relied-upon position of our jurists — is that

every prohibition by the Prophet ﷺ implies the invalidity of the prohibited act,

whether it was an act of worship or a contract, such as marriage, sale, or otherwise,

unless an evidence indicates its validity, such as establishing the option (khiyar),

for establishing the option proves validity.

and the like in some transactions.

This is the first opinion, the relied-upon view of our jurists.

Sheikh Taqi al-Din, Ibn Rajab, and other scholars chose the view that rights are of two types:

If the prohibition is regarding the right of Allah ﷻ,

then the prohibition absolutely implies invalidity, unless evidence indicates its validity.

And if the prohibition concerns the right of a human,

then it is contingent upon their permission.

If they consent, it is valid; if not, it is invalid.

Their consent is not valid except after having knowledge of it.

This includes the sale of a fuduli and gharar in contracts and other matters.

The third rule derived from this hadith

is that the scholars (RH) established a universal rule,

which is that acts of nearness to Allah and concessions

cannot be attained through, nor do they apply to, what is forbidden.

Thus, a concession cannot be sought through a forbidden means.

So, whoever travels for a sinful purpose

cannot avail of the concession of shortening or combining prayers, nor

exceeding the wiping duration over leather socks beyond a day and night.

And whoever earns unlawful wealth, it will not be accepted from him as charity;

rather, it is only a way of disposing of it if its rightful owner is unknown.

This is a universal rule, and its applications span hundreds of issues. Yes.

Blessings be upon you.