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| What is Innovation and Who is an Innovator? |
On the
authority of the mother of the faithful, Aisha (may God be pleased with her),
who said: The Messenger of God (God’s peace and blessings be upon him) said,
“He who innovates something in this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) that is not of
it will have it rejected (by God)” (Bukhari and Muslim). In another version in
Muslim, it reads: “He who does an act which we have not commanded, will have it
rejected (by God).”
What is innovation?
Combining the two narrations
There are
two chains of narration that are written in Imam Nawawi’s 40 hadith collection.
The first is found in Bukhari, and the second in Muslim. The first is where we gain
an understanding of innovation that is typically misconstrued today. An
understanding that says any action that is innovative is to be rejected by God.
In the second narration found only in Imam Muslim’s compilation, we find the
term ‘amilah which lends the meaning of doing. In this second narration, there
is no mention of the term innovation.
In the
case of these two narrations, the understanding that is procured is more
general than at first glance. Regardless of whether one is the innovator
themselves or one who followed the action that was innovated, the action will
be rejected.
This
general understanding is what has been disseminated amongst the masses and is
generally agreed upon by Islamic scholars.
However, the question remains. How do we
understand these two narrations in light of actions that have arisen throughout
our communities? It is the job of scholars of hadith (who by default should
have a robust knowledge of the Arabic language) that when presented with multiple
narrations use these various narrations to clarify the greater meaning for the
masses and also to denote when the sanctity of God’s laws has been infringed
upon. It is a travesty when those with very little or poor proficiency in the
science of hadith, dismal understanding of the nuances of the Arabic language,
and those who have not attained prowess in extrapolating Islamic legal
injunctions, take it upon themselves to illuminate for others what they
themselves are still blind to. One of the most dangerous mistakes one can do
is to deduce an Islamic judgment based on their understanding, and then place
this ruling in a situation where it does not belong. This is the case with a
large segment of Muslims who comfortably lambast their fellow Muslims with the
title of innovator without first investigating with soundness the sciences of
hadith, language, and fiqh which are all paramount for one to make such a
statement and claim.
What comes next is where much of the
obstacle begins in regard to those who wear the garbs of scholarship without
the knowledge and erudition.
What does Islamic scholarship establish as an innovation?
An innovation as understood by scholars of
fiqh is any action that is contrary to the Divine Law. While innovation in
vehicles, technology, and other additions to our modern world has come, these
are only innovations in the linguistic sense. Islamic Law is not derived from a
word’s linguistic meaning, but rather scholars peruse scriptural evidence to
come to the words meaning according to the Divine Law.
Imam Shafiee (May God have mercy on him)
explains that the meaning of innovation according to Islamic law is, “that
which contradicts the book of God and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (God’s
peace and blessings be upon him), the actions of the companions and those who
came after them, or what has been established by general agreement of the
scholars. This is what is to be known as an innovation that is falsehood. As to
the second meaning of innovation, then [if this form of innovation is] good and
does not contradict any of the above mentioned, then this is not an innovation
that is blameworthy. It was said by Umar ibn Al-Khattab after he established
the Taraweeh as a communal affair that ‘the best of innovations is this,’
meaning that this innovation was not found prior to him, and if it had been
found earlier then there would be nothing in it to be rejected” (Manaqib
Al-Shafiee 1/469). Note that this is a definition agreed upon by the likes of
Imam Al-Bayhaqi, and Shaykh Al-Islam ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani.
This seeking of knowledge that is
obligatory on a person should be the benchmark, and when one does a level of
ignorance that plagues the greater Muslim community will be lifted and the
ascent to heights of brilliance and greater aptitude will begin.
The sacred scripture of God is clear and that which is not understood by the masses is for those of knowledge to assess and disseminate. Innovation (that contradicts the religion) is a sin that holds with it a great punishment, but to lay a claim upon a person who utilizes wooden beads in an effort to praise their Lord or those who may supplicate upon the completion of an obligatory prayer or other modern contentious subjects, these are not to be understood as contradictory to the faith and as such should not be connected with egregious actions that undoubtedly oppose the sacred law of God. Our duty is to learn and to inculcate knowledge until it manifests upon our limbs (i.e. through our actions). We should continually seek to ensure that the knowledge we propagate is legitimate and aligned with our faith in the Divine, just as He tells us, “And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not exchange My signs for a small price, and fear [only] Me” (Quran 2:41).
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