Hadith 5 & 6 — Innovation and the Doubtful: Protecting Faith's Purity

[Arabic,إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ، نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ. ]

Indeed, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the consequences of our wrong actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide; whomsoever He leaves astray, none can guide. I bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone without partner, and Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger.

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Part One:

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[Quran,5:3,"Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion."]

The religion is perfect. And anything added to perfection only makes it worse, not better.

[Quote,Imam Malik,,"Whoever introduces an innovation into Islam and considers it good has claimed that Muhammad ﷺ betrayed the message."]

Because if something was truly good in the religion, the Prophet ﷺ would have taught it. And if he didn't—then it is not part of Islam, no matter how "good" it may seem.

This is the main reason why the Prophet ﷺ said:

[Hadith,Tirmidhi,"The Jews split into 71 sects, the Christians into 72, and my Ummah will split into 73. All of them are in the Fire except one. They asked, 'Who is that one, O Messenger of Allah?' He replied, 'That which I and my companions are upon.'"]

He didn't say \"whoever means well\" or \"whoever is sincere.\" He said: \"what I and my companions are upon.\"

[Hadith,Bukhari & Muslim,"You will surely follow the ways of those before you, handspan by handspan, cubit by cubit—until if they entered a lizard's hole, you would follow them. They asked, 'Do you mean the Jews and Christians?' He replied, 'Who else?'"]

This means if we're not careful, we too will follow the path of bid'ah—step by step—until we destroy our religion from within, just like they did.

[Quote,Imam al-Shatibi,,"Every deviation that afflicted the previous nations stemmed from bid'ah."]

Imam al-Shāṭibī wrote over 1000 pages in Kitāb al-I'tiṣām to explain and warn against this. He said the Jews corrupted their law by looking for loopholes. The Christians corrupted their religion by adding holidays, beliefs, and rituals until they no longer knew what 'Isa (Jesus) was sent with.

The only reason Islam was preserved is because the 'ulamā'—the scholars—stood guard.

[Quote,Ibn Taymiyyah,"Whoever wants to see the result of unchecked innovation, let him look at the Christians—their entire religion became opinion and invention."]

And this all ties to intention. Many people commit bid'ah thinking they are doing good—but good intention does not turn falsehood into truth.

We must always return to the original sources: Qur'an, Sunnah, and the understanding of the Salaf.

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Part Two: The Clear, the Doubtful, and the Heart

Brothers,

Now we come to Hadith 6, which connects to this deeply:

[Hadith,Bukhari & Muslim,"That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between them are doubtful matters, which many people do not know. So whoever avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor. But whoever falls into doubtful matters will fall into the unlawful—like a shepherd who grazes around a sanctuary, nearly grazing within. Indeed, every king has a sanctuary, and Allah's sanctuary is what He has forbidden. Indeed, in the body there is a piece of flesh—if it is sound, the whole body is sound. And if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart."]

This is a foundation for taqwā and sincerity.

The connection between these two hadiths is clear:

• Bid'ah is always based on doubtful matters—things the scholars do not unanimously agree upon
• A sound heart avoids the doubtful, fears falling into haram, and remains attached to the Sunnah

As the Prophet ﷺ said:

[Hadith,Bukhari & Muslim,"What destroyed those before you was their excessive questioning and their differing with their prophets."]

This is exactly what led past nations astray: turning religion into debate, personal opinion, and innovation.

[Hadith,Bukhari,"Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians exaggerated in praising 'Isa ibn Maryam. I am only the slave of Allah, so say: the slave of Allah and His Messenger."]

Even the status of the Prophet ﷺ must be understood within the framework of revelation.

My brothers—the heart is the command center of the body. If we preserve our hearts, we preserve our religion.

• A sound heart loves the Sunnah
• A sound heart fears innovation
• A sound heart is not interested in doubtful acts or new inventions

Because it knows: every innovation leads away from unity and towards division. It leads from guidance to misguidance. From light into darkness.

Our job is not just to protect ourselves—but to call others to the truth.

And the best tool for da'wah is the truth itself—pure, preserved, clear, and powerful.

But in order to call to the truth, you must first know the falsehood.

[Quote,Ibn Taymiyyah,"Truth cannot be known unless falsehood is also known. Whoever does not distinguish between the two will not be able to call others."]

So we must know:

• What the Prophet ﷺ and his companions were upon
• What innovations exist today—and how they crept in
• That good intention is not enough—only proof matters

Let us be a people of the Book of Allah, and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ, and the way of the earliest, best generations—without additions or deletions.

Let our hearts be pure, and our deeds be sound.

O Allah, purify our hearts from shirk, innovation, and misguidance.

O Allah, make us among those who hear the truth and follow it.

O Allah, keep us firm upon the Sunnah and among the saved group.

O Allah, guide us to what You love and are pleased with, and protect us from all forms of bid'ah and deviation.

O Allah, make us defenders of Your religion, callers to the truth with wisdom and good preaching.

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We ask Allah to make us firm upon His straight path, to guide us and not let us go astray, to have mercy on us and forgive us.

Whatever good was said in this khutbah is from Allah alone, and whatever mistakes or errors are from myself and from Shaytan. I ask Allah to forgive me and you for any shortcomings.

I say these words of mine, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and you all. Seek His forgiveness—indeed, He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

[Arabic,أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا، وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ. ]