Following the Sunnah - Shaykh Abdul Hadi

Khutbah Opening

In the name of Allah, we praise Him, we ask His help and we ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whosoever He sends astray, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the One and Only. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

Amma ba'd: Indeed, the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. And the worst of matters are newly invented ones, and every newly invented matter is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

Islam: A Comprehensive and Complete Way of Life

Brothers and sisters, Islam is a comprehensive religion revealed and completed by Allah. Allah will not accept anything other than Islam. If any person wants to be successful here and in the Hereafter, he should follow Islam. This is the only religion which is comprehensive and guides us in every aspect of our life — in issues relating to aqeedah, ibadah, dealing with others (mu'amalat), and the etiquette of social life (akhlaqiyat).

As Allah says, this is the straight path. Every believer in each and every salat asks Allah to guide us to the straight path — O Allah, show us the straight path, the path which takes us to Jannah.

Allah sent many messengers, the final being Muhammad ﷺ, to guide mankind. He set up a marvelous example and a great model to be followed. As Allah says:

There is a great example, a model to be followed and an excellent pattern for everyone in the life of Rasulullah ﷺ. If I want to do anything — wudu, salat, saum — it should be according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. He completed his mission, and whatever was revealed upon him, he passed on to the Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them all.

For us, it is obligatory to follow him — regardless of the event, season, occasion, whether it is in Rajab or Sha'ban, wherever we are, in the masjid or the marketplace. We have to follow Rasulullah ﷺ without innovating anything. As Allah says in Surah An-Nur, verse 63:

So people should be careful. Be aware that if we oppose any ruling of Rasulullah ﷺ, fitnah will strike them, or a painful punishment. There is no option here. This is not our choice. We are followers. If something is difficult, we cannot simply try to escape from it. We have to follow Rasulullah ﷺ regardless of the situation, regardless of your personal preference — whether you like it or not, you have to follow Nabiyy al-Kareem ﷺ.

An Important Principle Regarding Ibadah and Daily Life

Here, I would like to point out one important principle. As the famous scholar Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: in issues relating to ibadah, everything is prohibited except whatever is confirmed from the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. But in our daily life, everything is permitted except that which has been prohibited or contradicts the Islamic Shari'ah.

This means we cannot do anything in ibadah without authentic proof. We have to be careful in this. But in our daily life, we can do as we wish as long as it does not contradict the Islamic Shari'ah. For example, the method of cooking, our food, our eating, our clothes — these depend on us. But in ibadah, we cannot do anything which is not from the Islamic Shari'ah. So before doing anything in worship, we have to make sure it is according to the Islamic Shari'ah.

The message is clear: innovation in deen and ibadah is prohibited, and this is unanimously agreed upon by all scholars. You can witness this yourself — go to any masjid, and the khateeb will remind us that every newly adopted thing is considered a bid'ah. In each and every masjid, in each and every khutbah of Jumu'ah, at least in theory, he reminds us — regardless of how much they fulfill this in their practical life.

The Religion Has Been Perfected

Perhaps the reason for this unanimous principle is what Allah says in Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 3:

"This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have appointed for you Islam as your religion." So there is no room for bid'ah and innovation in the deen. The Messenger ﷺ said:

"Whoever innovates anything in our matter (i.e., the religion) that is not from it, his practice will be rejected." This is a very authentic hadith and it is a fundamental principle of Islam. His practice will be rejected if it is not according to authentic proof.

The Prophet ﷺ strongly advised us to follow his Sunnah and the method of the Khulafa'. The companions, the Sahabah, used to consider this as a fundamental point of their aqeedah and practical life. Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4607; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2676 — graded Sahih)

Examples from the Sahabah: Guarding Against Innovation

For example, the famous companion Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, saw a person praying before Salat al-Eid. He objected and stopped him — although prayer itself is a rewardable thing. But Ali did not accept it. That person argued with him, saying: "Because of salat, shall I get any punishment?" So Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, replied: "Not because of the salat, but because your action is against the teaching of Rasulullah ﷺ, because there is no nafl before Salat al-Eid or after it, yet you are praying." See — even though that person was praying, Ali did not allow it and stopped him.

Another example from Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him — another great and well-known companion. The procedure according to the Islamic Shari'ah and Sunnah is that after sneezing, one says الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ (Alhamdulillah). But a certain person added extra words, saying الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ. Ibn Umar stopped him and said: "Do not add anything by yourself, because we have been taught by Nabi al-Kareem ﷺ to say only الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ." Although in its meaning he did not say anything wrong — because sending salat and salam upon the Prophet ﷺ is a good and rewardable practice — but this is not its appropriate place.

So with these two examples — Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, stopping the man who was praying before Salat al-Eid, and Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, stopping the person who was saying الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ rather than only الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ — what can we learn? In ibadah, even with good intention, we cannot do anything as we like. We cannot add or reduce anything in Islam by ourselves. We are followers. We are bound to follow Rasulullah ﷺ.

Common Innovations in Our Communities

But many brothers and sisters nowadays ask: "What is wrong with my practice? Why are you trying to stop me from this?" With these examples we can understand — what was wrong when Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, stopped that person from praying? And what was wrong when Abdullah ibn Umar, that great companion, stopped that person who added something beyond the Sunnah?

Unfortunately, many Muslim brothers and sisters have innovated many things by themselves without any evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. This happens on many occasions:

After the death of someone — many brothers will do many things which are not according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, like gathering and feeding all members of the family and friends on the 3rd day, the 10th day, the 40th day, and then annually. This is not the practice of Rasulullah ﷺ. It was not approved by the Sahabah. They did not do this.

Similarly, on happy occasions — for example, on the birth of a newborn baby — they miss the Sunnah of aqeeqah, which should be on the 7th day according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. Instead, they do many other things which are not from the Quran, Sunnah, or even from the lives of the Sahabah — because they do not care about the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Similarly, another problem occurs at wedding ceremonies, where many practices for both the groom and the bride are not from the Quran or Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ — rather, they are sometimes taken directly from non-Muslim culture. Many of our respected brothers and sisters are keen to follow these practices and happy to do so, perhaps not understanding the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ regarding the wedding ceremony.

Innovations Related to Specific Months

Similarly, according to particular days and months, there are also many bid'ah and innovations. If you take the Islamic calendar, in each and every month people have innovated many things. For example, in the previous month of Rajab, on the 27th of Rajab — the famous night of Laylat al-Mi'raj — people spend the whole night in special ibadah and the following day fasting. If you want to find out the authenticity of this practice, you will not find anything in any authentic hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ. The Sahabah did not do this.

Now, turning another page of the Islamic calendar — after Rajab comes this month, the month of Sha'ban. In this month, on the 15th of Sha'ban, there is another night — Laylat al-Bara'at. People spend the night doing many things. Some believe that on this night, the souls of deceased family members will come back to visit. Some even prepare special food for them. Obviously, there is no logic behind this — you are eating, your family members are eating, and you are saying you are waiting for the souls of those who passed away. This lacks logic, and there is no authentic hadith to support this type of practice.

Sha'ban: A Month of Preparation for Ramadan

So what are we supposed to do in this month of Sha'ban? We are very close to the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is like a season in many ways for getting extra reward, for making tawbah, and for gaining the pleasure of Allah. It is the month of the Quran — the last and final book of Allah, revealed in this month as a book of guidance for everyone. The Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ are our criteria — the standard by which we determine what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, we have to read the Quran al-Majid, understand it, and implement its teachings. And we have to start our preparation for Ramadan from now.

Every person has a concept of preparation according to their own field and situation in life. A student prepares before an exam. A businessman prepares before a trade. Even a farmer prepares before the harvest. They all prepare in their respective fields to achieve maximum benefit. So we, as believers, have to make our preparation to make Ramadan beneficial for us.

Ensuring Our Du'as Are Accepted: Halal Income

For example, to ensure our du'a is accepted — because we all make special du'a in the month of Ramadan — there is a fundamental condition for its acceptance: our sources of income. Whatever we are eating — is it from halal according to the Islamic Shari'ah? Because according to an authentic hadith, if our sources of income are not halal, our du'a will be rejected. As the Prophet ﷺ mentioned — a person who is surrounded by hardship and difficulties raises his hands saying, "O Allah, remove this problem from me," but his du'a will be rejected because of his unlawful earnings.

Unfortunately, in our situation, people in this month are careless. Most of us will not give priority to preparation. If we want to check our sources of income, we need some time. If we want to change our timetable, we need some time. We need to be ready for Ramadan — physically, spiritually, and mentally. This requires our planning from now.

The Sunnah of Fasting in Sha'ban

As Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

"I never saw the Prophet ﷺ fasting more in any month after Ramadan except in the month of Sha'ban." Rasulullah ﷺ used to fast abundantly in this month as a preparation for Ramadan.

We need to set up our timetable for the coming month. We need to spare more time for ibadah. We need some exercise from now — for dhikr, tilawah, extra nawafil, and the recitation of the Quran al-Majid. May Allah give us tawfiq and the ability to understand the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah and to follow the best.

Closing Advice

My brothers and sisters, we are in the month of Sha'ban, which is — according to the Sunnah — considered as a month of preparation for Ramadan. So let us put in extra effort for the coming month, better than what we have done last year, to make our Ramadan better than the previous one. And so that our du'a may be accepted by Allah, we need to purify our sources of income. Let us check our financial sources and correct any errors. Let us make extra effort to devote ourselves from now to the remembrance of Allah. Let us start praying nawafil voluntarily in preparation for the following month. Let us focus on the Quran — to recite it, to understand its teachings, and to practice according to those teachings — so as to gain maximum benefit in the month to come.

Let us spend this month as people who understand the value of this precious time. May Allah give us tawfiq to understand the importance of the month of Ramadan, and give us courage and health to spend it according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah, peace be upon him.