On the authority of the Mother of the Faithful, Umm Abdullaah, `Aaishah , who said that the Messenger of Allaah , said, what translated means, "Whoever introduces to our matter (religion) that which is not a part of it, will have it (his innovation) rejected." [al-bukhari & Muslim]

In another narration for this Hadeeth, the Messenger said,

"Whoever commits an act which is not a part of our matter (religion), will have it (his act) rejected." [Muslim]

The status of this hadeeth

Ibn Hajar said, "This Hadeeth is considered one of the basis of Islaam and pillar of the religion." An-Nawawi said, "This Hadeeth deserves to be preserved, publicly announced and implemented to reject the impermissible." At-Turaqi said, "This is a Hadeeth that deserves to be called 'one half of the proofs of the religion.' This is because the proof is used to confirm or reject a rule, and this Hadeeth is a tremendous tool to confirm or reject all religious rulings." In addition, ibn Rajab said, "This Hadeeth is one of the major basis of Islaam, just like the Hadeeth, "Actions are considered according to the intentions." which is the scale with which the actions, in both their hidden and apparent aspects, are weighed."

Warning against Innovation in the Religion

The Prophet said , "Whoever introduces to our matter that is not a part of it, will have it rejected." This means that whoever follows his desire and "invents" or "adds" to the religion of Allaah that which is in opposition to the religion or that which is not in conformity with the general rules and basis of the religion, then this innovation is rejected and will not benefit its originator in his religion or life. This is a Hadeeth that lays down the firm foundation for this great rule of our religion and is supported by many texts of the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, that which will take considerable space and time if we attempt to list them all.

Innovation in Acts of Worship

Acts of worship are all prohibited except those which Allaah or His Messenger legislated. Therefore, the Muslim is obliged to avoid all acts of worship which Allaah or His Messenger did not legislate. In the light of this rule that the scholars agreed with, whoever performs an act of worship must produce the evidence to its validity, from the Qur'aan and Sunnah, when required by others. The following points must be noted here:

An act that is accepted as a part of an act of worship may not be accepted outside of that act of worship. Examples to this are uncovering the head during I'hram, during Hajj, or standing up for prayer or to perform Athan (the call to prayer) (these are accepted parts of prescribed acts of worship: Hajj and prayer). If one vows to keep standing or to uncover his head in other than the cases when these acts are sanctioned by the religion, then he will have fallen into Bid'ah (innovation in the religion) which is prohibited. Therefore, this act will be rejected of him.

The Prophet saw a man standing in the sun and asked about the reason behind his action. He was told, "He vowed to stand and avoid sitting, to avoid the shade and to fast." The Prophet ordered that man to sit down, seek the shade and to continue to his fast. Therefore, the Prophet did not accept this man's vow to stand and avoid the shade as an act of worship, but he ordered him to continue his fast, because fasting was the only part of his vow that is legislated.

All acts of worship that are prohibited in the religion are rejected. This includes using as a means of approach to Allaah, listening to music, dancing, or other acts of deviation and innovation, which Allaah did not authorize or legislate and which are popular in the Muslim world today. These acts have even become part of the religion to some people and they grow and become old while nursing these acts and habits. All these acts are firmly rejected and Allaah will never accept them. Furthermore, Allaah will not guide one to repent unless he abandons the Bid'ah he innovated. The Prophet said, what translated means, "Allaah has withheld repentance from every person who commits a Bid'ah until he abandons his Bid'ah." [Sahih At-Targhib]. Also, those who innovate are included in the Ayah, {Or have they partners with Allaah (false gods), who have instituted for them a religion which Allaah has not allowed. } [Surah Ash-Shura Verse 21].

Adding to an authorized act of worship is firmly rejected. As for the acceptance of the original deed, (and not the addition, which is always rejected), it depends on the type of action. Sometimes, the entire act of worship will be rejected, such as when one adds one more Rak'ah (kneeling prayer) in the compulsory prayers. Sometimes, the addition does not invalidate the act of worship, such as when one performs Wudhu (washing up for prayer) and repeats it actions four times each (while one should repeat them only once, twice or three times). Therefore, this Hadeeth should not be used to invalidate the entire act of legal worship that one adds to. One should study these acts of worship and their additions, investigate their validity and follow the sayings of the scholars so as not to invalidate entire acts of worship, which were altered by some additions, without authority.

Deleting a part or parts of an accepted act of worship. Some people may indulge in an accepted act of worship for the pleasure of Allaah; yet, they delete a part or parts of this act. If this happens, then we must study the deleted part of this act of worship. If the unfulfilled part is required in the act of worship, such as performing Wudhu for prayer, which is a requirement of the prayer itself, then we can rule that the entire act of worship is rejected. Also, whoever deletes one Rak'ah from the prayer, will have his entire act of worship rejected altogether.

We must note here that we cannot rule that deleting an inessential part of an act of worship will have the entire act rejected. Rather, we can only state that the act will be incomplete. An example to this is when one abandons the prayer in Jama'ah (congregation). His prayer will be accepted of him, but he will gain a sin for abandoning the prayer in the Jama'ah.

Innovation in dealings

All dealings are permissible, unless the religion specifies otherwise. Therefore, those who claim that a type of dealing is impermissible will have to produce their evidence to support their claim. There are several types of innovation in dealings:

Those types of dealings that are meant to be in lieu of contracts, rules or dealings legislated in the Shari'ah. Such types of contract are impermissible and will not bring any benefit to the parties involved. The following Hadeeth supports this rule:

Abu Hurayrah and Zaid ibn Khalid narrated that a man came to the Messenger of Allaah and said, "O Messenger of Allaah ! I ask you by Allaah to rule for me with the Book of Allaah." His opponent, who was more knowledgeable than him, said, "Yes! Judge between us with the Book of Allaah and permit me (to speak first)." The Messenger of Allaah said, "Speak." He said, "My son was working for this man and he committed fornication with his wife. Since I was told that my son would have to be stone (to death), I paid a hundred sheep and ewe as a ransom for him. Then, I asked people of knowledge and they told me that my will (only) have to be flogged a hundred times and banished for a year (because he was not married). And that his man's wife will have to be stoned (to death)." The Messenger of Allaah said, "By He Whose my soul is in His Hands! I will judge between you with the Book of Allaah. The ewe and the sheep will be returned to you, your son will have to be flogged a hundred times and banished for a year. And O Unaiys (a man from the tribe of Aslam), go to this man's wife and stone her if she confesses." He went to her and she confessed and then the Messenger of Allaah ordered that she be stoned. [Muslim and Al-Bukhari who related the meaning of this Hadeeth].

Impermissible dealings or contracts, such as:

When one of the parties to the contracts is not allowed to be a party. This includes marriage contracts to those who are not permitted for one because of ties of relations (such as the sister or the aunt), ties initiated by marriage by (such as the step daughter) and to combine (the wife and her sister or ant in marriage to the same man). This type of contracts is impermissible because they entail transgressing against the rules set by Allaah Who prohibited marrying Al-Ma'harim (those whom one cannot marry), such as certain degrees of relatives initiated by marriage or by suckling or to combine (the woman and her sister or aunt in the same marriage contract to the same man).

When a condition of the contract is ignored, even if both parties agree to ignore it. This include marriage to a woman still in her Iddah (prescribed time before a divorced woman or a widow can remarry) and marrying a woman without a Wali (agent, such as her father or brother, etc.) This type of contracts is also invalid. It was reported that the Prophet separated between a man and a woman who got married during the woman's Iddah, although he made her pregnant (after his marriage to her).

Contracts that contain what Allaah prohibited, such as business transactions that entail selling liquor, dead animals (not slaughtered according to Islaamic Law), pigs idols, dogs, usury and other types of impermissible goods. All these contracts are invalid and rejected. The Prophet ordered that a man who sold one Saa' (four handfuls) for two, to return (the extra Saa').

Contracts that entail injustice for one of the parties or signatories. An example to this is when her Wali marries a woman without her permission. This contract is only valid when the woman agrees to it, and if she does not agree, then it will be invalid. The Prophet invalidated the marriage of Thayyib woman (who married before, not a virgin) and who was married without her permission. Also, the Prophet gave a woman, who was a virgin at the time of her marriage, the choice to uphold or dissolve her marriage that was conducted without her consent.

Also, this type of dealings includes the case when one gives a charity out of someone else's money. This dealing is only valid if the owner agrees to it. The scholars said that when the man agrees to such dealing that entails his possessions, only then this act would be permissible.

The Muslim is always encouraged to be patient and avoid rushing to conclusions, rendering some types of actions rejected and invalid and using this Hadeeth as evidence. First, one must be knowledgeable in the sayings of the scholars and the general rules and guidelines of the religion with regards to these dealings or action or contract are invalid.

Benefits from this Hadeeth

Prohibiting an act or a contract means that it is invalid. An-Nawawi said, "This Hadeeth supports what some scholars of Usul (general rules and guidelines of the religion) have ruled, 'The prohibition means invalidity and rejection too.' Those who said that this does not mean invalidity, claim that this Hadeeth is only one proof and is not sufficient to prove such an important rule. This is an invalid answer, indeed." Ibn Hajar said, "This Hadeeth means that prohibition also means invalidity (of these prohibited actions or dealings)."

Islaam is a perfect and complete religion and has no shortcomings, as Allaah and His Messenger have testified.