Completion of Religion and Condemnation of Innovations
This excerpt is taken from the book "Eid Milad al-Nabi ﷺ ki Shari Hukoomat" authored by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amrpuri.
❀ Completion of Religion
Allah the Exalted has given the glad tidings of the completion of religion in the Qur’an. The religion has been perfected, and Islam has been revealed as a complete Shari’ah. In the Qur’an and Hadith, guidance has been provided with explicit injunctions and reasoning for all matters of Shari’ah.
Allah Almighty says:
﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا﴾ (المائدة: 3)
“Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion.”
Hafiz Ibn Kathir (رحمه الله, d. 774H) said:
“…This is the greatest blessing of Allah upon this Ummah, that He completed their religion for them. They are in need of no other religion, nor any prophet other than their Prophet ﷺ… Thus, lawful is only what he declared lawful, unlawful is only what he declared unlawful, and the religion is only what he legislated.”
(تفسیر ابن کثیر: 465/2)
Imam Malik ibn Anas (رحمه الله, d. 179H) said:
“…Whoever innovates something today that was not upon the way of the early generations has alleged that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ betrayed the message. Because Allah says: ﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ﴾ …What was not religion at that time cannot be religion today.”
(الأحكام لابن حزم: 85/6، وسنده حسن)
Imam Malik’s statement means: If someone introduces a bid‘ah, it is as if he claims that the religion was incomplete and he has completed it. This implies that the Prophet ﷺ left a virtuous act unmentioned, and he is now mentioning it. Every innovation is an attempt to outstep Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, which Allah forbade. The believers shudder at even the thought of innovations.
‘Irbad ibn Sariyah (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“…I have left you upon a clear path, whose night is like its day. None will deviate from it after me except one destined for destruction.”
(مسند الإمام أحمد: 126/4، سنن ابن ماجه: 43، السنة لابن أبي عاصم: 48، المستدرك للحاكم: 96/1، وسنده حسن)
Hafiz Mundhiri (رحمه الله) graded this narration as “Hasan.”
(الترغيب والترهيب: 46/1)
Reminder: Our religion is complete. There is no room for additions or reductions. Bid‘ah is an addition to the religion, and this is imitation of Jews and Christians, who made so many additions that their original religion has vanished.
❀ Condemnation of Innovation (بدعت)
Every bid‘ah is darkness, misguidance, and following one’s desires. It is a cause of the destruction of Islam. Any act that has no foundation in the Qur’an and Hadith cannot be good.
Imam al-Shatibi (رحمه الله, d. 790H) said:
“…Know that no act of worship is accepted with bid‘ah present—neither prayer, fasting, charity, nor any other act. The innovator’s gatherings remove divine protection; he is left to himself. Whoever visits him or honors him aids in demolishing Islam. His worship distances him further from Allah. Bid‘ah sows enmity, deprives one of the Prophet’s intercession, erases Sunnah, and the innovator bears the sins of those who follow him… He will be distanced from the Prophet’s ḥawḍ, feared to be counted among disbelievers, and may die a bad end. He will be disgraced in the Hereafter and tormented in Hellfire. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Muslims are free from him…”
(الاعتصام: 1/106-107)
‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (رضي الله عنه) said:
“The best speech is the Book of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ, and the worst matters are innovations…”
(الاعتقاد للبیہقی: 306، وسنده صحيح)
Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله, d. 751H) said:
“The Sunnah by its very nature eradicates bid‘ah… When the sun of Sunnah rises in a person’s heart, it dispels the darkness of innovation…”
(مدارج السالكين: 374/1)
Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ﴾ (بني إسرائيل: 36)
﴿إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الْأَنْفُسُ﴾ (النجم: 23)
﴿قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ﴾ (المائدة: 77)
﴿وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا لَيُضِلُّونَ بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ﴾ (الأنعام: 119)
﴿لِيَحْمِلُوا أَوْزَارَهُمْ كَامِلَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ﴾ (النحل: 25)
These verses highlight that the innovator spreads misguidance, abandons Qur’an and Sunnah, and takes desires as his guide.
Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله, d. 728H) said:
“…Whatever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not legislate or approve, nor the righteous predecessors practiced, is a rejected innovation… Whoever adopts an act as religion or worship, which the Shari‘ah has not made obligatory or recommended, is misguided by consensus of Muslims.”
(مجموع الفتاوى: 152/27)
Examples and Warnings from the Salaf:
- Ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنهما) corrected a man who added extra words after sneezing. (سنن الترمذی: 2738)
- The Prophet ﷺ rebuked those who tried to worship beyond his Sunnah. (صحيح البخاري: 5053، صحيح مسلم: 1401)
- Sufyan al-Thawri (رحمه الله) said: “Bid‘ah is more beloved to Iblis than sin. A sin is repented from, but bid‘ah is not repented from.” (مسند علي بن الجعد: 1809)
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.” (صحيح ابن خزيمة: 197)
- He ﷺ also said: “Allah has barred repentance from every innovator.” (المعجم الأوسط للطبراني: 4202)
❀ Key Lessons
① The religion has been perfected by Allah; no one can add to or subtract from it.
② Every innovation in religion is misguidance.
③ Following Sunnah ensures salvation; innovating leads to ruin.
④ Innovations erase Sunnah, bring Allah’s wrath, and distance from the Prophet ﷺ.
⑤ True guidance lies only in Qur’an and Sunnah.
