This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Irshad Ullah Maan's book In Search of Truth.
[1] Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Masood (RA) narrates: that I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say that ruqyah (incantations with polytheistic words and mantras, etc.), amulets, and talismans (amulets of love) are all shirk (polytheism).
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawood:3883
Some types of ruqyah which did not contain polytheistic words were permitted by the Prophet ﷺ, but the amulet of Gunday was not allowed; rather, it was declared shirk. Similarly, amulets of love and the like were also declared shirk. Allah Almighty has called shirk a great injustice.
Reference: (Luqman:13)
And He said: that those who commit shirk will not be forgiven and will be eternal inhabitants of Hell.
Reference: (An-Nisa:48)
[2] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Whoever hangs an amulet has committed shirk.
Reference: Musnad Ahmad: Hadith 17422
[3] Waki' Saeed bin Jubair (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that whoever cuts off someone's amulet, it is as if he has freed a soul.
Reference: Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Hadith:25017
[4] Waki' says that Ibrahim Nakha'i, a famous Tabi'i (the teacher of Imam Abu Hanifa's teacher), narrates: The Companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them all, and the great Tabi'in, may Allah have mercy on them, considered all kinds of amulets unlawful. Whether they contained Quranic verses or not.
Reference: Musannif Ibn Abi Shaybah, Hadith: 25011
[5] Qadi Abu Bakr rules: Hanging the Quran is not the way of the Sunnah; the Sunnah is to take advice from the Quran, not to write it and hang it.
Reference: (A'un al-Ma'bud: 6/4)
The Prophet ﷺ said this, and today in the Ummah of Muhammad wherever you look, you see rings and bracelets; to protect from calamities and jinn, pieces of iron are kept with children and oneself.[6]Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates: It was asked from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the practice of exorcism (using amulets, etc.). He said: This is a satanic practice.
Reference: Abu Dawood, Kitab al-Tibb, Bab fi al-Nashrah: 3868
Teaching children the Holy Quran is among our duties. This is because Allah Almighty revealed the Quran for this very purpose—that we read it and our children also read it, and sometimes act upon it in the light of the explanations and clarifications of the noble Hadiths. Our so-called Sunni friends have also invented a ceremony here, a bid'ah called ،،بسم اللہ،،. It is that when a child reaches four years, four months, and four days old, his ،،بسم اللہ،، is performed. In some fashionable families, the exact year and month are not considered, but in the so-called Sunni religious families, the year, month, and days are observed very strictly. Participating in the بسم اللہ ceremony is considered to earn the reward of two worlds, and this is what is written on the invitation cards. A famous reciter or cleric comes and makes the boy or girl recite the noble ،،بسم اللہ،،, and along with it, recites one or two verses or a small Surah, then the shouting of congratulations and the feast with yogurt and other things begins. I have looked through all the books of Hadith and almost all the books of history, but I have not found anywhere that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had his elder grandson Sayyiduna Ali bin Zainab رضي الله عنهما and granddaughter Imamah bint Zainab رضي الله عنهما undergo بسم اللہ, or his middle daughter Ruqayyah رضي الله عنها’s son and Sayyiduna Uthman رضي الله عنه’s son Abdullah bin Uthman رضي الله عنهما undergo بسم اللہ, or his third daughter Sayyida Fatimah رضي الله عنها’s elder son Hasan رضي الله عنه, elder daughter Zainab رضي الله عنها, Umm Kulthum رضي الله عنها, and younger son Husayn رضي الله عنه, and others who were the grandsons and granddaughters of the Prophet ﷺ, undergo بسم اللہ. Similarly, there is no evidence of this from the Companions رضي الله عنهم أجمعين. So then who are we to invent the bid'ah of بسم اللہ on our own?
Brothers in Islam! Either clearly state that we make our own Shariah, or else reject these innovations with a kick and only do what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have commanded us.
One Ameen is the one which, if said loudly behind the Imam, people are ready to beat the one who says it, even though it is proven from authentic Ahadith that saying Ameen is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ and the Sunnah of the noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. But the Ameen for which there is no evidence from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ nor from his noble Companions, has been embraced by our so-called Sunnis from their hearts. That is when a child completes the entire Quran, a Qari or Maulvi is called, an event is arranged, then the Qari or Maulvi makes the child recite Surah Al-Fatiha, at the end of which the child says Ameen. Thus, this gathering of Sawab-e-Darain (double reward) takes place, and sometimes a Milad Sharif event is also arranged in this gathering. Besides this, there is another custom in ignorant families that the girl's Ameen is done at the time of her marriage, not after completing the Quran. At the exact time of departure, the girl's teacher is called, she makes the girl recite Surah Al-Fatiha, and at the end, the girl says Ameen. I say that both these methods are inventions of the ignorant and worshippers of their stomachs; neither did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say Ameen for his children nor teach his Companions رضي الله عنهم to do so, nor did the noble Companions رضي الله عنهم invent such practices, nor are such rulings established from self-made Imams of the followers. Then who is it that has invented all these superstitions in the name of religion?
My friends! These are inventions of Satan and his followers, and they have spread them themselves. Is following them not obedience to Satan?
Fasting is obligatory upon every sane and adult Muslim, but in this era of turmoil, even this act of worship is turning into showmanship. Among the new customs and innovations people have introduced in the name of religion to display their wealth and grandeur is the celebration of breaking the fast, which is observed with great pomp and circumstance. Those who hold a fast-breaking ceremony mistakenly believe they are doing a great good deed, so the guests who come bring gifts for the child who fasted, put garlands on the parents, and congratulate them that ماشاءاللہ today their child has fasted. Our sinful eyes have repeatedly observed in these gatherings that most of those giving and receiving congratulations are actually those who do not fast. Moreover, they are completely estranged from prayers الاماشاءاللہ. The question is, when a girl or boy fasts for the first time, are such ceremonies necessary? Are these the commands of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ? When a child recites the Kalima for the first time, is there a Kalima ceremony? When they go to the mosque for the first time, is there a mosque ceremony? When they pray for the first time, is there a prayer ceremony? When they start studying, is there an education ceremony? When they start going to school, is there a madrasa ceremony? When they pay Zakat for the first time, is there a Zakat ceremony? When they participate in Jihad for the first time, is there a Jihad ceremony? When they perform Umrah for the first time, is there an Umrah ceremony? When they perform Hajj for the first time, is there a Hajj ceremony? Why are such ceremonies not held for these? Is this celebration only necessarily linked to fasting? If so, those who do it should provide proof from the Quran and Hadith, otherwise, they should immediately abandon it considering it an innovation.
Whenever the Imam finishes the obligatory prayer by turning the Salam, he and most of the worshippers collectively make Dua; the Imam recites the Dua and the followers keep saying Ameen, Ameen. This practice is seen in almost all mosques, but the so-called Ahl-e-Sunnat consistently and insistently emphasize it, as if without collective Dua their prayer is not valid. I say that making collective Dua a habit after every prayer is not part of the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. However, the prescribed remembrances (adhkar) after prayer are established by hadith and cannot be equated with collective Dua. Therefore, I have no hesitation in saying that making collective Dua after every prayer daily is an innovation (bid’ah), and those who do it are innovators, regardless of their school of thought. Some people cite weak hadiths as evidence for collective Dua. I say that based on those hadiths, collective Dua can occasionally be made and it cannot be called an innovation. Thus, these weak hadiths sometimes support collective Dua, but they do not prove its continuity, and my point is that making collective Dua a regular, continuous practice is the innovation, not collective Dua itself in essence.
The so-called Sunnis teach children the six kalimas in their madrasas and make them memorize these six kalimas. The first kalima is Tayyib, the second kalima is Shahadat, the third kalima is Tamjeed, the fourth kalima is Tauheed, the fifth kalima is Istighfar, and the sixth kalima is Raddu Kufr. The so-called Sunnis place great emphasis on these kalimas and believe that a Muslim who does not memorize these six kalimas or does not have faith in these six kalimas either does not have faith or is not considered a perfect believer. I say that the invention of this specific order and composition of these six kalimas, their compulsory teaching, and memorizing them as an essential part of faith is an innovation (bid’ah). There is no hadith proving that Allah’s Messenger, Sayyiduna Muhammad Mustafa ﷺ, taught these six kalimas to his noble companions in this manner. These six kalimas, in this order and with these names, are not found in any hadith book.
When so-called Sunnis pray, the men tie their hands below the navel, and their women tie their hands on the chest. Similarly, when so-called Sunni men prostrate, they place the nose, forehead, palms, knees, and the edges of the feet (toes) on the ground, keeping the rest of the body raised from the ground. However, when their women prostrate, they place the prostrating parts on the ground and also keep the rest of the body on the ground, spreading the body out. This difference in prayer between so-called Sunni men and women is an innovation (bid'ah). Because neither the Holy Quran contains such a command nor do the noble hadiths provide evidence for this difference. Rather, the hadiths prove that there is no difference in prayer between men and women except for clothing and covering the private parts, whose rulings are clearly present in the hadiths. Therefore, it can be said as a strong argument that this difference in prayer between so-called Sunni men and women is an innovation, and the prayer performed according to this difference is against the Sunnah and an innovation. Moreover, those who follow innovations are innovators whose any worship is neither rewarded nor accepted by Allah. If you want to know the complete details of innovations, then be sure to study the book
Reference: Innovations and Their Introduction
by the author Allama Saeed bin Aziz Yousafzai, which is easily available from Urdu Bazaar Lahore. This book consists of 144 pages.People nowadays celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi ﷺ with great enthusiasm, although it is not proven. The following chart shows the invention of some essential innovations of Islam in Punjab (not Islam of Mecca and Medina). Now some people have also started holding monthly Milad gatherings; I currently have before me
Reference: Nawa-i-Waqt Lahore dated 7 February 2005
in which it is written that the 173rd monthly Milad gathering will be held today at Jamia Masjid Qadriya Sher Rabbani. (Before this, we had never even heard of the existence of a monthly Milad gathering.)Essential Elements of Islam in Punjab
[1] Establishment of the Milad-un-Nabi ﷺ committee... is a product of 604 AH. Observe the details:
Reference: Tarikh Ibn Khalkan
[2] Gyarahvin Sharif... is a product after 500 AH.
[3] The belief that those who call the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a human are disbelievers... this belief appears to be an invention of the 14th century AH.
Remember, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away in 11 AH, Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away in 150 AH, and Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani passed away in 561 AH.
After falling into innovation, the illumination and righteousness of the heart are lost. A person loses the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood (Quran, Hadith, and innovation). He becomes like an inexperienced person who has been deceived by a swindler into exchanging genuine notes (Quran and Hadith) for counterfeit notes (innovations). That fool is happy that he got a hundred in exchange for one, but this happiness lasts only until he takes them to the market. Upon going to the market, he will not only realize the worthlessness of those pieces of paper but will also be beaten on the charge of carrying counterfeit currency.
Understand well: that in the market of the Hereafter, only the coin of the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ will be accepted. And those who have piled up counterfeit currencies of innovations, their value will not be worth a single penny there; rather, compared to the official stamped Muhammadi coin, they will be imprisoned (in Hell) on the charge of making and keeping counterfeit currency with unofficial stamps. This is why the study of Hadith books shows that the Companions رضي الله عنهم were strictly adherent to the Sunnah and were strongly averse to every new thing.
A rural companion of the Prophet of the Universe ﷺ came to him and said, "Tell me an action that I can do so that I enter Paradise." The Prophet ﷺ taught him the five pillars. Upon hearing this, he said: "By the One in whose hand is my life! I will neither do more than this nor less." When he returned, the Prophet of the Universe ﷺ said: "Whoever wishes to see a person from among the people of Paradise, let him see this one."
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Zakat, Chapter on the Obligation of Zakat:1397
From this, it is understood that establishing and acting upon the religious injunctions without any alteration is a great blessing and a means of salvation, and making personal modifications or distortions in them is a great misfortune and a cause of eternal punishment. For this reason, the Companions رضي الله عنهم were very careful and diligent in following the Prophet ﷺ completely. They not only adhered strictly to the major obligations and duties but also did not oppose even minor matters or matters of consensus, as confirmed by the following incidents:
[1] The Prophet ﷺ had a ring made and wore it due to a specific need, so everyone made rings and wore them. When he removed and threw it away, everyone also removed and threw theirs away.
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Clothing, Chapter: Who placed the ring on the inside of the palm:5876
[2] Once the Prophet ﷺ was praying while wearing sandals, and during the prayer, he removed the sandals due to some need, so the Companions, seeing him remove them, also removed theirs.
Reference: Abu Dawood, Book of Prayer, Chapter: Prayer in sandals:650
[3] A companion رضي الله عنه saw the Messenger of the Universe ﷺ in a state where the button of his shirt was open, so he kept his button open for his entire life.
Reference: Abu Dawood, Book of Clothing, Chapter on Loosening the Waistbands:4082
[4] Once, Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه laughed while riding a horse. When asked the reason, Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه replied: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ laughing in the same way while riding a horse at that place.
Reference: Sunan Tirmidhi: Hadith 3446, Sunan Abi Dawood: Hadith 2602
[5] Once, Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه stood up after ablution and drank water, saying that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did exactly as I did.
Reference: Nasa'i, Book of Purification, Chapter on the Description of Ablution:95
[6] During a journey, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنهما deviated from the path at a certain place. When asked, he said: I have seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ do the same.
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawood, Book of Manners, Chapter on Disliking Singing and Musical Instruments:4924
[7] Similarly, Nafi says that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنهما used to follow the traces of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Wherever the Prophet ﷺ dismounted during travel, he would dismount there as well. If the Prophet ﷺ dismounted under a tree, then Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنهما would water that tree so that it would not dry out, and he would take a nap under the same tree and report that he had seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ doing the same.
Reference: Sahih Ibn Hibban: Hadith 7074
[8] Sayyiduna Anas رضي الله عنه said, "I have given the Messenger of Allah ﷺ water to drink from this bowl many times." Asim said that Ibn Sirin used to say: This bowl had an iron handle attached to it. Sayyiduna Anas رضي الله عنه wanted to replace it with a handle made of gold or silver. Sayyiduna Abu Talha رضي الله عنه advised him not to change anything of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then Anas رضي الله عنه left it as it was.
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Drinks, Chapter: Drinking from the cup of the Prophet ﷺ and his utensils: 5638, 3109
[9] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: When you come to your sleeping place, perform ablution as for prayer, then lie down on your right side and recite this supplication (Translation: O Allah! I have entrusted my soul to You and have entrusted all my affairs to You. I have relied on You, fearing Your punishment and hoping for Your reward. There is no refuge or escape from You except with You. I have believed in this Book which You have revealed, and in the Prophet (ﷺ) whom You have sent). He said: Whoever recites this supplication and then sleeps and dies will die upon Islam. And do this by reciting this supplication at the end of all matters. Bara said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), should I memorize it? He recited it and said: (وبرسولك الذي أرسلت) The Prophet ﷺ said: No, recite it like this (وبنبيك الذي أرسلت)۔
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Ablution, Chapter: The virtue of sleeping while in ablution: 247
Because the Prophet ﷺ taught these exact words.
[10] When a man sneezed in front of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar رضي اللہ عنہ, he said: __ARABIC_12. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Ibn Umar رضي اللہ عنہ said: I can also say ARABIC_13__, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not teach us this on such an occasion; rather, he said that upon sneezing, [الحمد لله على كل حال] should be recited.
Reference: Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Adab, Chapter on What to Say When Someone Sneezes: 2738
It is proven that not a single word of the phrases taught by the Messenger of the Universe ﷺ can be changed because in matters of religion, the words that come from his blessed mouth are revelation, and there can be no alteration in revelation.
In a Prophetic Hadith ﷺ it is stated: I will be present at the Pond of Kawthar before you. Whoever comes to me will drink from its water, and whoever drinks once will never feel thirst again. Some people will come to me there whom I will recognize (because wherever the water of ablution touches, those limbs will shine on the Day of Judgment, and according to the Hadith, this will not be a characteristic of any other nation) and they will recognize me (because Allah Almighty has promised the Prophet ﷺ the Pond of Kawthar on the Day of Judgment in the Quran), but a barrier will be placed between me and them. I will say: These are my followers. I will be told: You do not know what they did after you. Upon hearing this, I will say: Away, away are those people who changed my way after me.
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari: 6583, 6584
From this hadith, it is understood that those people who have abandoned the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and introduced new innovations in the religion will be deprived of the Pond of Kawthar on the Day of Judgment. Just think! Can there be a greater deprivation than this, even though they will be praying?
