Full transcript
0:03Dear brothers and sisters , we have been
0:06discussing deeds ( Amaal ) in this class ,
0:08Alhamdulilah . In the previous class , we
0:18pointed out that the most important
0:19savings we can accumulate in this world
0:21are our righteous deeds ( Saliha Amaal ) .
0:30We are obligated to understand what
0:32righteous deeds truly are . This is
0:41because we live in a time where people
0:43perform all sorts of deeds they hear
0:44about , driven by good intentions and
0:46enthusiasm for acts of worship .
0:56Especially due to the growth of social
0:58media , many messages reach us . Based on
1:07these , we can see people showing great
1:09interest in performing deeds out of
1:11enthusiasm . Therefore , dear brothers
1:19and sisters , there is a need for us to
1:21have clarity on what righteous deeds
1:23are . In short , righteous deeds — those
1:36accepted by Allah — are only those
1:38deeds that the Quran and Hadith have
1:39shown us . Please keep this in mind well
1:50. Only those deeds which the Quran and
1:56Hadith identify for us and command us
1:58to perform are righteous deeds . The
2:07implication of this is that any deed
2:09not mentioned in the Quran and Hadith
2:11will not become a righteous deed .
2:18Generally , we cannot determine deeds
2:19based on our own personal desires .
2:24Regarding deeds , Islamic scholars
2:26mention a beautiful principle . This is
2:31a principle that we must take note of
2:33and deeply embed in our minds . The
2:38principle is : " Al-aslu fil-ibadati
2:40al-mann , " meaning in matters of worship
2:42, the default is prohibition . We cannot
2:47just perform any act of worship or deed
2:49as we please . The deeds we set out to
2:53perform must either be mentioned in the
2:55Quran . Or they must be mentioned in the
2:58Hadith . Or they must be mentioned in
3:01both the Quran and Hadith . Without this
3:07, we cannot perform a deed simply by
3:09thinking it is good or excellent . We
3:15must be very clear on this . If one asks
3:22what the status is of a deed that does
3:24not appear in the Quran or Hadith , it
3:26is called Bid'ah ( innovation ) . Deeds
3:32not mentioned in the Quran and Hadith
3:34are called Bid'ah . Regarding Bid'ah ,
3:41the Hadith clearly states that they are
3:42misguidance . Prophet Muhammad ( peace be
3:51upon him ) said : " I warn you against
3:53newly invented matters . " Meaning , I
4:02warn you against matters newly created
4:04in the religion that are not in the
4:06Quran or Hadith . " Inna kulla bid'atin
4:13... " Every newly invented matter in the
4:15religion not found in the Quran or
4:16Hadith is a Bid'ah . " ... wa kulla
4:22bid'atin dalalah , " and every Bid'ah is
4:24misguidance . " Wa kullu dalalatin
4:29fin-nar , " and the Prophet ( peace be
4:31upon him ) mentions in this Hadith that
4:33all misguidance leads to the Hellfire .
4:38This is an authentic ( Sahih ) Hadith .
4:48Therefore , dear brothers and sisters ,
4:50any deed not shown by the Prophet (
4:52peace be upon him ) or not found in the
4:54Quran — even if it appears excellent to
4:56us or feels good to our desires — is a
4:58Bid'ah , it is misguidance , and we must
5:00all be clear that we should never do it
5:02. Creating this is a very dangerous
5:13matter . Meaning , for one to create a
5:17Bid'ah is a dangerous thing . What we
5:20are talking about is that performing
5:22already created Bid'ahs is forbidden (
5:24Haram ) . Therefore , when it comes to
5:28righteous deeds , that deed must
5:30certainly be in the Quran . It must be
5:33in the Hadith . Deeds not in the Quran
5:37or Hadith are Bid'ah deeds . If we
5:41perform Bid'ah deeds , we are walking
5:43into misguidance and will head toward
5:45the Hellfire ; may Allah protect us . The
5:49levels of Bid'ah deeds may vary . Like
5:52sins , the characteristics of their
5:54misguidance differ . But in total , they
5:56are definitely misguidance . Whether it
6:00is major misguidance or minor
6:01misguidance , all deeds not found in the
6:03Quran or Hadith are Bid'ahs , and all
6:05Bid'ahs are misguidance . At this point ,
6:08we need to understand one more thing .
6:10Some people say , " This is a good
6:12innovation , " and thus create certain
6:14innovations . That does not exist in the
6:17religion either . Scholars have taught
6:20us very beautifully that there is no
6:21such thing as a " good innovation . "
6:26Therefore , we must be cautious and
6:27careful in this matter . The most
6:34important savings we accumulate for the
6:36Hereafter are righteous deeds ; and
6:38righteous deeds are only those
6:39mentioned in the Quran and Hadith . As
6:47far as the Quran is concerned ,
6:48Alhamdulillah , it has been protected
6:50since it was revealed . It was written
6:57down during the time of the Prophet (
6:59pbuh ) , compiled during the time of the
7:01Sahaba and the Rightly Guided Caliphs ,
7:03and remains protected to this day .
7:10However , regarding Hadiths , we cannot
7:11view them in the same way as the Quran .
7:20If one asks whether everything recorded
7:22or reported as a Hadith carries that
7:24same level of protection and
7:25authenticity , anyone with basic
7:27religious knowledge knows the answer is
7:29definitely no . That is something they
7:36are aware of . Dear brothers and sisters
7:39, there is a category of Hadiths known
7:41as " fabricated " ( Mawdu ) Hadiths . These
7:46are statements attributed to the
7:48Prophet ( pbuh ) that he never said ,
7:50fabricated by those who came later ,
7:52perhaps for political motives . Or it
7:57could be for economic reasons , or
7:59sometimes even based on good intentions
8:01. Hadiths have been fabricated .
8:07Scholars have taken the risk and worked
8:09hard to compile and identify these
8:11fabricated Hadiths . Scholars like Imam
8:14al-Suyuti have written separate books
8:16on this . In modern times , Sheikh Albani
8:19conducted extensive research and
8:21compiled these fabricated Hadiths . Many
8:26other Imams and scholars have
8:27identified these fabricated Hadiths and
8:29compiled them for us . Therefore , once
8:35the scholars have identified a Hadith
8:37as fabricated , we should not justify it
8:39and continue to follow it . Today , some
8:45brothers have such a weakness . They
8:49might have been doing it out of
8:50ignorance . Even after being told that a
8:57Hadith is fabricated , they persist in
8:59their actions out of stubbornness ; a
9:01believer should not be like this . When
9:07we know something is right , we should
9:09do it , and when we know it is wrong , we
9:11should abandon it . I am not just saying
9:13this myself ; it is not " Mubarak Madani
9:15says this is fabricated . " No , if the
9:22great Imams , who are accepted by
9:24Muslims worldwide and who dedicated
9:25their lives to the science of Hadith ,
9:27have identified a Hadith as fabricated ,
9:29we must understand that we should not
9:31use it for our actions under any
9:33circumstances . Next , dear brothers and
9:41sisters , there is another category of
9:43Hadiths known as " Dhaif . " Dhaif means
9:46weak . These weak Hadiths have also been
9:50identified as such by the scholars .
9:52Imam Bukhari would call it weak , Imam
9:54Muslim would call it weak , and Imam
9:56Tirmidhi would call it weak . They have
9:59been identified as weak by these Imams .
10:01There are rules for that . I will not
10:04mention them here as they are not
10:05necessary for you . However , regarding
10:15actions based on Hadiths identified as
10:17weak by scholars and Imams , the
10:19scholars have provided a clear
10:21explanation : firstly , if a weak Hadith
10:23pertains to faith ( Aqeedah ) , it must
10:25not be accepted . If scholars have ruled
10:37that a Hadith related to faith or
10:39belief is weak , we must not adopt it
10:40and should abandon it . This is a very
10:47important stance put forward by the
10:48scholars . Similarly , dear brothers and
10:55sisters , regarding matters of Halal and
10:57Haram , if a weak Hadith appears , is it
10:59permissible to use that Hadith to
11:01declare something as Halal or Haram ? No
11:06, it is not . If we cannot declare
11:10something halal or haram based on a
11:12weak ( da'if ) Hadith , then such a Hadith
11:14should not be used . In matters of creed
11:19( aqidah ) , only 100 percent authentic (
11:21sahih ) Hadiths must be applied ;
11:23likewise , for rulings on halal and
11:25haram , we must rely only on sahih
11:27Hadiths . Now , there is another aspect ,
11:32which is the section regarding the
11:34merits of deeds ( Fada'il al-A'mal ) .
11:38Fada'il al-A'mal is the section that
11:40explains the merits of deeds that
11:42already exist . The Hadiths that
11:46describe the merits of deeds can be
11:48sahih . They can also be weak ( da'if ) or
11:52fabricated ( mawdu ' ) . If it is
11:54fabricated , it must be discarded . It is
11:56a lie fabricated against the Messenger
11:57of Allah . The Messenger of Allah , peace
12:00and blessings be upon him , said : " Man
12:02kadhaba ... " He said : " Whoever lies
12:08about me intentionally , let him take
12:10his place in Hell . " Therefore , a mawdu '
12:14( fabricated ) Hadith is a lie forged
12:16against the Messenger of Allah ; it is
12:19not a trivial matter . If we think about
12:23it carefully , we will understand its
12:24gravity . We get angry when someone
12:28claims we said something that we did
12:30not say . So , when it comes to religion ,
12:37if someone claims the Messenger of
12:39Allah , peace and blessings be upon him ,
12:41said something he did not — regardless
12:42of the motive ... Whether the motive is
12:44political , financial , or even a
12:46well-intentioned effort to keep people
12:48engaged in religion , it is dangerous if
12:50a lie is told about the Messenger of
12:52Allah . Therefore , in the matter of
12:59Fada'il al-A'mal , fabricated reports
13:01must be cast aside . However , if you ask
13:08what to do with weak ( da'if ) Hadiths
13:10regarding the merits of deeds , most
13:12scholars say that if the merits of an
13:14act are described through weak Hadiths ,
13:16they can be used , provided that they do
13:18not create a new act of worship ; they
13:20only describe a merit . For example ,
13:27praying four rak'ahs of Sunnah before
13:29Dhuhr has been established in authentic
13:31Hadiths . For instance , suppose the
13:41Sunnah before Dhuhr is recorded through
13:43a sahih Hadith , and a weak Hadith
13:45describes its merit . Mentioning this
13:53weak Hadith is not wrong . Most scholars
13:57state that it is permissible . However ,
14:01one must not create a religious ruling
14:03based on a weak Hadith . We cannot
14:08introduce a new deed . We must be very
14:11clear about this . We can mention weak
14:16Hadiths regarding Fada'il al-A'mal ,
14:18which speak about the merits of deeds .
14:23But they state conditions . These
14:28conditions are not just mine — the one
14:30conducting this class — nor are they
14:32just from brothers like us . These were
14:36stated by the great Imams . One
14:42condition mentioned by great scholars
14:44like Imam Ibn Hajar ( rahimahullah ) is
14:46that the weak Hadith used to mention
14:48the merit of a deed must not be "
14:49severely weak . " If it is severely weak ,
14:57it should not be mentioned . The
14:59scholars identify this . They
15:00distinguish between a normal weak (
15:02da'if ) and a severely weak ( da'if
15:04jiddan ) Hadith . Once it is known to be
15:06severely weak , we must not use it to
15:08describe the merits of deeds . Likewise ,
15:15the Hadith regarding the merit of deeds
15:17should only refer to a deed already
15:19established by a sahih Hadith ; it
15:21should not be used to invent a new deed
15:23. Furthermore , when narrating this
15:28Hadith , we must not believe it is
15:30authentic . It must be in our minds .
15:33That this is also weak . We must take
15:38note that scholars point out that with
15:40such conditions , weak Hadiths regarding
15:42Fada'il al-A'mal can be mentioned .
15:48Therefore , dear brothers and sisters ,
15:50we will live in this world and
15:52eventually pass away . When we die , as
15:57we have already mentioned , the Prophet
15:59( peace be upon him ) says , it is our
16:01deeds ! When a human dies , three things
16:09follow him : his family , his wealth , and
16:11his deeds . His family and his wealth
16:16will return , only his deeds will remain
16:18with him . The Messenger of Allah points
16:22out in this Hadith that his life in the
16:24hereafter depends on those deeds . Anas
16:27( may Allah be pleased with him )
16:29narrates this . This Hadith is recorded
16:31in Bukhari and Muslim . Therefore , it is
16:34our deeds that will help us inside the
16:36grave . It is the deeds we performed in
16:40this world that will help us on the Day
16:41of Resurrection . Likewise , even if we
16:44are to enter Paradise , we will do so
16:46through the mercy of Allah . It is these
16:49righteous deeds that will earn us that
16:50mercy . Righteous deeds must be those
16:54that are mentioned in the Quran . They
16:58must be deeds mentioned in the
16:59authentic Hadith . Each of us must keep
17:05in mind that things we create ourselves
17:07or feel in our hearts to be good do not
17:08count as righteous deeds , and we should
17:10shape our deeds accordingly . May the
17:16Almighty Allah grant us all the ability
17:18to do so . Wa akhiru dawana anil
17:21hamdulillahi rabbil alameen . Assalamu
17:23alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh .