THE TIME HAS COME

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

My dear brother, my dear sister,

I want to use this medium to remind myself and you that another opportunity has come for us to examine our worship and hold firmly to the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah.

We should be careful about introducing into the religion acts of worship that Allah and His Messenger ﷺ did not prescribe.

What is Bidʿah?

Bidʿah, in the religious sense, refers to introducing into the religion something for which there is no legitimate basis in the Qur'an or authentic Sunnah and treating it as an act of worship.

It may look beautiful.

It may sound spiritual.

It may even be practised by many people.

But the number of people doing something does not by itself make it part of the Sunnah.

The Prophet ﷺ warned us:

“The worst of matters are those that are newly introduced, and every innovation is misguidance.”

📚 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

Therefore, when we are told to worship Allah in a particular way, we should ask: Did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ teach this? Did his Companions practise it as an act of worship? Is there authentic evidence for it?

For example, Muslims should not invent new forms of Ṣalāh, specific rituals, or prescribed acts of worship and then attribute them to Islam without evidence.

THE RELIGION IS COMPLETE

Allah ﷻ says:

“Today I have perfected for you your religion, completed My favour upon you, and have approved for you Islam as your religion.”

📚 Sūrah al-Mā'idah 5:3

The religion of Islam is complete. We therefore do not need to invent new forms of worship in order to become closer to Allah.

At the same time, we should distinguish between religious innovations in worship and ordinary worldly matters. Not every new thing in life is bidʿah. New technologies, means of communication, transportation and other worldly matters are not automatically religious innovations simply because they did not exist during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.

HOLD FIRMLY TO THE QUR'AN AND SUNNAH

My dear brother and sister,

Hold firmly to the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah.

Stay close to people and gatherings that remind you of Allah, death, the Hereafter, Paradise and Hell, and encourage you to obey Allah.

If such a reminder makes you cry out of fear of Allah, then let those tears flow.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“A man who weeps out of fear of Allah will not enter the Fire until the milk returns to the udder.”

📚 Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī

We should also avoid gatherings in which Allah's religion is spoken about without knowledge, the Sunnah is mocked, or unsupported religious practices are presented as acts of worship.

A TRUE FRIEND

Know this:

A true friend is not necessarily the person who always tells you what you want to hear.

Sometimes, a true friend is the person who lovingly tells you the truth—even when the truth is difficult to hear.

Think about it this way:

When you are travelling on a dangerous road, who is more helpful?

The person who makes you laugh while ignoring the dangerous turns ahead?

Or the person who warns you about the danger and reminds you to prepare properly for the journey?

Of course, the one who warns you sincerely wants you to arrive safely.

Likewise, a person who sincerely reminds you to follow the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah, establish the obligatory prayers, pray Tahajjud, give charity, lower your gaze, repent from sins and avoid religious innovations may be giving you advice out of love for Allah's sake.

Do not automatically become angry because the reminder is difficult.

Sometimes the reminder we dislike hearing is exactly the reminder we need.

SINCERE ADVICE

Allah ﷻ says:

“And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.”

📚 Sūrah adh-Dhāriyāt 51:55

The Prophet ﷺ also said:

“The religion is sincere advice.”

The Companions asked, “For whom?”

He ﷺ replied:

“For Allah, His Book, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and their common people.”

📚 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

Therefore, when someone sincerely reminds you to abandon a religious practice that has no authentic basis, pray your obligatory prayers, perform Tahajjud, give charity, lower your gaze, repent from sin, and increase in righteous deeds, do not immediately assume that they are judging you.

They may simply want good for you.

They want to see you attain Allah's mercy and enter Paradise.

THIS LIFE IS SHORT

My dear brother and sister,

Remember that this worldly life is temporary.

We are travellers, and every day that passes takes us closer to our final destination.

So let us be careful about what we worship, what we follow, what we teach others, and what we practise in the name of Islam.

Let us return to the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah.

Let us worship Allah as He commanded us to worship Him and as His Messenger ﷺ taught us.

May Allah ﷻ grant us sincere faith, beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds and the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood.

May He keep us firm upon the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah, forgive our shortcomings, accept our righteous deeds, and grant us Jannatul-Firdaws.

Āmīn.