is in the Fire.”
It is also reported in the Ṣaḥīḥ, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
“Whoever performs an action for which we have given no instruction, it is rejected.”
In another wording, recorded by al-Bukhārī and Muslim:
“Whoever introduces into this matter of ours something that is not from it, it is rejected.”
Likewise, in the sound ḥadīth narrated by the compilers of the Sunan from al-ʿIrbāḍ ibn Sāriyah, the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said:
“Indeed, whoever among you lives after me will see great disagreement. Therefore, hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after me; cling to it firmly, biting onto it with your molars. Beware of newly introduced matters, for every innovation is misguidance.”
(1) I was unable to locate it in the printed edition of al-Nasai’s al-Sunan al-Sughra; it is perhaps found in his al-Sunan al-Kubra.
(2) Sahih Muslim, Book of Judicial Decisions, chapter “Revocation of invalid rulings and rejection of innovated matters,” hadith no. 1718 (18th in the chapter), 3:1343–1344.
(3) Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Reconciliation, chapter “If the parties agree to an unjust settlement it is rejected,” hadith no. 2697; Fath al-Bari, 5:301. Also Sahih Muslim, the same hadith no. 1718 (17). I have placed the word hadha (“this”) in parentheses because it is absent from the manuscript copies; I supplied it from the versions recorded in both Sahihs cited here, and it likewise appears in the printed edition.
(4) The Companion in question is al-Irbad b. Sariyah al-Sulami, Abu Najih—one of the earliest Muslims, a jurist, and among those about whom the verse “nor is there blame upon those who, when they came to you that you might provide mounts for them …” (Quran 9:92) was revealed. He settled in Hims after the conquests and died in 75 AH. See: al-Isabah, 2:473 (no. 5501).
(5) The word annahu is omitted in MSS B and T.
(6) Sunan Abu Dawud, Book of the Sunnah, chapter “Adherence to the Sunnah,” hadith no. 4607 (5/13); Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Book of Knowledge, chapter “Holding fast to the Sunnah,” hadith no. 2676—al-Tirmidhi graded it hasan sahih (5:44–45); Sunan Ibn Majah, Introduction, chapter “Following the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs,” hadith no. 42 (1:15–16); Musnad Ahmad 4:126–127. Al-Hakim also recorded it in al-Mustadrak through several chains, stating in one: “This hadith is sahih and has no defect,” and in another: “Its isnad is sahih according to the conditions of both Shaykhs, and I know of no defect therein” (1:95–97).