the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Al-Irbād said:
“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave us an eloquent exhortation that brought tears to our eyes and made our hearts tremble. We said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, this seems like a farewell exhortation. What counsel do you leave us?’
“He said, ‘I counsel you to fear Allah, and to listen and obey, even if the one over you is an Abyssinian slave. Those of you who live after me will see much disagreement. So adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me. Hold fast to it and cling to it with your very teeth. Beware of newly introduced matters, for every innovation is misguidance.’”
Another version reads: “For every newly introduced matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance.” Another version adds: “And every misguidance is in the Fire.”
In this hadith, he commanded Muslims to follow his Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs, and explained that the newly introduced matters—the innovations he prohibited—are those that contradict this. Thus, even if it were not known that his statements and actions supported the Ramadan night prayers and similar practices, they would, at the very least, be part of the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs. They would therefore not be among the innovations in the religious sense that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called innovations and prohibited.
In short, the scholars do not disagree that an endowment established to support prayer, fasting, recitation, jihad or similar activities that are not prescribed by the Sharia is invalid. Indeed, the person is forbidden both to engage in such an activity and to spend on it. Their disagreement concerning endowments for permissible activities does not extend to cases such as these. For treating something as an act of worship, believing it to be an act of worship, and performing it because it is an act of worship must fall under either what is commanded or what is forbidden. If it is commanded—whether obligatory