0021-1818_islam_98-1-2-i-259

162 Daniella Talmon-Heller, Raquel Ukeles
blessings be upon him, said: „Do not single out the night before Friday for night
vigil (qiyam) and do not single out Friday for fasting except if it coincides with a
regular fasting date for one of you.” This hadith was transmitted by Muslim b. al-
0ajjaj in his Sahih. 87 […] Eleventh, there is something in it that conflicts with the
norm chosen by the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, regarding
the remembrances of God (adhkar) in the prostration, for when God, Sublime
and Exalted is He, revealed the verse „Praise the name of your Lord Most High,”
he [i.e., the Messenger] said: „place this in your prostrations.” […]
And no one should draw evidence from what was related on the Messenger of
God’s authority, that he said: „Prayer is the best of matters,” because that statement
pertains only to prayer that does not conflict with the shari^a in any way,
and this prayer conflicts with the divine law in the ways mentioned above, and
what good comes from conflicting with the shari^a? And for that reason, he, peace
and blessings upon him, said: „The worst of matters are their novelties, and every
bid^a is a deviating error.” 88 […]
24) Defined as bid^a hasana – a good innovation
Ibn al-Sala1’s refutation of al-Sulam\: You all have asked, may God show you
the way, about the intention of a certain person [i.e., al-Sulam\] to stop the performance
of salat al-ragha#ib and to ban it, and to deprive the people of an act of
worship (^ibada) that they had become accustomed to perform on a noble and undoubtedly
meritorious night. And [you had asked about] his argument, that the
hadith transmitted about it is weak or fabricated and his claim that the prayer
should be abolished, as it is connected to something that is repudiated and rejected.
And about his exaggerated vehemence, and the people’s great distress
and the extent of their opposition towards him – to the point where they invoke
the divine verse: „Have you seen him who dissuades a slave when he prays? No!
Do not obey him. But prostrate yourself and draw near (unto God)’ [96:9–10, 19] in
response to him – you have asked me to explain the truth of the matter and to clarify
it. […]”
[Discussion of the hadith’s status]
The weakness of the hadith does not necessitate nullifying the prayer and
prohibiting it, because it falls under the general command pertaining to prayer,
revealed in the Qur’an and sunna. Therefore, it is desirable according to the general
meaning (^umumat) of many legal texts speaking about the recommended
status of prayer unrestrictedly. Those include the hadith of Abu Malik al-Ash^ar\,
87 Sahih Muslim, Book of Fasting, chapter 24, hadith 2740.
88 Quoted by Subk\, Tabaqat, 8: 251–55.