nawawiDay.arabicText

nawawiDay.englishTranslation

— al-‘Irbāḍ ibn Sāriyah (RA) (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi (ṣaḥīḥ))

nawawiDay.commentary

A hadith that establishes Sunnah, the way of the rightly-guided caliphs, and warning against bid‘ah — all in one.

nawawiDay.extendedExplanation

‘Al-‘Irbāḍ said: the Prophet ﷺ delivered an admonition that made our hearts tremble and our eyes overflow.’ This is not ordinary advice — it is parting wisdom for an Ummah that will face fitnah after the Companions are gone.

Three pillars: (1) taqwā as the inner anchor; (2) hearing and obeying legitimate authority — even when it personally inconveniences (‘even a slave appointed over you’); (3) clinging to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ AND the rightly-guided caliphs (Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, ‘Alī, RA). The hadith concludes with the absolute: ‘every innovation is misguidance.’ No exceptions, no ‘good bid‘ah’ category in worship.

nawawiDay.fromScholars

"‘Bite onto it with your molars’ — meaning, hold on with the strongest possible grip, do not let the fashions of any era loosen your hold."

— Ibn Rajab · Jāmi‘ al-‘Ulūm wa al-Ḥikam

"‘Every innovation is misguidance’ — the Prophet ﷺ used the comprehensive ‘every’ (kullu). Anyone who divides bid‘ah into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ has contradicted the explicit text."

— Ibn ‘Uthaymīn

nawawiDay.fiqhRulings

  • •Bid‘ah in worship — inventing acts, times, manners not authorised by revelation — is rejected.
  • •‘Bid‘ah ḥasanah’ in worldly affairs (cars, microphones, organised schools) is not what the hadith addresses.
  • •Hearing and obeying applies to legitimate Muslim authority in what is not sin — there is no obedience to the creation in disobedience to the Creator.
  • •The Sunnah of the rightly-guided caliphs is included in the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ — e.g., the tarāwīḥ congregation organised by ‘Umar (RA).

nawawiDay.quranCrossRefs

59:7‘Whatever the Messenger gives you — take; whatever he forbids you — refrain.’
33:21‘Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example…’
9:100Allah’s pleasure with the foremost of the Muhājirūn and Anṣār — the rightly-guided.

nawawiDay.keyVocab

وَجِلَتْwajilat

trembled (with fear)

السَّمْعِ وَالطَّاعَةِas-sam‘i wa-ṭ-ṭā‘ah

hearing and obeying

تَعَضُّواta‘aḍḍū

bite onto

بِالنَّوَاجِذِbin-nawājidh

with the molars (the strongest grip)

مُحْدَثَاتِmuḥdathāt

newly invented matters

nawawiDay.todaysReflection

What new 'religious' practice have you considered? Test it against the Sunnah of the Companions.

nawawiDay.keyBenefits

  • 1The Sunnah of the rightly-guided caliphs is included with the Prophet's ﷺ Sunnah.
  • 2Innovation is misguidance — every innovation.

nawawiDay.warnings

  • ⚠Inventing dhikrs, prayer formats, or commemorations not from revelation — even with sincere intention — is bid‘ah.
  • ⚠Obedience to authority is NOT in disobedience to Allah — ‘no obedience to the creation in disobedience to the Creator’ (authentic).
  • ⚠Splitting bid‘ah into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in matters of worship contradicts the explicit ‘every’ of the hadith.

nawawiDay.relatedHadiths

Muslim — ‘Every innovation is misguidance, every misguidance is in the Fire’

Nawawi 5 — ‘Whoever introduces into our affair…’

nawawiDay.memorisation