Q 6: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Whoever introduces in our matter i.e. religion, things extraneous to it, will be rejected. Does Allah reject all acts of a Mubtadi` (one who introduces rejected innovations in religion) or only the acts of the Bid`ah (innovation in religion)?

A: Some Bid`ahs are incongruous with the fundamental articles of Islam. Others are related to the descriptive manner of acts of worship. A third type of Bid`ah involves the introduction of unsanctioned practices. The Mubtadi` of the first category, will have not only his act of Bid`ah, but all his other acts rejected by Allah as well. Allah (Exalted be He) says: And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust. However, only the act of Bid`ah will be rejected if it is related to the descriptive manner of acts of worship like the proper manner of Takbir (saying: "Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest]"), Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah) or collective pronouncement of Talbiyah (devotional expressions chanted at certain times during Hajj and `Umrah). The same holds true if the Bid`ah introduced is not known to have been sanctioned by Islam (Part No. 2; Page No. 463) like celebrating the Prophet's Mawlid (Birthday). It is narrated in the two books of Sahih (authentic Hadith books of Al-Bukhari and Muslim) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Whoever introduces in our matter i.e. religion, things extraneous to it, will be rejected. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.