The Excellent Innovation in the Quran and Hadith: The Sunna of the Caliphs

Sayyidina ʿUmar during his caliphate gathered the multifarious groups praying tarawih into a single congregation. Ubay ibn Kaʿb said: 'This was not done before!" Sayyidina ʿUmar said "I am fully aware of this, but it is excellent!" He also said: 'What a fine innovation this is."

Nowhere in the field of Islamic jurisprudence is a blatant tampering with the truth felt more than in the redefinition of "Sunna" and "bid'a". The understanding of for these terms is arrogantly cast aside. The crystal-clear distinction of the pious Salaf such as Imam al-Shafi'i, "Bid'a is of two kinds; praiseworthy innovation and blameworthy innovation" is being abandoned, while later, controversial figures are invoked as "more representative of the Salaf".

The intent of this book is to do away with these perilous misconceptions and to present over 160 proofs for the Sunni understanding of Sunna and bid'a as set forth in classical, moderate, mainstream Islam according to the Sunni Salaf and Khalaf, including the four Schools of Fiqh. Additionally, the book provides case studies on topics such as collective supplication, partitions for women in mosques, and proofs for visitation of graves by women.

Author Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad is a renowned Lebanese-born Islamic scholar, hadith expert, author, and translator of classical Islamic texts. He holds a doctorate in French literature from Columbia University, New York. Shaykh Haddad's work is highly regarded in the Muslim world and he is considered one of the clearest voices of traditional Islam in the West. Among his translations to English from Arabic are: Qadi Yusuf an-Nabahani's The Prophet Muhammad's Knowledge of the Unseen, the acclaimed The Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation: Hizb One of the Commentary on the Quran by Imam al-Baydawi, Ibn Khafif's Correct Islamic Doctrine, Ibn Arabi's Doctrine of the Muslims, Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Alawi al-Maliki's The Prophet's Night Journey and Heavenly Ascent and many other esteemed works.

Born in Beirut in 1960, Dr. Haddad embraced Islam while a graduate student in French Literature at Columbia University in New York. He studied at the feet of many of the greatest scholars of Sham, Cyprus and Yemen and has ijazas in numerous hadith transmissions. He lives in Brunei Darussalam. A follower of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani since he became Muslim in 1991, he currently resides in Brunei Darussalam, where he teaches aqida, hadith and fiqh.