Ruling on specifying a day for Quran recitation
9-1-2014 | IslamWeb
Question:
As-Salaamu alaykum,Is it a Bid‘ah to gather in the mosque after the Maghrib prayer each Friday to learn Quran recitation or Tafseer? Is it a Bid‘ah to do so on a specific day and time, as indicated in a Fatwa by Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah? This seems to be contradicted by the situation of some Shaykhs who set a definite timetable for giving religious lessons in mosques on specific days.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
It is not a dispraised act of Bid‘ah for a person or a group of people to choose a specific day – because they have less work to do on that day for example – for reading the Quran, attending knowledge lectures or Sharee‘ah lessons, or to have a session where they remind each other of good and mention whatever blessings Allaah has bestowed upon them. These are considered acts of worship that may draw them closer to Allaah.
However, if they believe that such a day or time has a merit over other days or that doing such an act of worship is more preferable when done at that time, then they are committing an act of Bid‘ah and claim, as indicated by their condition, that they have been guided to something to which the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not guide the Muslims. Such belief is enough for their practice to be denounced and for them to deserve to be included in the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “Whoever introduces [anything] into this matter of ours (Islam), it is rejected.” [Muslim]