Innovations in Religion

Maleeha Mansur, Hayes

Religion is a means of attaining nearness to our Creator, to be free from the chains of materialism and to see light in the darkness of the world. What can be said of a religion that strips its followers of purity and takes one far from God by indulging in worldly pursuits and customs?

All of the early religions of the world have unfortunately, lost their original teachings due to the introduction of innovations. Within Hinduism, we see the caste system has taken deep root, ostracizing many sections of society and ruining the peace of society. In Judaism, we find various innovations avoid observing the Sabbath. Within Christianity, for example, we have Halloween, whilst now a highly commercialised event, it is actually adopted from old Irish pagan practices, based on the concept of the boundaries between the living and the dead being removed and the dead returning to harm the living. Christianity adopted this ritual, in particular the Catholic Church and hence this ritual of Halloween spread all over the world.

It may seem that perhaps Halloween and other innovations are a harmless means of enjoyment or part of culture. However, such tampering with religion, is something that has been strongly condemned within Islam. Indeed, the Founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) is reported to have said, ‘An innovation in religion which has nothing to do with matters of faith is to be rejected and is unacceptable.’ Nonetheless, the nature of man is to tamper, change and alter and this includes religion. Sadly, we see that all other religions have been susceptible to such changes and alterations. One may argue that if religions are from God, how can this be possible? We must remember that initially, God sent His Messengers and scriptures for a certain time, place and people. However, this changed with the advent of Islam, which God planned to be at such a time that it would see the unification of the world. Thus with the advent of Islam came a Messenger and Message for all of time and all people. Indeed, the Holy Book of Islam, the Holy Qur’an is unique amongst the Scriptures as within its own verses God promises its preservation and protection. God says “Verily, We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian.”

There is another aspect that must be noted here. Not only does God’s promise relate to preserving the content of the Holy Book but the teachings of Islam itself. Over time, some harmful innovations did make their way into Islam. However, in accordance with His promise, God sent the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to safeguard Islam from such innovations. He came to revive the true teachings of Islam at a time when as had happened with all other religions, Muslims had drifted far from its truth. Today, his Community, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is guided with a distinctive system of Muslim spiritual leadership, Khilafat. Through this a Divinely appointed Khalifa constantly guides and protects Islam from the onslaughts of innovations and provides guidance on all matters new and old that arise. Indeed, addressing the issue of innovations, the current Khalifa, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, cautions that “…those innovations that have nothing to do with faith, which take one away from faith, which disrespect the commandments of Allah and His Apostle, are all worthy of rejection. They are all useless and ought to be shunned. Stay away from them because they will gradually corrupt faith.”
i Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Friday Sermon October 29th, 2010

ii Sahih Al Bukhari, Kitab-us-Sulhi, Babu Izastalahu ‘ala sulhin jaurin. Conditions of Bai’at and Responsibilities of an Ahmadi, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, page 106

iii The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 15: Verse 10

iii Conditions of Bai’at and Responsibilities of an Ahmadi, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, page 107