Innovations in Religion

Religion is the fundamental source that guides human life. However, throughout history, the original teachings of religion have sometimes been altered and corrupted due to people’s personal interests, deviant desires, and blind fanaticism. This has also been a frequent problem in Islamic history. The Qur’an has remained unchanged; however, through the addition of hadiths to the religion, Islam has been altered by some individuals, leading to deviations from its essence. These deviations have diverted the religion from its true purpose and resulted in the emergence of a distorted form of religion.
Such individuals change religious rules and rulings according to their own desires and interests, overstepping the limits set by Allah and arbitrarily introducing new judgments regarding what is lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram). In Islam, the commands and prohibitions of Allah are the fundamental principles that shape human life. Yet over time, some people have invented rulings in the name of Allah while pursuing their own interests. By adding elements to the religion afterward, they have promoted their own beliefs concerning what is lawful and unlawful.
In the Qur’an, such people are described as having fallen into shirk (associating partners with Allah) because of their deviations and for imposing these distortions upon the masses. They have used people as instruments of their religious deviations, causing them to stray from the right path. The Qur’an clearly states that such distortions—changes made outside the authority of Allah’s judgment—constitute shirk.
These individuals, through sects and interpretations, have declared unlawful what Allah made lawful and lawful what Allah made unlawful. In essence, this is an attempt to reshape religion according to their own reasoning and interests.
The Qur’an contains many examples of polytheists who fabricated lies about Allah and established religious rules in His name. The following verses illustrate how they lied against Allah and corrupted religion with deviations:
Surah At-Tawbah 9:31:
“They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and also the Messiah, the son of Mary, though they were commanded to worship only one God. There is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.”
Surah Al-An‘am 6:137–138:
“And thus their partners made the killing of their children seem appealing to many of the polytheists in order to ruin them and to confuse their religion. Had Allah willed, they would not have done so; so leave them and what they invent.
And they said, according to their claims: ‘These livestock and crops are forbidden; none may eat them except those whom we allow.’ And there are livestock whose backs are forbidden to ride, and livestock upon which they do not mention the name of Allah—fabricating lies against Him. He will recompense them for what they used to fabricate.”
These verses indicate that the polytheists falsely attributed rulings to Allah, forbidding what He had made lawful and forcing people to accept the false religion they had invented. Such deviations lead not only individuals but also entire communities away from the right path.
The deviations of the polytheists are not limited to inventing new religious rules. They also demonstrate blind adherence to the religion of their forefathers. The Qur’an clearly criticizes such attitudes. The polytheists preferred the religion of their ancestors over the teachings of the Qur’an. This reflects a form of devotion to the past and blind attachment to tradition.
Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:22:
“No! They say: ‘Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are following in their footsteps.’”
Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:104:
“And when it is said to them, ‘Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger,’ they say, ‘Sufficient for us is what we found our fathers following.’ Even though their fathers knew nothing and were not guided?”
These verses explain that the polytheists continued to follow the misguided path of their ancestors, thereby persisting in deviation from the truth. They ignored the commands of Allah and assumed that the religion of their forefathers was correct, even though it did not lead them to the right path.
True faith is to live a life based solely on the Qur’an. Faith means living within the boundaries set by Allah and adhering to the rules He has established. However, the polytheists deviated from true faith by following the path of their ancestors instead.
Allah commands people to follow only His teachings and His revelations. The religion of the forefathers has no validity if it does not conform to the Book of Allah. A person who fears Allah and seeks His pleasure is not obliged to follow traditions blindly, but rather to fulfill the commands conveyed through the Qur’an.
The Qur’an states that those who blindly adhere to their ancestors are on the wrong path. In Islam, finding the right path is only possible by relying solely on the commands of Allah and the Qur’an.
Corrupting and altering religion leads people into deviation. As the polytheists did, declaring lawful what Allah has forbidden and forbidden what Allah has permitted is among the greatest betrayals of religion.
True faith is possible only by obeying Allah’s commands in order to earn His pleasure. The religion of the forefathers and traditional understandings are invalid if they are not based on the Book of Allah. Therefore, progressing on the right path is possible only through a belief that relies solely on the Qur’an and on Allah.