The Prophet said few days before his death: تَرَكْتُ فِيكُمْ أَمْرَيْنِ (Tanbeeh al-Ghafileen, al-Samarqandi 899) I have left two heavy things for you. As long as you hold fast to them, you will not go astray. These are God's book and the sunnah of your Prophet.
If in any matter you want guidance, see the Quran and the Prophet's sunnah. You can add the example of the Sahaba as well. We have to see the Quran, the Prophet's sunnah and the example of the Sahaba. These are models for us. We have to judge matters based on them. We make a mistake when we develop a thought based on our own mindset. We invent a criterion and begin to follow it. We don’t try to think whether or not the step we are taking is according to the Quran. For example, consider debate.
The criterion is that in the Prophet's time after listening to speeches, nobody clapped in appreciation nor was there a sense of gratification in the audience. The speeches never served to feed the pride of the listeners. You will read that after listening to the Prophet, people would fall silent. They would go into introspection. The criterion of an Islamic speech is that after listening to it, people should go into introspection. The Sahaba would keep thinking. If today people clap after speeches, that is a sign of deviation. Because this is not according to the criterion set by the Prophet. In every matter, be it belief, worship, morals or gatherings, we have to follow the Prophet. These days protest rallies are common. This never happened in the Prophet's time.
Makkah and Madinah also had all kinds of problems. People these days take our processions in the name of problems. In this age, whenever people face a problem, immediately a procession with slogans is seen. The Prophet also faced problems but didn’t lead processions nor did the Sahaba. These are un-Islamic activites. These are innovations. The truth is that people forget that the criterion shouldn’t be based on our own way of thinking nor on what people say. The criterion should be based on the Quran and the Prophet's life. The hadith is clear in this matter: مَنْ أَحْدَثَ فِي أَمْرِنَا هَذَا مَا لَيْسَ مِنْهُ فَهُوَ رَدٌّ If a person innovates a matter which is not part of our religion, then it is to be rejected. (Sahih Muslim 1718) Today people clap jubilantly when they see innovations. It will never be accepted by God. You have to judge matters in the light of the Quran, the Prophet's life and the practice of the Sahaba. If your method does not stand up to this criterion, it would be rejected. This is a clear criterion.
