Worship is Tawqeefiyyah

Question:

What is the meaning of the statement 'Worship is Tawqeefiyyah'?

Answer:

The meaning of it is that worship is not legislated except by the revelation and not by the opinions of people.

Speech and actions are not considered worship unless there is proof from Allah or His Messenger ﷺ; from the Qur'an and Sunnah.

As for worship based on the mere conjecture and opinions of people, then no this is wrong.

Rather, (it is) Tawqeefiyah meaning there must be textual proof from Allah, because He is the one that legislates. As the Prophet (ﷺ) said in an authentic hadeeth,

"Whoever introduces something into our affair (Islam) that is not from it, then it will be rejected."

He also said (in another version of the Hadeeth), "Whoever does an action that is not from our affair, then it will be rejected".

The Prophet (ﷺ) would say during the Friday sermon and in other occasions, "Verily the best speech is the book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Mohammad (ﷺ) and the most evil of affairs are the newly invented matters (i.e. in the religion), and every Bid’ah (religious innovation) is a misguidance."

Therefore, it is not for anyone to legislate something new into the religion, rather, a person must restrict their worship to that which is legislated only.

For example, if a person says It is legislated for the people to pray a sixth Salah during the day at 10am or a sixth Salah at midnight other than Ishaa. This would not be legislated, rather this would be falsehood and an innovation which is impermissible.

https://binbaz.org.sa/fatwas/29239