Reciting the Fatiha

Question

I am a proponent of the fatiha. A relative of mine, who is a worker of the Tablighi Jamaat, spoke of breaking off relations with me; he says: “You are an innovator” and the like. Will those who hold these beliefs be regarded as outside the religion, and relations with them severed? Are they not Muslims?

Answer

Merely conveying reward (isal al-thawab) to the saints of the religion, to one’s own relatives and kin, and also to the believers in general — whether by reciting the Holy Qur’an, supererogatory prayer (nafl) and tasbih, or by giving charity of food, clothing, grain, cash and the like, or by any other legitimate method — is correct and beneficial; it is by no means a bid‘a.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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