The “Al-Wida‘” Khutba in Ramadan

Question

On the last Friday of the blessed Ramadan the “al-Wida‘” khutba (الوداع — “the farewell”) is commonly recited. In the collection of khutbas of Mawlana Isma‘il Ahmad Shahid ﵀ and other [collections of] khutbas there is no mention of it at all; as far as I know, it is found only in “Khutba-i ‘Ilmi” (“The Scholarly Sermon”). The al-Wida‘ khutba is a composition of Muhammad Hasan ‘Ali Barelvi, and in most mosques it is that very khutba [that is read]. Is the al-Wida‘ khutba a bid‘a?

Answer

Reciting this al-Wida‘ khutba is not established from the generations attested with goodness (قرون مشهود لها بالخير); the fuqaha have not mentioned its recitation. Mawlana ‘Abd al-Hayy Lakhnawi has explained in detail, with proofs, that it is a forbidden bid‘a.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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