Is it considered an innovation (bid‘ah) to have WhatsApp groups that designate a specific remembrance (dhikr), such as saying “Alhamdulillah” 100 times, or a portion of the Qur’an to be recited daily, with members informing others upon completion?
Guiding to good is conditioned upon the deed conforming to the guidance of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Specifying certain invocations (dhikr) with a specific number, and for people to gather upon them, was not known in the Sunnah. Rather, the Companions, such as Ibn Mas'ud and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with them both, disapproved of it, due to its deviation from the Sunnah and its falling into innovation (bid'ah) and showing off (riya'). Righteous deeds must be purely for Allah and in accordance with the Sunnah. What is required is the dissemination of hadiths about virtues in general, without tracking who acted upon them and who did not, for in that is a combination of knowledge and action, and deliverance from innovation and showing off.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/151210