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The Concept Of Bidah (innovation) In Islam - AbuMubarak - 10-03-2004
(IslamWeb)
Many Muslims are often confused when one person says, "This act is an innovation," and someone will reply, "Yes, but it is a good innovation," Others are confused about what falls under the category of bidah and what does not, as the Muslims perform many acts today that the Prophet [peace be upon him (pbuh)] never performed.
First of all, Muslims have to know that bidah is something related to religion as a belief or worship or transaction, so all matters outside this scope such as innovations and discoveries in the scientific, industrial and military fiields and the means of transportation and the facilities in the every day life are welcomed in Islam and have nothing to do with bidah.
An action may seem harmless while it is indeed very harmful for the individual or for the society. Furthermore, humans with their limited mental capacity are never completely free from biases ,whims and selfish desires that may cloud their conception of an issue. Therefore, it is necessary for humans to follow divine revelation in order to ensure that they are following what is best for them in both this life and the hereafter.
There are many Qur'anic verses that clearly demonstrate that the Muslim must avoid any kind of innovation in his religion. An example is this quotation : "This day have I perfected for you your religion and have completed My blessings upon you and have chosen for you Islam as a religion." (Qur'an 5:3)
Imam Maalik said, "What was not part of the religion during the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions is not part of the religion today." He also said, "If someone innovates something in the religion of Islam that he believes is good, he has, thereby, alleged that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has been disloyal to his message!"
This divine guidance is all that the Muslims need for happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. It is, therefore, in no need of additions, alterations or deletions. The laws and customs laid down by human beings repeatedly failed in meeting the intended results. If the person obeys the commands of Allah and follows the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) in the way that they are to be obeyed, then the person will become purified, his morals refined and his spirit rejuvenated.
There are many hadith that clearly demonstrate that the Muslim must avoid any kind of innovation in his religion. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "The worst actions are the invented ones. And every innovation is a going astray (dhalaalah)." (Recorded by Muslim). In other narrations he would say, "And every going astray is in the hell fire." (Recorded by al-Nasaai).
In this context, Al-Shaatibi wrote : "An innovation is a going astray. And the innovator is straying and leading others astray. Dhalaalah (straying) is mentioned in many of the reported texts. It is alluded to in the Qur'anic verses about splitting into sects and breaking up the community and following the errant paths but this is not how other sins are described. The term dhalaalah is usually not used except for innovations or things similar to innovations.
The innovator will also interpret the Qur'anic verses and the ahadith in such a way that will be compatible with his innovations. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Allah refuses to accept the deeds of the companion of innovations until he leaves his innovation." (Recorded by ibn Maajah and ibn Abi Asim).
In the Hereafter, the innovators will not be allowed to drink from "the cistern of the Prophet," and if anyone drinks from that cistern he will never be thirsty again, as said by the Prophet (pbuh).
From the Qur'an, one can see that Allah divides people into two groups, those that follow the guidance of Allah and those that follow their own desires. Therefore, all of the following verses also refer to the people of innovations. Allah says, "And if they answer you not, then know that what they follow is their lusts. And who goes farther astray than he who follows his lust without guidance from Allah? Verily, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing folk." (Qur'an 28:50)
In another verse Allah clearly states that if one follows his desires, he is not on the path of Allah. The Muslim should be careful because the innovation is a double edged dagger. In this context the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Whoever calls to guidance will receive a reward for the one who follows his call with the reward of neither being reduced. And whoever calls to an act of misguidance will share part of the sin of everyone who follows his call with the sin of neither being reduce." (Recorded by Muslim).
Besides the Qur'anic verses and the ahadith of the Prophet (pbuh), there are many statements from the companions and the early scholars exhorting people to stay away from innovations. Abdullah bin Masood is quoted as saying , "Follow our steps and do not innovate and that will be sufficient for you."
Innovations are more harmful than sins. The sinner accepts the Shareeah as the supreme law while the innovator gives the supremacy and superiority to his own desires or whims. The person who performs or follows innovations believes them to be true in obedience to Allah and it is very rare that such an innovator should repent. This is why ibn Taimiyyah has stated that innovations are "more evil than adultery, theft and drinking alcohol."
Sufyaan al-Thauri once said, "Innovations are more beloved to the Satan than sins because one may repent from sins but one does not repent from innovations!"
The Distinction between Sunnah and Bidah:
For the better understanding of the innovations (Bidah) we have to first shed some light on the various types of Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) The Sunnah of the Prophet include the statements and actions of the Prophet (pbuh). Certain acts not performed by the Prophet (pbuh) but performed in his presence and were tacitly approved by him) also form part of the Sunnah.
There are many deeds that the Prophet (pbuh) could have easily performed as acts of worship, yet he explicitly did not perform. If these acts were meant to be performed and if they would have brought the Muslims closer to Allah, the Prophet (pbuh) would have been commanded to perform them and he would have performed them. Anyone who does perform such acts, thinking that he is getting closer to Allah by performing the same, he is performing an innovation. An example could be performing the call to prayer before the Eid prayers - the Prophet (pbuh) never did so although there would have been some purpose in doing it, he could have easily done so.
There are some actions that the Prophet (pbuh) did not perform for some constraining reason. For example, the Prophet (pbuh) did not gather together the Qur'an (although his companions did so after hie death). This was because there was a preventive reason that kept him from doing so; that is, the Qur'an was still being revealed during his lifetime so it was not possible for him to gather it all together before his death. Once that preventive reason has been removed, then there is no harm in performing that act.
Another example concerns the performing of the taraweeh or Ramadhaan nightly prayers in congregation. The Prophet (pbuh) feared that this would become obligatory on the Muslims, that was the preventive reason, and therefore he discontinued this practice. During the time of Umar, the preventive reason no longer existed since Umar is not qualified to make any act obligatory. Therefore, it was possible to revive this Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). In fact, the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) were the best who understood the religion of Islam and they have implemented this distinction between the acts of the Prophet (pbuh).
The Juristic Meaning of Bidah:
There are three popular juristic definitions for bidah among the groups of scholars, some are much more "extensive" or "encompassing" than others.
The first group of scholars gives a broad definition for bidah that encompasses every new thing that has appeared after the time of the Prophet (pbuh). For example, Al-Shafi'ee has divided innovations into good and evil ones. He said, "Whatever is in agreement with the Sunnah is praiseworthy and whatever is in disagreement with the Sunnah is blameworthy." Ibn Hazm has given a similar definition stating, "Innovations in the religion are everything that is not found in the Qur'an or in the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), but for some of them the person who performs them will receive a reward due to his goal of performing what is good…These are those acts that are in essence permissible… Then there are some that are blameworthy."
Al-Ghazaali, ibn al-Atheer, Abdul Haqq al-Dahlaawi, al-Izz ibn Abdul Salaam, al-Nawawi and Abu Shaaamah have all given similar definitions. This definition implies that there are some innovations that are obligatory, recommended or permissible.
According to the second definition, all innovations are blameworthy from the Shareeah point of view. Ibn Rajab defined bidah as, "Any innovation that has no source whatsoever in the Shareeah that points to it.
The third definition by Al-Shatibi is that : a bidah is any innovated act that differs from the Sunnah and that is taken as part of the religion and as being along the straight path. This can include actions of worship as well as other actions.
It may be said that "the first definition", although correct lexically speaking, may not be the proper definition from the Shareeah point of view. Such a definition has led to confusion among today's Muslims and has been used by some as an excuse to follow some innovations, claiming that they are "good bidahs".
Conclusions on the Definition on Bidah:
Bidah or innovations, from a Shareeah point of view, are only blameworthy as the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Every innovation is a going astray."
Since the Shareeah has constrained the definition of bidah to be only blameworthy acts, it is best and less confusing, if not a must, to apply this constraint in the definition of bidah.
Finally, the second and third definitions agree that if the Shareeah alludes to something, it is not an innovation. And if the Shareeah in no way alludes to something, it is an innovation.
[This is a summary of an article written by Dr. Jamal al-Din Zarabozo]
Source: http://islamweb.net/php/php_arabic/readArt...lang=E&id=16451
SAHآBAH ATTITUDE TOWARDS INNOVATIONS
An outstanding characteristic of the Sahâbah is their absolute Adherence to the Sunnah of the Prophet, Muhammad and their absolute disapproval of BID'AH (Innovation) Some Sahâbah narrated the following Ahaadeeth
Amr ibn salmah said: We used to sit in front of Abdullah Ibn Masoud's house before the Fajr prayer, so that when he came out we would go with him to the Masjid.
{one day} Abu Moosa al-Ash'aaree came and asked us: 'Did Abu Abdur Rahmaan (i.e. Ibn Masoud) leave yet? '
We answered: 'No.'
So Abu Moosa al-Ash'aaree sat with us waiting for him. When he came out, we all stood up.
Abu Moosa told him: "Oh, Abu Abdur Rahmaan! I recently saw something in the Masjid which I deemed to be evil, but all praise is for Allah, I did see anything except good "
Ibn Masoud then asked: "then What was it?"
Abu Moosa said: "You will see it if you stay alive. In the Masjid, I saw a group of people sitting in circles waiting for the Salââh. Each circle is led by a person. And every person in these circles carries small stones (pebbles).
The leader of a circle would say: "Say 'Allah-u Akbar' a hundred times" so they would repeat Allah-u Akbar a hundred times; then he says "Say 'Laa ilaaha illallaah', a hundred times" so they would say Laa ilaaha illallaah a hundred times; then he would say: "Say 'Subhaanallah', a hundred times", they will say Subhana Allah a hundred times.
Then Ibn Masoud said: "What did you tell them?"
He said: 'I didn't say anything, I waited to hear your opinion."
Abdullah Ibn Masoud said: "Could you not order them to count their evil deeds, and assured them of getting their rewards."
Then Abdullah Ibn Masoud went ahead and we accompanied him. As he approached one of the circles, he said: "What is this that you are doing?"
They said: "Oh! Abu Abdur Rahmaan, these are pebbles to count the number of times we say Allah-u Akbar, La ilaaha Illallah, and Subhaanallah."
He said: "Count your evil deeds, and I assure you that you are not going to lose anything of your rewards (Hasanat). Woe unto you, people of Muhammad, how quickly you go to destruction! Those are your Prophet's companions available, these are his clothes not worn out yet, and his pots are not broken yet. I swear by Whom my soul is in His Hands that you are either following a religion that is better than the Prophet's religion or you are opening a door of misguidance."
They said: "We swear by Allah Almighty, oh, Abu Abdur Rahmaan, that we had no intention other than doing good deeds."
He said: "So what? How many people wanted to do good deeds but never got to do them? The Prophet of Allah has told us about people who recited the Qur'ân with no effect on them other than the Qur'ân passing through their throats. I swear by Allah, I am almost sure that most of you are from that type of people."
Then he left them.umar Ibn Salamah (the sub narrator) said: "We saw most of the people of those circles fighting against us with the Khawaarij in the battle of An-Nahrawan."
-- Related by Ad-Daarimee and Abu Na'eim with an Authentic chain of narrations. Authenticated by saleem al-hilaalee in al-BID'AH (pp. 26-29)
This was the case with every innovation introduced in the UMMAH it began as something small, bearing resemblance to the truth which is why those who entered it were mislead and then were unable to leave it. so it grew and became the religion which they followed and thus deviated from the straight path and left Islam.