KHUTAB II - 10. BID‘AH (INNOVATION)

10.  BID‘AH (INNOVATION)

  (1^st August 2003)  

Brothers and sisters in Islam

Allah says in the Qur’ān,

  قُلْ مَا كُنْتُ بِدْعًا مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ

إِلَّا مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ (الأحقاف  : ٩)

Say (O Muhammad), ‘I am not a new thing among

 the Messengers (of Allah, i.e. I am not the first Messenger)

 nor do I know what will be done with me or with you.

 I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I  

am but a plain warner.’ (Q. 46:9)

The term bid‘ or bid‘ah means “something which has never been before” “something that has never made before”, “something invented which has never any previous example”. The term bida‘ min al-rusul means “a messenger where no messengers have been sent before”. Allah Who created the heavens and the earth is called badī^c al-samāwāt wa ’l-ard.. “The Originator of the heavens and the earth” (Qur’ān, al-Baqarah 2:117 and al-An^cām 6:101). Allah is the Inventor of this universe, as no one had ever created a universe before. 

This verse was revealed in Makkan where Allah told the Prophet to say to his people that he was not the first messenger. Allah had sent many messengers before.  He says,

 وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ فَمِنْهُمْ مُهْتَدٍ وَكَثِيرٌ

 مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ.   ثُمَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلَى آَثَارِهِمْ بِرُسُلِنَا وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَآَتَيْنَاهُ الْإِنْجِيلَ

 وَجَعَلْنَا فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً... الحديد  :  ٢٦-٢٧).

 And indeed, We sent Nūh (Noah) and Ibrāhīm (Abraham),

and placed in their offspring Prophethood and Scripture. And

among them there are some who are guided; but many of them are

rebellious (disobedient to Allah). Then We sent after them Our

Messengers, and We sent ‘Īsā” (Jesus) – son of Maryam (Mary),

and gave him the Gospel. And We ordained in the hearts of those

 who followed him compassion and mercy… (Q. 57:26-27)

Technically, the term bid‘ah (innovation) according to Shaykh ‘Alī Mah.fūz. is “an invented way in religion made equal to Islamic law, and is intended to follow in worshiping Allah in exaggeration”. According to al-Shāt.ibī, it is “an invented way in religion made equal to Islamic law, and is intended to follow in the same way as in following the Islamic law”.  In general, the definition of bid‘ah is as follows: “It is a belief or practice for which there is no precedent in the time of the Prophet. It is a synonym of muh.dath (an invented thing), and is the opposite of sunnah.

Dr. ‘Izzat ‘Alī ‘At.iyyah in his book al-Bid‘ah mentions five categories of bid‘ah as follows:

1.    Bid‘ah Wājibah, Compulsory Innovation. It is intended to preserve and protect the religion of Islam from lost and corruption, such as the collection of the verses of the Qur’ān in one book in the time of Abu Bakr, and teaching various branches of knowledge as a means to understand Islam. It includes learning Arabic grammar to further understand the Qur’ān, investigating the reliability of men whose authority is quoted for traditions, distinguishing sound from weak and invented traditions. This is what the Prophet meant when he said that seeking knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim male and female.

2.    Bid‘ah Muh.arramah, Prohibited Innovation. This is what the Prophet meant when he said that every innovation is error (straying from the right path), and every error leads to hellfire. It is a matter in disagreement with the Qur’ān and the Sunnah of the Prophet, such as performing the obligatory prayers twice a day (instead of five), and praying by remembering Allah alone (without standing, bowing and prostrating, etc.).

3.    Bid‘ah Mandūbah, Recommended Innovation. It is something that is not disagreeing with the Qur’ān and the Sunnah, such as praying tarāwīh prayers in congregation in the mosque during the month of Ramadan. It includes the establishment of schools, orphanages and hospitals. It includes remembrance of isrā (the Prophet’s night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem) and mi‘rāj (the Prophet’s ascension to heavens) and the Prophet’s birthday with the intention to awaken the Muslims and to remind them to return to their religion, Islam.

4.    Bid‘ah Makrūhah, Disaproved Innovation, such as saying the dhikr more than 33 times after performing the obligatory prayers. (Muslims are recommended to say after prayer subh.ānallāh 33 times, alh.amdu lillāh 33 times, and allāhu akbar 33 times), and saying the dhikr together in congregation which disturbs people who are praying.

5.     Bid‘ah Mubāh.ah, Permitted Innovation. It is something that has nothing to do with prohibited and disproved things, towards which the law is indifferent, such as choosing one’s food, drink and dress, as long is it is h.alāl and modest. In this sense, everything is permitted as long as there is no law that prohibits it. We choose our food and dress based on our tradition, location and season.  However, scholars have different opinions on what belongs to what category of bid‘ah due to their difference in their ijtihād (the exertion of a scholar in finding his independent judgment of a legal issue based on one’s interpretation and application of the Qur’ān and Sunnah).

                   Scholars also divide bid‘ah into different categories, as follows:

1.     Bid‘ah ‘Ādiyah (normal innovation which has nothing to do with worship), such as driving a car and wearing an underwear, and Bid‘ah Ta‘abbudiyyah (innovation dealing with worship), such as start fasting after sunrise.

2.     Bid‘ah H.aqīqiyyah (real innovation), such as making h.arām (prohibited) what is h.alāl (permitted), and vice versa, and Bid‘ah Id.āfiyyah (supplementary innovation), namely, doing something which is not available in the Qur’ān and the Sunnah, such as commemorating isrā’ and mi‘rāj

3.     Bid‘ah H.asanah (good innovation) or Bid‘ah Mah.mūdah (praiseworthy innovation) and Bid‘ah Sayyi’ah (bad innovation)

4.     Bid‘ah Fi‘liyyah (innovation in doing something) and Bid‘ah Tarkiyyah (innovation in not doing something)

5.     Bid‘ah I‘tiqādiyyah (innovation in belief) and Bid‘ah ‘Amaliyyah (innovation in practice)

6.    Bid‘ah Kulliyyah (general innovation), and Bid‘ah Juz’iyyah (specific innovation), and

7.    Bid‘ah Basīt.ah (simple innovation) and Bid‘ah Murakkabah (complex innovation).

People who make bid‘ah is called ahl al- bid‘ah   (innovators) and ahl al-ahwā’ (dissenters). They introduce matters that are in disagreement with what has been brought by the Prophet, although not necessarily with the intention of rebelling against him. They may introduce something on an arbitrary principle that has no basis in the recognized foundation of Islam.

Modern inventions in many fields of knowledge that have never been known in the time of the Prophet are all included in the category of bid‘ah, such as blood transfusion, artificial insemination, the introduction of radio, television, radar, even the introduction of coffee and tobacco and football and tennis. They are all under one of the categories of bid’ah mentioned above. Different scholars may have different opinions on these matters in their ijtihād.

Conclusion: We have to be careful with prohibited innovation. It may lead us to hellfire.