Narrated Abu Huraira (Radi Allahu anhu):
The Prophet (SallAllahu alaihi wasallam) said, "A time will
come upon the people when one will not care how one gains one's money,
legally or illegally."
Sahih Al-Bukhari 3:275
Bidah
1. Reasons behind the Existence of Bidah.
2. Bidah Corrupting the Sunnah.
3. Shunning the Bidah - Adherence to the Sunnah.
4. Arguments of the Misguided.
The word Bidah in Arabic is taken from Al-Bada', that is to create something without precedence. Allah says in the Quran, which translated means: Badei' (the Originator) of the heavens and the earth. [Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 117]
This means that Allah created the heavens and the earth without precedence. He also said: Say (O Muhammad (saws): I am not Bidan (a new thing) among the Messengers. [Surah Ahqaf Verse 9]
This means: 'I am
not the first of Allah's Prophets to His slaves, many (Prophets)
preceded me. When it is said that a person has performed a Bidah, this
means that he has innovated a new thing without precedence.
Bidahs in the
matters of life, like the new scientific inventions are permissible
because originally, what is a matter of life or habit is permissible.
The prohibited Bidah is to innovate in the religion. This is because the
religion is 'Tawqifiyah' which means that religion can only be revealed
by Allah and He has completely revealed His religion. Consequently,
there is no room for any innovation. As will be manifest and clear from
the following text.
Allah Alone has the right to tell us how to worship Him.
Allah says Surah Al-Araf Verse 3: Follow
what has been sent down to you from your Lord (the Qur'aan and the
Sunnah of Prophet Muhaamd (sallallhu alahi wa-sallam) and follow not any
Auliya (protectors, or helper etc. who order you to associate partners
in worship with Allah), besides Him.
From
the Tafseer (explanation) of this verse, we learn that this verse is a
definite statement, explaining the right of Allah Alone; to reveal and
command His slaves, the manners of worshipping Him. And how could it be
otherwise, when the true meaning of 'Ibaadah' is to worship Allah in the
way, which pleases Him, not following one's own desires. As is known
from the following verse:"And who is more astray then one who follows his own lust (desires) without the guidance from Allah (revelation)" [Surah Al-Qasas Verse 50]
In regards to this Prophet Muhammad (saws) said: "I
warn you of the newly invented matters (in the religion), and every
newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is
misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Hellfire" [An-Nasa'ee]
And He (saws) used to declare at the beginning of his lectures, ".and
the best speech is the Speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the
guidance of Muhammad (saws), and the worst of all affairs are the newly
invented matters (in the religion)" [Sahih Muslim]
And He (saws) also commanded us, to reject everything, which has no basis in the religion saying:Whosoever does an action, which we have not commanded then it must be rejected." [Sahih Muslim]
"Whosoever introduces into this religion of ours that which is not a part of it then it must be rejected [Musnad Ahmad]
In
this Hadeeth is a clear evidence that every action which is not
legislated in the Shariah must be rejected [Jaami al-Ulum of ibn Rajab
1/120]
Consequently,
every Bidah, that is introduced in the religion has to be rejected as
for the reason that only Allah and His Messenger (saws) have the right
to legislate in the Shariah.
The Deen is complete
Allah says in the Quran Surah Maidah Verse 4: "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion"
This verse embodies a clear statement that the religion has been completed and so has no need of addition and deletion, and our noble Messenger (saws) said: "There
is nothing that Allah ordered you with except that I have ordered you
with it, and there is nothing that Allah forbade you from except that I
have forbidden you from it" [al-Bayhaqee and others]
And He (saws) said, "There
is nothing that will take you closer to Paradise but that I have
enjoined it upon you, and there is nothing that will take you closer to
Hell but that I have warned you from it [Musnad ash-Shafi'e and others]
So,
Prophet Muhammad (saws) fulfilled the trust placed upon him by Allah
completely, explaining the religion to the people in it's inward and
outward form, making clear the lawful from the prohibited, the
encouraged from the discouraged, even to the extent that he (saws)
taught us the manners of going to the toilet, the manners of having sex
with our partners etc.
Allah also says in His Book Surah Al-Maidah Verse 89: "and
We have sent down to you Book (the Quran) as an exposition
(explanation) of everything, a guidance, a mercy and a glad tiding for
those who have submitted themselves (to Allah).
Hence,
Quran contains the explanation of the entire religious principles,
tawheed in all it's various categories, even to the extent that it
teaches us the manners of sitting in circles, visiting other people's
houses, the correct clothing etc.
In the light of what has preceded we can now give the formal Shariah definition of bidah... "A
newly invented way (in beliefs and actions) in the religion, in
imitation of the Shariah, by which nearness to Allah is sought, not
being supported by any authentic proof, neither in it's foundations nor
in the manner in which it is performed." [al-I'tisaam 1/231 of ash-Shaatibee]
Reasons behind the Existence of Bidah
(a) IGNORANCE: Whenever people separate from the True Message, knowledge will decrease and ignorance will flourish. The Prophet of Allah (saws) informed us about this adversity when He said: Whoever lives (long) will witness many differences. [Abu Dawood]
And He (saws) also said: Allah
does not erase knowledge (from earth) by erasing knowledge from slaves
(hearts). Rather, He erases knowledge through the death of scholars.
When He leaves (earth) without scholars, people will take the ignorant
as leaders (and scholars). They (the ignorant) will be asked and then
give fatawah without knowledge. Then, they will be lead, and will lead
astray. [Ahmad]
People of knowledge are those who
fight against Bid'ahs. When knowledge and scholars disappear from earth,
then Bidah will see the light. Bidah will then appear and spread.
(b) FOLLOWING ONE'S OWN DESIRES: Whoever shuns the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, and follows his own desires, then pertaining him Allah says Surah Al-Qasas Verse 50:But
if they answer you not (O Muhammad (saws) (i.e. do not believe in your
teachings of Islamic Monotheism, nor follow you), then know that they
only follow their own lusts. And who is more astray then one who follows
his own lust (desires) without the guidance from Allah (revelation)"
Surah A-Jathiyah Verse 23:
Have you seen him who takes his own desires as his god, and Allah
knowing (him as such) left him astray, sealed his hearing and his heart,
and put a cover on his sight. Who then will guide him after Allah.
So, following one's own desires leads one to straying away from the Straight Path and indulging in evil innovation
(c) BLIND FOLLOWING: When
it is said to them: 'Follow peoples opinion blindly prevents one from
following the Straight path. Allah said what translated means: Follow
what Allah has sent down. They say: Nay! We shall follow what we found
our fathers following. Even though their fathers did not understand
anything, nor were they guided. [Surah al-Baqarah Verse 170]
This is the case today with those who blindly follow a Madhab. If
they are called to following the Quran and the Sunnah, leaving their
traditions, what opposes them, they claim to follow their own Madhab,
scholars, fathers or grandfathers, which leads them to indulge in many
evil affairs known as rituals and traditions, originated from the worst
of affairs; Bidahs resulting to the final abode in Hellfire.
(d) IMITATING THE KUFFAR: Imitating
the Kuffar is what befalls one most in Bidahs, because actions of the
Kuffar are built only upon corruption and misguidance.
Abu Waqid Al-Laithi said: We
were still new Muslims when we went to the battle of Hunain with the
Prophet (saws). We found that the Mushrikeen had a tree, called That
Anwar, which they revered and on which they hanged their weapons on.
When we passed by a similar Sidrah we said: O Messenger of Allah
(sallallhu alahi wa-sallam), make for us 'That Anwar' as they have..
Prophet (saws) said: Allahu Akbar! It is the Sunnan (traditions of the
Mushrikeen). You said by He Who has my soul in His Hand, what the
children of Israel said to Moses: Make for us gods as they have gods. He
said: 'Verily! You are a people who know not. [7:138] and He (saws)
said: You will follow the traditions of those before you (Jews and
Christians) [at-Tirmidhee]
In this hadeeth, we find that imitating the Kuffar
(non-believers) is what drove Jews (before them), and some of the
companions (ra), to ask for this ugly matter. They wanted gods to
worship and revere other than Allah. This is the case with the majority
of Muslims today, imitating the disbelievers, which is an opening to
ruthless Bidahs in Islam.
Bidah is more Beloved to Shaytaan than Sinning Sufyaan
ath-Thawree (rahimahullah) said: "Innovations are more beloved to
Shaytaan than sin. Since a sin may be repented from but an innovation is
not repented [Sharh Usul I'tiqaad of al-Laalikaa'ee (d.414) no.238]
This is because the innovator believes that he is doing something good and therefore sees no need to repent.
He also said, "so cling to the original state of affairs"
[al-Hilya 6/376] meaning stick to the way of Muhammad (saws) and
Companions
Imaam Abu
Haneefah (rahimahullah) said, "Stick to the narrations and the way of
the salaf, and beware of the newly invented matters for all of it is
innovation" [Sawnul Muntaq of as-Suyutee pg.32]
Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah)
said, "He, who innovates an innovation in Islam regarding it as
something good, has claimed that Muhammad (saws) has betrayed his trust
to deliver the message as Allah
says Surah Al-Maidah Verse 4: "This day have I perfected your religion
for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as
your religion [al-I'tisaam]
Imaam Ahmad (rahimahullah) said, "The
fundamental principles of the sunnah with us are avoiding innovations
and every innovation is misguidance" [Usul as-Sunnah of Imaam Ahmad
pg.1]
Bidah Corrupting the Sunnah
We
are taught in the revelation that the Sunnah shall become corrupted and
this corruption would become the norm (custom), so much so that the
people who follow the Sunnah would become as strangers, and those who
call to purifying the sunnah would be slandered and reviled (hated).
The Prophet (saws) said: "Islam began as something strange, and
it shall return as something strange as it began. So who give glad
tidings to the strangers." It was asked, "who are the strangers?" He
replied, "Those that purify and correct what the people have corrupted
of my sunnah" [Tabaraanee in al-Kabeer
And what is this corruption, it is none other than innovation,
introducing into the pure religion of Allah, new ways of worshipping Him
that He has not taught, blemishing His religion with one's own whims
and desires, something that Allah Himself condemns:
Surah Ash-Shura Verse 21: "Or do they
have partners with Allah, who have instituted for them a religion which
Allah has not allowed.
The Companion Abdullaah ibn
Mas'ud (ra) laments: How will it be when the trials overcome you, in
which the young grow old and the old grow senile. And the people take
the Bidah as the sunnah, and when it changes they say: the sunnah has
changed. It was said: When will this be? O Abu Abdur Rahmaan! He
replied: When your speakers are many and your scholars are few, and the
wealthy ones are plenty and the trustworthy ones are few."
[ad-Daarimee]
How true this statement is today, that the innovations have
become so widespread in the religion that the people have taken them to
be the Sunnah. And when the true scholar speaks out against these
innovations, he is labelled as a 'wahhabi' by the people because to them
it seems that he is changing the sunnah. To Allah, we complain of the
ignorance of our times!
So, once this topic becomes clear, a truth that none can deny;
that all these innovations in the religions are a clear denial of the
above mentioned verses and ahadith, for none were done by the Companions
(ra). And in what has preceded is ample evidence for any fair-minded
Muslim that all Bidah is blameworthy, and in fact a major sin. But
unfortunately, the Muslims are in such a state today that the Words of
Allah and His Messenger (saws) are no longer enough to convince them and
certain groups of people have come up with belief that has very frail
grounds in the Sunnah. For example, the belief of 'Bidah hasanah', i.e. a
good Bidah, meaning that a scholar can introduce a new action of
worship in Islam, which can be considered to be good as long it does not
contradict any of the principles of Islam. This belief is completely
false and has no basis in the Quran neither in the Sunnah of our Prophet
Muhammad (saws). This issue will
be discuss later in details inshallah,
Shunning the Bidah - Adherence to the Sunnah
The
cure for shunning these newly invented matters has been specified in
the texts of Quran and the Sunnah: Allah has revealed the religion of
Islam unto Prophet Muhammad (saws), and made adherence to his way, the
cure to misguidance:
Surah
Anam Verse 153: Say 'And Verily, this is My Straight Path, so follow
it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from
this Path.'
Allah also says in the Quran Surah Ahzab Verse 21: Indeed in the
Messenger of Allah, you have an excellent example to follow for him, who
hopes in (the meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah
much.
Prophet (saws) said: "I have left behind me two things, if you cling to them you will never go astray. They are the Book of Allah and my Sunnah" [al-Haakim]
And " and you will live to
see great difference, so cling to my sunnah and the sunnah of the
rightly guided caliphs after me, even if it be with your teeth" [Bukhari]
Abdullaah ibn Mas'ud (ra) said:
Follow the sunnah of Muhammad (saws) and do not innovate, for what you
have been commanded is enough for you." [Ad-Daarimee]
Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman (ra) said, "every act of worship that the Companions did not do, do not do it" [Abu Dawood]
The Taabi'ee, the Imaam,
az-Zuhree commented, "Clinging to the sunnah is to be saved, as Imaam
Maalik (rahimahillah) said, 'like the Ark of Noah', he who embarked upon
it was saved, and he who did not was destroyed." [Ad-Daarimee]
Abu Aaliyah said, "Learn Islam,
then when you have learned Islam, do not turn away from it to the right
or to the left. But be upon the Straight Path and be upon the Sunnah of
your Prophet (saws) and that which his companions were upon.
And beware of these innovations
because they cause enmity and hatred amongst you, but stick to the
original state of affairs that was there before they divided." [al-Hilya
of Abu Nu'aym 2/218]
In these narrations is clear evidence that the way of salvation
and safety is to closely follow the Sunnah of our Prophet (saws), and
not to deviate from his path, denying the guidance of others, not
accepting a corrupted form of the Sunnah.
Allah says Surah An-Nisa Verse 115: "And
whosoever does not contends with the Messenger after guidance has been
made clear to him, and follows a way other than the way of the
believers, We shall leave in the path he has chosen, and land him in
Hell, what an evil destination!
Arguments of the Misguided
Know,
O noble reader! The saying that some Bidahs are good and that not every
Bidah is a sin, rather some Bidahs are good is a clear misguidance.
Every example that these misguided bring from the actions of the
Sahaba(ra) to prove their belief of a 'good innovation', is invalid and
it just shows their weak understanding of the Sunnah of Muhammad (saws),
for all of these examples have a clear basis in the Sharee'ah, or
occurred due to necessity, or from ijtihaad. Insha'Allah, we will
mention a few of their arguments:
Initially, know that their saying is in opposition to the Hadeeth: For every Bid'ah is a sin [Abu Dawood]
The Prophet of Allah (saws) clearly stated that all Bidahs are sins.
Ibn Rajab says
regarding this issue: The Prophet's (saws) saying: 'every Bidah is a
sin' is a unique way of speech that nothing (no Bidah) can escape. This
is a major rule in this religion. It is similar to Prophet's (saws) saying: Whoever innovates, in this religion of ours, whatever is not of it, is rejected.
Whoever innovates a
matter that has no basis in Islam, and introduced it to the religion,
has sinned. The religion disowns whoever does that. This rule applies to
all matters of belief, action, and saying, both in public or in
secrecy.
1. When Umar (ra) was caliph, he collected the Muslims to pray in congregation for taraaweeh prayers and said, "what a good bid'ah this is" [Sahih Bukhari]
Evidence is derived
from this for 'bidah hasanah' (i.e. Good Bidah), but of course they have
misunderstood the true intent of Umar (ra), which can be clearly
understood if one were to quote the context of this narration.
When the Prophet
(saws) first prayed taraweeh, the Muslims used to pray taraweeh
individually or in small groups, and then for three nights they prayed
in one congregation behind the Prophet (saws), and after this he (saws)
stopped them from doing so by saying:
"I feared that it would become obligatory upon you." So
after this again, the Muslims would pray individually or in small
groups, and they remained like this throughout the rule of Abu Bakr (ra)
and the beginning of the rule of Umar (ra). Then
Umar (ra) came to the Mosque and saw the Muslims praying in small
groups and so gathered them as one jama'ah to pray behind Ubayy bin Ka'b
(ra) and Tameem ad-Daaree (ra) and stated the above phrase. [Reported
in Bukhari, the Muwatta and others]
Firstly: How
can the action of Umar (ra) be considered to be new when the Prophet
(saws) did it in his lifetime? Not only this but the Muslims were also
in the habit of praying in small groups as well. Hence, the praying of
taraweeh in jamaa'ah was well established in the sunnah and the practice
of the Sahabah (ra).
Secondly: The
Prophet (saws) gave the reason why he stopped the congregational prayer,
for the revelation was still descending, and he feared that praying in
obligation might become obligatory upon his nation, and that this might
lead to be hard on them.
After the death of
Muhammad (saws), the revelation ceased, and this fear was no longer
present. Hence, Umar (ra) re-established the congregation during his
rule because he knew his action could not be made obligatory upon the
ummah.
Thirdly: All
the companions agreed to this action of Umar (ra), there was a consensus
(ijmaa) on this. And the scholars of 'usul' have stated that a
consensus cannot occur except when there is a clear text for it in the
Shariah.
Fourth: So how
do we understand this statement of Umar (ra), "what a good bidah this
is" when the action that Umar (ra) called a bidah was done by the
Prophet saws? Bidah here can only be understood in it's linguistic sense
and not in it's Shariah sense i.e. when Umar (ra) said this, he did not
mean it in the legal sense that we may understand it today. For how
many are the words that mean one thing in the language, but another
thing in the Shariah! The linguistic sense is: something new, because
praying in one congregation was not present in the rule of Abu Bakr (ra)
and the earlier period of his own rule.
Hence, Abu Yusuf (rahimahullah) said, "I asked Abu Haneefah (rahimahullah)
about the taraweeh and what Umar (ra) did and he replied, 'the taraweeh
is a stressed sunnah, and Umar (ra) did not do that from his own
opinion, and neither was there in his action any innovation, and he did
not enjoin it except that there was a foundation for it with him and
authorization from the Prophet (saws)" ['Sharh Mukhtaar' as quoted from
in 'al-Ibdaa' (pg. 80) of Shaykh Alee Mahfooz]
2.The hadith: Whosoever
starts in Islam a good practice (sunnah), he gets the reward of it and
the reward of all those, who act on it. And whosoever starts in Islam an
evil practice (sunnah), he gets the evil of it and the evil of all
those, who act on it." [Saheeh Muslim]
The evidence they
derive from this hadeeth is that people can invent new practices in
Islam, either good or bad. But were they to take this hadith in it's
full context then it would not be possible to infer such a thing.
Imam
Muslim(rahimahullah) reported this story from Jareer ibn 'Abdullaah
(ra) who also narrated: "Some people came to Prophet (saws) wearing
woollen garments. He (saws) saw that they were in bad shape and in
desperate need, so he (saws) urged the people to give them charity.
People were very slow to respond, and it could be seen on his face (that
he was upset). Then a man of the Ansaar brought a package of silver,
then another came, then after him another and another, and his face was
filled with joy. He (saws) said: 'Whoever starts a good thing in Islam,
and others do likewise after him, there will be written for him a reward
like that of those who followed him, without detracting it in the least
from their reward. Whoever starts a bad thing in Islam, and others do
likewise after him, there will be written for him a burden of sin like
that of those who followed him,
without detracting it in the least from their burden. [Sahih Muslim,
no. 1017]
Firstly: The
word sunnah used in the hadith must be understood in it's linguistic
sense (i.e. practice) not it's shariah sense (i.e. the life example of
Muhammad (saws) because otherwise it would imply that there is something
bad in the sunnah.
Secondly: The
Sahaba (ra) who gave charity, did not do anything new, for giving
charity had been legislated from the very early days of Islam as the
Makkan surahs prove, rather he was simply implementing a previously
legislated matter. So, the statement of the Prophet (saws), 'a good
sunnah' was said at a time when the people were reluctant to give
charity, so one man gave it and then others followed him - i.e. he
renewed a sunnah that was being neglected - this is the meaning of 'good
practice' - renewing an existing sunnah.
Hence, we do not stick
just to the specific occurrence in the hadith, but we generalize it's
intent as it's wording is general and as is established in the 'usul'.
The intent of this hadeeth is renewing the Sunnah when it has been
neglected. This is why the early scholars of Islam included this hadeeth
under the chapter "The reward of the one who renews the sunnah" [as
done by the 4th century Imaam al-Laalikaa'ee in his encyclopedic work
detailing the belief of Ahlus Sunnah, 'Sharh Usul I'tiqaad Ahlus Sunnah
wal Jamaa'ah']
Thirdly: The
meaning of 'bad sunnah' is to be understood in the similar vein, i.e.
the one who renews an evil act, will get it's evil. Prophet (saws) gave
the example of the two sons of Adam (alaihi as-salaam), one killing the
other, one who killed got the sin of his action as well the sin of all
those who follow hi in killing; without their sins decreasing, an
killing had been forbidden from the time of the first Prophet (alahi
as-salaam) to the last.
Fourthly: The
hadeeth uses the terms 'good' and 'bad', and from what has preceded, it
is clear that Islam has already defined in it's totality all that it is
good and bad, and if we were to say otherwise, we would then be accusing
the religion of incompleteness and deficiency.
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