What is Bid'ah

A Response to People Of Innovation!

- What is Bid'ah (innovation) in Islam?

A newly- invented way (in beliefs or actions) in the religion, in imitation of the Shari'ah, by which nearness to Allah is sought, not being supported by any authentic proof - neither in its foundations nor in the manner in which it is performed" [As defined in Al-I'tisam 1/231 of Ash- Shatibi, the sixth century Maliki scholar of Usul]. And in what has preceded is ample evidence for any fair-minded Muslim that all bid'ah is blameworthy and in fact a major sin.

- What Allahﷻ said about obeying Prophet ﷺ

"Indeed you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example for the one who hopes in Allah and looks to the Last Day."

Al-Qur'an 33:21

He also says:

"So if you obey him (prophet ﷺ) then you will be guided."

Al-Qur'an 24:54.

- What The Prophet ﷺ said about Bid'ah (innovation)

Prophet, peace be upon him, 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." [Bayhaqi] . Rasulallah, peace be upon him, 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 Hellfire." [An-Nisa'i]. He also used to say at the beginning of his lectures, " ... and the best speech is the speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and the worst of all affairs are the newly-invented matters (in the religion)." [Muslim]

And he commanded us, "Whosoever does an action which we have not commanded then it will be rejected," [Muslim] and also, "Whosoever introduces into this religion of ours that which is not part of it then it must be rejected." [Ahmad]. "And in this hadith is clear evidence that every action which is not legislated in the Shari'ah (Islamic law) must be rejected" [Jamia al-Usul 1/120 of Ibn Rajab, the eighth century Hanbali scholar well-known for his extensive knowledge and great piety]. So every bid'ah that is introduced in the religion has to be rejected because only Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him, have the right to legislate in the Shari'ah of Islam.

 - The Sayings of the Companions on bid’ah (innovation)

'Abdullah bin 'Umar said, "Every innovation is misguidance, even if the people regard it as good." [Ad-Darimi] This narration is sufficient to demolish the idea of a 'good bid'ah', for you have the like of this Companion from amongst the most knowledgeable Companions of Rasulallah, upon whom be peace, saying the exact opposite. So who do you choose to follow, Ibn 'Umar or these modern day shaykhs and mullahs who are Imams of their own whims and desires?

'Abdullah ibn Abbas said, "Do not sit with the people of innovation, for surely their sittings are a sickness for the hearts." [Ash-Shari'ah of Al-Ajuri, p.65]

Whenever he sat in a circle of knowledge, Mu'adh ibn Jabal used to say, " ... and I warn you of what is innovated, for all that is innovated is misguidance." [Ash-Shari'ah, p.55 and Abu Dawud with similar wording]

'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "Follow the Sunnah of Muhammad and do not innovate, for what you have been commanded is enough for you." [Ad-Darimi]

Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman said, "Every act of worship which the Companions did not do, do not do it." [Abu Dawud]

'Amr ibn Salmah said, "We used to sit by the door of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud before the morning prayer, so that when he came out we would walk with him to the masjid. One day Abu Musa al-Ash'ari came to us and said, 'Has Abu 'Abdur-Rahman come out yet?' We replied, 'No.' So he sat down with us until he came out. When he came out we all stood along with him, so Abu Musa said to him, 'O Abu Abdur-Rahman! I have just seen something in the masjid which I deemed to be evil, but all praise is for Allah, I did not see anything except good.' He enquired, 'Then what is it?' Abu Musa replied, 'If you live you will see it. I saw in the masjid people sitting in circles awaiting the prayer. In each circle they had pebbles in their hands and a man would say, 'Repeat Allahu Akbar a hundred times.' So they would repeat it a hundred times. Then he would say, 'Say la ilaha illallah a hundred times.' So they would say it a hundred times. Then he would say, 'Say subhanallah a hundred times.' So they would say it a hundred times.' Ibn Mas'ud asked, 'What did you say to them?' Abu Musa said, 'I did not say anything to them. Instead I waited to hear your view or what you declared.' Ibn Mas'ud replied, 'If only you had ordered them to count up the evil deeds they acquired and assured them that their good deeds would not be lost!' Then we went along with him until they came to one of these circles and stood and said, 'What is this which I see you doing?' They replied, 'O Abu Abdur-Rahman! These are pebbles upon which we are counting takbir, tahlil and tasbih.' He said, 'Count up your evil deeds. I assure you that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O Ummah of Muhammad, peace be upon him! How quickly you go to destruction! These are the Companions of your Prophet, upon whom be peace, and who are widespread. There are his clothes which have not yet decayed and his bowl which is unbroken. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! Either you are upon a religion better guided than the religion of Muhammad, peace be upon him, or you are opening the door of misguidance.' They said, 'O Abu Abdur-Rahman! By Allah, we only intended good.' He said, 'How many there are who intend good but do not achieve it. Indeed Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, said to us, "A people will recite the Qur'an but it will not pass beyond their throats." By Allah! I do not know, perhaps most of them are from you.' Then he left them."

Umar ibn Salmah (the sub-narrator) said, "We saw most of those people fighting against us on the day of Nahrawan, along with the Khawarij." [Ad-Darimi in his Sunan, 1/79]

Isn't this enough? The companions tell us to follow the way of Rasulallah, peace be upon him, and not invent new ways worship? "Whomsoever Allah guides to the truth, none can misguide, and whomsoever Allah misguides, none can guide." [Muslim]

- The Sayings from the Second and Third Generations

Al-Hasan al-Basri said, "Do not sit with the people of innovation. Do not debate with them or listen to them." [Ad-Darimi, 1/121]

Abu'l-'Aliyah 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 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 Nuaym, 2/218]

Sufyan ath-Thawri said, "Innovations are more beloved to Shaytan than sin, since a sin may be repented from but an innovation is not repented from." [Sharh Usul I'tiqad of al-Lalika'i (d. 414H) no.238, the great 4th century Imam who wrote on the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah] This is because the innovator believes 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 the way of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his companions.

Imam Al-Awza'i said, "Patiently restrict yourselves to the Sunnah, and pause where the people paused, say what they said, and avoid what they avoided. Take to the path of the Salaf (predecessors), for indeed, what was sufficient for them is sufficient for you." [Ash-Shari'ah, p.58]

Ibrahim al-Masayrah said, "He who honours an innovator has assisted in the demolition of Islam." [Sharh Usul I'tiqad, 1/139]

- What the four imams said on bidi'a (innovation)

“ Imam Abu Hanifah said, "Stick to the narrations and the way of the Salaf, and beware of newly-invented matters for all of it is innovation." [Sawn ul-Mantaq of As-Suyuti, p.32] .

Imam Maalik said "Whoever among this ummah innovates something today which was not practiced by the Salaf, has accused the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم of treachery because Allah said "...This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion....." So what was not religion then, is not religion today" (Ibn Hazam quoted it with his chain in al Ahkam fe Asool al Ahkam vol 6 page 791)

In other words he says

"He who innovates an innovation in Islam regarding it as something good, has claimed that Muhammad has betrayed his trust to deliver the message as Allah says, "This day I have perfected for you your religion." And whatsoever was not part of the religion then, is not part of the religion today." [Al-I'tisam] He also said, "How evil are the people of innovation, we do not give them salam." [Al-Ibanah of Ibn Battah (d. 387H), no. 441]

“ Imam Abu Hanifah said, "Stick to the narrations and the way of the Salaf, and beware of newly-invented matters for all of it is innovation." [Sawn ul-Mantaq of As-Suyuti, p.32] .

Imam Ash-Shafi'i said, "Whosoever considers an innovation to be good has corrected the Prophet." [Bulugh al-Maram of Ibn Hajar (available in English), p190 footnote 2] And all that has been related from him that contradicts this statement, regarding innovation as being of two types is either weak or baseless as al-Hafidh adh-Dhahabi and others from the scholars of hadith state.

Imam Ahmad said, "The fundamental principles of the Sunnah with us are: ... avoiding innovation and every innovation is misguidance." [Usul us-Sunnah (available in English), p.1]

Imam Al-Bukhari said, "I have met more than a thousand scholars ... (then he named the more prominent in each of the lands he visited) and I found that they all agreed on the following points: ... they all used to prohibit bid'ah - that which the Prophet and his Companions were not upon, because of the saying of Allah, '...and hold fast to the rope of Allah and do not separate.' " [From his article on belief, quoted in Sharh Usul I'tiqad, 1/170. Amongst the scholars he met were Ahmad bin Hanbal, Abu Ubayd al-Qasim, Ibn Ma'in, Ibn Asim, Ibn Abi Shaybah, and Abu Salih the scribe of Layth ibn Sa'ad].

- Unfortunately however, the Muslims are in such a state today that the words of Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him, are no longer enough to convince them. Certain groups of Muslims have come up with a new belief - the belief of bid'ah hasanah. They claim that a scholar can introduce a new action of worship in Islam, as long as it does not contradict any of the principles of Islam, a belief which has absolutely no foundation in Islam at all. So we are now forced to resort to the statements of the great Imams of guidance after the Prophet in response.

And lastly the Saying of Allah, the Most Wise:

"And whosoever contends with the Messenger after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a way other than the way of the believers (the Companions), We shall leave him in the path he has chosen and land him in Hell - what an evil destination!"

Al-Qur'an 4:115