INTRODUCTION
Little or incomplete knowledge which is gained about a subject is very dangerous indeed. This is because conclusions drawn from such insufficient knowledge, will automatically be lacking or incomplete in substance when it comes to that particular subject. The worse is that if this little knowledge acquired is about Deen (the religion of Islam), its consequences will be seriously catastrophic and fatal.
Let us look at the following example concerning the Taraweeh (additional prayers prayed by the Muslims after the ‘isha prayer’ during the month of Ramadhan): It is reported that Umar (radhi Allaah anhu) has said: “nirmah bidah” which means (a good bidah/innovation) about this Taraweeh prayer.
We will look at all the circumstances surrounding this event which we will bring out in full detail later in this book. It will be seen that Umar (radhi Allaah anhu) did not innovate (add any bidah) anything about this prayer in the Deen. We will see that what he actually did was that he put one of the ‘sunnah’ of our Nabi (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) in practice again.
However, this event has been misunderstood by many people and has actually opened the door of ‘bidah’ (innovations) in the Deen-e-Islam. The consequence of this event has sadly made people think that they can add or remove or change certain practices or religious principles to or from our Deen. As a result, they do bidah in the Deen at ease without any regret or worries. The worst thing is that they think they are doing something good.
People have taken many ‘bidah’ (innovative practices) for ‘sunnah’ of our prophet Muhammad (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) out of their ignorance. The end result is that often there is a confusion between what is ‘sunnah’ and what is ‘bidah’.
What is the meaning of bidah (innovation)?
1) Bidah (innovation) means introduce or start certain practices or beliefs in Islam.
2) Bidah (innovation) means misrepresenting certain Islamic aspects of the ‘shariah’.
3) Establishing prayers (performing ibaadah) not in accordance with the teachings and principles brought by Allaah’s Messenger Muhammad (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam).
4) Introducing foreign doctrines and practices into the Islamic teachings, practices and beliefs.
5) Ash-shatibi has said: “bidah is a thing (practice or belief) that seems authentic but which has been invented (innovated) and introduced in Islam.
6) As-Souyouti has said: ‘bidah whether it is something added to or removed from Deen is contradictory to ‘shariah’.
A much simpler explanation of what bidah is:
Bidah is when a belief or religious practice has been added or changed.
Bidah can take various forms some of which are as follows:
(i) Imposing a certain restriction on a desirable action which the ‘shariah’ has not imposed. Or
(ii) Changing the form of that action or practice. Or
(iii) Conducting certain religious action (or practices) in congregation while it is islamically supposed to be conducted individually. Or
(iv) Changing the status of any action which the shariah has declared permissible or obligatory. For example, making a non-obligatory practice (like a prayer) obligatory. Or
(v) Practising or conducting an action that does not even exist in Islam. All these are different forms of ‘bidah’ which are forbidden.
An example of bidah (innovation)
- Three people went to see the prophet Muhammad (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) at his place while he was not at home to ask him about his ‘ibaadah’.
- As he was not home, his wife Aisha (radhi Allaahu Anha) replied on his behalf and informed them about the ibaadah of the prophet (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam). On hearing about the ‘ibaadah’ of Nabi (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam), they concluded that their own ibaadah was too little and said: “What big difference is there between the prophet (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) and us. As for him (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam), all his past and future sins have been forgiven.
- So, the first of these three people said: “I will pray all night long.” The second one said: “I will fast every day.” And the third person said: “I will stay away from all women and will never get married.”
- When the Messenger (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) returned home he said to them: “Are you the ones who said such and such things? By Allaah, I am more knowledgeable about Allaah than all of you and I have more fear (takwa) of Him than any of you. And yet there are days when I fast and there are other days when I do not fast; and at night I read ‘swalaats’ and I sleep too; I am also married. So, whoever turns away from my ‘Sunnah’ (guidance) is not among my people. [Bukhari and Muslim]
Some lessons from that event
1) These three people made the intention of doing some good things but what they intended to do was in contradiction to the teachings of the Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam). Therefore their request was rejected.
2) The action that these people decided to commit was neither ‘shirk’ nor ‘kufr’, not even a sin. Contrarily, they were good deeds. But they were against the teachings of the beloved prophet Muhammad (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam).
3) Ibaadah (prayer) to Allaah is not done according to one’s desires, fantasies or customs or innovations. Ibaadah is practised in line with the teachings of Shariah (Islamic Law).
4) Innovations destroy the Sunnah. So, these people intended to innovate a new method of praying (practising ibaadah) which was contrary to the teachings of Allaah’s Messenger (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam).
5) Innovations lead to destruction because it leads to the abandoning and neglecting of Sunnah, which in turn leads to perdition.
6) A good action is right:
(a) If the intention behind it is good and
(b) It is done exactly the way the Shariah has taught us
7) So, if a person introduces a good action (religious practice) with a good intention but that action is not in accordance with the Shariah law (that is the way Allaah and His Rasul (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) has taught it to us – then that action becomes a ‘bidah’.
A misunderstanding
- When Umar (radhi Allaahu Anhu) was the caliph he gathered all the Muslims to read the ‘Taraweeh’ prayer in congregation (jamaat). And then he said: “bidah nirmah” which means ‘good bidah’. [Bukhari]
- So, certain people have taken this as evidence to say that there is such a thing as ‘bidah hasanah’, that is, ‘good bidah’. But if we analyse the context in which he said this, we will understand that these people have completely misunderstood the real intention of Umar (radhi Allaahu Anhu).
HERE IS THE EVENT
The Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) read and led the Taraweeh swalaats for two nights with the sahabah standing in congregation behind him (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam). After this, the Messenger of Allah (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) never read the taraweeh swalaats in congregation again and he said: “I am afraid that the taraweeh becomes obligatory upon you.” After this, the Muslims, started to read their taraweeh individually and in small groups.
This was the practice during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (radhi Allaahu Anhu) and in the beginning of the caliphate of Umar (radhi Allaahu Anhu). Then one day, Umar (radhi Allaahu Anhu) came in the mosque and saw that people were reading their taraweeh in small groups. So, he gathered all of them in one congregation and made them stand behind Ubayy bin Kaab and Tameem ad-Daaree (radhi Allaahu Anhumah) and then he said the phrase: ‘nirmah bidah’.
NOTE CAREFULLY:
1) How can this action of Umar (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) be considered as a novelty or innovation (bidah) when in fact the Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) used to practise it in his life???
2) Not only that, but the Muslims used to practise it as well! The conclusion: reading taraweeh in congregation (in jamaat) was an established sunnah that was practised by the sahabah.
3) The reason for stopping to read taraweeh in jamaat that the messenger of Allaah (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) gave, was that at the time, revelation was still coming down to him and he was afraid that if the swalaatul taraweeh became obligatory, then his Ummat would find it too hard and difficult to accomplish.
4) After the departure of our prophet Muhammad (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) from this world, divine revelations had stopped coming down. Therefore the fear that taraweeh would become obligatory was no more. So, Umar (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) started the practice of reading taraweeh in jamaat (congregation) again. And that was because he knew that it would not become obligatory on the Ummat.
5) All the sahabah agreed on that decision of Umar (Radhi Allaahu Anhu). There was a consensus (ijmaa) on that subject. All the Ulamah of Islam have made a consensus on this too (that they all agreed on this) as there is a clear text about it that it used to be practised before.
6) Therefore the words of Umar (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) that ‘it is a good bidah’ could not mean bidah in the literal sense (innovation) because this was a practice that our Nabi (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) used to do.
So, the word ‘bidah’ here takes a different meaning from a Shariah perspective to mean that ‘the swalaatul-taraweeh in jamaat was new because it was non-existent at the beginning and during the reign of Abu Bakr (radhi Allaah Anhu).’
Quranic Verses on the consequences of bidah
Hazrat Ibn Abass (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) and Hazrat Qatadah (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) have said that those faces that will be darkened will be of the innovators (those who used to innovate in the Deen).
Imam Malik (rahimahul laah) has said that the above Quranic verse is quite heavy (severe) on those innovators.
The right path is the path that the Qur’an and the Sunnah has shown us while the other ways are the ways of deviation or innovations leading to perdition.
- One day the Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) asked Aisha (Radhi Allaahu Anha): Oh Aisha there are those who create division in religion and those who have divided into sects; you have nothing to do with them. Their affairs are with Allaah and in the end Allaah will inform them of their affairs (actions!) – do you know who these people are?
- Aisha (Radhi Allaahu Anha) replied: ‘Allaah and His Messenger know best.’
- The Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laah hu alaihi wa sal lam) replied: ‘They are those people who follow their fancies and they are the innovators who have deluded away from my Ummat. O Aisha for each sin there is repentance but there is no repentance for innovators who follow their fancies and desires. I have nothing with them and they have nothing to do with me.
Hadiths (narrations) on the consequences of bidah
- 1) Aisha (Radhi Allaahu Anha) narrated that Allaah’s Messenger (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) said: ‘anyone who introduces anything new in our Shariah is rejected.’ [Bukhari]
- 2) Its citation from [Muslim]: ‘He who practises something that has not been ordered (prescribed) will be rejected.’
- 3) Jabir Ibn Abdullah (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam), used to mention this quite often in his ‘khutba’ (sermon) that: ‘The best Word is the holy book of Allaah (the holy Qur’an) and the best Guidance the Guidance of Muhammad (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam). The most evil things are innovations (bidah) and each innovation leads to deviation. [Bukhari]
- 4) “…every novelty in Deen is an innovation and each innovation is a deviation, and each deviation leads to the fire of Hell.” [Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi]
- 5) “He who innovates in the Deen or supports an innovator, the curse of Allaah and His angels and the whole of mankind is on him.” [Bukhari]
- 6) Abu Huraira (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) narrated that Nabi (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) said: “I will be by the lake of Hauz-é-Kausar and distributing water from it to the Muslims who will come towards me. Those will drink of this water will never be thirsty again. There will be other people coming to my lake whom I will recognise as my people; and they too, will recognise me. But the angels will drive them away from my lake Hauz- é-Kausar just a camel is chased away. I will say: ‘O my Rabb, these people were my followers and they are my people (Ummat).”
- But I will be told: ‘You do not know all the innovations that they brought in the Deen after you left the world.” And therefore, I will say: ‘get them away from me, get them away from me.”
- 7) Abu Huraira (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) narrated that Nabi (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) said: “There will appear from my Ummat liars and impostors who bring forth their innovations which neither they nor their ancestors have heard before. Be cautious of those people and do not let yourselves get involved in their lies and innovations.”
- 8) Abdullah Ibn Masud (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) said: “What will be your situation when innovations (bidah) will be practised openly and your children will grow up practising these innovations while your hair will grow white in practising them too. And it will so happen that an ignorant in the Deen will become your leader (chief) and the situation will go from bad to worse until there will be no one left practising the Sunnah as it will be that the ‘Sunnah is bidah’…. [Ad-Daarimee]
In other words, much ignorance will prevail and loads of innovations will be practised openly. People will take innovations as Sunnah. And when someone will practise the sunnah, people will tell him that he is practising ‘bidah’ out of their ignorance.
- 9) Huzaifah (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) narrated that Nabi (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam) said: “He who practises innovations (bidah), all his swalaats, roza (fast), zakaat, hajj and umrah, jihad, sadaqat, fidya are not accepted by Allaah Ta’alah. Rather, he is outside Islam just like a strand of hair removed from flour. [Ibn Majah]
Islam is a perfect and complete religion
It is said in the holy Qur’an that: “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion – …” [Surah 5 Maïda, verse 3]
When the above Quranic verse was revealed, the Jews told Umar (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) that if this verse came down for them, they would have chosen a day to celebrate its revelation.
Umar (Radhi Allaahu Anhu) said that he knew the time and place when this verse was revealed.
In fact, this verse was revealed on the day of Arafat, in the farewell (last) Hajj of The Prophet (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) and there was more than 100,000 sahabah present at the time. This verse announces a historic completion which began with the coming of the First Prophet Adam (Alaihis salaam) on earth.
This procedure has continued through 124,000 Prophets which Allaah Ta’alah has sent to many different nations and countries until the last time when the Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) was sent. He received revelations for 23 years. And then on the ground of Arafat while there was over 100,000 sahabah present, this verse was revealed as the final revelation. That now there will be no more revelations.
Guidance from Allaah Ta’alah was completed. Deen-e-Islam has been perfected. There would be no more Messengers from Allaah, no more revelations or prophecies. No new prophets would come. There would be no new Shariah. There would be no new commandments till the Day of Judgment. Now the right Path is ahead of us and we need to walk on it (follow it). There is no need for us to look for another way or path.
Bidah is the opposite of Sunnah
In the Islamic terminology Sunnah and Bidah are opposite in meaning. Literally, Sunnah means the Way which the Last Prophet, the Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) has taught and shown us. This includes Shariah and all its teachings which come from the holy Qur’an, hadiths (narrations), Consensus of the Sahabah and ‘ijtehad’ of the Qualified Imaams.
Bidah is like a counterfeit banknote that looks quite desirable by its designs. However, just like the counterfeit banknote is fake, bidah is in fact something which is totally outside Shariah. By extension, and in practically all cases, whether it comes to its source or root or bidah itself, it emanates from non-Islamic influences. Bidah takes different forms from region to region. By contrast, Islamic practices and beliefs maintain their form regardless of time and places.
Example: it does not matter which country or which town or which village a person comes from, but any person’s fast or swalaat or any prayer will be the same if he is following the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad (sal lal laahu alaihi wa sal lam). By contrast, people who follow or practise ‘bidah’ (innovations), their ways of worship, or manner they conduct their weddings or funerals will vary from place to place, country to country, from continent like Africa or Asia to other continent.
The root, traditions and customs of the practice of bidah can be analysed in the following example. If we need to know what rituals or customs must be practised when there is a death in the family, we simply need to open the Fiqh book and we will learn all the steps that we must take for the (funeral).
But it has become a common practice nowadays that when a person dies, his family members will invite relatives, friends and neighbours to serve them food and drinks on behalf of the deceased after his death. But this is not mentioned in the Fiqh book and is therefore a practice against Islaam and is thus a bidah (an innovation).
Bidah is a burden in contrast to Islaam which is quite simple and easy to practise. For instance, when a person dies the Messenger of Allaah (sal lal laa hu alaihi wa sal lam) has taught us that it is the relatives and other closed ones (not immediate members of the family) that should actually prepare food and give to the bereaved family. But bidah (as seen above) is quite the opposite as it is the bereaved family that organises the food and invites those relatives and other closed ones to come and eat in the house of the demised person. As stated above, this is a very common practice amongst the muslims these days which is sadly against the ‘shariah’.