BIDAH: INFECTING THE MUSLIM SOCIETY
       

"The best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad......The worst affairs are the innovated ones (bid'ahs)......Every bid'ah is heresy...And every heresy is going astray......And every astray act is in the Hellfire." (Muslim)

ONCE, ON A VERY HOT DAY in Madinah, three men came together to one of the houses of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. "They spoke to his wife," said Anas ibn Malik, the young Muslim boy who spent ten years in the service of the Messenger of Allah. The men came with the intention of finding out what kind of Ibadah, or worship, did the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam have. When they learned about it, they thought that it was little and not sufficient for them. They said, "Who are we compared to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam? No one can attain a stronger eman than his, and in addition to that, Allah Has forgiven all of his sins." Therefore, they thought, "common folks like us have to do more Ibadah." And so, one of them said, "I will do tahajjud, offer salah throughout the night, forever." The other said, "I will fast every day of the year and will not miss a day of fasting for the rest of my life." The third said, "I will abstain from women and will never marry."

Sounds like good ways of doing more worship and getting nearer to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala? Not exactly. When the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, was told of what they said, he did not approve of it. He, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, sent for them, and when they came to him, he asked, "Are you the people who said such and such? (repeating what they promised they will do to increase their worship of Allah)." He then told them, "I swear by Allah that I am the one who fears and pleases Allah most among you, yet I fast and break my fast, I make salah at night and sleep, and I marry women. This is my sunnah." And continued, to make a strong emphasis of this point, by saying, "And whosoever turns away from my sunnah does not belong to me."

This incident, narrated by Anas ibn Malik, and reported in Sahih al- Bukhari, was the first event in which some Muslims wanted, in good intention, to worship Allah, in a way that was not in accordance with the Sunnah and the way of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. Regardless of how good the intention is, inventing ways for worship using mere opinions or one's desires, is haram and is a deviation which can lead the 'innovator' away from the right path of Islam.

This incident, however, was not to be the last. Each time the Muslim communities or individuals lost their strong ties to eman and authentic Islamic knowledge, new bid'ahs were foormed and old ones revived. Some of these innovations, unfortunately, are still practiced today. And so the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam-who was aware that such bid'ahs will appear in his Ummah-strongly warned against them. In the Qur'an and the Sunnah, there is a clear evidence that bid'ahs are means of misguidance that can indeed lead someone to Hellfire. In the famous and authentic hadeeth of Khutbatul Hajah, the starter speech, which is usually said by Muslims at the beginning of each speech, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "To proceed: the truest speech is the Book of Allah. The best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The worst affairs are the innovated ones. Every innovation is a bid'ah. And every bid'ah is going astray. And every astray act is in the Hellfire." (Muslim) A very strong admonition indeed. Muslims repeat this reminder for as long as there is life on this earth. That is how grave the matter of bid'ah is.

CONDITIONS FOR DEEDS TO BE ACCEPTED

It is important at the outset of this discussion that the subject of al-Amal as-Saleh, the good deed, be mentioned because only this kind of deed is accepted by Allah. Allah says, "So whoever hopes for meeting his Lord, let him work righteousness and associates none as a partner in the worship of his Lord." Also, He says, "He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed." [67:2] Imam al-Fudayl ibn Eyadh said, "Best in deed means, the most sincere and most correct. If the deed is sincere but not correct, it will not be accepted. If it is correct but not sincere, it will not be accepted. The sincere deed is the one offered to Allah alone and the correct deed is the one perfoormed according to the Sunnah." Sincerity and correctness then are the two conditions necessary for our deed to be accepted:

Sincerity of Intention

Sincerity in intention means that the deed is to be done for the sake of Allah only. Allah says, "Verily it is We Who have revealed the Book to you in truth: so worship Allah, by offering religious deeds sincerely to Him. Surely, religion is for Allah." [39:2-3] Ibn Katheer said, "This means Allah does not accept any deed save that which is sincerely devoted to Him alone." Allah also says, "And they were commanded not, but to worship Allah, and worship none save Him Alone, and to perfoorm salah, and give zakah; and that is the right religion." [89:5]

The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "Deeds are but by intention. And every man shall have but that which he intended." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Following of the Sunnah

This condition applies equally to the deeds of the hearts, known as beliefs, and to the deeds of the organs, known as the acts of worship.

These two parts of deeds are the gravitational forces of Ibadah and the center of eman which is defined as the beliefs of the heart, the utterances of the tongue, and the perfoormance of the acts of worship. All deeds of the heart, like loving for the sake of Allah, and all acts of worship, like salah, fasting, and Hajj, must be conducted in full submission and according to the Sunnah. Among the plentiful evidences from the Qur'an and Sunnah supporting this condition are the following:

Allah says, "Say, if you do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins; for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [3:31] Therefore, the one sign which indicates that someone truly loves the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, is the following of his example, his Sunnah. In another verse, Allah tells that all paths other than the sunnah (His straight Path) will lead one astray, "Verily, this is My Straight Path, follow it, and follow not (other) paths for they will separate you away from His Path. This, He has ordained for you that you may be righteous." [6:135]

The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "Make salah in the same fashion you have seen me make it." (Bukhari). The same order of course applies to all other types of worships and deeds. He also said, "I leave in your hands two things, and you will never go astray as long as you hold fast to both of them: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Messenger." (Authentic, Muwatta and al-Hakim) and "Whoever introduces a new matter into our religion, which is not originally part of it, will have it reject." (Muslim)

The essence of this condition is: If a deed is not a sunnah, then most likely it is a bid'ah. It is important for every Muslim, therefore, to understand these two conditions for they are the very foundation of our religion.

WHAT DOES BID'AH MEAN?

In Arabic, the name bid'ah means, "the unprecedented made-up thing." Allah says about Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, "I am not a bid'ah (new thing) among the Messengers." [46:9] The tafseer of this verse is, "I am not the first Messenger but there were other Messengers before me." Linguistically, the word bid'ah is used to name and describe something new. One that has no previous example, both the good and the evil, but mostly evil.

DEFINING BID'AH

Ash-Shatibi said, "bid'ah is a made-up way, a way introduced into the religion that emulates the authorized (authentic) way, and is followed and observed in order to worship Allah more." (al-Iatisam, 1/37)

Ibn Rajab said, "Bid'ah is a newly invented matter which has no evidence to prove its origin in the Shari'ah. If it has an origin in the Shari'ah, then it is not considered bid'ah even if it is called as such from the linguistic point of view." (Jami al-Uloom, 265)

As-Soyouti said, "Bid'ah is an act that contradicts the Shari'ah, adds to the Shariah, or omits from it." (al-Amru bili-Itibaa, 88)

These definitions outline the main characteristics of what bid'ah is in Islam, which are summarized as follows:

-Bid'ah is about introducing something new into the religion. This excludes the matters which are not intended as religious acts or rites of worship, but are rather intended for worldly use like new tools and devices to facilitate living. For example, introducing a new type of salah, thikr, siyam, so on and so forth is considered bid'ah. But the invention and use of microphones in making the aathan (call for salah) is not.

- Bid'ah is the matter which has no origin in the Shari'ah. Therefore, matters that have origin in Shari'ah are not considered bid'ah. Contemporary examples are inventing or acquiring fighter planes, tanks, missiles, or other modern arms to defend Islam and Muslims. This is not considered bid'ah even if the weapon was not known at the time of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. The origin for introducing and using such means of defense is included in the verse of the 'Preparation,' "And make ready against them all you can of power." [8:60]

- All types of bid'ah are bad and forbidden. There is no such thing as a good bid'ah because all types of bid'ah are in opposition of Shari'ah. Some people try to take advantage of a report from Umar ibnul Khattab in which he mentioned "good bid'ah," as an evidence that their bid'ah is also good. But the rule is very simple: if it has no evidence in the Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijmaa or Qiyaas, it is a bid'ah and it is haram.

-Bid'ah includes all additions into, and omissions from, the religion. Omission here does not pertain to those who are intentionally neglectful; these are sinners. Nor does it pertain to those who do not perfoorm certain acts because they are optional.

Thus, it is very important to understand that bid'ah is an invented matter, something not sustained by Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijmaa, nor understood from supporting evidences and concluded by reliable scholars. Bid'ah, therefore, can easily be recognized. It lacks evidence. Obvious examples are: prohibiting oneself or others from the halal meat and clothes which Allah made lawful. Allah says, "O you who believe! Do not prohibit the good things that Allah made lawful to you." [5:87] Or making prohibited things lawful like adultery, alcohol consumption, usury, etc.

BID'AH IS MORE EVIL THAN SINNING

The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, the companions, and the renowned scholars have denounced and spoken strongly against bid'ah because of its evil. It is actually more evil than sinning. Allah's Messenger said, "Allah has withheld the repentance from every person of bid'ah." (Authentic, Tabarani) Imam al-Ghazali said, "Bid'ah is more evil than sinning." Sufiyan ath-Thawri said, "Bid'ah is more beloved to Satan than sinning because it is possible to repent from sin but not from bid'ah." This is true because:

-The essence of bid'ah is the indirect accusation that the Prophet betrayed Allah's Message and Trust. Furthermore, the person committing it believes that his bid'ah is a means to please Allah, an act that would bring him closer to Him-even though it was never taught by Allah's Messenger. This means that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, did not convey the whole Message he was trusted to convey to all mankind. Imam Malik said, "Whosoever introduces a bid'ah into this Ummah that was not embraced by its predecessors is in fact claiming that Allah's Messenger betrayed the Message. This is because Allah says, "This day I have completed your religion for you, fulfilled My favor upon you, and chosen for you Islam as your religion." Therefore what was not (part of the) religion then; it is not (part of the) religion today." This accusation by itself is worse than sinning.

-Bid'ah is a total opposition to the Shari'ah. In reality, the person of bid'ah sees himself as a rectifier amending or improving the Shari'ah. He feels what the Shari'ah is providing-in that aspect for which he is inventing the bid'ah-is insufficient for him, and so he rectifies that by the bid'ah thinking that the bid'ah will make him worship Allah better. But Satan's primary goal is to make man commit Kufr and Shirk, and when he cannot, he tries to make man invent a bid'ah. This is usually easier for Satan because bid'ah makes a person feel that he is worshipping Allah not sinning. Also, the effect of sinning, for the most part, is limited to the sinning person, while bid'ah damages the religion itself. Furthermore, bid'ah is the gate to Kufr and Shirk, Imam Ibn Hanbal said, "Allah says, "What! Have they partners with Allah, who have instituted for them a religion which Allah has not allowed." [42:21] Therefore, anyone who recommends an act of worship that is not instituted by Allah or makes it an obligation through saying or action, is in reality instituting a religion that is not allowed by Allah. And if any one follows him in that, he too is taking partner with Allah."

CAUSES THAT LEAD TO BID'AH

There are two reasons behind the bid'ah emergence:

1. Allah's Preordainment

Allah decided it this way and He is All-Wise. Allah says, "And if your Lord had so willed, He could have made mankind one nation, but they will not cease to disagree. Except those on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy, and for that He created them. And the word of your Lord shall be fulfilled, 'I will fill Hell with Jinns and men all together'." [11:117-118] Allah is very well able to make all people believers. Still, for some reasons of hikmah, wisdom, He chose that people be different in their religions, opinions, and convictions. Disagreements, dissents, differences, and fights common to mankind applies to Muslims also! Disagreements are not all wrong though. They can be one of two types:

A) Disagreement over issues that are subject to Ijtihad-scholarly deduction and conclusion. This type is acceptable. Muslims indulging in such disputes are not condemned and are not subject to Allah's punishment.

B) Disagreement that falls under the saying of Allah, "Verily, those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you (O Muhammad) have no part in them in the least." [6:159] This condemned type of disagreement applies to the people who invent bid'ah and follow their desires. The fundamental principles of their beliefs and worship are different from the sunnah and the way it was understood and practiced by the Companions of the Prophet.

2. Human Choices

A) Following One's Own Desire.
Allah says, "They follow but a guess (Thann) and that which, they themselves desire, whereas there has come to them the guidance from their Lord." [53:23] Scholars are in agreement that "The origin of deviation is the following of guess and desire." This is why the people of bid'ah are called the people of desires. Umar ibnul-Khattab said, "Be aware of the people of 'mere opinions' for they are the enemies of the sunnah. They were unable to memorize the ahadeeth, therefore, they switched to opinions misleading themselves and others."

Those who follow their desires first decide what they like, then they search for evidences in the Qur'an and in the Arabic language to support these desires. This is exactly the opposite of the people-of- sunnah who follow the evidence-wherever it may land them. They are the servants of the evidence not vice versa. On the other hand, when the people-of-desire find the evidences to be in disagreement with what they believe, they will tamper with it and change it to make it fit the desires they seek.

B) Lack of Knowledge of the Shari'ah:
Some people know very little about the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the foundations of all Islamic Knowledge. Chances are high that they end up in bid'ah. Our Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, has infoormed us about the disappearance of knowledge and what would happen to people after that. He said, "Allah does not remove knowledge by taking it away from people, knowledge disappears when true scholars die. When no real scholar is left among people, they take ignorant people as leading scholars to ask them questions. They will answer them without knowledge and thus mislead themselves and others." (Bukhari) These people's lack of Knowledge causes them to follow the unclear texts of Qur'an and Sunnah and abandon the obvious and evident texts. Umar ibnul-Khattab said, "Soon will come people who will use the unclear-texts of Qur'an to argue with you. If they do so, challenge them with sunnah for the people-of-sunnah are much more knowledgeable about Allah's Book."

C) Imitation of Traditions
One of the root-causes of bid'ah is the imitation of different traditions:

-Imitation of the tradition of the forefathers and the Shaikhs Many people are captivated by the traditions of their forefathers and their Shaikhs and they will not be willing to break away from them regardless if they are right or wrong. Allah says, "We found our fathers following a certain tradition and we guide ourselves in their footsteps." [43:23] This type of ill-fated imitation leads people to follow the false opinions of other people like them and forsake the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

-Imitation of Schools of Thought or Sects. This condemned imitation has led people to many bid'ah. Most of the deviated sects establish their own invented principles and judge people accordingly. Those who follow and abide by their principles are believers, and those who do not are the infidels or the sinners. Many Sufis, students of Fiqh, and others who follow a certain sect or religious figurehead- other than the Prophet- in their knowledge and religious convictions do not accept any opinion save that produced by their own sect.

- Following the Customs and Popular Practices. This type of imitation is one of the worst types. Once the bid'ah becomes a custom and a common practice among people, it will not be susceptible to criticism, changes or opposition. It will be difficult to break away from this bid'ah because most people are doing it, and very few are criticizing it. Ibn Masoud said, "What will you do if you are overwhelmed by a long lasting bid'ah tribulation, the old becomes frail, the young becomes old and people believe it to be sunnah? And when it is changed they say, the sunnah is changed!" They asked, "When will this happen O Abu Abdur-Rahman?" He said, 'When your readers of Qur'an become plentiful and your scholars of Fiqh few. Your rulers become plentiful and your honest ones few. And when the worldly gain is acquired through Hereafter's deeds'." (Authentic, Darimi and Hakim)

WHAT MAKES BID'AH SPREAD & FLOURISH

There are many factors that can help spread a bid'ah, and through out our history we have seen the people of bid'ah use all extreme necessary to eliminate obstacles from their way. Not all of these methods are outlined here because they are too many to list. Instead, only three categories of ways are mentioned to give some examples. Special emphasis, however, should be added to the relationship of the people of bid'ah with governments. Government have used them against the rest of the Muslims, and they have used the governments to promote their bid'ah. Similar trends are prevailing today.

1. Government adoption of bid'ah or their silence about it is a major reason that allows the spread of bid'ah. History teaches us that many bid'ah spread and flourished because rulers championed it. A famous and good example is the bid'ah of Mu'atazilah sect. They were successful in influencing many of Abbasid Khaleefas to propagate and force their bid'ah on people. Imam Al-Lalakaie said, "The convictions of people of bid'ah were never able to emerge save by oppressor ruler's support who is willing to go to any extreme to make his bid'ah prevail and to turn Muslims away from their religion. He forces his bid'ah on people with his sword, whip, bribe, or whatever it takes to divert them away from Allah's Path -or through the support of a stubborn vicious sinner "human-satan" who covertly tricks people into his bid'ah."

2. The oratorical eloquence of the person of bid'ah plays a substantial role in propagating his bid'ah. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "Some eloquence works like magic." (Muslim) It was never a coincidence that in every generation of the Mu'tazilah there existed a very eloquent advocate of their bid'ah, like Wassail ibn Attaa, Az-Zamakhshari, etc.

3. Cooperation among the people of bid'ah always played a role in the spreading of the bid'ah. It even became common to hear people saying in their proverbs, "Such and such respected such and such as the Shiite and the Mu'tazilah do with each other." The history of deviated Qaramitah, Ismailiah among others, is the strongest evidence and a great lesson to the people-of-sunnah.

THEY SAID...

Ibn Masoud said, "We follow but we initiate not, we follow but we invent not bid'ahs, and we will never go astray as long we are holding to the sunnah."

Anas ibn Malik said, "The Muslims gave their pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr the next day the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, died. Umar stood on the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah before Abu Bakr. I heard him saying, "And to proceed: Allah has chosen for His Messenger the reward He Has prepared for him over what you have. However Allah left in your hands this Qur'an with which Allah used to guide your Messenger. Abide by it and you will be guided to the same guidance that Allah provided to His Messenger." (Bukhari)

Ibn Abbas said, "Be steadfast, hold tight to the sunnah and be warned against bid'ah."

Mua'th ibn Jabal said, "You will be approaching tribulations wherein wealth will be plentiful and the Qur'an will be learned by the believer and hypocrite, the man and the woman, the young and the old, and the slave and the free. Some will say, "Why people are not following me? I learned the Qur'an! They are not about to follow me unless I invent for them a bid'ah that is not from the Qur'an." Be alert of bid'ah, for every invented bid'ah is a deviation. I caution you against the mistake of the wise person because Satan uses the tongue of a wise person to say the deviated words, and it is possible for the hypocrite to say the truth." (Abu Dawud)

Hassan ibn Atiyah said, "Every time a people start a bid'ah Allah will take away from them a sunnah."

A man said to Sufiyan ath-Thawri, "O Abu Abdullah, advise me." He said, "Stay away from bid'ah, stay away from arguments and stay away from the rulers."

Imam Malik said, "The latter part of this Ummah will never be refoormed except by that which refoormed the foormer part of it."

TYPES OF BID'AH

Some scholars divide the bid'ah into two divisions: Worship Bid'ah and 'Living Traditions' Bid'ah.

- The worship bid'ah is the one pertaining to any type of worship. Scholars define Ibadah as, " A comprehensive term which includes all visible and invisible deeds and sayings which Allah likes and accepts."

-What distinguishes one from another is the Niyyah or intention, These types are those traditions which originally are intended not as a means to bring people closer to Allah. Like financial dealings and all types of contractual agreements intended for living and worldly gains."

There is no dispute among scholars that bid'ah applies to all concepts of worship, both sayings and actions. People may introduced bid'ah into both. Scholars, however, are not in full agreement with regard to applying the concept of bid'ah to 'living traditions'. A group of them led by Imam al-Izz ibn Abdus-Salam and his student Imam Ahmad al-Qurafi argue that bid'ah applies to 'living traditions' because the Shari'ah governs matters of worship and everything else in life. As such, Muslims are not allowed to invent new ways of worship or invent any new 'living tradition'.

Another group of scholars argues that bid'ah is to be limited only to matters of worship and should not be extended to 'living traditions,' for that may lead to making every concept of living, not known at they time of the Prophet, including food, drinks, clothes, language, and new occurrences, liable to being labeled bid'ah. Imam ash-Shatibi concluded that bid'ah does not apply to 'living traditions' unless they involve the concept of worship. He said, "According to the principles of Shari'ah, every 'living tradition' involves some aspect of worship. Our worship includes acts that are not clearly comprehensible concerning their benefits or harms. On the other hand, matters that are comprehensible whereas their benefits or harms are known are 'living traditions'. Purification, salah, and fasting are matters of worship while selling, buying, marriage, divorce, leasing, felonies, and the like are 'living traditions' because the meaning, or reasons, of their rulings are comprehensible. Nevertheless the concept of worship still applies to all of them because all are governed by Shari'ah. And so, Muslims must abide by the rules of the Shari'ah in the specific aspects in them that make them in part worship. Therefore, if the new tradition touches the governing laws of Shari'ah, then it is considered as a bid'ah. Otherwise, bid'ah does not apply to it. Ash-Shatibi's view is the most correct for it combined between the two opinions which failed to see each other's views. Bid'ah does not apply to 'living traditions' so long as they do not intervene with the governing laws of Shari'ah.

EXAMPLES OF BID'AH

Bid'ah can take many foorms and be made a part of Aqueedah, faith, Ibadah, worship, and Sulook, manners. Bid'ah can also be kufr, or disbelieve, or may just be haram and sinful. The factors determining the ruling regarding a certain bid'ah are many and one must ask scholars before indulging in reaching conclusions. We have seen people issue rulings left and right about actions they think are bid'ah when in fact they aren't. Issuing rulings to label certain actions as bid'ah or kufr when in fact they are not is indeed a way of the people of bid'ah and something to be avoided at all cost. The right methodology of dealing with this matter is to have the proper knowledge of what bid'ah is in Islam then cautiously judge every action in question. No ruling is to be applied to any person involved in a bid'ah without first checking the rulings related to such judgment as stated by scholars of the people-of-the-sunnah or the rulings known as the conditions of "al-Hukm ala al-Mu'aiyn."

Muslims, however, should be aware of some of the known bid'ahs, especially those which are prevailing in their area so that they may avoid them, deal with them and advise Muslims who practice them. Here are some bid'ahs that may be practiced where you are:

- Rejecting actions or deeds as part of eman.

- Choosing other than the Laws Allah revealed as governing laws.

- Calling the companions and the wives of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, Kafir, or cursing and disrespecting them.

- Believing that Awliyaa (so-called saints) know the unseen or that some of them could reach a status better than that of the Prophets, alayhums salam.

- Believing that dead Awliyaa can fulfill the worldly needs of people- -who believe in them--and help them achieve success in the Hereafter.

- Celebrating the birthday of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, and the birthdays of the so-called Awliyaa.

- Making thikr in groups, in one loud voice, reciting certain thikr that are claimed to have specific virtues but not scriiptd on authentic evidence from Qur'an and sunnah. Typically these types of thikr gatherings include dancing and bouncing till some of the participants fall unconscious. A good example of this is what known as the dervishes' dance in Turkey.

Kissing fingers and wiping eyes with thumbs after making Duaa.

Using headstones on graves and the building of small monuments on them.

Celebrating certain days and nights when there is no evidence to support such celebrations like the fifteenth of Sha'ban, the incident of the Israa, or the night journey of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, among others.

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*The above article was taken from the VOL. 11 ISSUE 2 1420 H /1999 CE
of Al-Jumuah Magazine: http://www.al-jumuah.com
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