WE hear about Bid'ah quite often. Here's a test to see if we are really clear about them. If you rightly believe that all types of Bid'ah (innovation) are prohibited, then here's a question to see if you have understood it: What about the usage of cars instead of camels, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) only rode camels; what about giving Adhaan using loud speakers, when in those days the Muadhhin could only give the call in a loud voice? Aren't these innovations too? Why are they allowed then? If you believe only bad Bid'ah is prohibited and good ones are fine, then why can't the number of Rak'at of Fajr prayer, for example, be increased from two to four? After all praying four Rak'at is more in number, better and good; or why not do Tawaf around the Ka'bah 10 times, instead of seven? Confused? Not to worry, the reality is much simpler and not at all confusing. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to begin every sermon or speech by saying, “The best speech is the Book of Allah and the best guidance and example is that of Muhammad. And the worst of all things are the newly invented things (in religion), for every innovation is error and misguidance.” (Sahih Muslim) and in another narration, “every newly invented matter (in religion) is Bid'ah and every Bid'ah is Dalaalah (going astray) and every Dalaalah is in the Fire.” (Al-Tirmidhi, Sahih) The Prophet (peace be upon him) made it very clear that all types of Bid'ah without exception are prohibited. But what he is talking about is the Bid'ah in the religion. Here the reference is not to cars or loud-speakers. Do cars or loud speakers have anything to do with the religion? The reference here is to anything that is considered part of Islam, whether belief or an act of worship. So anyone who claims something new about Islam, which Allah and His Messenger did not tell us about is a Bid'ah and has to be rejected. If anyone invents a new form of worship that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not do or teach us to do has to be rejected. Allah said in the Qur'an: “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Qur'an, 5:3) One of the great aspects of Islam is that it is a complete religion. Allah has perfected it for us. It is so complete that nothing can be added to it nor can anything be subtracted from it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever introduces into this affair of ours something that we have not commanded, it is to be rejected.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) Innovations into religion have been prohibited to protect Islam from corruption. Imagine if everyone were to introduce his or her own way to worship Allah, celebrate new festivals, and innovate ‘special' practices, at the end of it, all of us will have a different religion. Muslims in the West would have brought something new, Muslims in India would be practicing different rituals, and Muslims in Arabia will follow a different route. Allah's refuge is sought from such deviance. In fact this is very much in evidence today, which is why there are so many sects among Muslims. If anyone has traveled to the South Asian sub-continent, he or she will for sure witness different new rituals being practiced in the name of Islam. Muslims have introduced innovations in beliefs. For example, some go to graves of pious people and seek their help. They make Du'a to them and prostrate on those graves believing that those dead people have the power to help them and answer their calls. Such beliefs and deeds are acts of Shirk (associating partners with Allah) and serious innovations, which Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) have not approved of; on the contrary have prohibited them. It goes against the essence of Islam, which is to worship Allah alone and believe that He alone can answer our prayers, help us and assist us. There are many examples of innovations being practiced by Muslims. One must remember that Islam is Allah's religion. We have to follow as instructed and it is not for us to devise our methodologies. Having said that, what about modern technological innovations? The scholars of Islam have derived a very helpful thumb rule from the Qur'an and Sunnah for us to easily understand this issue (See Sheikh Saleh Al-Fowzan's Book on Tawheed for the principles). There are two categories: ‘Aadah and ‘Ibadah. ‘Aadah means customs, habits, culture and so on, while ‘Ibadah means acts of worship i.e. things that are considered Islamic. 1. Aadah The basic principle in this category is that everything is allowed, except for what has been explicitly prohibited in Islam. For example: food, dress, technology, and other similar things are all basically allowed. The exceptions of what isn't allowed have been explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah, like pork, alcohol and blood among other things in the category of food. All other things apart from the exceptions are permissible. Similarly, in dress, technology or any worldly thing, everything is allowed as long as it doesn't go against a prohibition. So Muslims can go invent new technologies, reach the Moon or Mars, Islam doesn't stop you! 2. Ibadah This category is completely opposite. The basic principle is that every type of worship is prohibited except for what has been explicitly allowed in Islam. So you cannot worship Allah except in a manner that has been ordained legislated by Allah and His Messenger. This is the implication of our testimony of faith. When we say ‘Muhammad-ur-Rasool Allah' in our Shahadah, it implies that we worship Allah only and only as per the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). In the next part, we will Insha Allah analyze the argument of Bid'ah Hasanah (good innovation) in Islam stemming from the much quoted statement of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding Taraweeh.
