❖BID‘AH CLASSIFICATION IN THE QUR’ĀN, SUNNAH AND STATEMENTS OF THE SCHOLARS❖
The Meaning of Bid‘ah
The word bid‘ah (البدعة) linguistically refers to something newly originated without a previous example.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:
بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
“The Originator of the heavens and the earth.”
(Qur’an 2:117)
However, scholars distinguished between the linguistic meaning of bid‘ah and its technical religious meaning.
In its linguistic sense, something new may be good or bad. In its technical religious sense, scholars who define bid‘ah specifically as introducing something into the religion without a legitimate basis consider such religious innovation blameworthy.
This distinction is important when examining the statement of the Prophet ﷺ:
وَكُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ
“And every innovation is misguidance.”
Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh رضي الله عنهما narrated:
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ إِذَا خَطَبَ احْمَرَّتْ عَيْنَاهُ، وَعَلَا صَوْتُهُ، وَاشْتَدَّ غَضَبُهُ، حَتَّى كَأَنَّهُ مُنْذِرُ جَيْشٍ... وَيَقُولُ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللهِ، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ.
Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would say in his sermon:
“Indeed, the best speech is the Book of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, and the worst matters are those newly introduced, and every innovation is misguidance.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Jumu‘ah
Al-‘Irbāḍ ibn Sāriyah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِسُنَّتِي وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ، عَضُّوا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ، وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحْدَثَاتِ الْأُمُورِ، فَإِنَّ كُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ
“You must follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me. Hold firmly to it. Beware of newly introduced matters, for every innovation is misguidance.”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd and Jāmi‘
Al-Tirmidhī; al-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
‘Ā’ishah رضي الله عنها narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
مَنْ أَحْدَثَ فِي أَمْرِنَا هَذَا مَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ فَهُوَ رَدٌّ
“Whoever introduces into this matter of ours that which is not from it, it is rejected.”
In another narration:
مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرُنَا فَهُوَ رَدٌّ
“Whoever performs an action upon which there is not our command, it is rejected.”
Sources: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
The wording “ما ليس فيه” — “that which is not from it” — is particularly important. It shows that the issue is not simply everything that is new in the world, but what is introduced into the religion without a legitimate basis.
The Qur’an and Completion of the Religion
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
“Today I have perfected for you your religion, completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion.”
(Qur’an 5:3)
This verse establishes an important principle: the beliefs and acts of worship legislated by Allah were completed through His Messenger ﷺ. Therefore, no person has the authority to invent a new form of worship and claim that Allah legislated it without evidence.
At the same time, this does not mean that Muslims cannot develop new means of teaching, preserving, or serving the religion.
The Classification of Bid‘ah According to Imām al-Nawawī
Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله explained the hadith
“Every bid‘ah is misguidance” in his Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
He wrote:
قَوْلُهُ ﷺ: «وَكُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ» هَذَا عَامٌّ مَخْصُوصٌ، وَالْمُرَادُ غَالِبُ الْبِدَعِ. قَالَ أَهْلُ اللُّغَةِ: هِيَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ عُمِلَ عَلَى غَيْرِ مِثَالٍ سَابِقٍ. قَالَ الْعُلَمَاءُ: الْبِدْعَةُ خَمْسَةُ أَقْسَامٍ: وَاجِبَةٌ، وَمَنْدُوبَةٌ، وَمُحَرَّمَةٌ، وَمَكْرُوهَةٌ، وَمُبَاحَةٌ
He then gave examples of these categories, including arranging arguments to refute false beliefs as an obligatory matter, compiling books of knowledge and establishing schools as recommended matters, and different types of food as permissible.
Source: Imām al-Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 6/154–155.
According to this terminology, Imām al-Nawawī was using bid‘ah in its broad linguistic sense, rather than saying that an unauthorized act of worship can become religiously recommended simply because somebody considers it good.
The Five Categories of al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salām
Imām al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salām رحمه الله likewise classified bid‘ah according to the five legal rulings:
1. واجبة — Obligatory
For example, sciences necessary for preserving and understanding the Qur’an and Sunnah, such as Arabic grammar and principles used to distinguish authentic from weak reports.
2. مندوبة — Recommended
Such as establishing schools and other institutions that assist Muslims in acquiring beneficial knowledge.
3. مباحة — Permissible
New customs and ordinary matters that are neither commanded nor prohibited.
4. مكروهة — Disliked
New practices that fall under the category of things regarded as religiously disliked.
5. محرمة — Prohibited
New religious practices or beliefs that contradict the foundations of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
This classification is found in the writings of al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salām, particularly Qawā‘id al-Aḥkām fī Maṣāliḥ al-Anām.
Imām al-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله
Imām al-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله is also reported to have distinguished between newly introduced matters that contradict revelation and those that do not.
His well-known statement is:
الْمُحْدَثَاتُ مِنَ الْأُمُورِ ضَرْبَانِ: أَحَدُهُمَا مَا أُحْدِثَ يُخَالِفُ كِتَابًا أَوْ سُنَّةً أَوْ أَثَرًا أَوْ إِجْمَاعًا، فَهَذِهِ الْبِدْعَةُ الضَّلَالَةُ، وَالثَّانِيَةُ مَا أُحْدِثَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ لَا خِلَافَ فِيهِ لِوَاحِدٍ مِنْ هَذِهِ، فَهَذِهِ مُحْدَثَةٌ غَيْرُ مَذْمُومَةٍ
The meaning is that newly introduced matters that contradict the Qur’an, Sunnah, athar, or consensus are blameworthy innovations, whereas a newly introduced beneficial matter that does not contradict these foundations is not blameworthy in the same sense.
This statement is recorded from Imām al-Shāfi‘ī in the classical works of his students and later scholars.
The Statement of ‘Umar رضي الله عنه Regarding Tarāwīḥ
Another important evidence is the famous statement of ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه.
‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Abd al-Qārī رحمه الله narrated:
فَقَالَ عُمَرُ: إِنِّي أَرَى لَوْ جَمَعْتُ هَؤُلَاءِ عَلَى قَارِئٍ وَاحِدٍ لَكَانَ أَمْثَلَ. ثُمَّ عَزَمَ فَجَمَعَهُمْ عَلَى أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ... ثُمَّ قَالَ عُمَرُ: نِعْمَ الْبِدْعَةُ هَذِهِ
“‘Umar said: I think it would be better if I gathered these people behind one reciter. So he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Ka‘b... Then ‘Umar said: ‘What an excellent bid‘ah this is.’”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 2010.
This is one of the principal evidences used by scholars who distinguish between linguistic bid‘ah and religious bid‘ah.
Tarāwīḥ itself was not invented by ‘Umar رضي الله عنه. The Prophet ﷺ had already prayed the night prayer in congregation during Ramadan. What ‘Umar رضي الله عنه introduced was the organization of the people behind one imām on a regular basis.
Thus, scholars who classify bid‘ah into categories understand his statement “نِعْمَ الْبِدْعَةُ” according to the linguistic meaning.
A Different Scholarly Approach
Other scholars, including Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Rajab, Ibn Bāz and Ibn ‘Uthaymīn رحمهُم الله, preferred not to classify religious bid‘ah itself into five categories.
Their position is that the Prophet ﷺ said:
كُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ
and therefore a matter that genuinely qualifies as a religious bid‘ah is blameworthy.
Shaykh Ibn Bāz رحمه الله explained that many things sometimes described as “obligatory bid‘ah” or “recommended bid‘ah” are actually legitimate means and acts of obedience, rather than bid‘ah in the technical Sharī‘ah sense.
For example, compiling books of knowledge, establishing schools, and organizing educational programs may be new historically, but the underlying objectives—seeking knowledge, teaching Islam, preserving revelation—are already established in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Therefore, according to this terminology, these things are not religious innovations at all.
The Real Point of Agreement
Although the terminology differs, the underlying principle is important:
A Muslim may not introduce a new belief or act of worship into Islam without evidence from the Qur’an, Sunnah, or an established Sharī‘ah principle.
Allah says:
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللهُ
“Or do they have partners who have legislated for them in religion that which Allah has not permitted?”
(Qur’an 42:21)
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
مَنْ أَحْدَثَ فِي أَمْرِنَا هَذَا مَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ فَهُوَ رَدٌّ
“Whoever introduces into this matter of ours that which is not from it, it is rejected.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
Conclusion
The discussion concerning bid‘ah is partly a matter of definition and scholarly terminology.
Those who use bid‘ah in its broad linguistic meaning may classify newly introduced matters according to the five legal rulings: obligatory, recommended, permissible, disliked, and prohibited. This is the approach associated with scholars such as Imām al-Nawawī and al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salām.
Those who use bid‘ah as a technical Sharī‘ah term specifically for introducing something into the religion without legitimate evidence say that every such bid‘ah is misguidance, in accordance with the explicit wording of the Prophet ﷺ.
Therefore, the statement “كل بدعة ضلالة — Every bid‘ah is misguidance” must not be dismissed. It is an authentic statement of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Likewise, the terminology used by Imām al-Nawawī and other major scholars should not be misrepresented. They were distinguishing between a new matter in the general/language sense and an unauthorized innovation in religion.
The safest principle is therefore:
Whatever is newly introduced into Islam as an act of worship without a valid Sharī‘ah basis is rejected. New worldly means, customs, and methods of serving established Islamic objectives are judged according to the Qur’an, Sunnah, and principles of Sharī‘ah, and should not automatically be called religious bid‘ah.
May Allah سبحانه وتعالى grant us sound understanding, adherence to the Qur’an and Sunnah, respect for the scholarship of the Ummah, and protection from both innovation and unjustly condemning matters that Islam has permitted.
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
And Allah knows best.
No comments:
Post a Comment