{"_id":"668d9fec0b76658b4c232927","title":"What is Bidah?","question":"I always hear people throw around the word Bidah. Can you provide a specific definition that explains this better than how others might define it?","answer":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"The Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) said in a Ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth: \\\"Whoever innovates anything in our affair that is not from it, shall have it rejected\\\" [1]. The term 'our affair' in Imām al-Bukhārī's narration is referring to the religion as is evident from Imām Baghawī's narration which says, \\\"our religion\\\" [2]. The meaning of the ḥadīth is that any innovation in the religion that contradicts the religion is a disavowed innovation. Conversely, innovations that align with the teachings of the religion are acceptable. It is in this light that we should read the ḥadīth of Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) as narrated by Muslim that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to say in the khuṭbah, \\\"..and every innovation is a misguidance.\\\" It should be clear then that not every innovation is a misguidance but rather those innovations that have no basis in the religion.\\n\\nThis is how the leading scholars of the Sunnah understood the matter. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Ḥajar al-Asqalānī said, \\\"What is intended [by innovation] is that which is introduced without having any basis in the Sharīʿah. That is what the religion considers a Bidʿah. As for that which has a basis in the religion, it is not considered a Bidʿah as far as the Sharīʿah is concerned\\\" [3]. Imām al-Shāfiʿī said, \\\"Bidʿah is two types: praiseworthy Bidʿah, and blameworthy Bidʿah. That which agrees with the Sunnah is praiseworthy and that which contradicts the Sunnah is blameworthy\\\" [4]. Sulṭān al-ʿUlamāʾ ʿIzz ul-Dīn bin ʿAbdus-Salām said, \\\"Bidʿah is divided into that which is mandatory, forbidden, recommended, offensive, and permissible. The method to determine [which type it falls in] is to examine it in light of the established principles of the Sharīʿah. If it falls under the principles of that which is mandatory, then it is mandatory, or the principles of what is forbidden, then it is forbidden, or recommended, then it's recommended, or offensive, then it's offensive, or permissible, then it's permissible.\\\" Shaykh ʿIzz ul-Dīn provided examples for each category as follows: Mandatory innovations: The study of Arabic grammar to comprehend the Qurʾān and Sunnah. Forbidden innovations: The adoption of sectarian schools of thought like the Qadarīyya. Recommended innovations: Establishing educational institutions and congregating for tarāwīh prayers. Permissible (mubāḥ) innovations: The practice of shaking hands after prayers. Offensive innovations: Ornamentation of mosques and copies of the Qurʾān (according to some scholars) [5]. Allah knows best.\\n\\n\\n[1] al-Bukārī, \"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2697\"},\"insert\":\"Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, #2697\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n[2] al-Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 1/211\\n[3] Asqalānī, Fatḥul Bāri 13/292\\n[4] Abū Nuʿaym, Ḥulyat al-Awliyāʾ 9/113\\n[5] Qawāʾid al-Aḥkām\\n\"}]}","tags":[{"_id":"668d9fe60b76658b4c23287a","tag":"Knowledge: Bidah","count":21}],"createdOn":"2024-07-09T20:39:08.136Z"}