TERM 3 - TAwheed - CLASS 8
THE REASONS OF THE PREVELANCE OF BIDAH & BIDAH HASANAH
The reasons of the prevalence of Bi'dah
There is no doubt that holding fast to the Book and the Sunnah is a safeguard against falling into Bid'ah and deviation. Allah, the Exalted, says: "And that this is My path straight, so follow it; and do not follow other ways, lest they lead you away from His path." (6:153)
And the Prophet ﷺ clarified the meaning of the above Ayaat in the Hadith which is narrated by Ibn Mas'ood, with whom Allah is pleased, saying: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made a straight line in the ground and said: "This is the path of Allah."
Then he made short lines on both sides of that straight line and said, and these are ways upon each is a Shaitan appointed inviting to it." Then the Prophet ﷺ recited the following Ayaat: "And say, 'This is my path straight. So follow it; and do not follow other ways, lest they lead you away from His path. That is what He enjoins upon you, that you may guard yourselves against evils." (6:153)
He who turns away from the Book and the Sunnah will be stray into deviant ways and innovated Bid'ah.
The reasons that lead to the prevalence of Bid'ah are summed up in the following: Ignorance of the laws of Islam, following whims, blind adherence to opinions and persons, resembling the infidels and emulating them.
And we will discuss these reasons in some details.
1. Ignorance of the rulings of Islam
The further away time separates the Muslims from the era of the Prophethood, the less the knowledge becomes, and the more ignorance prevails. This was emphasized by the Prophet ﷺ who said: "Those of you who will live long will see great variance. Therefore, adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly-guided Caliphs." (Abu Dawood and others)
And he said: "Allah does not remove knowledge by snatching it from his slaves. He does so, by collecting scholars (by death) until when no scholar is left, people will take for themselves ignorant leaders who will be consulted, and they will issue Fatawa (religious answers) without knowledge, and will misguide people and they themselves will be misguided."(Agreed upon)
2. Following whims
He who turns away from the Book and the Sunnah, follows his whims, as Allah, the Exalted, says:
"But if they do not respond to you, then know that they only follow their own evil inclinations. And who is more erring than he who follows his evil inclinations without any guidance from Allah?" (28:50)
And He says: "Do you see the one who tool his whims for a god without guidance from Allah, and whose ears and whose heart Allah sealed, and placed covering on his eyes? Who, other than Allah will guide him?" (45:23)
The Bid'ah are only the fabric of whims.
3. Fanatic adherence to opinions and men
Fanatic adherence prevents man from following the evidence and recognizing the truth. Allah, the Exalted, says:
"And when it is said to them, 'Follow what Allah sent down, they say: 'Rather, we follow what we found our fathers following." (2:170)
This is typical of the fanatics today among some members of Sufi orders, and grave worshippers. When they are invited to follow the Book and the Sunnah, and discard what they are adhering to, they stick to their orders and Sheik, fathers and forefathers as an argument.
4. Simulating the infidels
This is one of the worst causes of falling into Bid'ah, as signified by the Hadith which is narrated by Waqid al Laithi who said: "We went with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Hunain, when we had just embraced Islam. There was a Lote tree to which Pagans used to tie their weapons, which was called Dhat an-Waat. When we passed by a Lote tree, we said: 'Messenger of Allah ! Assign for us Dhat an-Waat, just as the pagans have Dhat an Waat.'
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Allahu Akhar, these are the ways. By the One in Whose hand is my life, you have said what the Jews said to Musa: They said, 'O Moses, make for us a god just as they have gods.' Musa said, 'Surely, you are an ignorant people. The Prophet ﷺ said: You certainly shall follow the ways of those before you." (At Tirmidhi)
This Hadith signifies that simulating the infidels motivated the Israelites to make that horrible request to Musa, that is, to assign gods for them to worship. That was the same motive which made some of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ ask him to assign a tree to seek its blessing, aside from Allah. The same is happening today, for the majority of Muslims imitate the infidels in practicing Bid'ah and polytheistic rituals such as, celebrating the birthday of the Prophet ﷺ, designating days or weeks for certain religious occasions, mourning functions, or other funeral Bid'ah, erecting graves and memorial monuments and statues, and the like.
Bid'ah Husna (Good Innovation)
The fundamental argument of those who support the 'Bidah Husna' for which they present arguments such as the saying of Umar t, 'What a good Bidah is this?', the gathering of the Qur'aan in one book and the collection of Hadeeth - which are explicitly refuted by Shaikh Salih al-Fawzan in the article. However, one of their main argument still remains unanswered that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, 'He, who establishes/initiates a Sunnah Husna (good Sunnah) in Islam, he will have the reward of those who perform it after him until the Day of Judgment ' [Saheeh Muslim]
In a replying to this argument, Shaikh Fawzan says in a fatawa,
"... Concerning the saying of Allah's Messenger ﷺ, '(the afore-mentioned Hadeeth)' This does not prove their stance because Allah's Messenger ﷺ did not say, 'Whosoever innovates a Bidah, rather he said, 'Whosoever initiates a good Sunnah' and Sunnah is the opposite of Bidah. Sunnah is something that is in agreement with the Qur'aan and the Sunnah and in agreement with the proof.
So (the meaning of the Hadeeth is) he, who performs a Sunnah which is proved by the Qur'aan and the Sunnah; he will have the reward of it (his action) and the reward of those who perform it until the Day of Judgment. (Thus) Whoever revives a Sunnah and performs it for the people, and enlightens it before them, and they follow him then he will have the reward equal to theirs.
The reason/context of the Hadeeth is well-known. When some needy people came to Allah's Messenger ﷺ, he was grieved to see their state and ordered and encouraged Sadaqah (charity). One man from the Sahabah stood up and gave in charity a huge amount and the people followed him because he took the first step.
Allah's Messenger ﷺ said upon this, 'He, who (Sanna) establishes/initiates a Sunnah Husna (good Sunnah) in Islam, he will have the reward of those who perform it after him until the Day of Judgment ' [Saheeh Muslim] So, this man performed a Sunnah i.e., Sadaqah and helping the poor - Sadaqah is not a Bidah because it is ordered in the Qur'aan and the Sunnah So, it is a Sunnah Hasna He who revives a Sunnah and acts upon it and enlightens it for the people until they follow him, he will have the reward equal to their rewards.'
[Al-Muntaqa min Fatawa Shaikh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan (1/173), fatawa no. 96]
Shaikh Saleh al-Uthaimeen explained the issue in these words, 'Bidah in Sharee'ah can be defined as 'worshiping Allah with that which is not legislated by Allah.' If you wish, you can say, 'Worshiping Allah with that which Allah's Messenger ﷺ and Khulafa ar-Rashidoon were not upon.'
The first definition is deduced from the verse, 'Or have they partners with Allah (false gods), who have instituted for them a religion which Allah has not allowed.' [(42): 21] and the second definition is deduced from the Hadeeth, 'Stick to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of my rightly guided Caliphs, cling to it firmly with your molar teeth. Beware of newly invented matters, for every new matter is an innovation and every innovation is misleading.' [At-Tirmidhee (2676)]
So, anyone who worships Allah with that which Allah did not legislate or with that which Allah's Messenger ﷺ or the Khulafa ar-Rashidoon were not upon then he has innovated regardless or whether that worship is linked to the Names and Attributes of Allah or to His Orders or Sharee'ah. As far as the common practices or traditions are concerned, they are not called Bidah in Deen - it may be referred to as Bidah in the language but not in Deen and this is not the Bidah from which Allah's Messenger ﷺ has warned against.
There is no Bidah Husna in Islam, and the Sunnah Husna is that which is in agreement with the Sharee'ah and this includes that one may initiate a Sunnah, which means that one starts practicing the Sunnah (before others and others follow him), or he revives it after it has been forgotten, or he does something that may become a means for a legislated command. So, these are three things:
First: Applying (the ruling of initiating a) Sunnah upon one, who initiates an action. This meaning is proved by the intent behind the saying of Allah's Messenger ﷺ, which is encouragement towards Sadaqah unto the needy people who had come to Allah's Messenger ﷺ.
So, the Prophet ﷺ encouraged and a man from the Ansar brought out gold for charity and Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, 'He, who establishes/initiates a Sunnah Husna (good Sunnah) in Islam, he will have the reward of those who perform it after him until the Day of Judgment ' [Saheeh Muslim] So, this man (Sanna) initiates practicing the action and he did not initiate (or innovate) in the Sharee'ah.
Second: A Sunnah that was forgotten is revived by someone who practices it is also called 'Sunna' (initiating) meaning 'revive'
Third: To do something which is a means to performing a legislated command like building (Islamic) schools and publishing books this is not a worship in itself but since it is a means (to perform a legislated command) it is included in the Hadeeth of Allah's Messenger ﷺ, 'He, who establishes/initiates a Sunnah Husna (good Sunnah) in Islam, he will have the reward of those who perform it after him until the Day of Judgment ' [Saheeh Muslim]
[Majmoo Fatawa wa-Rasaa'el Fadhilatus-Shaikh Muhammad Salih al-Uthaimeen (291/2) fatawa no. 346]
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