Bid'ah
- This article is about the Arabic term. For the city see Bida, Nigeria.
In Islam, bid‘ah (Template:ArB) is any type of innovation. Islamic scholars have divided bid'ah into two types: innovations in worldly matters and innovations in religious matters.[1]
Bid'ah in Worldly Matters
The scholars have divided bid'ah in worldly matters into three types.
- Innovations that are Purely Good - These are permissible under Islamic law. Examples of this type of bid'ah include watches.
- Innovations that are Purely Evil - These are forbidden under Islamic law. Examples of this type of bid'ah include musical instruments.
- Innovations that Contain Both Evil and Good - This is the majority of worldly matters. Under Islamic law, if they are used for good, then they are permissible; otherwise they are forbidden. Examples of this type of bid'ah include: knives, computers, etc.
Bid'ah in Religious Matters
The role of bid`ah in religious matters is hotly disputed by Muslim scholars. Many Sunni Muslims consider it to be a violation of fundamental Islamic principles, and thus those who engage in bid`ah are accused of practicing heresy. They base this in part on a hadith recorded in al-Bukhari and al-Muslim, reported by Aisha ibn Abi Bakr, in which Muhammad said, "Whoever innovates into this affair of ours something that we have not commanded it is to be rejected."[2] Another is: "Every innovation is misguidance and every misguidance is in the hellfire."[3]
However, there are also many Sunni Muslims who differentiate between an innovation of misguidance and an innovation of guidance. Such beneficial innovation is known as "Bid`ah hasana" which means "good innovation". The good innovations are those innovations that comply with the Qur'an and the narrations of Hadith, whereas the bad innovations or 'innovations of misguidance' are those innovations that do not comply with the Qur'an and the narrations of Muhammad.
References
- ^ Al-Qawaa'id wal-Usool al-Jaami'ah wal-Furooq wat-Taqaaseem al-Badee'ah an-Naafi'ah by Abd ar-Rahman ibn Naasir as-Sa'di
- ^ Reported in Sahih al-Bukhari (English translation vol. 3, hadith no. 861) and in Sahih Muslim (English translation no. 4266, book 18)
- ^ Reported by an-Nisa'i in Sunan an-Nasa'i, Salaat al-'Eidayn, Baab kayfa al-Khutbah