How can one understand Bidah

How can one understand Bid’ah..

﷽

In order for one to accuse someone of committing " Bid’ah we must first look at its history. 

Many of us are aware of the Hadith of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab RadiyAllahu Anhu when he said , " Ni ' mati al- Bid' atu hiya" ( what a good innovation it is), referring to Al- Tarawih.

So many quote the famous Hadith of Sayyiduna Muhammad ﷺ where he said, " wa kullu Bid’ atin dalalatun" ( And Every innovation is a misguidance)

Many use these as a way to accuse others of doing something, not according to the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Let's look at the word Kullu... The root word is (ك ل ل) or Kaaf Laam, Laam( K,L,L)

When you start to study the Arabic language, you find that many of its words have several meanings . For example, Kullu, which means each", "every, ""the whole, "or "all..

The questions that we should ask ourselves : Does the Hadith of Sayyiduna Muhammad ﷺ really mean everything.

If we take the statement literally to mean every single thing that heﷺ did not approve of or did not do, then the way we study the Arabic language and how we read Al-Furqan is a bid'atin today. 

So many refused the Hadith found in Sahih Muslim 1017, where Sayyiduna Muhammad ﷺ said, " whoever instituted a good practice( sunnatan hasanatan) in Islam it's reward is for him and those who follow him. And whoever instituted a bad practice ( sunnatan sayyiatan) in Islam Bears its sin and those who follow it. "

Given the logic of many on this controversial topic, it's safe to say that if you accuse others of being misguided and being in the Hellfire due to innovation then you too will be there as well based on the evidence that continues to be presented. 

Oh, how we forget to look in our mirrors.. 

Allah ﷻ himself uses the word Kull 359 times in Al-Furqan. Kullu and Kull come from the same Arabic rootword😏.

Let's use our critical thinking skills for one moment: When Allah Ta'ala says in Surah Al- Ahqaf 46:25

تُدَمِّرُ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۭ بِأَمْرِ رَبِّهَا

Destroying everything by command of its Lord. 

Does Allah ﷻ mean literally every single thing. No, he does not. Did he destroy the mountains? The trees, anything on Earth, was it destroyed, no, nothing but the people of 'Ad.

So why are we so extreme when it comes to our understanding.. Why are we so tunnel visioned and narrow-minded...

Were we not blessed to be able to think and use reasoning for ourselves.. 

How many times does Allah ﷻ tell us to use our 'Aql throughout Al-Furqan...

Why do we overlook the proof that's sitting right in our faces.. Proofs being presented to us. 

How can we disregard the teachings of Al-Salaf Al- Salihin, tabi'un, atba ' al- tabi'in for words/ views less than 500 yrs old..

We overlook and disregard the teachings and the works of Al- Khalaf for those nowhere near their levels of understanding our Din.

Imam Shafi'i Rahimulllah, one of the atba ' al- tabi'in who learned from a Tabi'un .. He was also from Ahlul Bayt..  

He used the Hadith regarding the two types of instituted practices as well as the Hadith of Umar RadiyAllahu Anhu and broke down the understanding of these two types mentioned.

Bid'atun mahmudatun and Bid'atun mazmumatun... A Mujtahid of his time, yet many insult and question his works for the like of those who only wish to reach his level.

A quote from Al- ' Allamah S'ad al- Din al- Taftazani Rahimulllah where he says, " and they do not know that the blameworthy innovation is that Innovative Affair in the religion which did not exist in the era of the sahaba and the successors and has no evidence supporting it from the Shari'ah. And from the ignorant people are those that consider every Affair that did not exist in the time of the sahaba a blame worthy innovation, even if no evidence is established as to it being rehensible, clinging to the statement of the messenger of Allah ﷺ : " be aware of newly invented affairs", wow they do not know the meaning attended by that is to place in the religion that which is not from it." ( Sharh Al- Maqasid )

Imam Nawawi Rahimulllah gave an example of Bid’ah when he said, " Al- Bid'ah( with a Kasrah on the letter ba) is the innovating of what did not exist in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and it is divided into hasanatin ( good) and qabihatin( reprehensible).

Abu Muhammad 'Abd al- Aziz bin Abd al- Salam said, " Innovation is divided into obligatory( wajibatin) , forbidden( muharramatin), recommended( mandubatin), disliked( makruhatin), and permissible( Mubahatin) 

He also said that the way to ascertain this is that the Innovation be measured with the principles of the Sharia. If it falls under the principles of obligatoriness, then it is obligatory or under the principles of prohibitedness, then it is prohibited or recommendability, then it is recommended or dislike then disliked or permissibility then permissible. " ( Al- Qawa'id, Al-Hafidh Al- Nawawi, Tahdhib Al- Asma wa al- Lughat)

Is it safe to say that the word Kullu used in the Hadith of Sayyiduna Muhammad ﷺ does not literally mean everything. Given the proof above and the logic used, I would say it doesn't.

With that being said.. Let's look at some Hadith regarding greetings:

Imran ibn Husayn RadiyAllahu Anhu reported: A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said, “Peace be upon you.” The Prophet said, “Ten good deeds.” Then, another man came to the Prophet, and he said, “Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.” The Prophet said, “Twenty good deeds.” Then, another man came to the Prophet, and he said, “Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and his blessings.” The Prophet said, “Thirty good deeds.”(Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2689)

Abu Huraira RadiyAllahu Anhu reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, a servant may speak a word pleasing to Allah, thinking nothing of it, yet by it Allah raises his status by a degree. Verily, a servant may speak a word displeasing to Allah, thinking nothing of it, yet by it he plummets into Hell.”(Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6478)

These two authentic Hadiths show the rewards of one who gives the greeting of the Salaams and also one who gives a greeting of something good and its rewards. 

So before you condemn another, please look at yourself and make sure you've checked all factual evidence.

In closing , these proofs not only show that Tarawih is a sunnatan hasanatan , but saying good words like Jumu'ah Mubarak is as well. 

May Allah Ta'ala open our hearts, minds, May he give us clear understanding of His Din. May we seek forgiveness from those we harmed with our harshness due to lack of knowledge and comprehension of our Din 🙏♥️💪