The Ruling on Dividing Religious Innovation into Five Categories

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) divided the topic of bid'ah (religious innovation) into five categories in his commentary. He classified it as obligatory bid'ah, giving as an example the arrangement of the evidence of the theologians against the materialists. He classified it as recommended bid'ah, giving as an example the compilation of books of knowledge. He classified it as permissible bid'ah, giving as an example the variety of food colors. The fourth and fifth are disliked bid'ah and forbidden bid'ah. The question is: Is this correct? And does this contradict the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Every bid'ah is misguidance"?

Answer:
Yes, this contradicts the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "Every bid'ah is misguidance." Dividing bid'ah into these categories has no authority from Allah. Bid'ah is bid'ah; it is simply misguidance if it is in the religion. As for bid'ah in customs, clothing, and vehicles, the default ruling is permissibility. There is no bid'ah in them unless evidence indicates otherwise. The default ruling for food, clothing, and utilities is permissibility, except for what evidence indicates is forbidden. The default ruling for acts of worship is that they are based on divine legislation, except for what evidence indicates is prescribed. This is the rule, and these divisions have no basis. All bid'ah is misguidance, and there is nothing in it that is obligatory or anything else. What he mentioned are sunnahs (recommended practices), not bid'ah. Refuting the innovators and refuting the people of misguidance is part of the Sunnah. Allah legislated it. Allah refuted the disbelievers and refuted the polytheists, and the scholars of knowledge refute them. This is part of jihad. Allah the Exalted said: So the jihad against the disbelievers is with weapons, and the jihad against the hypocrites is with evidence, with the tongue.
Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says to His Prophet: meaning, with the Qur'an, strive against them with it with a great striving, and that is by refuting their doubts and their misguidance. So this is not bid'ah; this is Sunnah, and in fact, it is obligatory for whoever is able to do it. Yes.