When is one who commits a religious innovation (bid'ah) ruled to be an innovator?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward Your Eminence the Shaykh, and we ask Allah the Exalted to benefit us and you with what we have heard. The question says: When is one who commits a religious innovation (bid'ah) ruled to be an innovator? And what are the guidelines for that? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
No, no, he did not start it. One who calls to a religious innovation (bid'ah) is ruled to have committed an innovation, whether he performed it or called to it; he is called an innovator. For example, one who calls for building graves and constructing mosques over them, or does this himself, is called an innovator. Likewise, one who is called to the Mawlid and performs it is called an innovator. And so on, everyone who commits a religious innovation (bid'ah) or calls to it is called an innovator, but only after verification and after knowing with certainty, through the evidence of the Shari'ah, that it is an innovation.
The questioner:
Does everyone, Shaykh, rule that someone has committed an innovation?
The Shaykh:
Knowledge, this is the path of the scholars. The scholars are those who clarify to people bid'ah (religious innovation), other sins, and shirk (associating partners with Allah). The scholars are responsible for clarifying shirk, bid'ah, and other sins. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:159] the sellers, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: so they were driven away and they thought, we ask Allah for well-being.
It is obligatory upon the scholars, the scholars of the Shari'ah, the scholars of Islam, the scholars of the Sunnah, that it is obligatory for them to clarify the truth with its evidence, through lectures, writing, advice, and other means in all ways.
May Allah reward Your Eminence the Shaykh, and we ask Allah the Exalted to benefit us and you with what we have heard. The question says: When is one who commits a religious innovation (bid'ah) ruled to be an innovator? And what are the guidelines for that? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
No, no, he did not start it. One who calls to a religious innovation (bid'ah) is ruled to have committed an innovation, whether he performed it or called to it; he is called an innovator. For example, one who calls for building graves and constructing mosques over them, or does this himself, is called an innovator. Likewise, one who is called to the Mawlid and performs it is called an innovator. And so on, everyone who commits a religious innovation (bid'ah) or calls to it is called an innovator, but only after verification and after knowing with certainty, through the evidence of the Shari'ah, that it is an innovation.
The questioner:
Does everyone, Shaykh, rule that someone has committed an innovation?
The Shaykh:
Knowledge, this is the path of the scholars. The scholars are those who clarify to people bid'ah (religious innovation), other sins, and shirk (associating partners with Allah). The scholars are responsible for clarifying shirk, bid'ah, and other sins. Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture - those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse,
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالْهُدَىٰ مِن بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الْكِتَابِ أُولَٰئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ(peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah does not take away knowledge by plucking it out of the hearts of people, but He takes away knowledge by taking away the scholars, until when no scholar remains, people take as their leaders ignorant men, so they are asked for rulings and they issue them without knowledge."
صلى الله عليه وسلم إن الله لا يقبض العلم انتزاعا ينتزعه في صدريات ولكن يقبض العلم بموت العلم حتى إذا لم يبقى عالم اتخذ الناس رءوسا جهالا فسئلوا فأفتروا بغير علمIt is obligatory upon the scholars, the scholars of the Shari'ah, the scholars of Islam, the scholars of the Sunnah, that it is obligatory for them to clarify the truth with its evidence, through lectures, writing, advice, and other means in all ways.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 106 متى يحكم على من فعل البدعة أنه مبتدع؟ للإمام ابن باز — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.