What is bid'ah (religious innovation) and what is its criterion?

The questioner : The questioner says: In the authentic hadith to the end of the hadith, the question is: What is bid'ah (religious innovation)? What is its criterion? And when is a man called an innovator?

The Shaykh : Bid'ah (religious innovations) is worshipping Allah the Exalted and Majestic with what He has not prescribed. Worshipping Allah with what He has not prescribed in terms of creed, speech, or action. This is bid'ah.
And when we say "worshipping Allah" in the sense of what is prescribed, this excludes what is not worship, for its introduction is not forbidden, because the default in matters other than worship is permissibility and lawfulness. Accordingly, what is intended to achieve the realization of worship is not considered bid'ah. For example, the loudspeaker found now that conveys the voices of preachers and imams to the congregation and to the listeners of the sermons; although this was not known in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) specifically, it is not considered bid'ah, because it is a means and a way to achieve a legitimate religious objective. Similarly, the carpets found now in mosques with lines to establish and straighten the rows; this is not considered among the bid'ah, because it is a means to something required by the Shari'ah. There are many examples of this. As for worshipping Allah the Exalted and Majestic with what He has not prescribed.
That is from bid'ah (religious innovation). So the worship of the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) in the chapter of the names and attributes of Allah, based on the principles they established, is bid'ah. Because beliefs are part of worship. The principles they established upon which they built their belief are considered bid'ah. Likewise, the ideas of the Sufis that are innovations, whether in their type, their amount, their manner, or their cause. For this reason, we say that worship is not established as following the Prophet unless it agrees with the Shari'ah in six matters: its cause, its type, its amount, its manner, its time, and its place. Many students of knowledge think that whoever disagrees with the scholars regarding the texts is considered an innovator. There is a problem with this; because if we said this, every juristic disagreement would make the one who disagrees an innovator, even though it is not known which side is correct, whether in this aspect or that aspect. For example, the disagreement of people regarding raising the hands.
Some scholars say that the hands are not raised except in the takbir (saying Allahu akbar) of entering prayer only. Some of them hold that they are raised at the takbir of entering prayer, at the ruku' (bowing), at rising from it, and at the first tashahhud (testification), in four places. And some say they are raised at every standing and rising. The one who disagrees in this is not considered an innovator, because he relies on texts on which people differ, either in understanding or in authentication. We advise the questioner to review the books of the scholars in this great chapter so that he does not go astray and is not misled.

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.