What are the jurists' statements regarding religious innovation, and is there a good innovation and a bad innovation?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What are the jurists' statements regarding religious innovation? And is there a good innovation and a bad one? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Religious innovation (bid'ah) is for a person to worship Allah the Exalted with what He has not legislated, whether in creed, speech, or action. Religious innovation in creed is to contradict what the righteous Salaf were upon, whether that concerns the essence of Allah Mighty and Majestic, or His attributes, or His actions. So whoever says: "Allah the Exalted does not have a real hand, but His hand is His power, or His ability, or His grace," is an innovator, meaning he has spoken an innovated statement. This is because the righteous Salaf never interpreted the hand that Allah attributed to Himself in this way. Not a single correct word has come from them, nor even a weak one, that they interpreted the hand as other than its apparent meaning. Accordingly, the Salaf are in consensus that the intended meaning of the hand is the real hand. This is because they recite the Qur'an and read what the Sunnah brought regarding this, and not a single word has come from them that they diverted the text from its apparent meaning. This is their consensus that the intended meaning is the reality indicated by its apparent meaning. Similarly, the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Taha 20:5] Its meaning is that when "above" is used, it indicates a specific elevation above the thing. So the rising of Allah above His Throne is His elevation, Mighty and Majestic, above it in a specific manner befitting His majesty and greatness. We do not know its modality. So whoever says: "Istawa means He dominated, owned, and subdued," has innovated, because he has brought a statement that the righteous Salaf were not upon. And we know that the righteous Salaf are in consensus that "Istawa on the Throne" means He elevated Himself above it with a specific elevation befitting the majesty of Allah Mighty and Majestic, without asking how (takyif) and without likening Allah to creation (tashbih). This is because not a single word has come from them that takes this term out of its apparent meaning. And this term, by its apparent meaning, means what we have mentioned, because this is its meaning in the Arabic language in which the Qur'an was revealed, as Allah the Exalted said: [Az-Zukhruf 43:3] And He said: [Yusuf 12:2] And He said: [Ash-Shu'ara 26:193-195] So believing in what contradicts the creed of the Salaf is religious innovation. Similarly, among the statements are those that were innovated. There are dhikr (remembrances) that some people arranged in a manner that does not follow the Shari'ah order that came from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and his family and his Companions. So it becomes religious innovation, whether the innovation is in its wording, or in its form, or in the form of the one remembering during his remembrance, or otherwise. There are also actions that some people innovated; they introduced actions that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were not upon. So this is religious innovation. Thus, the broad definition of religious innovation is for a person to worship Allah the Exalted with what Allah has not legislated, whether in his creed, his speech, or his action. This is religious innovation.
And religious innovation cannot be divided into good innovation and bad innovation, ever. Why? Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And it is known that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most eloquent of creation and the most knowledgeable about what he intended in his speech. It is not possible for him to say to his Ummah: while intending that some innovations are good and some are misguidance, ever. Because whoever says: "Every innovation is misguidance," while intending that some innovations are good and some are misguidance, is confusing the people and not clarifying to them. And Allah said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): [Al-Ma'idah 5:67] And He said: [At-Taghabun 64:12] So there is no clearer message than the message of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And he did not divide religious innovation into two parts, or three, or four, or five, but he made it one part encompassed by the general universal: And what some people think is religious innovation and is good, it is certainly not religious innovation. And what they think is good and is religious innovation, it is not good. So it is necessary that either the religious innovation or the goodness be negated. As for the combination of religious innovation and goodness, this is not possible with the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): If someone says: Did not 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) praise religious innovation in his statement when he ordered Abu ibn Ka'b and Tamim al-Dari to lead the people in prayer with eleven rak'ahs? So he went out one day while the people were gathered with their imam, and he said: We say: Yes. But did 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) contradict the Sunnah of the Messenger (may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him) in this action?
No, he did not contradict it, but he revived it after it had been left. And that is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stood with his Companions in Ramadan for three nights or four, then he stopped, and he explained his stopping by saying that he feared it would become obligatory upon us. And it is known that this fear was removed by the death of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), because there is no revelation after his death (may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him). But the people remained in the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) praying in groups: two together, three together, and one alone. Because Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was occupied with the wars of apostasy and other matters, and his period of caliphate was short, two years and four months or so. But 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had a longer period and was free to attend to small and large matters (may Allah be pleased with him). And he brought about everything for which he is praised. May Allah reward him with good for the Ummah of Muhammad. So among what he brought about was that he revived that Sunnah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had legislated for his Ummah, but he had stopped out of fear that it would become obligatory. So it is a relative religious innovation, meaning it is religious innovation in relation to its being left in the period between the stopping of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and its revival by 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). But here is an issue that some people may think is religious innovation, but it is not religious innovation, and that is the means by which one reaches a Shari'ah objective. So these may have occurred after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but they are not considered religious innovation, because the objective and the goal were not legislated. So what is a means to the legislated is part of it. And the legislated is what Allah and His Messenger wanted us to do by any means, as long as the means is not forbidden in itself. For example, compiling books, arranging chapters and sections, speaking about the history of men, writing fiqh, categorizing issues, and what has occurred in our recent time of loudspeakers, electrical appliances, and others. These were not known in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but they are a means to a matter intended by the Lawgiver, which He commanded. For example, listening to the Friday sermon is a commanded matter, to the extent that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Mishkat al-Masabih 1397 So do we say that adopting the loudspeaker to hear a larger number is a forbidden or disliked religious innovation? We do not say this. Rather, it is not even correct to call it religious innovation at all, because it is a means to performing a Sunnah. And among the established principles among the scholars is that means have the rulings of their objectives.
And the summary of the answer is that we say: Religious innovation is for a person to worship Allah with what He has not legislated, whether in creed, speech, or action. And that every religious innovation is misguidance, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said. And that religious innovation is not divided into good and bad. And that means for legislated matters are not among religious innovations, but rather they are means by which one reaches a legislated matter.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good for this blessed guidance.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Religious innovation (bid'ah) is for a person to worship Allah the Exalted with what He has not legislated, whether in creed, speech, or action. Religious innovation in creed is to contradict what the righteous Salaf were upon, whether that concerns the essence of Allah Mighty and Majestic, or His attributes, or His actions. So whoever says: "Allah the Exalted does not have a real hand, but His hand is His power, or His ability, or His grace," is an innovator, meaning he has spoken an innovated statement. This is because the righteous Salaf never interpreted the hand that Allah attributed to Himself in this way. Not a single correct word has come from them, nor even a weak one, that they interpreted the hand as other than its apparent meaning. Accordingly, the Salaf are in consensus that the intended meaning of the hand is the real hand. This is because they recite the Qur'an and read what the Sunnah brought regarding this, and not a single word has come from them that they diverted the text from its apparent meaning. This is their consensus that the intended meaning is the reality indicated by its apparent meaning. Similarly, the saying of Allah the Exalted:
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىIndeed, We have made it an Arabic Qur'an that you might understand.
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَIndeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an that you might understand.
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ(193) The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down (194) Upon your heart, [O Muhammad] - that you may be of the warners - (195) In a clear Arabic language.
نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الأَمِينُ * عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنذِرِينَ * بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُبِينٍAnd religious innovation cannot be divided into good innovation and bad innovation, ever. Why? Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Every innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةEvery innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةO Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord
يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَbut if you turn away - then upon Our Messenger is only [the duty of] clear notification.
فَإِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَى رَسُولِنَا الْبَلاغُ الْمُبِينُEvery innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةEvery innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةIt is a good innovation.
نعمت البدعة هيNo, he did not contradict it, but he revived it after it had been left. And that is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stood with his Companions in Ramadan for three nights or four, then he stopped, and he explained his stopping by saying that he feared it would become obligatory upon us. And it is known that this fear was removed by the death of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), because there is no revelation after his death (may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon him). But the people remained in the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) praying in groups: two together, three together, and one alone. Because Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was occupied with the wars of apostasy and other matters, and his period of caliphate was short, two years and four months or so. But 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had a longer period and was free to attend to small and large matters (may Allah be pleased with him). And he brought about everything for which he is praised. May Allah reward him with good for the Ummah of Muhammad. So among what he brought about was that he revived that Sunnah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had legislated for his Ummah, but he had stopped out of fear that it would become obligatory. So it is a relative religious innovation, meaning it is religious innovation in relation to its being left in the period between the stopping of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and its revival by 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). But here is an issue that some people may think is religious innovation, but it is not religious innovation, and that is the means by which one reaches a Shari'ah objective. So these may have occurred after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but they are not considered religious innovation, because the objective and the goal were not legislated. So what is a means to the legislated is part of it. And the legislated is what Allah and His Messenger wanted us to do by any means, as long as the means is not forbidden in itself. For example, compiling books, arranging chapters and sections, speaking about the history of men, writing fiqh, categorizing issues, and what has occurred in our recent time of loudspeakers, electrical appliances, and others. These were not known in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but they are a means to a matter intended by the Lawgiver, which He commanded. For example, listening to the Friday sermon is a commanded matter, to the extent that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If anyone speaks on Friday while the imam is preaching, he is like an ass which carries books, (cf. Al-Qur'an; 62:5) and he who tells him to be quiet
من تكلم يوم الجمعة والإمام يخطب فهو كمثل الحمار يحمل أسفاراً، ومن قال له: أنصت فقد لغىAnd the summary of the answer is that we say: Religious innovation is for a person to worship Allah with what He has not legislated, whether in creed, speech, or action. And that every religious innovation is misguidance, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said. And that religious innovation is not divided into good and bad. And that means for legislated matters are not among religious innovations, but rather they are means by which one reaches a legislated matter.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good for this blessed guidance.