The Ruling on Dividing Religious Innovations

Q: A question from Sudan: - The sender says: Shaykh al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) divided the topic of bid'ah (religious innovation) into five categories in his commentary:
(1) Obligatory bid'ah. An example of this is organizing the evidence of the theologians against the materialists.
(2) Recommended bid'ah. An example of this is compiling books of knowledge.
(3) Permissible bid'ah. An example of this is being liberal in the varieties of food.
(4) (5) Forbidden and disliked bid'ah. These two are clear.
The question is: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I hope you will clarify this along with what Shaykh al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) intended. May Allah reward you.

A: What you have quoted from al-Nawawi regarding his division of bid'ah (religious innovation) into five categories has been mentioned by a group of scholars, and they said: Bid'ah is divided into five categories: obligatory, recommended, permissible, forbidden, and disliked.
Other scholars held the view that all bid'ah is misguidance and there is no division in it; rather, it is all as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Thus came the authentic hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); among them is what Muslim narrated in his Sahih from Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would deliver the Friday sermon and say in his sermon: Several hadiths with this meaning came from the hadith of Aisha, from the hadith of al-'Arba' ibn Sariyah, and other hadiths. This is the correct position: that it is not divided into these categories mentioned by al-Nawawi and others, but rather it is all misguidance.
Bid'ah occurs in religion, not in permissible matters, such as variety in food in a new way that was not known in the early times. This is not called bid'ah from the perspective of the pure Shari'ah, even if it is bid'ah from the linguistic perspective. Bid'ah in language means: a newly invented thing without a precedent, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: : [al-Baqarah: 117], meaning its originator and creator is without a prior example. However, nothing is said to be bid'ah in the pure Shari'ah unless it is a newly invented matter for which there is no indication of its legitimacy in the Book and the Sunnah. This is the truth that a group of scholars accepted and established, and they refuted those who opposed it.
As for compiling books and organizing evidence in refuting materialists and opponents of Islam, this is not called bid'ah; because that is what Allah and His Messenger commanded, and it is not bid'ah. The Noble Qur'an came with refuting the enemies of Allah and exposing their doubts with clear verses, and the Sunnah also came with refuting the opponents of Islam. And so it has been with the Muslims from the time of the Companions to our time. All of this is not called bid'ah, but rather it is fulfilling an obligation and jihad in the path of Allah, and it is not bid'ah.
Similarly, building schools and bridges and other things that benefit the Muslims is not called bid'ah from the perspective of the Shari'ah; because the Shari'ah commanded education, so schools facilitate education. And so are the shelters for the poor; because Allah commanded kindness to the poor and the needy. So if dwellings are built for them and called shelters, this is what Allah commanded.
Likewise, the bridges over rivers; all of this is beneficial to people and is not a religious innovation, but rather a prescribed matter. Calling it an innovation is only in the linguistic sense; as 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding the tarawih prayers when he gathered the people behind a single imam and said: , even though the tarawih prayers are a confirmed recommended practice that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed, encouraged, and motivated people to do. So it is not an innovation, but a recommended practice. However, 'Umar called it an innovation in the linguistic sense because it was done without a prior example; for they used to pray in small groups in the mosque during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and after him, not behind a single imam. This group would pray with two others, and that group with three. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with them for three nights and then stopped, saying: . He left it off for fear that it would become obligatory upon his community. So when he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, that fear was removed, and therefore 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered it to be done .
So the conclusion is that standing in prayer in Ramadan is a confirmed sunnah and is not bid'ah from the perspective of the Shari'ah. And by this it is known that everything people invent in religion that Allah has not prescribed is called bid'ah, and it is bid'ah of misguidance. It is not permissible to do it, and it is not permissible to divide bid'ah into obligatory, sunnah, permissible, etc.; because that is contrary to the established legal evidence from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as previously clarified. And Allah is the guarantor of success.