Every Innovation is Misguidance? Understanding the Hadith on Bid’ah

 

 Every Innovation is Misguidance? Understanding the Hadith on Bid’ah

1.   Introduction: Why Bid’ah is debated

One of the most debated questions in Islamic thought is what Prophet Muhammad ﷺ meant when he said: ‘Every innovation is misguidance.’.  The Arabic word used is “kullun”. This is generally translated as “all”. However, there are those who interpret this differently. They say that there are exceptions and “kullun” here does not mean “all” absolutely. We examine this in light of the evidences.

2.   What did the Prophet ﷺ mean by “every innovation”?

The hadith in question is as follows:

Jabir ibn ‘Abdillah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would praise Allah in his sermon, as He deserves to be praised, and then say,

“Whomever Allah guides, no one can lead him astray. Whomever Allah sends astray, no one can guide him. The truest word is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The most evil matters in religion are those that are newly invented, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Hellfire.”

Source: Sunan al-Nasā’ī 1578 - Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani

Then there is another hadith:

On the authority of Abu Najeeh al-’Irbaad ibn Saariyah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave us a sermon by which our hearts were filled with fear and tears came to our eyes. So we said, “O Messenger of Allah! It is as though this is a farewell sermon, so counsel us.” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I counsel you to have taqwa (fear) of Allah, and to listen and obey [your leader], even if a slave were to become your ameer. Verily he among you who lives long will see great controversy, so you must keep to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the Khulafa ar-Rashideen (the rightly guided caliphs), those who guide to the right way. Cling to it stubbornly [literally: with your molar teeth]. Beware of newly invented matters [in the religion], for verily every bidah (innovation) is misguidance.” [Abu Dawud]

It was related by at-Tirmidhi, who said that it was a good and sound hadeeth.

These two ahadith exhort Muslims to follow the sunnah. In understanding the sunnah, it is understood that it is of three parts:

1.      Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ actions

2.     Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ speech, what he said

3.     What his companions did during his lifetime or what they said and he did not contradict them in any way. He either commended them or remained silent.

Thus, the sunnah is established. The Prophet’s ﷺ Sunnah was completed during his lifetime. What was transmitted after his death was not new guidance, but preservation and transmission of what he taught. Therefore, contradicting the sunnah can be seen as anything, in religion, which he did not say or do or encouraged others to do.

3.   The importance of completing the religion

This then brings us to yet another hadith:

A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), reports that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces into this matter of ours anything that is not part of it, it will be rejected.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 2697, and Muslim, 1718) – This hadith is agreed upon by the two sahih’s.

This hadith talks about “the matter of ours”, meaning Islam. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ delivered the message as commanded by Allah. In his farewell sermon on ‘Arafah, he asked whether to companions present would attest to him as having delivered the message. They affirmed in unison. Was he not then the best in worshipping Allah? Can any matter innovated after him be better?

The idea that this hadith allows exceptions in matters of worship raises a difficult question. It seems to signify that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was not thorough enough in delivering the message and there are more ways to worship Allah.

 

4.   The three men hadith (excellent proof)

An important example is the narration of the three men who came to the house of the Prophet ﷺ asking about his worship. When they were informed about it, they considered their own worship insufficient. One of them said: “I will not marry women.” Another said: “I will fast continuously and never break my fast.” The third said: “I will pray throughout the night and never sleep.”

When the Prophet ﷺ heard this, he corrected them and said:

“By Allah, I am the one among you who fears Allah the most and I am the most dutiful to Him, yet I fast and break my fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, 5063; Sahih Muslim, 1401)

This narration is significant because the three men were not trying to disobey Allah. Their intention was worship. However, the Prophet ﷺ corrected the method, showing that sincerity alone is not enough; worship must also conform to the Sunnah.

 

5.   Definition of Bid’ah

Before discussing whether all innovations are blameworthy, it is important to understand what scholars mean by bid’ah.

From the Islamic perspective, bid`ah is defined by three unique characteristics, and a thing cannot be regarded as bid`ah according to the teachings of Islam unless it has the three characteristics, which are:

1. It is newly introduced.
2. This newly introduced thing is attributed to the religion of Islam.
3. This newly introduced thing has no basis in the religious texts, whether in a specific sense or in general terms.
4.  

6.   Statements of scholars

Ibn Al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “A Bid’ah is any form of worship that did not exist (at the time of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions) then later it was innovated.”

Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “A Bid’ah is any form of worship which has no basis in the Sharee’ah which would warrant its legislation.”

Using the following statement as support for innovation:

Al-‘Izz Ibn ‘Abdus-Salaam, may Allah have mercy upon him, divided Bid’ah into five categories: obligatory, recommended, permissible, disliked and prohibited.

Refutation:

Ash-Shaatibi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: "This categorisation of Bid’ah is something new which has no supportive evidence to it, moreover, it contradicts the definition of Bid’ah, because any deed which has an evidence which legislates it to be obligatory, recommended or allowed is by definition not an innovation, and it would have been included in the general recommendation of good deeds. Therefore, considering a matter to be a Bid’ah yet claiming the existence of an evidence to recommend it is a contradiction in terms."

 

Abu Ad-Dardaa’, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: “I swear by Allah that I have left you with it (i.e., the religion) so clear that it is as clear at night as it is during the day (i.e., patently obvious) and only a doomed person will stray away from it.” (Ibn Maajah)

Hudhayfah Ibn Al-Yamaan, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Do not perform any act of worship which was not practiced by the companions of the Prophet ﷺ because the early people (i.e. his companions) did not leave anything unaddressed…so follow the way of those who were before you."

Al-Awzaa’i, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: "Persevere on adherence to the Sunnah; stop where they (the companions of the Prophet ﷺ) stopped; refrain from what they refrained from and follow the way of the Salaf because what sufficed them will suffice you."

Sa’eed Ibn Al-Musayyib, may Allah have mercy upon him, saw a man praying too many optional prayers before the Fajr prayer and therefore he forbade him from doing so. The man retorted: "O Abu Muhammad! Will Allah punish me for praying?" Sa'eed replied: "No, but He will punish you for doing other than the Sunnah.

A man asked Imaam Maalik, may Allah have mercy upon him: "At which point do I initiate my state of Ihraam?" he replied: "From Thul Hulayfah - where the Prophet ﷺ did so" the man retorted: "I wish to do it from the area beside the grave of the Prophet ﷺ" Imaam Maalik said: "Do not do that, for I fear that if you do so, you will be afflicted with trials" the man replied: "Why would I be afflicted with trials? All I wanted was to do it from a place which is only a few miles away from where you told me!" Imaam Maalik said upon hearing this: "What can be more serious than feeling that you performed a righteous deed that the Prophet ﷺ failed to do? I heard the saying of Allah (which translates as): “So let those beware who dissent from his [i.e., the Prophet's ﷺ] order lest trials strike them or a painful punishment.”"(An-Noor: 63)

 

7.   Difference between worldly innovation and religious innovation

Religious innovation and worldly innovation are not the same. There may be those who wish to equate these two to justify innovation in religion. However, the evidence does clearly indicate that the subject matter is in fact “the matter of ours”, meaning the religion of Islam.

 

8.   Conclusion

Some scholars have argued that the word ‘kullun’ can sometimes be used in Arabic with exceptions depending on context. However, the question is whether such an exception applies here, especially when considered alongside other narrations regarding adherence to the Sunnah.

Those who claim that the word “kullun” in the hadith on “every innovation” is not absolute, do so while ignoring evidences from other hadith. Furthermore, the companions gave their views on innovation as illustrated above. Clearly, they forbade it. Scholars, including Imam Malik and Imam Aw-Zaa’i were very clear in their rejection of any innovation in the religion.

The hadith reported by Ayeshah (Allah be pleased with her) states innovation in the matters of ours, i.e. the religion of Islam. Therefore, innovation in other matters, such as technology, is not included and is therefore permissible.

 

Contentment in the Remembrance of Allah

Islam is the religion with Allah and the followers of Islam are called Muslim - meaning those who submit to Allah, the Most High.

Allah says in Quran 2:156 (interpretation of the meaning)

“ … Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return."

Living with the knowledge we were created only to worship Him and that we will return to Him is key to be obedient to Him. In this obedience, we look at the factors influences on our lives: Time, money/wealth, eating. We often forget the “small” things in life like the air we breath, our sight, etc. Had we remembered it more then we will show more gratitude and bring greater contentment to our lives.

Yet it is time what we either waste or are careless with while time is a creation of Allah. It must be respected and be used for beneficial means. We look for wealth, which is permissible in general, but when we miss the fine line in that understanding we end up being inclined to this world. Again, the word contentment plays a role. It must be stated, however, that acquiring wealth is not sinful and is encouraged while you live with the full understanding that wealth comes from Allah, Ar-Razzaaq. We eat that which is halaal and that is good. It must be borne in mind that Allah tells us to eat from the good things as Allah says in Quran 2:168 (interpretation of the meaning)

“O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.”

Thus, what you do with the resources with which Allah has blessed you, is a start to understanding your relationship with Allah. In it you develop a relationship better than a love story in which you are patient with your spouse. You seek time with Him, you learn his rulings and get a better understanding of His deen - for is not His deen a way of life?

And in it that patience or rather “sabr” has many meanings including “perseverance”. And Allah says in Quran 2:153 (interpretation of the meaning)

“O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.”

Prayer and patience are partners like no other. Through prayer you build patience but true prayer is built on patience in that you have sincerity in front of Allah. Prayer is the first step to patience and then you increase in good deeds and your patience in doing that, for His sake only, will bring contentment.

Verily, in the remembrance of Allah does the heart find contentment - Quran 13:28.

Pray for us too.

Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) burial place

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) died in Madinah and lay buried there. He was buried in his house which was adjacent to the mosque. Over time the mosque was extended resulting in the “house” and therefor burial place of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) now being inside the mosque on the left hand side of the mosque. Millions of people visit his grave annually.

While his grave is fenced off. The grave itself is level with the ground and now structure is in or around the immediate area of the grave.

Which surah contains two basmallah

Surah Naml starts with the basmallah and later Allah tells us about the letter the Prophet Sulayman (peace upon him) wrote to Bilqees, the queen of Sheba. He starts the letter with “Bismillah ..”

Surah Naml has the two basmallah

Is only the consumption of wine prohibited

The question of alcohol, as it relates to Muslims, is something that is misunderstood by many and certain points need clarification. It is for the reader to ponder these and to learn more and avoid taking a position on a matter based on ignorance or misunderstanding.

Allah says: 

يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ادْخُلُواْ فِي السِّلْمِ كَآفَّةً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ

"O you who believe! Enter Islam completely, and follow not the footsteps of Shaytan (Satan). Verily, he is to you a plain enemy" [Quran 2:208]

This is a clear instruction from Allah that, upon accepting Islam, the Laws of Islam has to be adhered to, i.e. the instructions of Allah and His Messenger, Muhammad ﷺ has to be accepted and followed. The laws of Allah must be obeyed in totality. It is in human nature that we falter and commit sin, but a Muslim is one who realises this and repents. The Muslim does not deny the laws of Allah or changes it to suit his whims and fancies. He may commit wrong out of ignorance or it may be out of weakness.

يَسْـئَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ فِيهِمَآ إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَـفِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَآ أَكْبَرُ مِن نَّفْعِهِمَا

"They ask you (O Muhammad ) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefits for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.'' " [Quran 2:219]

يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالاٌّنصَابُ وَالاٌّزْلاَمُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَـنِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ - إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَن يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَآءَ فِى الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَوةِ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُّنتَهُونَ - وَأَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ

"O you who believe! Indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah ], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist? And obey Allah and obey the Messenger and beware..." [Quran 5:90-92]

The above verses establishes the fact that all intoxicants, including alcohol and drugs, are prohibited. Allah further exhorts us to obey Him and His messenger, Muhammad ﷺ.

The gravity (of the sin) of the association with alcohol is further explained in the hadith of Prophet Muhammad  ﷺ

إِنَّ رَجُلًا أَهْدَى لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَاوِيَةَ خَمْرٍ، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : هَلْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ حَرَّمَهَا ؟ قَالَ : لَا . فَسَارَّ إِنْسَانًا ، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : بِمَ سَارَرْتَهُ ؟ فَقَالَ : أَمَرْتُهُ بِبَيْعِهَا . فَقَالَ : إِنَّ الَّذِي حَرَّمَ شُرْبَهَا حَرَّمَ بَيْعَهَا

A man gave the Messenger of Allaah (S) a small skin full of wine, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “Do you know that Allaah, may He be exalted, has forbidden it?” He said, No, then he whispered to another man. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “What are you whispering about?” He said: I told him to sell it. He said: “The One Who has forbidden drinking it has also forbidden selling it.” [Muslim]

This then clearly establishes that trading in alcohol is prohibited.

عن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه قال : قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : " من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر : فلا يقعد على مائدة يشرب عليها الخمر " .

It was narrated that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day, let him not sit at a table where wine is being drunk.” [Ahmad, 126; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 7/6]

Attending places where wine is consumed makes it very likely that one will come into contact with the drinker or the alcohol itself (spillage, etc). Worse, of course, is for wine to be consumed at the table one is sitting because that is clearly in contravention of the hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, whom Allah has instructed us to obey. Allah has prohibited wine - its manufacture, its trading, its consumption and being in the company of those who consume it at that time.

People will wish to see things in a way that suits them, forgetting what Allah wants and the ways to draw closer to him. We must ponder on the laws of Allah and get some understanding. The aim is to please Allah as certainly we were only created for the worship of Allah. Thus everything we do must be in the obedience of Allah. Obedience is worshipping Allah. Worshipping Allah is not restricted to rituals but is totality of our actions and speech.

We find that there are Muslims consuming alcohol claiming it to be permissible. They have no proof but they follow their whims and fancies.

We find that there are Muslims who attend functions and socialise with people who consume alcohol in their presence claiming that it (this socialisation) is permissible. Nothing prevents Muslim from socialising with non-Muslims except that which specifically makes it prohibitive, like being in the presence of those who consume during that socialisation. The rule would equally apply to a situation where Muslims consume alcohol or take drugs.

Islam is a complete way of life. Allah is our Creator and Lord. We were created only to worship Him and thus being obedient to Him. We say "we hear and we obey" when Allah commands us with anything or He prohibit us from anything.

We pray for His guidance and protection

The Muslim and Correct Pronunciation

Speech is the ability to communicate. We use language as a specific means of this speech. Every language has its own vocabulary, sounds, symbols and grammar. The ability to speak is enhanced by language of both the speaker and listener. This requires that both share a language (be it reading, writing or normal conversation) and that the correct elocution and pronunciation is used. Grammar can sometimes be overlooked but incorrect words make understanding almost impossible.

Muslims are required to have some appreciation of the Arabic language since the two main sources of knowledge, i.e. Quran and hadith, were transmitted in Arabic.

It is understandable that for non-Arabs there are many common mistakes being made in pronunciation. In every day speech these may be overlooked except, of course, if you are an Arab and cannot understand the word that is being mispronounced. Then there are issues of tajweed. Tajweed, as it relates to Quran is rather important in its recitation.  Unfortunately, in trying to rectify our pronunciation of everyday words and also names, these have now been mispronounced by becoming extreme in the tajweed application.

The biggest mistakes, relating to pronunciation, that are being made are fundamental to us as Muslims.

The lesser mistakes are words like صف

sof - row/ line pronounced incorrectly as "shaaf".

A similar one is مسافر    - Musaafir (traveller) pronounced incorrectly as "mushaafir".

Other words are;

بركه   "barakah" incorrected pronounced incorrectly as برقه   "Baraqah.

and  مبارك "Mubarak" incorrectly pronounced incorrectly    مبارق  "Mubaraq"

Then just before we get onto the main point of this note, the letter ض  "ḍād" has become such a tongue twister that some words have ended up having another letter added, e.g

رمضان "Ramadan" has become incorrectly رملدان  "Ramaldaan" (at least in parts of Cape Town)

There are also many names being mispronounced, but let's leave that for another post.

The main purposes of this post was to ensure we are aware of certain mispronunciations and its impact on us and perhaps even our deen. At the head of our confirmation, as Muslims, is that we declare the Shahadah (the testimony). We say this in our prayers, during the call to prayers and many other times. This needs to be said correctly because we stand to lose the meaning of the shahadah. It cannot be enough that we say we are Muslim but, after years of being Muslim and most actually being born Muslim, we cannot say the shahadah correctly. Certainly, this is one aspect that we cannot neglect - the actual words - pronounced correctly, and then knowing both the basic translation and, further, a correct understanding of this testimony.

The first major mispronunciation is related to our testimony of faith, our shahadah.

اشْهَدُ انْ لّآ اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ وَ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدً اعَبْدُه وَرَسُولُه

Transliteration
Ašhadu an la ilaha illa-llah, wa ašhadu anna Muhammadun Aabduhu wa rasuluh.



Translation


I bear witness that there is no Allah but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allahs servant and His Messenger

People (Mu-athin    مأّذّن    ) giving the call to prayer and many of us uttering the shahadah daily, in trying to apply tajweed, become excessive and the following is being said:

اشْهَدُ الله اِلهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ وَ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدً اعَبْدُه وَرَسُولُه

The "an-laa" انْ لّآ  was replaced with "Allah" الله .This  pronunciation has effectively replaced the words "that there is no" with the name of Allah and has rendered the sentence incorrect, thus making our shahadah incorrect.

There are mistakes being made in the call to prayer. There are also other mistakes being made in general recitation , athkaar, and general deeni-related vocabulary but we will leave that for another time. On a direct point of the "call to prayer, people who are qualified in pronunciation should be performing these duties.


Pronunciation must trump melody because the correct words are key to the correctness of the call to prayer. For non-Arabic speaking people, melody seems to be important and often people are complimented for the "beautiful way" they did the call to prayer. However, at times the melody is good but the call to prayer in itself was done an injustice.

We are non-Arabs and Arabic is not even a spoken language for the vast majority of us. The Quran is in Arabic, we say our Shahadah in Arabic, our Salah (prayer) is in Arabic and much more. The onus is therefore on us to learn to read Quran correctly, we need to learn the correct pronunciation of many of the words we use in our daily lives. Our gratitude to Allah Almighty for this religion, this deen of ours and for the Quran, is shown by at least reciting Quran correctly - the correct pronunciation of the letters.

And Allah knows best

We pray that Allah guides and protects us - We pray that Allah grants us ease and increase us in our love for Him, His Prophet (Muhammad ﷺ), His deen and His Book (which is in Arabic).