Author: Shoaib Ahmad Ghaznavi
Bid’ah and Its Precise Meaning (Part Three)
Altering What Has Been Defined in Sharia (Islamic Law):
Reducing acts of worship whose limits and measures have been clearly defined by Sharia is forbidden and considered bid‘ah (religious innovation) because it leads to the corruption and invalidation of those acts. Examples include reducing the number of prayer units (rak‘ahs), fasting days, circumambulation rounds (ṭawāf), the stoning of the devil (ramy al-jamrāt), manipulating the required amount and threshold for Alms (Zakat), or omitting a pillar from the pillars of worship, as well as similar actions.
However, increasing acts of worship can be divided into two categories: connected and separate. In other words, either additional elements are added to a specific act of worship, or the act itself is repeated or extended.
1. Connected Addition (Adding Elements to a Worship Act):
Adding to the essential components of a worship act is considered bid‘ah. For example, adding extra bowings (rukū‘) or prostrations (sujūd), or deliberately adding an entire extra unit (rak‘ah), or inserting phrases into the call to prayer (adhān) that disrupt its order, melody, and format—such as adding “Sayyedunā” before the Prophet’s name (PBUH) in the adhān, as it disrupts its established pattern. However, if such an addition does not cause disruption and is not intended to perfect the act of worship or compensate for a perceived deficiency—but is rather made purely out of respect and reverence—it is not considered bid‘ah. This is similar to adding it in the Ibrāhīmī supplication, which is permissible.
2. Separate Addition (Increasing the Frequency of Worship Acts):
This type of increase falls into two types: either it has been explicitly prohibited, or it has not.
• If prohibited: performing it is bid‘ah. For example, performing voluntary prayers (nawāfil) after the obligatory dawn (ṣubḥ) or afternoon (‘aṣr) prayers, as if inventing a prayer without legitimate evidence and making it seem obligatory.
• If not explicitly prohibited: If a Muslim performs such an act thinking that the original worship is deficient and tries to complete it, it is bid‘ah and prohibited. However, if one does so believing it to be a separate and independent act of worship that is generally allowed in Sharia, then its performance before or after the primary worship is permissible—provided that the person does not attribute it to the Prophet (PBUH) as though he himself did it. Examples include:
• Paying more than the prescribed amount of Alms (Zakat) to benefit the poor;
• Performing two units of voluntary prayer after the obligatory prayer (if not during disliked times, such as after dawn or afternoon prayers);
• Sending blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH) after the supplication “Allāhumma anta al-salām wa minka al-salām tabārakta yā dhā al-jalāli wa al-ikrām”;
• Adding extra supplications and remembrances beyond what is reported;
• Performing a voluntary ṭawāf (circumambulation) after the obligatory one during Hajj;
• Making announcements before or after the adhān to alert worshipers of the prayer time, such as “Hurry to the prayer.”
Scholarly Views on Bid‘ah:
The explanation we provided for misguiding bid‘ah is supported by the statements of classical scholars—those who are trusted by the Muslim ummah despite their different schools of thought. Here are excerpts from their views:
1. Imām Muhammad al-Ghazālī (MABH):
In his book Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn, after discussing eating food on a wooden tray, he states: “Although we said that eating from a sufrah (cloth spread) is preferable, we do not say that eating from a tray is prohibited—neither strictly (ḥarām) nor disliked (makrūh)—as there is no authentic prohibition against it. Some say this practice was innovated after the Prophet (PBUH); however, we respond that not every innovation is prohibited. Only those innovations are rejected that contradict an established Sunnah or that nullify a ruling while its reason remains. In fact, sometimes innovation in religion becomes necessary—such as when the cause behind a ruling change. In the case of using a tray, there’s no reason to forbid it, as it merely makes it easier to handle food.”
2. Imām Ibn Taymiyyah (MABH):
In Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah, after discussing how the companions prayed the night prayer of Tarāwīḥ in congregation led by Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said, “What a good innovation this is,” Ibn Taymiyyah explained: “Since this collective form of prayer had not occurred before, ‘Umar called it an innovation. In linguistic terms, an innovation is anything done for the first time. But this is not the same as a religious bid‘ah—which includes loving what Allah dislikes or making something obligatory or forbidden without Allah’s decree. A religious bid‘ah requires that an act be tied to a belief contrary to Sharia. Otherwise, if someone performs a prohibited act while believing it is prohibited, he is not considered an innovator.”
3. Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī (MABH):
In Fatḥ al-Bārī, while commenting on ʿUmar’s (MABH) statement “What a good innovation this is” regarding the Tarāwīḥ prayer in congregation, he wrote:
“In its original sense, bid‘ah means doing something without precedent. However, in Sharia, it refers to any act that contradicts the Sunnah, and such acts are blameworthy. The correct view is that every newly introduced matter that aligns with accepted principles of religion is a praiseworthy bid‘ah, while that which contradicts Sharia is a blameworthy one. Otherwise, it is considered neutral (mubāḥ). Thus, bid‘ah can fall under all five legal rulings: obligatory, forbidden, disliked, recommended, or permissible.”
Continues…
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