Bidaa, Can it be good?
Comperehensive research paper.
Dr Tariq Abdelhleem
This article aims at addressing two main points:
1. Is there what is referred to as Bida'a Hasana "بدعة حسنة " or "Good Innovation"?
2. How do we categorize the actions of Umar about collecting the Quran and other actions that he and the companions did that appear to follow the Maslaha (Pubic interest)? What is Maslaha stand on that?
In Hadith of Ibn Maja and Abu Dawoud, with a correct Sanad that the Prophet PBUH said: "and be aware of [and avoid] the newly introduced matters [innovations], as EVERY newly introduced matter is Bida'a and EVERY Bida'a is astray (Dhalalah)"
" وإياكم ومحدثات الأمور فإن كل محدثة بدعة وكل بدعة ضلالة" رواية أبي داود وزاد الترمذي "وكل ضلالة في النار"
In order to answer the first question, we have to make two comments here:
1. The use of the word Every (كلّ): it is crucial to understand that the word 'Every' which is كل in Arabic signifies what is called "General" in Usoul Al-fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence). The rule is that any "General" text can not be specified or limited to some of its subjects unless it is specified by another text. This is because specifying a text and limiting it to part or some of its subjects would be like making a new Shariah. Imam Shafie said: "whoever specifies a general, then he has made up a Shariah" (من خصص فقد شرّع). Based on that, the word 'Every' in that hadith, is considered in its general sense by the scholars of Ahlul Sunnah. So, when the Prophet PBUH says: "Every Bida'a is Dhalalah (misguidance)", he literally means Every Bida'a, not Bad Bida'a is Dhalalah and Good Bida'a is not Dhalalah. If we re-word the hadith to be: "every good Bida'a is good, and every bad Bida'a is bad"; it would not make any sense. Moreoer, it is not up to the standard by which the Prophet PBUH speaks. The word Bad or Bida'a would then be redundant. It would aslo signify a low capacity in literature "Balagha" (بلاغة), besides it would have no value in terms of meaning.
2. The Shariah Bida'a and the Linguistic Bida'a: To have the correct understanding of the former point we have to understand that words are understood in three different ways:
1. The Shariah meaning المعنى الشرعي: where the meaning of the word is defined or re-defined by the Shariah to reflect a specific meaning; such as Salat which used to mean making Dua'a (دعاء), then Shariah changed the linguistic meaning to mean the act of prayer as we know it now.
2. The Linguistic meaning المعنى اللغوي: where the meaning of a word is understood linguistically; such as in the word Zakat, which linguistically means purification. Whereas in Shariah, Zakat is the portion of money to pay on yearly basis. It was used in Quran and Sunnah in both senses of the word, as Allah SWT said: قد أفلح من تزكّى (But those will prosper who purify themselves).
3. The customary meaning المعنى العرفيّ : where a word gets its meaning based on the customs of the people using it; such as the word Al-Sa'a (الصاع), a certain volume measure which means the specific volume that the people of Medinah used to use at the time of the Prophet PBUH. That is why Imam Malik had the custom of Ahlul Madinah as a Daleel "evidence" of rulings in his Usoul.
Having said that, the word Bida'a can be understood in the two senses:
1. The Linguistic, where it means "introducing a new matter without pre-existence of a similar one" as in the ayah ""بديع السموات والأرض To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth;
2. Or in its Shariah meaning, where Bida'a means introducing something that is opposed to Sunnah, which is what is meant in the Hadith of the Prophet PBUH. In the Hadith, the Prophet PBUH specified every Bida'a (in its Shariah sense) as astray.
Umar used the word Bida'a in its linguistic sense when he described the Taraweeh prayer. He said: "it is a Bida'a, and a good Bida'a it is". This answer of Umar implies that the companion(s) who commented on his action understood the Bida'a in its Shariah sense and considered Taraweeh as a Bida'a in that sense. However, Umar explained that this is not a newly introduced Sunnah, as the Prophet himself used to do it but stopped doing it for a specific reason (which is to ensure that it will not be obligatory on his Ummah).
The confusion also comes from the misunderstanding of the hadith of Al-Boukhari and Muslim where the Prophet PBUH said:
" من سنّ في الإسلام سنة حسنة فعمل بها بعده كتب له مثل أجر من عمل بها..... ومن سنّ في الإسلام سنة سيئة فعمل بها بعده كتب عليه مثل وزر من عمل بها" مسلم كتاب العلم.
"whoever makes a good Sunnah (sets the precedent for a good deed) will have the reward for it and a similar reward for every one who will adopt it. …And whoever makes a bad Sunnah (sets a precedent for a bad deed) will carry the burden of it and a similar burden for each one who adopts it."
When we examine the reason and circumstances in which this hadith was said, we will find that it was reported by Jaber Ibn Abdullah who said: we were sitting with the Prophet PBUH in the early morning, then some poor people, from Mudar tribe, with no clothes or shoes came to him. The Prophet PBUH did not like what he saw, so, he went inside the house and then came out and ordered Bilal to make Aazan for prayer. Then he prayed and then recited the ayah: "Oh people, fear Allah who created you from one single soul" and the ayah "O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what (provision) he has sent forth for the morrow. Yea, fear Allah: for Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do" (Al-hashr 18). Then the Prophet PBUH said: a man makes Sadaqah from his Dinar, from his Dirham, from his dresses, from his dates, from his wheat, until he said: even with half a date. Then a man from al-Ansar came forward with a pack that was very heavy to carry with one hand, Jaber said: then the people came forward in numbers until I saw two big piles of cloths and food, and I saw the face of the Prophet PBUH glowing with happiness. Then the Prophet said: "whoever … ", the hadith. When you look into the incident, you will see clearly that the man who first brought the pack opened the door for al the others to follow that which is already established and approved in Sunnah originally; i.e. giving sadaqah. That is why in the other hadith of Al-Termizie, the Prophet PBUH says: "whoever revives my Sunnah proves to love me" and "whoever revives a Sunnah of mine that was diminished after my time he will get the thawab…". These hadiths explain the hadith of Jaber, since he revived an established Sunnah. The hadith does not mean that a newly introduced Bida'a can be considered a good Bida'a, as the word Bida'a is not even mentioned in that context at all; rather the word is Sunnah (for further explanation Refer to Al-Shatebie in Al-Itesam v1, p177-185 الإعتصام للشاطبي ج1 ص177 وبعدها).
The methodology of Ahlul Sunnah is to apply all the ayas of Quran and the hadiths together to develop a complete understanding of the specifics without neglecting or overlooking any of the Daleels (evidences). It is also called "Connecting the Eevidences" (الجمع بين أطراف الأدلة). Ahlul Sunnah treat Shariah as a whole and complete body of knowledge where its parts can not be individually separated from the rest of it. The latter methodology has always been adopted by Ahlul Bida'a to get around some ayas or hadiths and arrive at the preconceived meaning they want to introduce in spite of the Sunnah.
In order to answer the second question about the examples that are always used to confuse Bida'a with Sunnah, such as collecting the Quran by Umar or compiling books of hadith or the like, we have to distinguish between the concept of Bida'a and the concept of what is known as "Public Interest" (المصلحة المرسلة). This subject is very important, however it can only be understood by those who have extensive studies in Usool Al-fiqh. In 1984, I wrote a research paper, in Arabic, to distinguish between three confusing, though distinguishable concepts: Bida'a, Maslaha Mursalah (المصلحة المرسلة) and blocking the means (سـدّ الذريعة). I will InshAllah summarize the main distinguishing factors between Bida'a and Public Interest.
The interests المصالح that Shariah brings about to people are of three types:
1. Interest that the Shariah specifically considered: This is without a doubt acceptable to follow; such as punishment to preserve lives.
2. Interest that the Shariah specifically did NOT consider: This is without a doubt NOT acceptable to follow; such as the enjoyment of intercourse through adultery.
3. Interests that were not specifically mentioned in Shariah: This type has two sections:
1. Interests that are proven to have no evidence in Shariah for being considered under any general principle, which was observed in other incidents. An example of this is the case of a relative who kills a person to get his share of the will, then the killer is denied any access to the inheritance. The principle here is to treat him against what he wished for. However, this principle of treating against the aim of the action was never considered in Shariah except in this hadith. That is why scholars limited it to this ruling and never used it in other rulings.
2. Interests that evidences in Shariah have shown that they are considered under a general principle, which was observed in many other incidents and rulings of Shariah. This is what is known as "Maslaha Mursalah" or 'Public Interest' (although the translation is not quite reflective of the Arabic meaning).
The definition of Maslaha Mursalah then is "the matter that Shariah did not approve or reject in a specific text, and was found to be considered under a general principle of Shariah that is very widely used in other rulings".
Examples of that are:
1. Collection of the Quran: the principle of "Preservation of Shariah" is proven throughout Quran and Sunnah in countless ayas and hadiths. So, although there is no specific ayah or hadith that approves or rejects such an action, it can be approved as it comes under the general umbrella of the aforementioned principle.
2. Killing the group for the individual: In this matter, Umar and the companions upheld the principle of "Al-Qasaas" or punishment to kill the killer. If a group collaborated to kill one person and they got away with it, then the principle of:
ولكم في القصاص حياة يا أولي الألباب
"In the Law of Equality there is (saving of) Life to you, O ye men of understanding; that ye may restrain yourselves." would not be observed. This means that the principle of preserving life is also not observed. So, if people knew they can get away with murder, then it would encourage group murder.
The verse of Quran "freeman for a freemen, and slave for a slave and female for a female" does not constitute killing one for one. It merely corrects what was in Jahiliyah, where a freeman would not be killed for a slave, and a man would not be killed for a woman. So, in this ayah, Allah SWT decreed that all souls are equal.
There are many examples of the Maslaha Mursalah that can be analyzed as was done by scholars of Ahlul Sunnah (refer to قواعد الأحكام للعز بن عبد السلام، الإعتصام للشاطبي، الفروق للقرافي المالكي وغيرها كثير من كتب أصول الشريعة).
Now, we have discuss two additional points: the conditions and limitations of Maslahah Mursalah, and the difference between Maslahah Mursalah and Bida'a since it's always a source of confusion.
A. The limitation and conditions :
1. Maslaha (Interest) should be real not imaginary: such as those who elect representatives of secular parties on the hope that they will help them! It never happens, and will never happen since it is against what Allah SWT decreed about the relationship between Muslims and others in the matter of Wala'a.
2. Maslaha (Interest) should not contradict a text of Quran or Sunnah: as in the definition of the Maslaha Mursala that no text suggests its acceptance or rejection. Some ignorant people think that the ruling of Umar to stop carrying out the punishment of theft during the starvation period is a Maslaha (interest) that is being considered against the text. This is totally wrong! The understanding of this ruling is as follows:
1. The "Hadd or punishment" of theft is set in Shariah to be carried out with many conditions attached to it; such as the amount of the property, the place, access to it, etc. So, it is a general rule which allows for specifying terms and condition; as oppose to an absolute general rule (refer to the chapter on General and Specific of Usool Al-fiqh).
2. The hadith of the Prophet PBUH "Put off punishments for doubts" makes it very clear that in such circumstances, doubts are paramount. So it is just following Sunnah to stop applying a punishment in such an environment. It is the absolutely fine understanding of the companions of the Shariah that we have to follow.
3. Maslaha (Interest) should not prevent a bigger Maslaha or allows for a harm that is even bigger than that interest: That is why Imam Malik gave the fatwa to the kahlifa Abu Jafar Al-Mansour Al-Abassi not to force all Muslims to follow the book of Muwata (الموطأ) that he put together in Hadith, since it will cause chaos and spread differences and divide Muslims. Imam Malik considered that the interest of having Muslims follow a united book of Fiqh is of the level of "Need" (حاجة) and preserving Muslims from being divided is an interest of the level "Necessity" (ضرورة) to preserve Deen. His judgment was to neglect the need for the necessity. This point can be expanded to compare between the different levels of interest. However, this is beyond the scope of this article.
B. The difference between Maslaha and Bida'a:
In order not to confuse Bida'a with the Maslaha Mursala, we have to consider the main differences between both in their field of application and aims:
1. Maslah Mursala is applicable in Mu'amalat (transactions); such as Collection of the Quran and the like. Whereas Bida'a is applied in Ibadat (rituals); such as the Bida'a Zikr and dancing and the crazy likes.
2. Maslaha Mursala is applicable in the "means الوسائل". Whereas Bida'a is applicable in the "Aims of Shariah" (المقاصد).
3. Maslaha Mursala is relevant to and supported by the aims of Shariah; as in the definition that it comes under the umbrella of a acceptable principle. Whereas Bida'a is not substantiated with any aim of Shariah. On the contrary, it actually works against the aims of Shariah; such as intentionally torturing the body in seeking reward, although the aim of Shariah is to make things easy as in the aya of Quran:
وما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرج
"And He did not impose any hardship on you". Such torture is merely superficial as Ahlul Bida'a actually neglect Sunnah and make such claims of being hard on themselves to delude the common Muslim.
This is a brief discussion of the two points we have introduced earlier. A detailed discussion of this subject will be presented in a book of Bida'a that will be published soon Insha Allah.
Dr Tariq Abdelhaleem
First Published April 19 ,2004
