Innovation, in the (Bid'at)light of facts

☆ Innovation, in the   (Bid'at)light of facts

 Question: What is the literal meaning of innovation?

 ●Answer: 'Innovation' is an Arabic word which means 'inventing something new without any precedent.  So, in the famous book of Arabic dictionary, Al-Manjad, the meaning of innovation is defined as “Ikhtira wa Sanaa la ali example” which means creating and inventing something new without any previous example.

 ○Question: What is called heresy in the language of Shariat?

 Answer: In the Shari'ah, innovation is defined as anything that did not happen during the blessed time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so Imam Yahya bin Sharaf Nawi, while praising innovation, writes: "Al-Bida'a hai ahahad malam yakin fi ahad Rasulullah Swallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam" is such an innovation.  It is to invent a new work which did not exist in the era of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

 (Nawi, Tahzeeb Asmaa Wal-Lught. 3:22.)

 Some people define innovation in the following way: What was not done during the time of the Prophet ﷺ and the rightly caliphs is innovation.  Although this definition is self-made which has not been defined by any scholar.  And in the light of Sahih Hadith, it is completely wrong.  Because Hazrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, after establishing an official congregation for the Taraweeh prayer, said: What a good innovation this is.  ("Naam Al-Budaea Hayes")

 Now consider for yourself that what is done after the time of the Caliphs is innovation, so how did Hazrat Umar (Raziyallahu Ta'ala Anhu) call it innovation which happened in his time?  Did Nawzabullah not know the definition of innovation?  Of course, if it is not so, then it is known that this definition is not completely correct.  The correct one is what was stated above regarding Imam Nawi.

 ○Question: Is every innovation evil and misguidance?

 Answer: No, every innovation is not bad and misguidance, because if every innovation was bad and misguidance, then the Companions, may God bless him and grant him peace, would not have done anything that was not done during the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, but the requirements of changing circumstances.  According to, many such works which were not done during the time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) were done by the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and they considered it good, here are a few examples.

 Example No. 1: Taraweeh prayers were not performed every night during the holy month of Ramadan during the blessed era of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).  Sayyiduna Umar Farooq (Raziyallahu Ta'ala Anhu) established the Jamaat of Taraweeh on a regular basis.  And when this Jamaat was established, he said, "Noam al-Bidaa'a, this is a good innovation."

 (Sahih al-Bukhari book Salat al-Taraweeh Chapter Fazl min Qam Ramadan Hadith 1906)

 pay attention!  If every innovation was bad and misguidance then Hazrat Umare Farooq Raziyallahu Ta'ala Anhu would never have used the word ``good'' with ``innovation'' but he used the word ``good'' with ``innovation''.  It was learned that not every innovation is bad and misguided.

 Example No. 2: During the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Commander of the Faithful, Sayyidna Abu Bakr Siddiq and Sayyidna Umar Farooq, there were only two adhans on Fridays.  The first call to prayer took place when the imam sat on the pulpit and the second call to prayer (i.e. Iqamah) took place before the prayer began.  But when the era of Syedna Usmaane Ghani (Raziyallahu Ta'ala Anhu) came, he added an "Azan" according to the requirement of changing circumstances and ordered to give it at "Zurai".  In this way three adhans including "Iqamat" were called on Friday

 (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Al-Jamaa, chapter of Adhan on Friday, Hadith: 912)

 • Something to think about.  If every innovation was bad and misguided, then how would Syedna Usmaane Ghani (Raziyallahu Ta'ala Anhu) do what was not done during the time of the Holy Prophet (Swallallāhu Ta'ala Alaihi Wasallam).  Moreover, at that time, many of the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, were Bahá'íts, and no one objected that he was doing something that was not done during the time of the Holy Prophet, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, and Sayyiduna Umar Farooq.  Why did you do that?  Rather, all the Companions and followers accepted it and all Muslims follow it till today.  Now you decide for yourself!  Are all the Companions of the Prophet and the noble followers and all the Muslims up to this day, misguided and hell-bent on following this?  Or are they hell-bent who leave the path of the Companions and common Muslims and make their own path?  Allah says: And whoever follows a path other than the path of the Muslims, We will turn him back wherever he goes.  And We will put him in Hell, and what an evil place to walk.

 (Surah An-Nasa'i, verse: 115)

 Example No. 3: When Sayyidna Abu Bakr Siddiq (Raziyallahu Ta'ala Anhu) ordered Sayyidna Zayd bin Thabit (Raziyallahu Anhu) to collect the Holy Qur’an in a regular place in view of the circumstances of his time, he ordered Sayyidna Umar Farooq (Raziyallagu Ta'ala Anhu).  He said to him, 'How did Rasulullah sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam do something useful?'  How can we do what the Holy Prophet did not do?  So Hazrat Umar Farooq (Raziyallahu Ta'ala Anhu) replied, "By God, this is a very good work."

 (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Virtues of the Qur’an, Chapter Jum al-Qur’an, Hadith: 4986)

 Re-read the above Hadith Sharif and think that Hazrat Umar Farooq (Raziyallahu Anhu) swears about something that the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) did not do that it is not wrong but a good deed and not only good but very good.  There is work. But some people consider every innovation as misguidance based on their lack of knowledge.  May Allah bless you with knowledge and guidance.

 ○Question: In the hadith Sharif, it is said that every innovation is misguidance and every misguidance leads to hell.  This proves that every innovation is misguidance.

 Answer: No!  In this hadith Sharif, innovation means 'bad innovation', which means 'bad innovation' and the true meaning of this hadith is that every new work that is against the religion and contrary to the mood of the Shari'ah is wrong and misleading.  .  This does not mean that every new work whether good or bad is all wrong and misguided.  Because if that were the case, building madrassas, beautifying mosques, putting Arabs on the Holy Qur'an, reading taraweeh with the congregation throughout Ramadan, giving the first call to prayer on Friday, and many other things would have been misguided.  However, no one believes so, so it is known that not every innovation is misguidance, but only those innovations are misguidance which are against religion and Shariat.

 ○Question: Is it proven from Hadith Sharif that innovation is good and bad?

 Answer: Yes!  Good and bad innovation is proved by Hadith Sharif.  It was narrated from Hazrat Jarir, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Whoever follows the Sunnah of Islam has a good Sunnah, it has a reward, and a reward from a deed, and a person who does not fall short of it.  Aam bham min baadaa min ghir in yaqq min ozarham shii "Whoever practices a good practice in Islam, he will get the reward of his practice and the actions of those who followed that practice will also get the reward.  will continue to practice and there will be no reduction in the reward of those who practice it, and the person who practices a bad practice in Islam, then that person will be guilty of practicing it and also for the practice of those people.  It will be a sin for those who continue to practice this method after that and there will be no reduction in the sin of those who practice it.

 (Sahih Muslim, Book of Zakat, Chapter Al-Hath Ali Al-Sadaqah, Hadith: 1017)

 • From this blessed hadith, it became clear as day that new deeds are some good and some bad, and the Prophet ﷺ explained the order of both in clear words, and keeping this hadith in mind, Imam Ghazali, Imam Nawi,  Imam Badr al-Din Aini, Allama Ibn Hajar Asqalani, Mir Syed Sharif Jarjani, Allama Ibn Athir Jazri, Allama Abu Ishaq Shatabi, Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlavi, etc. divided the heresy.  And everyone admitted that some innovations are good and some are bad. For details, read 'Sharh Sahih Muslim, authored by Allama Ghulam Rasool Saidi, Volume No. 2, Pages 539 to 564).

 If someone closes his eyes to these facts and keeps on crying that no innovation is good (i.e. no new work is good) but everything is wrong and misguided.  So surely such a person has no meaning from the sayings of the Holy Prophet, the thoughts and ideas of the Companions and the sayings of the scholars.