Is there a 'good Bid'ah'?"
Some people question or even oppose the classification of Bid'ah into Hasanah (good) and Sayyi'ah (bad). At times, those who accept this division are strongly opposed, accused of deceit, or even labeled as misguided. After all, the Prophet ﷺ taught:
"Every Bid'ah is misguidance."
So, who fails to understand the broader meaning of this statement? Can anyone derive from these words that some Bid'ah is good? These are the arguments of those who oppose the division of Bid'ah.
But their arguments don’t end there. They ask:
"When the Prophet ﷺ said, 'Every Bid'ah is misguidance,' how can a Mujtahid (scholar) or a learned person explain that some Bid'ah is misguidance, some is good, and some is bad?"
Look at the consequences of such questions:
Many ordinary people are misled. They join those who make such accusations and become full-fledged opponents of the truth. Interestingly, it is often those who have no deep connection with the spirit of Islam who fall into this trap.
Or, they argue that Bid'ah can be divided into religious (Diniyyah) and worldly (Dunyawiyyah).
Subhanallah! How do they manage to divide Bid'ah into Diniyyah and Dunyawiyyah? What is the basis for this division? At the very least, this terminology is not even theirs!
Even if we assume that from the time of the Prophet ﷺ, there were religious and worldly Bid'ah, this terminology was never used in that era. So, what is the basis for this division and terminology?
The same questions that opponents ask those who divide Bid'ah into good and bad will also be asked of them.
Therefore, a clear explanation is needed here to dispel these doubts and misconceptions.
Look, it is Allah who communicated through the Prophet ﷺ:
"Every Bid'ah is misguidance."
This teaching of Islam must be understood in light of other teachings of the Prophet ﷺ.
When we understand that Bid'ah refers to introducing something new without precedent, the objectionable act is adding something new to the religion and attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ. This is what the Prophet ﷺ warned us against when he said:
"Whoever introduces something into this religion that is not part of it, it will be rejected."
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So, what is the criterion?
The criterion is whether something is part of the religion or not.
Therefore, when we talk about Bid'ah Hasanah or Sayyi'ah, we are only referring to linguistic Bid'ah, i.e., something newly introduced or created. The term "in the religion" is not part of this. Introducing something new into the complete and perfect religion is the Shariah-defined Bid'ah, which is misguidance, objectionable, and must be rejected. Who can doubt this?
If the opponents understood these layers of meaning...
(From Sayyid Muhammad bin Alawi Al-Maliki Al-Makki's work, "Mafahim Yajibu an Tusahhah")
