Regarding Bid’ah Hasanah (“Good” Bid’ah)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Can a religious practice be considered good even if the Prophet and his companions never did it?

The linguistic definition of Bid’ah:

عن ابن السكيت قال: البدعة كل محدثة ويقال: سقاء بديع أي جديد وكذلك زمام بديع [تهذيب اللغة (٢/ ١٤٢) وسنده جيد]

Ibn al-Sikkīt (D. 243) said: “al-Bidʿah: every newly invented matter. And it is said: siqāʾ badīʿ i.e new. And likewise zimām badīʿ (a new rein).” [Tahdhīb al-Lughah (2/142); Isnād Jayyid]. Also see the Ayah [46:9]

One should not be deceived when the scholars use the linguistic definition of Bid’ah on Taraaweeh for example as it’s already proven from the prophet ﷺ! Likewise when some scholars split Bid’ah into types according to this definition.

The technical definition of Bid’ah:

Bid’ah is something:
1- Done in the religion
2- That is not proven from the evidences (Qur’an, Sunnah, Qiyas, Ijma’)
3- And the salaf didn’t do it while they had the ability.

This is our subject and what the people refer to when saying Bid’ah Hasanah.

Evidence for 1-

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ‌‌من أحدث ‌في ‌ديننا ما ليس فيه ‌فهو ‌رد [جزء لُوَين (٧١) وسنده صحيح]

Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ said: “Whoever innovates in our religion what is not in it, it is rejected.” [Juzʾ Luwayn (71); Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ]

Evidence for 2-

Al-Shāfiʿī (may Allāh have mercy on him) said:
“The foundation is the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. If (an issue is) not found (in them), then Qiyās upon them. And when a Ḥadīth from the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ is connected and its Isnād is authentic then it is a Sunnah. And Ijmāʿ is greater than a solitary report (Khabar al-Munfarid).” [Al-Marāsīl by Ibn Abī Ḥātim (13) and Taʿẓīm al-Futyā (1); Isnād Jayyid]

This also shows Sunnah and Hadith are synonyms

Evidence for 3-

There’s many evidences for the salaf being evidence in the religion provided they don’t oppose the Qur’an and Sunnah. Here’s some

النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: خير ‌الناس ‌قرني، ثم الذين يلونهم، ثم الذين يلونهم [البخاري (٣٦٥١) ومسلم (٢٥٣٣)]

The Prophet ﷺ said: The best of people is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them. [Al-Bukhārī (3651) and Muslim (2533)]

How is it possible that the best people of this Ummah had an ability to do good and they left it purposefully?

فعليكم ‌بسنتي ‌وسنة ‌الخلفاء، المهديين الراشدين، تمسكوا بها وعضوا عليها بالنواجذ، وإياكم ومحدثات الأمور، فإن كل محدثة بدعة، وكل بدعة ضلالة [سنن أبي داود (٤٦٠٧) وسنده صحيح]

He ﷺ said: “So upon you is my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided, Guided Caliphs. Hold fast to it and bite down upon it with the molar teeth. And beware of the newly invented matters, for indeed, every newly invented matter is an innovation , and every Bidʿah is a misguidance.” [Sunan Abī Dāwūd (4607); Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ]

This is also a clear answer to those who claim ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه did a Bid’ah by having another Adhan. We say it was Masalih Mursalah, it is normal for people of innovation to mix the truth with falsehood.

Denouncement of Bid’ah Hasanah:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إياكم والبدع فإن كل بدعة ضلالة وكل ضلالة ‌تصير ‌إلى ‌النار [تاريخ دمشق (٣٤/ ١٧٤) وسنده حسن]

Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ said: “Beware of innovations, for indeed every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance leads to the Fire.” [Tārīkh Dimashq (34/174); Isnād Ḥasan]

This was mentioned by shaykh Habib al-Rahman with this grading. I found it to be clearly Hasan as well from my humble research

قال ‌ابن ‌عمر: كل بدعة ‌ضلالة وإن رآها الناس ‌حسنة [السنة للمروزي (٨٢) والمدخل للبيهقي (١٩١) وسندهما جيد]

Ibn ʿUmar said: “Every innovation is a misguidance, even if the people see it as ḥasanah (good).” [Al-Sunnah by al-Marwazī (82) and al-Madkhal by al-Bayhaqī (191); their Isnāds are Jayyid]

عن نافع: أن رجلا عطس إلى جنب ابن عمر، فقال: الحمد لله، والسلام على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. فقال ابن عمر: وأنا أقول: الحمد لله والسلام على رسول الله، وليس هكذا علمنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ‌علمنا ‌أن ‌نقول: ‌الحمد ‌لله ‌على ‌كل ‌حال [الترمذي (٢٧٣٨) وسنده حسن]

Nāfiʿ said: A man sneezed next to Ibn ʿUmar and said: “Alḥamdulillāh, wa al-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh”. So Ibn ʿUmar said: “And I (also) say: ‘Alḥamdulillāh, wa al-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh’ (All gratitude is to Allāh, and peace be upon Allah’s Messenger) but this is not what Allah’s Messenger ﷺ taught us (to say here). He taught us to say: ‘Alḥamdulillāhi ʿalā kulli ḥāl’” (Gratitude is to Allāh in all cases). [Al-Tirmidhī (2738); Isnād Ḥasan]

سعيد ‌بن ‌المسيب ‌نظر ‌إلى ‌رجل ‌صلى ‌بعد ‌النداء ‌من ‌صلاة ‌الصبح ‌فأكثر ‌الصلاة ‌فحصبه ‌ثم ‌قال: إذا ‌لم ‌يكن ‌أحدكم ‌يعلم ‌فليسأل إنه ‌لا ‌صلاة ‌بعد ‌النداء ‌إلا ركعتين قال: فانصرف فقال: يا أبا محمد أتخشى أن يعذبني الله بكثرة الصلاة؟ قال: بل أخشى أن يعذبك الله بترك السنة [الفقيه والمتفقه (١/ ٣٨١) وسنده حسن]

Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab looked at a man who prayed after the Adhan of Fajr and prayed excessively. He (Saʿīd) threw a pebble at him and then said: “If one of you does not know, then let him ask. Indeed, there is no prayer after the Adhan except for two rakʿahs.” The man turned away and said: “O Abā Muḥammad, do you fear that Allāh will punish me for praying excessively?” He replied: “Rather, I fear that Allāh will punish you for abandoning the Sunnah.” [Al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (1/381); Isnād Ḥasan]

قال عمرو بن سلمة: كنا نجلس على باب عبد الله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه قبل صلاة الغداة، فإذا خرج مشينا معه إلى المسجد، فجاءنا أبو موسى الأشعري فقال: أخرج إليكم أبو عبد الرحمن بعد؟ قلنا: لا، فجلس معنا حتى خرج، فلما خرج قمنا إليه جميعا، فقال له أبو موسى: يا أبا عبد الرحمن، إني رأيت في المسجد آنفا أمرا أنكرته، ولم أر والحمد لله إلا خيرا، قال: فما هو؟ فقال: إن عشت فستراه، قال: رأيت في المسجد قوما حلقا جلوسا ينتظرون الصلاة، في كل حلقة رجل، وفي أيديهم حصى فيقول: كبروا مائة، فيكبرون مائة، فيقول: هللوا مائة، فيهللون مائة، ويقول: سبحوا مائة فيسبحون مائة، قال: فماذا قلت لهم؟ قال: ما قلت لهم شيئا انتظار رأيك أو انتظار أمرك، قال: أفلا أمرتهم أن يعدوا سيئاتهم، وضمنت لهم أن لا يضيع من حسناتهم، ثم مضى ومضينا معه حتى أتى حلقة من تلك الحلق، فوقف عليهم فقال: ما هذا الذى أراكم تصنعون؟ قالوا: يا أبا عبد الرحمن حصى نعد به التكبير والتهليل والتسبيح، قال: فعدوا سيئاتكم فأنا ضامن أن لا يضيع من حسناتكم شيء، ويحكم يا أمة محمد ما أسرع هلكتكم، هؤلاء صحابة نبيكم رضي الله عنهم متوافرون، وهذه ثيابه لم تبل وآنيته لم تكسر، والذي نفسي في يده إنكم لعلى ملة هي أهدى من ملة محمد، أو مفتتحوا باب ضلالة، قالوا: والله يا أبا عبد الرحمن، ما أردنا إلا الخير، قال: وكم من مريد للخير لن يصيبه، إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حدثنا: أن قوما يقرءون القرآن لا يجاوز تراقيهم، وايم الله ما أدرى لعل أكثرهم منكم، ثم تولى عنهم، فقال عمرو بن سلمة: رأينا عامة أولئك الحلق يطاعنونا يوم النهروان مع الخوارج [الدارمي (٢١١) وسنده حسن]

ʿAmr ibn Salamah said: We used to sit at the door of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd , may Allāh be pleased with him, before the Fajr prayer. When he came out, we would walk with him to the masjid. Then Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī came to us and said: “Has Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān come out to you yet?” We said: “No.” So he sat with us until he came out. When he came out, we all stood up to greet him. Abū Mūsā said to him: “O Abā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, I just saw a matter in the masjid which I disapproved of, though, and all praise is for Allāh, I saw nothing but good (in their intention).” He (Ibn Masʿūd) asked: “And what was it?” He replied: “If you live, you will see it. I saw in the masjid a group of people sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle, there is a man, and in their hands are pebbles. He says, ‘Say Takbīr one hundred times,’ and they say Takbīr one hundred times. He says, ‘Say Tahlīl one hundred times,’ and they say Tahlīl one hundred times. And he says, ‘Say Tasbīḥ one hundred times,’ and they say Tasbīḥ one hundred times.” He (Ibn Masʿūd) asked: “So what did you say to them?” He said: “I did not say anything to them, awaiting your opinion or your command.” He said: “Why did you not command them to count their sins, and guarantee for them that none of their good deeds would be lost?” Then he proceeded and we proceeded with him until he came to one of those circles. He stood over them and said: “What is this that I see you doing?” They said: “O Abā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, these are pebbles with which we are counting the Takbīr, Tahlīl, and Tasbīḥ.” He said: “Then rather count your sins, for I guarantee that none of your good deeds will be lost! Woe to you, O Ummah of Muḥammad, how swift is your destruction! Here are the Companions of your Prophet ﷺ in great numbers, and these are his garments that have not yet decayed, and his vessels that have not yet broken. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you are either upon a religion more guided than the religion of Muḥammad, or you are openers of a door of misguidance.” They said: “By Allāh, O Abā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, we only intended good.” He replied: “And how many who intend good will never achieve it. Indeed, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ narrated to us that ‘a people will recite the Qurʾān, but it will not go beyond their throats.’ By Allāh, I do not know, perhaps most of them are from you.” Then he turned away from them. ʿAmr ibn Salamah said: “We saw the majority of those circles stabbing us on the Day of Nahrawān with the Khawārij.” [Al-Dārimī (211); Isnād Ḥasan]

This report has the following benefits:

1. Intention has no play when it comes to innovations
2. There is no reward attained when doing innovations
3. Not sitting with the people of Bidah (Ibn Mas’ud left them)
4. Obligation of forbidding evil
5. The companions evaluated new practices by comparing them to the Prophet’s guidance ﷺ
6. The people doing innovations were not companions
7. They didn’t have understanding of the Qur’an as the companions did (it didn’t reach below their collarbones i.e their hearts)
8. Innovations start small until they grow
9. Harshness of the salaf towards the people of Bid’ah as the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever respects a person of Bid’ah, then he has aided in the destruction of Islam” [al-Shari’ah 2040; Isnad Hasan]
10. Congregational Dhikr is an innovation
11. Correctness of what Ḥassān ibn ʿAṭiyyah said: “No people innovate an innovation in their religion except that Allāh removes from their Sunnah its equivalent, and then He does not return it to them until the Day of Resurrection.” [Sunan al-Dārimī (99); Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ]
12. Not speaking when there’s someone more knowledgeable available
13. One should clarify with wisdom before denouncing evil

May Allah reward all those who benefited me with much of these benefits