Causes of Innovation (Bid’ah):
The virtuous Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan, may Allah preserve him, in his book titled “Bid’ah” mentions the causes of innovation as follows:
(1) Ignorance and lack of knowledge of religious rulings:
As time passed and people moved away from the relics of Prophethood, knowledge decreased and ignorance became widespread, as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) informed in his hadith:
“The person who lives among you will see many differences.”
And in his statement:
“Allah will not take away knowledge by removing it from the servants, but He will remove the scholars, and when no scholar remains, people will appoint ignorant leaders. These people will issue rulings without knowledge when asked about matters, and they will themselves be misguided and will misguide others.”
So, knowledge and scholars alone can effectively counter innovations, and when there is a lack of knowledge and scholars, opportunities arise for innovations to flourish and for innovators to become active.
(2) Following Desires:
Whoever objects to the Book and Sunnah will follow their desires, as Allah Almighty says:
﴿فَإِن لَّمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَكَ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّمَا يَتَّبِعُونَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ ۚ وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنِ اتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ بِغَيْرِ هُدًى مِّنَ اللَّهِ﴾
“If they do not obey you, then know that they are only following their desires, and who is more astray than one who follows his own desire without guidance from Allah?”
And He said:
﴿أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَىٰ بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَن يَهْدِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ اللَّهِ﴾
“Have you seen the one who has taken his own desire as his god, and Allah has sent him astray despite knowledge, and has sealed his ears and his heart, and put a cover over his eyes? So who can guide him after Allah?”
And these innovations are the product of desires.
(3) Showing bias towards the opinions of specific people:
Taking sides with someone’s opinion is a great obstacle between a person and the reasoning and recognition of the truth. Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّبِعُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ قَالُوا بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَا أَلْفَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءَنَا﴾
“And when it is said to them, ‘Follow what Allah has revealed,’ they say, ‘Nay, we will follow that which we found our forefathers upon.'”
And nowadays, this is the condition of the bigots, whether they are followers of certain sects, religions, or Sufism, or the grave worshippers. When they are told to follow the Book and Sunnah and abandon what contradicts both, these people use their sects, spiritual guides, and ancestors as evidence and present them as proof.
(4) Imitating the disbelievers:
Imitating the disbelievers is among the things that lead most to innovations, as mentioned in the hadith of Abu Waqqad Al-Laithi, who said that we set out with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, towards Hunayn, and our time of disbelief was still recent. There was a berry tree for the polytheists where these people used to stay and hang their weapons, called Dhāt Anwāṭ. As we passed by the berry tree, we said: O Messenger of Allah! Make for us a Dhāt Anwāṭ as they have. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said in astonishment: “Allahu Akbar,” these are the customs. He said, by the One in whose hand is my soul, you have spoken just as the Children of Israel said to Moses:
﴿اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ ۚ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ﴾
“Make for us a god like they have gods.” He said that indeed you are in great ignorance.
This hadith clearly states that imitating the disbelievers prompted the Children of Israel and some companions to make such a wrong demand from their Prophet that they ask him to appoint for them a deity besides Allah to worship and seek blessings from.
And this is exactly what is happening today because many Muslims have adopted the ways of disbelievers in committing shirk and innovations, such as celebrating birthdays, assigning specific days and weeks for certain acts, holding gatherings and processions for commemorative events and religious occasions, establishing commemorative pictures and statues, organizing mourning assemblies, innovations in funerals, and building on graves, etc.
(5) Blind Imitation of Ancestors:
One of the causes of innovation (bid’ah) is also the imitation of forefathers. Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّبِعُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ قَالُوا بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَا أَلْفَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءَنَا ۗ أَوَلَوْ كَانَ آبَاؤُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ﴾
“And when it is said to them, ‘Follow what Allah has revealed,’ they say, ‘Nay! We will follow that which we found our fathers doing.’ What! Even though their fathers understood nothing, nor were they guided?”
In this noble verse, Allah Almighty forbids following forefathers without proof and evidence, which in reality is following Satan.
This verse strongly condemns the act of accepting someone else’s word despite the clear Quran and authentic Sunnah, and making it a proof against the Quran and Sunnah, presenting the argument that our Imams, our guides, our elders, and our jurists understood better, and surely these hadiths must have been known to them, but they must have rejected those hadiths due to some stronger evidence.
And the worst oppression is that these gentlemen derived jurisprudential principles from these incidents of hadith rejection and recorded them in their books that whenever a hadith contradicts these principles, it should be rejected because it will either be weak, or less preferred, or abrogated. The worst consequence of this great crime against the Quran and Sunnah is that many weak and absurd types of hadiths have become prevalent in the individual and collective life of the Ummah, and the authentic hadiths narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, which there is no justification for not acting upon, have been neglected for hundreds of years, crying out repeatedly that act upon us, we are the authentic hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, but the imitators do not consider them worthy of attention.
The existence of all misguided sects in Islam, the prevalence of polytheism and innovation, the worship of graves, shrines, and dargahs, and all the diseases of beliefs have entered through this back door that the Quran and Sunnah were abandoned and the words of elders, spiritual guides, sheikhs, and self-made deities were preferred, imitated, and it was said that these gentlemen who have been doing this must have had some proof, so we will do what our elders have done and we will not accept these hadiths because we do not have more understanding than our elders. This was the method of the polytheists of Makkah.
The polytheists were involved in various acts of polytheism. When they were told to abandon the imitation of their forefathers who had fabricated lies about Allah and to act upon what Allah and His Messenger said, they immediately said that we will follow our forefathers. Allah responded:
﴿وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا إِلَىٰ مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ وَإِلَى الرَّسُولِ قَالُوا حَسْبُنَا مَا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءَنَا ۚ أَوَلَوْ كَانَ آبَاؤُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ﴾
“And when it is said to them, ‘Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger,’ they say, ‘Sufficient for us is that upon which we found our forefathers.’ Even though their forefathers knew nothing, nor were they guided.”
Further condemning the heinous act of the polytheists, Allah Almighty said that they have no proof for worshipping angels and idols; they only say that we found our forefathers practicing this religion, so we will remain on this religion:
﴿آبَاءَنَا عَلَىٰ أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِم مُّهْتَدُونَ. وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ فِي قَرْيَةٍ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَىٰ أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِم مُّقْتَدُونَ.﴾
“Did We give them a scripture before it, which they hold fast to? Nay, they say, ‘We found our fathers following a way, and we are certainly upon their footsteps.’ And thus We sent before you (O Muhammad) warners to every town, but the wealthy among them said, ‘We found our fathers following a way, and we are certainly upon their footsteps.'”
(6) Imitating the disbelievers:
The Children of Israel, after being freed from the slavery of Pharaoh and crossing the sea with Prophet Musa (Moses) عليه السلام, proceeded towards the southern region of the Sinai Peninsula. On the way, they passed by a people who worshipped idols. Seeing them, the Children of Israel demanded from Prophet Musa عليه السلام that they too should have such an idol to bow before.
﴿وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتَوْا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَىٰ أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ ۚ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ ۚ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ﴾
“And We caused the Children of Israel to cross the sea, and they came upon a people who worshipped idols. They said, ‘O Musa, make for us a god like theirs.’ Musa said, ‘Indeed, you are a people who are ignorant.'”
Al-Baghawi, the commentator, wrote that the Children of Israel had no doubt about the Oneness of Allah, but their intention was that, like those idolaters, they too should have something to venerate to attain closeness to Allah. Due to their extreme ignorance, they mistakenly thought that this would not harm their religion and faith. (End of Tafsir Al-Baghawi)
Imam Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir, and others narrated from Abu Waqid Al-Laithi that when the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم set out for the Battle of Hunayn, he passed by a tree on which the polytheists used to hang their weapons, and it was called “Dhat Anwat.” Some of the companions said, “O Messenger of Allah! Make for us a ‘Dhat Anwat’ like this.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Glory be to Allah! This is the same people of Musa who said, ‘Make for us a god like their gods.’ By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you will surely follow the ways of the previous nations.”
This is why Sayyiduna Umar ibn Al-Khattab رضي الله عنه had the tree at the place of Hudaybiyyah cut down, under which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم took the pledge from the companions, known as Bay’at al-Ridwan. Imam Abu Bakr Tartoushi Al-Maliki writes that if you see a tree that people visit and venerate, consider it a cause of healing, nail things into it, and hang pieces of cloth on it, then cut it down, because it is “Dhat Anwat.”
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “You will surely follow the ways of those who came before you, hand span by hand span, even if they entered a lizard’s hole, you will follow them.” The companions رضي الله عنهم said: “O Messenger of Allah! Do you mean the Jews and Christians?” He said: “Then who else?”
عن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ليأتين على أمتي كما أتى على بني إسرآئيل حذو النعل بالنعل، حتى إن كان منهم من أتى أمه علانية لكان فى أمتي من يصنع ذلك ، وإن بني إسرآئيل تفرقت على ثنتين وسبعين ملة و تفترق أمتي على ثلث وسبعين مله، كلهم فى النار إلا ملة واحدة ، قالوا: من هي يا رسول الله؟ قال ما أنا عليه وأصحابى
Narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Amr رضي الله عنه that the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “There will come a time upon my Ummah like that which came upon the Children of Israel. Just as the shoe is equal to the shoe, so if among the Children of Israel someone committed open adultery with his mother, some unfortunate people among my Ummah will do the same. The Children of Israel were divided into better sects, and my Ummah will be divided into better sects, all but one of which will enter Hell.” The companions رضي الله عنهم asked: “O Messenger of Allah! Which is that (saved) group?” He said: “The one that follows my way and that of my companions.”
Sheikh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله says:
“And these are the things that some people fabricate or imitate the Christians in celebrating the birth of Jesus عليه السلام or celebrate the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم love and reverence by marking his birthday, even though there is disagreement among people about his birth date because the Salaf did not do this. If doing so was purely good or preferable, then the righteous predecessors would have been more deserving of it than us, because they loved and revered the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم more than us and were more eager for good. The love and reverence of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم lies in following and obeying him, reviving his Sunnah outwardly and inwardly, spreading his call, and striving for it with heart, hand, and tongue, because this is the way of the Muhajirun and Ansar, the early predecessors, and those who followed them in goodness.”
(7) Exaggeration:
Allah Almighty has forbidden Christians from exaggerating in religion, because in every era this evil has been found more among them than others. They invented monasticism and seclusion from women in religion, and gave Jesus (peace be upon him) the status of Allah, and even made their scholars and monks their gods, as Allah Almighty has said:
﴿يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ ۚ إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ ۖ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ ۖ وَلَا تَقُولُوا ثَلَاثَةٌ ۚ انتَهُوا خَيْرًا لَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا اللَّهُ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ سُبْحَانَهُ أَن يَكُونَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ ۘ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا﴾
“O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and do not say ‘Three.’ Refrain; it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.”
In Surah At-Tawbah it is stated:
﴿وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ابْنُ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ اللَّهِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ ۖ يُضَاهِئُونَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَبْلُ ۚ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ ۚ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ. اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا ۖ لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ.﴾
“And the Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded? They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.”
Imam Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir, and others have narrated from Sayyiduna Uday ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) with a silver cross hanging around his neck (he had accepted Christianity during the time of ignorance). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) recited the verse: ﴿اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ﴾. I said, “Did the Christians worship their scholars?” He (peace be upon him) said, “Yes, they made lawful what was forbidden and forbidden what was lawful, so the people obeyed them and followed them; that is their worship.”
Muhaddith Albani graded it as Hasan.
Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that he heard Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) say from the pulpit that he heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) say:
لا تطروني كما أطرت النصارى ابن مريم فإنما أنا عبده فقولوا: عبد الله ورسوله
“Do not exaggerate as the Christians did regarding Jesus, for I am only the Messenger of Allah and His servant.”
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
إياكم والغلو فى الدين فإنما أهلك من كان قبلكم الغلو فى الدين
“Avoid exaggeration in religion, for those before you were destroyed because of exaggeration in religion.”
Allama Imam Ibn Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) counted exaggeration among major sins and said:
“To exaggerate regarding a creation to the extent of exceeding its status, and sometimes this exaggeration leads from a major sin to shirk (associating partners with Allah).”
Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“My intercession will not be accepted for two types of people from my Ummah: (1) The extremely oppressive ruler, (2) The one who exaggerates until he goes out of the fold of religion.”
Maulana Hali said:
Do not be deceived like others,
Do not make anyone the son of God,
Do not raise my status beyond my limit,
Do not diminish me by exaggerating,
Everyone is human there as the dust-covered,
Likewise, I am also one of His servants,
Do not make my grave your idol,
Nor bow your head over my tomb.
(8) Corrupt Arguments and Following Similarities:
Corrupt arguments and following ambiguous matters are also among the causes and motives of innovations.
Thus, Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlvi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
يطلبون الدنيا وقد اعتادوا تقليد السلف وأعرضوا عن نصوص الكتاب والسنة وتمسكوا بتعمق عالم وتشدده وإستحسانه فاعرضوا كلام الشارع المعصوم وتمسكوا بأحاديث موضوعة وتاويلات فاسدة ، كانت سبب هلاكهم
“If you want to see the example of the Jews, then look at the evil scholars of our time, who are attached to the pursuit of the world and the imitation of their predecessors. These people turn away from the texts (proofs) of the Book and Sunnah and firmly hold on to the contemplation, insistence, and preference of some (scholar they favor). They have abandoned the speech of the infallible Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and embraced fabricated narrations and corrupt interpretations. For this reason, these people have perished.”
Those whose hearts contain disbelief and hypocrisy pursue ambiguous verses so that they may cause people to fall into doubts, argue with them through corrupt interpretations for their false beliefs and ideologies, and promote innovations in Islam. Such people are certainly of weak intellect who seek ambiguous verses to bring forth some proof in support of their false thoughts and spread evil and discord among Muslims.
﴿فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ ۗ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ۗ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا ۗ وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ﴾
“So as for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that which is ambiguous thereof, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah. But those firm in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord.’ And no one will be reminded except those of understanding.”
(9) Religious Prejudice:
Prejudice is a very bad thing; because of it, the Ummah was divided into different groups and sects, and on its basis, friendship or enmity began. Whereas Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, has said:
﴿وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا﴾
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not become divided.”
Prejudice led to discord and enmity to such an extent that some followers of a religion declared marriage with a girl of an opposing religion or her likeness as unlawful, while others considered marriage with a girl of an opposing religion permissible, treating her like a Jewish or Christian woman. Similarly, praying behind an imam of an opposing religion was also declared unlawful.
Thus, Ibn Humam Hanafi states: Abu Al-Yasar said: It is not permissible for a Hanafi man to pray behind a Shafi’i! The reason is that Makhool Nakha’i wrote in his book “Yashfa'” that raising the hands while going into and coming out of Ruku invalidates the prayer because this act is excessive.
Sheikh Muhammad Hayat Sindhi Hanafi said:
“Our contemporaries have innovated the heresy of strict adherence to a particular school of thought, saying that it is not permissible for anyone to move from one school to another. This is ignorance, innovation, and oppression. We have seen such people who abandon authentic, non-abrogated hadiths and cling to those schools which have no authentic chain.” انا لله وإنا إليه راجعون
As a result of this religious prejudice, people had divided Masjid al-Haram into four or five prayer areas, as mentioned on previous pages.
This Mullah will give the infidels the wealth of Islam
Making him an infidel is only known to Muslims
Prejudice has come to this clear eye
What has it clouded with the thorns of hatred
(10) Association with Innovators:
During the trials of Islam, when the polytheists of Makkah saw the Companions reciting the Quran, they would mock and fabricate stories. Keeping these circumstances in mind, Allah Almighty revealed this noble verse and forbade the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the Companions from staying in gatherings where disbelievers mocked the Quran, instructing them to leave such assemblies until those people began to speak of something else:
﴿حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ ۚ وَإِمَّا يُنسِيَنَّكَ الشَّيْطَانُ فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَىٰ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾
“And when you see those who engage in [offensive] discourse concerning Our verses, then turn away from them until they enter into another conversation. And if Satan causes you to forget, then do not remain after the reminder with the wrongdoing people.”
And when the Prophet ﷺ migrated and reached Madinah, there too the disbelievers and hypocrites behaved similarly, mocking the Quran and the Prophet ﷺ. Therefore, Allah Almighty commanded to avoid such gatherings, as mentioned in Surah An-Nisa:
﴿وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ يُكْفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا فَلَا تَقْعُدُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ ۚ إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِّثْلُهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَامِعُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ فِي جَهَنَّمَ جَمِيعًا﴾
“It has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah being denied and ridiculed, do not sit with them until they engage in a different conversation. Otherwise, you would be like them.”
The commentators have written that this command is general, and it is obligatory upon every member of the Muslim Ummah that wherever Islam, the Quran, Sunnah, etc., are mocked or where there is an invitation towards innovations and superstitions, that gathering should be boycotted. Otherwise, the same ruling will apply to them as mentioned at the end of Surah An-Nisa: ﴿إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِّثْلُهُمْ﴾ “You would be like them.” Muhammad ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) considered sitting with the people of innovation as rejected in light of this noble verse and stated that this verse was revealed about them.
Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said that whoever chooses the company of the people of innovation will not attain wisdom and insight.
And the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
إنما مثل الجليس الصالح والجليس السوء كحامل المسك ونافح الكير، فحامل المسك إما أن يحذيك، وإما أن تبتاع منه، وإما أن تجد منه ريحا طيبة، ونافخ الكير إما أن يحرق ثيابك، وإما أن تجد ريحا خبيثة
“The example of a good companion and a bad companion is like that of the seller of musk and the one who blows the blacksmith’s bellows. The seller of musk either gives you some as a gift, or you buy some from him, or at least you smell a pleasant fragrance from him. And the one who blows the bellows either burns your clothes or you get a foul smell from him.”
(11) Sufism:
These matters are delicate, do as you please
For I did not like this method of the Khanqah
Sufism is the root of innovation (Bid’ah). The Imams of guidance have warned greatly against it, because through it a person unknowingly goes astray.
Imam Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
لوأن رجلا تصوف أون النهار لا يأتى الظهر على بصير أحمق
“If someone adopts the Sufi way of life from the beginning of the day, by noon he will become a fool.”
He further says:
ما لزم أحد الصوفيين أربعين يوما فعاد عقله
“Whoever keeps the company of a Sufi continuously for forty days, his intellect will never return.”
And Imam al-Sunnah Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
حذروا من الحارث أشد التحذير الحارث أصل البلبلة يعني فى حوادث كلام جهم، ذاك جالسه فلان وفلان وأخرجهم إلى رأى جهم ما زال مأوى أصحاب الكلام، حارت بمنزلة الأسد المرابط أنظر أى يوم يتب على الناس
“Avoid Harith the Sufi as much as possible, for he is the root of calamity. He is a victim of the incidents of the speech of Jahm ibn Safwan. Do you not see that so-and-so and so-and-so are his companions, who have made them bound to the opinion of Jahm ibn Safwan? The refuge and shelter for the scholars of Kalam is the answer. Harith is like a lion lying in ambush; see on which day he attacks.”
These orders are also of Sufism, and love and gathering with them leads towards innovation.
1: Qadriya order
2: Naqshbandiya order
3: Suhrawardiya order
4: Rifaiya order
5: Tijaniya order
6: Chishtiya order
(12) Greed and Covetousness:
Greed and avarice also lead a person towards innovation (bid’ah), as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
بادروا بالأعمال فتنا كقطع الليل المظلم يصبح الرجل مؤمنا ويمسي كافرا، أو يمسي مؤمنا ويصبح كافرا يبيع دينه بعرض من الدنيا
“Before these trials occur, hasten to perform righteous deeds which will be like fragments of a dark night, such that a person will be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever by the evening, or a believer in the evening and a disbeliever by the morning, selling his religion for worldly goods.”
At another place, the Prophet ﷺ said:
ما ذئبان جائعان أرسلا فى غنم بأفسد من حرص المرء على المال والشرف لدينه
Sheikh al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, declared it authentic.
“Two hungry wolves sent among a flock of goats are not as harmful as the greed for wealth and honor is to a person’s religion.”
(13)Veneration of Elders:
Ignorant and extremist Jews declared Sayyiduna Uzair (Alayhis Salam) as the son of Allah, whose era was approximately five hundred and fifty years before Isa (Alayhis Salam). It is said that he collected the scattered Torah and compiled all the Israeli books written in Hebrew into a great book of law for the Children of Israel. Influenced by this, the Jews began to call him the metaphorical son of Allah, which was against the majesty of the Oneness of Allah.
Among the misguided Christians, some called Sayyiduna Isa (Alayhis Salam) the son of Allah, some equated him exactly with Allah, and some declared him one of three deities.
﴿وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ابْنُ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ اللَّهِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ ۖ يُضَاهِئُونَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَبْلُ ۚ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ ۚ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ﴾
“And the Jews said, ‘Uzair is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians said, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before them. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?”
The people began to worship the righteous ones of the people of Nuh. The leaders of the people incited the masses to shirk, saying that the gods worshipped by our and your ancestors must never be abandoned, and remain firmly devoted to their worship. Do not forget your gods Wadd, Suwa’, Yaghuth, Ya’uq, and Nasr under any circumstances.
Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that:
“Wadd, Suwa’, Yaghuth, Ya’uq, and Nasr were the names of righteous people among the people of Nuh. When those people died, Satan instilled in the hearts of their people the idea to erect statues bearing their names at their places of sitting. So they did that, and when those people died and knowledge was taken away from among them, those statues began to be worshipped.”
(14) Rationalism:
Rationalism misleads a person. Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
نهاية اقدام العقول عقال
وأكثر سعي العالمين ضلال
وأرواحنا فى وحشة فى جسومنا
وحاصل دنيانا أذى ووبال
ولم نستفد من بحثنا طول عمرنا
سوى أن جمعنا فيه قيل وقالوا
“The destination of the horses of intellect is helplessness, and the excessive effort of scholars is the cause of misguidance. Our souls are terrified within our bodies, and the outcome of our world is pain and suffering. Our lifelong debates have brought us no benefit except that we have accumulated disputes and arguments.”
These are the verses of Ibn Khateeb, known as Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. Shatibi has narrated them with his chain of transmission in “Al-Ifadat wal-Inshadat” (pages 84, 85), and they are also narrated with another chain in Al-Maqrizi’s book “Nafh al-Tib” (19/9) and in Lisan al-Din Ibn Khateeb’s book “Al-Ihata fi Akhbar Gharnata” (222/2).
Another scholar says:
“I have dived into a vast ocean. I have abandoned the people of Islam and their sciences. I have engaged in a knowledge from which people have refrained, and now if the mercy of my Lord does not embrace me, destruction will be for such a person. Therefore, now I am ready to give my life for the belief of my mother.”
These are the words of Ibn Juwayni, as mentioned in “Al-Muntazam” (9/19), “Siyar A’lam al-Nubala” (471/18), “Tabaqat Shafi’iyya” (260/3), and “Shadharat al-Dhahab” (361/3).
Another person among them says:
“At the time of death, the people who fall into the greatest doubt are the theologians (Ahl al-Kalam).”
(15) Trial of Doubt and Suspicion:
The polytheists of Mecca had given their false deities names derived from the names of Allah, which they and their forefathers before them had assigned, but these deities did not possess any attribute worthy of being worshipped. They had merely given them such names from their own side, which had no connection with reality, and for which Allah Almighty had not revealed any proof. They were merely following their own conjectures and desires of the self, even though clear evidence had come to them from their Lord that these were not worthy of worship. Worship is exclusively for that Allah, Glorified is His Majesty, who is the Creator of everything and the Owner of the heavens, the earth, and all that is between them. The guidance that came to the polytheists of Mecca from their Lord through the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, they turned away from, and instead clung to their own desires, and entertained the false notion in their hearts that their idols would intercede for them:
﴿إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا أَسْمَاءٌ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَا أَنتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُم مَّا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَانٍ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الْأَنفُسُ ۖ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّهِمُ الْهُدَىٰ﴾
“These idols are but names which you and your forefathers have invented; Allah has not sent down any authority for them. They follow nothing but conjecture and what their souls desire, though there has already come to them guidance from their Lord.”
And Abu Nu’aym has narrated from Al-Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, that: “When some people of desires would come to Malik ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, he used to say: ‘I am upon clear proof from my Lord and my religion, and you are merely afflicted with doubt, so go to someone like yourself who is doubtful and dispute with him.'”
(16) Concealment of Truth:
Concealing the truth is also a major cause of innovation. When the truth is hidden, the veil is lifted from innovations. Those whose habit is to conceal the truth are the ones who describe falsehood. Allah Almighty has severely condemned those who hide the guidance and direction sent through the Prophets and Messengers.
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالْهُدَىٰ مِن بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الْكِتَابِ ۙ أُولَٰئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّاعِنُونَ﴾
“Indeed, those who conceal Our clear signs and guidance which We have revealed, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book, Allah curses them and those who curse.”
Although this verse was revealed about the scholars of the Jews and Christians who concealed the signs of the truthfulness of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), its ruling is general. Every person who conceals the truth revealed by Allah Almighty will necessarily be included in this severe warning.
A few verses later, the warning for those who conceal the truth is mentioned again so that the members of the Muslim Ummah may protect themselves from such a reprehensible trait. Allah Almighty said:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۙ أُولَٰئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا النَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾
“Those who conceal what Allah has revealed of the Book and exchange it for a small price, they fill their bellies with Hellfire. And Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and they will have a painful punishment.”
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
من سئل عن علم يعلمه فكتمه الجم يوم القيامت بلجام من النار
Allama Albani has declared this hadith authentic.
“Whoever is asked about knowledge which he knows and conceals it, on the Day of Resurrection he will be bridled with a bridle of fire.”
(17) Distortion:
Distortion is also among the causes of innovation (bid’ah) and is a highly reprehensible act. Allah Almighty has mentioned a severe warning for the scholars of the Jews who used to distort:
﴿فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَٰذَا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۖ فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ﴾
“So woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, then say, ‘This is from Allah,’ in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they earn thereby.”
Shaykh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, states that although Allah Almighty has condemned these very Jewish scholars in this verse who used to alter the verses of the Torah, after the advent of Islam, this also includes those who distort the Qur’an and Sunnah to justify innovations. This condemnation was for those Jews who did not possess knowledge of the Torah and only had some baseless desires. Now it also includes those who do not ponder over the Qur’an but merely recite its letters, those who write something contrary to the Qur’an by their own hands to achieve worldly goals and spread it among people, claiming it to be the Shariah and religion of Allah, and those who conceal the Qur’an and Sunnah so that their opponents cannot use the truth against them. The end.
