✿ A Critical Review of Barelwi Doubts on the Classification of Bidʿah ✿
🖋 Adapted from the book: “Eid Milad-un-Nabi ﷺ ki Shar‘i Haithiyat” by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Introduction
Some individuals argue that innovations (Bidʿah) can be divided into Bidʿah Ḥasanah (good innovation) and Bidʿah Sayyiʾah (evil innovation). They support this view with certain evidences. Below is a structured refutation of these misconceptions.
➤ Doubt ①: The Statement of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه):
“نِعْمَ الْبِدْعَةُ هَذِهِ” — “What a good innovation this is!”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2010)
✦ Response:
This statement cannot be used as evidence for dividing Bidʿah, because:
- The Prophet ﷺ himself led the congregation of Tarāwīḥ prayers during his lifetime, but stopped due to fear of it becoming obligatory.
- When ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) saw the people gathered again for it in congregation during his caliphate, he appreciated it because its basis was established in the Sunnah.
❖ Imām al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله states:
“ʿUmar’s action was not contrary to Qur’an, Sunnah, or consensus; hence it was not a misguiding innovation but rather a revival of a good practice rooted in the Sunnah.”
(Al-Sunan al-Ṣughrā: 817)
❖ Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī رحمه الله:
“Every Bidʿah is misguidance… What the Salaf called a ‘good innovation’ was in the linguistic sense, not the Sharʿī sense.”
(Jāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm wal-Ḥikam: 2/128)
➤ Doubt ②: The Fajr Qunūt & the Word “Muḥdath”
✦ Response:
The use of Qunūt in Fajr prayers in specific circumstances (e.g., calamities) is proven from authentic narrations during the Prophet’s ﷺ time and from the Companions after his passing.
- The term “Muḥdath” (new) used here refers to linguistic novelty, not Sharʿī Bidʿah.
- Multiple companions (like ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Ibn ʿAbbās) performed Qunūt, making it a Sunnah with a valid basis.
➤ Doubt ③: The Ḥadīth of “Sunnah Ḥasanah” and “Sunnah Sayyiʾah”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1017)
✦ Response:
- This hadith refers to reviving an existing Sunnah, not introducing a new religious practice.
- The context is charity — a known Sunnah — being acted upon after initial hesitation.
- Therefore, the term “sunnah ḥasanah” means reviving neglected Sunnah, not initiating religious innovation.
➤ Doubt ④: The Compilation of the Qur’an as a “Bidʿah Ḥasanah”
✦ Response:
- The compilation of the Qur’an was done under the guidance and consensus of the Ṣaḥābah, including the Prophet ﷺ during his lifetime (writing portions).
- It was based on existing Sunnah and necessity, and not innovation in the religion.
❖ Ḥadīth:
“Follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 4607; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 2676 — Ṣaḥīḥ)
Hence, compilation of the Qur’an is not Bidʿah, but part of the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, which we are commanded to follow.
➤ Doubt ⑤: The Statement of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه)
“What the Muslims see as good is also good in the sight of Allah…”
(Musnad Aḥmad: 1/379, Al-Mustadrak: 3/78 — Ḥasan)
✦ Response:
- This refers to the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Muslim Ummah — not the opinion of a few individuals.
- It does not justify innovations. Bidʿah contradicts the very principles of ijmāʿ.
❖ Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله:
“This saying refers to what all Muslims agree upon, not what some perceive as good.”
(Al-Tanbīh ʿala Mushkilāt al-Hidāyah: 1/499)
✦ Practical Example from Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه):
He openly condemned a group engaging in group dhikr with pebbles in a new form, although the practice of dhikr itself was permissible.
“Count your sins! I guarantee your good deeds will not be wasted… Either you are more guided than the Prophet ﷺ and his companions, or you are opening the door of misguidance.”
(Sunan al-Dārimī: 1/60–61 — Ḥasan)
➤ Doubt ⑥: Using the Principle of “al-Aṣl fī al-Ashyā’ al-Ibāḥah”
Claim: Every new thing is permissible unless prohibited by Sharīʿah.
✦ Response:
This principle applies to worldly matters, not religious acts of worship.
❖ Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله:
“Acts of worship are only valid if legislated through revelation… Contracts and worldly dealings are allowed unless explicitly forbidden.”
(Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 1/344)
⚠ What if We Apply This Principle to Acts of Worship?
① Introducing a sixth obligatory prayer
② Calling the adhān before ʿEid or Janāzah prayers
③ Slaughtering on ʿĪd al-Fiṭr as a “ḥasanah innovation”
Would any of this be acceptable? Clearly not.
✅ Conclusion:
- Every Sharʿī Bidʿah is misguidance, regardless of intention.
- The divisions of Bidʿah into ḥasanah and sayyiʾah are based on misunderstanding or misuse of linguistic expressions.
- Religious innovations — even if they appear righteous — are condemned by the Salaf, particularly Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه), who saw such actions as signs of destruction.
