This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri's book Aamad Mustafa ﷺ.
Worldly Inventions and Good Innovations (Bid'ah Hasanah)
◈ Mufti Ahmad Yar Khan Naeemi Sahib writes:
Nowadays, things have been invented in the world that were not even known or named in the early generations, and without which worldly life is now difficult. Everyone is compelled to use them. Railways, motors, airplanes, ships, tongas, horse carriages. Then letters, envelopes, wires, telephones, radios, loudspeakers, etc. All these things and their use are innovations (bid'ah), and people of every group use them without hesitation. Tell me, can Deobandis and Wahhabis live a worldly life without good innovations (bid'ah hasanah)? Certainly not!
Reference: Jaa al-Haqq : 211
Things that do not fall under purposes (beliefs and acts of worship), but relate to means, and for which there is no Shariah prohibition, it is permissible to establish them for some benefit, for example: establishing the Hijri year, installing speakers in mosques, organizing religious gatherings and assemblies for preaching, and publishing books, etc. Drawing justification for every kind of new work from the permissibility of these matters is a clear display of ignorance.
◈ Allama Shatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 790 AH) says:
إن سكوت الشارع عن الحكم فى مسألة ما، أو تركه لأمر ما على ضربين :
أحدهما : أن يسكت عنه أو يتركه لأنه لا داعية له تقتضيه، ولا موجب يقرر لأجله، ولا وقع سبب تقريره، كالنوازل الحادثة بعد وفاة النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم، فإنها لم تكن موجودة ثم سكت عنها مع وجودها، وإنما حدثت بعد ذلك، فاحتاج أهل الشريعة إلى النظر فيها وإجرائها على ما تبين فى الكليات التى كمل بها الدين، وإلى هذا الضرب يرجع جميع ما نظر فيه السلف الصالح مما لم يبينه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على الخصوص مما هو معقول المعنى؛ كتضمين الصناع، ومسألة الحرام، والجد مع الإخوة، وعول الفرائض، ومنه جمع المصحف ، ثم تدوين الشرائع، وما أشبه ذلك مما لم يحتج فى زمانه عليه السلام إلى تقريره؛ لتقديم كلياته التى تستنبط منها، إذا لم تقع أسباب الحكم فيها، ولا الفتوى بها منه عليه الصلاة والسلام ، فلم يذكر لها حكم مخصوص ، فهذا الضرب إذا حدثت أسبابه فلا بد من النظر فيه وإجرائه على أصوله إن كان من العاديات، أو من العباديات التى لا يمكن الاقتصار فيها على ما سمع ، كمسائل السهو والنسيان فى أجزاء العبادات، ولا إشكال فى هذا الضرب؛ لأن أصول الشرع عتيدة، وأسباب تلك الأحكام لم تكن فى زمان الوحي، فالسكوت عنها على الخصوص ليس بحكم يقتضي جواز الترك أو غير ذلك، بل إذا عرضت النوازل روجع بها أصولها فوجدت فيها، ولا يجدها من ليس بمجتهد، وإنما يجدها المجتهدون الموصوفون فى علم أصول الفقه .
والضرب الثاني : أن يسكت الشارع عن الحكم الخاص، أو يترك أمرا ما من الأمور، وموجبه المقتضي له قائم، وسببه فى زمان الوحي وفيما بعده موجود ثابت، إلا أنه لم يحدد فيه أمر زائد على ما كان فى ذلك الوقت، فالسكوت فى هذا الضرب كالنص على أن القصد الشرعي فيه أن لا يزاد فيه على ما كان من الحكم العام فى أمثاله، ولا ينقص منه؛ لأنه لما كان المعنى الموجب لشرعية الحكم العملي الخاص موجودا، ثم لم يشرع ، ولا نبه على استنباطه كان صريحا فى أن الزائد على ما ثبت هنالك بدعة زائدة، ومخالفة لقصد الشارع، إذ فهم من قصده الوقوف عند ما حد هنالك، لا الزيادة عليه، ولا النقصان منه
“The silence or abandonment of the legislator (Shari') on an issue can be for two reasons.
There was no cause or indication to abandon it, nor was the need for that action felt, as in the circumstances after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him). These circumstances did not exist during your lifetime; if they had, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would not have remained silent about them. Later, when these circumstances arose, the scholars, after reflection, deduced from the general principles of religion the method of dealing with these circumstances. This category includes all matters which the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not specifically mention, and the pious predecessors (may Allah have mercy on them) deliberated upon, such as holding a craftsman liable in case of loss, the issue of the forbidden, inheritance of a grandfather in the presence of brothers, the reduction of the fixed share, compiling the Qur'an into a single book form, codifying the teachings of religion.
And all such matters whose need was not felt during the time of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him), but the general principles existed from which such matters could be deduced. When the causes for a ruling were not present in the Prophetic era, and there is no explicit ruling or fatwa from the Prophet (peace be upon him), but now such causes have arisen that clarify the ruling, it is necessary to consider and apply the original principles to them. However, the condition is that these matters relate to transactions or acts of worship in which mere hearing is not sufficient, such as issues of forgetfulness and mistakes in worship. Issuing such rulings is permissible and there is no objection to their permissibility, because the principles of Shariah exist, but the causes for these rulings were not present during the period of revelation.
The legislator did not explain their detailed rulings, but this does not mean that they should now be abandoned. Whenever issues arise, reference will be made to the principles of Shariah, and these issues will be found within those principles, but only by those who are well-versed in knowledge of jurisprudence and skilled in ijtihad.
If, despite the presence of cause and reason in the time after revelation, the legislator remains silent on a specific ruling or abandons a certain action, this is considered a text (nass), meaning the intention of the Shariah is that the ruling should be understood generally like other matters, without any addition or subtraction. Because when a cause exists but no Shariah ruling is legislated, nor did the Prophet (peace be upon him) instruct to deduce from it, it is a clear text that adding to the established ruling is an innovation and contradicts the intention of the Shariah, indicating that the Shariah’s limit should be observed without addition or subtraction.”
Reference: Al-I'tisam : 281/2 - 282
Is it correct to restrict innovation only to religious rulings?
◈ Naeemi Sahib writes:
"Restricting religious matters is merely from one's own side. It is against authentic hadiths and the statements of scholars, jurists, and muhaddithin. The hadith states: كل محدثة بدعة 'Every new matter is an innovation.' No restriction of religious or worldly was placed on it."
Reference: Mishkat, Bab al-I'tisam Ja'a al-Haqq: 212
Naeemi Sahib has passed away from this mortal world, but the question to his followers or circle of friends is: where are those authentic hadiths and statements of scholars, jurists, and muhaddithin?
◈ Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
من أحدث فى ديننا ما ليس منه فهو رد .
"Every newly introduced thing in our religion, which has no basis in it, is invalid."
Reference: Juz' Lu'ayn: 71, with authentic chain in Sharh al-Sunnah by al-Baghawi: 103, chain is Hasan
◈ The noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
إياكم ومحدثات الأمور، فإن كل محدثة بدعة، وكل بدعة ضلالة .
"Do not introduce new matters into the religion, for every new matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance."
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawood: 4607, Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 2676, Sunan Ibn Majah: 44, chain is authentic
Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) classified this hadith as "Hasan Sahih," Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him), Hafiz Zia al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him) called it "Sahih," Hafiz Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) said "Thabit Sahih," and Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said "Thabit."
Reference: Itba' al-Sunnah wa Ijtinab al-Bida': 2, Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm wa Fadlih by Ibn Abd al-Barr: 3306, Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm wa Fadlih: 2306
From these hadiths it is established that introducing innovations into the religion is impermissible and forbidden, and every innovation is misguidance. Here the restriction of religion is present, therefore an innovation is called that new matter which is introduced in the religion, not in the worldly matters.
◈ Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
سيلي أموركم بعدي رجال يطفئون السنة، ويعملون بالبدعة، ويؤخرون الصلاة عن مواقيتها فقلت : يا رسول الله إن أدركتهم، كيف أفعل؟ قال : تسألني يا ابن أم عبد كيف تفعل؟ لا طاعة، لمن عصى الله .
"Soon after me, your affairs will be in the hands of people who will erase the Sunnah and adopt innovations, delay prayers." It was asked: "O Messenger of Allah! If I live to see that time, what should I do?" He said: "Ibn Umm Abd! You ask me what to do? Do not obey the disobedient to Allah."
Reference: Musnad al-Imam Ahmad: 399/1, Sunan Ibn Majah: 2865, chain is Hasan
Abdullah bin Uthman bin Khuthaym is Hasan al-Hadith. Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وثقه الجمهور .
"The majority have declared him trustworthy."
Reference: Muwafaqat al-Khabar: 276/2
In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) condemned the people of innovation. It is understood that innovation is disobedience and the innovator is disobedient to Allah. Every innovation, whether related to belief or action, is blameworthy. Remember that not every linguistic innovation is blameworthy. Saying that "restricting innovation to religious matters is merely from one's own side" is also ignorance.
◈ Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says:
ما من عام إلا والناس يحيون فيه بدعة، ويميتون فيه سنة، حتى تحيا البدع وتمون السنن .
"Every year, innovators introduce some innovation and erase some Sunnah. The result is that innovations live and Sunnahs die."
Reference: Al-Matalib al-'Aliyyah by Ibn Hajar: 2982, Al-Bida' wa al-Nahy 'anha by al-Qurtubi: 99, chain is Hasan
Na'im bin Hammad is trustworthy according to the majority.
Mahdi bin Harb refers to Mahdi bin Abi Mahdi al-Abdi, mentioned by Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him)
Reference: Al-Thiqat: 501/7
. Imam Ibn Khuzaymah (may Allah have mercy on him)
Reference: 2101
authenticated his hadith and gave secondary authentication, so he is trustworthy.Hafiz Busiri (may Allah have mercy on him)
Reference: It'haf al-Khira al-Muhra: 254
calling this statement weak by declaring Abd al-Mu'min bin Ubaid Allah Abu Ubaidah Sudusi unknown is strange, because Abd al-Mu'min Abu Ubaidah is unanimously considered trustworthy by the muhaddithin.The translator of the Qur'an, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), is stating that due to innovations, Sunnahs die. Here the meaning is religious and Shariah innovations, not worldly or linguistic.
◈ Hassan bin Atiyah, a Tabi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), says:
ما ابتدع قوم بدعة فى دينهم إلا نزع الله من سنتهم مثلها ثم لا يعيدها إليهم إلى يوم القيامة .
"When a people introduce an innovation in religion, Allah removes a Sunnah from them, and until the Day of Judgment, that Sunnah does not return to them."
Reference: Sunan al-Darimi: 99, Hilyat al-Awliya wa Tabaqat al-Asfiya by Abu Nu'aym: 73/6, Al-Ma'rifah wa al-Tarikh by al-Fasawi: 386/3, chain is authentic
◈ He further says:
ما ابتدعت بدعة إلا ازدادت مضيا، ولا تركت سنة إلا ازدادت هربا .
"When innovation begins, it increases, and when a Sunnah is abandoned, it becomes more distant."
Reference: Hilyat al-Awliya wa Tabaqat al-Asfiya by al-Asbahani: 72/6, chain is authentic
A trustworthy Imam and Muhaddith is warning the Ummah about the harms of religious innovation by restricting it to religion. The mention of innovation in contrast to Sunnah clearly indicates that the innovation will be in religion, not in the world.
