Classification of Bid‘ah: Imam ‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam’s View and the Scholars’ Refutation
Compiled by: Tohed.com
The Prophetic Principle
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in decisive words:
«كل بدعة ضلالة، وكل ضلالة في النار»
(Abū Dāwūd: 4607, authenticated by al-Albānī)
Translation:
“Every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.”
This general text proves that in the Sharī‘ah there can be no such thing as a “good” innovation. However, later some scholars attempted a classification of bid‘ah, among the most well-known being Imam ‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam (d. 660H). He divided bid‘ah into five categories, and his view was later cited in several works.
Imam ‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam’s View
Known as “Sulṭān al-‘Ulamāʾ,” Imam ‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam wrote in Qawāʿid al-Aḥkām fī Maṣāliḥ al-Anām:
«البدعة تنقسم إلى واجبة، ومحرمة، ومندوبة، ومكروهة، ومباحة»
(2/172)
Translation:
“Bid‘ah is divided into five categories: obligatory, prohibited, recommended, disliked, and permissible.”
Examples:
- Obligatory bid‘ah: Compiling the Qur’an into codices so the Ummah would not lose it.
- Recommended bid‘ah: Building schools or writing beneficial books.
- Permissible bid‘ah: Constructing new types of ships or houses.
- Disliked bid‘ah: Excessively decorating mosques.
- Prohibited bid‘ah: Acts of worship by innovators or polytheistic practices.
According to him, any newly introduced matter without precedent could be placed into one of these five Shar‘i rulings.
Imam al-Shāṭibī’s Refutation
In his famous work al-I‘tiṣām, Imam al-Shāṭibī (d. 790H) strongly refuted this classification:
«إنّ هذا التقسيم أمر مخترع لا يدل عليه دليل شرعي، بل هو في نفسه متدافع...»
(1/188–220)
Translation:
“This classification is itself an innovation with no Shar‘i proof. It is contradictory in itself, because the reality of bid‘ah is that it has no evidence in Sharī‘ah—neither in texts nor principles. If there were Shar‘i evidence obligating, recommending, or permitting a matter, it would not be bid‘ah at all, but would fall under the general rulings of the Sharī‘ah.”
Thus, for al-Shāṭibī, bid‘ah and Sharī‘ah cannot coexist. If there is a proof, it is Sunnah; if not, it is bid‘ah and misguidance.
Ibn Taymiyyah’s Position
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah also rejected this classification:
«المحافظة على عموم قول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: (كل بدعة ضلالة) متعين...»
(Majmū‘ al-Fatāwā, 20/163)
Translation:
“Adhering to the general statement of the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Every bid‘ah is misguidance’, is obligatory. Whoever divides bid‘ah into good and bad has erred. Whatever is established by Shar‘i evidence is not a religious bid‘ah, though it may be linguistically termed so, as ʿUmar رضي الله عنه said: ‘What an excellent bid‘ah this is.’”
Statements of Other Scholars
- Ibn Rajab رحمه الله:
“Whoever introduces something and attributes it to the religion, while it has no basis in the religion, it is misguidance, and the religion is free from it.”
[Jāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm wa al-Ḥikam, 2/128] - Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله:
“Bid‘ah is of two types: Shar‘i bid‘ah, which is blameworthy, and linguistic bid‘ah, such as the saying of ʿUmar: ‘What an excellent bid‘ah this is.’”
[Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, 1/162] - Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله:
“Whatever has a basis in the Sharī‘ah is not bid‘ah. In Shar‘i usage, bid‘ah is blameworthy, unlike in language.”
[Fatḥ al-Bārī, 13/253]
Summary and Conclusion
- Imam ‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam divided bid‘ah into five categories (wājib, mandūb, mubāḥ, makrūh, ḥarām).
- But scholars like al-Shāṭibī, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Rajab, Ibn Kathīr, and Ibn Ḥajar considered this classification invalid in the Shar‘i sense.
Their principle:
- If an act has a basis in Sharī‘ah, it is not bid‘ah, but part of Sunnah or general maslaḥah.
- If an act has no Shar‘i basis, it is Shar‘i bid‘ah and misguidance, even if intended for good.
Hence, “bid‘ah ḥasanah” is correct only in the linguistic sense, not in Shar‘i terminology. In the religion, every bid‘ah is misguidance, as the Prophet ﷺ declared.
References
- Qawāʿid al-Aḥkām fī Maṣāliḥ al-Anām – ‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salām
- al-I‘tiṣām – al-Shāṭibī
- Majmū‘ al-Fatāwā – Ibn Taymiyyah
- Jāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm wa al-Ḥikam – Ibn Rajab
- Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr
- Fatḥ al-Bārī – Ibn Ḥajar
- al-Bāʿith ʿalā Inkār al-Bidaʿ – Abū Shāmah
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