The Two Claimed Types of Bidʿah – Ḥasanah (Good) and Sayyi’ah (Evil) – Refuted
Excerpt from: Eid Milad al-Nabi ﷺ ki Sharʿi Ḥaysiyat by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amini Puri
❖ Division of Bidʿah
The division of bidʿah into sayyi’ah (evil) and ḥasanah (good) is incorrect. In reality, every bidʿah is evil, and there is no such thing as a bidʿah ḥasanah.
✿ Evidences
Evidence ① Definition of Bidʿah
By definition, bidʿah is something that has no basis in the Qur’ān, Sunnah, or consensus (ijmāʿ). If something has no proof, how can it be called ḥasanah (good)?
Imām al-Shāṭibī رحمه الله (d. 790H) said:
إن هذا التقسيم أمر مخترع، لا يدل عليه دليل شرعي، بل هو نفسه متدافع...
(Al-Iʿtiṣām 1/246)
Evidence ② Qur’ān
﴿وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَا تَصِفُ أَلْسِنَتُكُمُ الْكَذِبَ هَٰذَا حَلَالٌ وَهَٰذَا حَرَامٌ...﴾ (An-Naḥl: 116)
Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله said:
يدخل فى هٰذا كل من ابتدع بدعة ليس لها فيها مستند شرعي...
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 2/779)
Introducing a bidʿah equals lying upon Allah. Can lying upon Allah be divided into good and bad?
Evidence ③ Qur’ān
﴿أَمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ (Al-Baqarah: 80)
Speaking without evidence in matters of dīn is a slander against Allah. This is exactly what bidʿah entails.
Evidence ④ Qur’ān
﴿يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ...﴾ (An-Nisāʾ: 171)
Bidʿah is a form of ghulū (excessiveness), and hence forbidden.
Evidence ⑤ Ḥadīth
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«شر الأمور محدثاتها، وكل بدعة ضلالة»
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 867/43)
Imām al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله:
يريد ما لم يوافق كتابا أو سنة...
(Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī 2/87)
Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله:
ما أحدث ولا دليل له من الشرع...
(Fatḥ al-Bārī 13/254)
Evidence ⑥ Ḥadīth
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«من أحدث فى أمرنا هٰذا ما ليس منه فهو رد»
(Bukhārī 2697, Muslim 1718)
Anything without basis in Qur’ān, Sunnah, or ijmāʿ is invalid — and the invalid cannot be ḥasanah.
Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله:
من أخذ يصنف البدع إلىٰ حسن وقبيح... فقد أخطأ
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 10/370–371)
Evidence ⑦ From the Companions
Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
«كل بدعة ضلالة، وإن رآها الناس حسنة»
(As-Sunnah lil-Marwazī p.24 – authentic chain)
Evidence ⑧ From the Companions
Muʿādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه:
«إياكم وما ابتدع، فإن ما ابتدع ضلالة»
(Abū Dāwūd 4611 – authentic chain)
Evidence ⑨ From the Companions
Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
«إياي والبدع فى دين الله»
(Al-Bidaʿ wa-n-Nahy ʿAnhā – authentic)
Evidence ⑩ From the Companions
Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه in every sermon:
«كل محدثة بدعة، وكل بدعة ضلالة»
(Al-Bidaʿ wa-n-Nahy ʿAnhā, Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr – authentic)
Evidence ⑪ Consensus of the Salaf
Imām al-Shāṭibī رحمه الله:
إجماع السلف... على ذمها وتقبيحها...
(Al-Iʿtiṣām 1/141)
The consensus of the Salaf was to condemn all forms of bidʿah without exception.
Evidence ⑫ Qur’ān
﴿وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ابْتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَاهَا عَلَيْهِمْ﴾ (Al-Ḥadīd: 27)
Allah condemned the Christians for inventing monasticism (a bidʿah). If it were good, Allah would have praised it.
❖ Conclusion
✔ The division of bidʿah into ḥasanah (good) and sayyi’ah (evil) has no basis in Qur’ān, Sunnah, or ijmāʿ.
✔ Every bidʿah is misguidance, evil, and falsehood — regardless of how people label it.
✔ The way of the Salaf was to reject all innovations in religion, without exception.
