Section 2: The Appearance of Bid'ah in the Lives of Muslims and the Factors That Led to It

The Appearance of Bid'ah in the Lives of Muslims and the Factors That Led to It.

1. The appearance of Bi&h in the lives of Muslims: This involves two (i) When did Bid'ah appear: Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taimiyyah i) said11: ‘Know that majority of the Bidh associated with learning and worship occurred at the tail end o f the reign of the Rightly Guided Caliphs as the Prophet is had said: “Whoever lives long amongst you (the companions) shall witness several differences. So, upon you is (following) my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs '2” The first sets of Bid'ah to appear were the Bid'ah of Qadarn, the Bid'ah of Irja,l4, At-Tashee15 and Al-Khawarij. When disunity occurred after the murder of'Uthman the Bid'ah of al-Hururiyyah'6 appeared. Then, towards the end of the era of the companions, the Bid'ah of Qadariyyah17 came about. This was towards the end of the lives of Ibn'Umar, Ibn 'Abbas, J abir and their likes amongst the companions The Bid'ah of Murji’ ah18 also appeared about close to that time. As for the Jahmiyyah, it came about towards the end of the era of the Tabi'in 19 after the demise of'Umar bin 'Abdul ‘Aziz20. It has been reported that he warned against 11 Majmu al-Fatdwa v. 10, pg. 354 12 Reported by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi who said: hadith Hasan Sahih 13 The doctrine of rejecting destiny and pre-ordainment. (TN) 14 The doctrine of believing that faith neither increases nor decreases, and that being a Muslim renders one immune from Allah’s punish regardless of one’s sins.(TN) 15 The Shiite doctrine.(TN) 16 The doctrine of the Khawarij.(TN) 17 Those who reject Qadar (see note 125). 18 Those who believe in al-Irja' (see note 126). 19 Those Muslims who met the companions of the Prophet and leamt from them. 20 One of the Umayyad caliphs, he was a very just ruler and is regarded in some quarters as the fifth rightly guided caliph. them. Jahm appeared in Khurasan during the caliphate of Hisham bin'Abdul These innovations emerged in the second century (after Hijra) and some of the companions were alive. They rebuked the adherents of these innovations. Then the ‘Itizal21 emerged and Fitan (crises) occurred amongst the Muslims. Differences in opinion and inclination towards desire emerged. Also, the Bid'ah of Tasawwuf (Sufism ) emerged. The Bid 'ah of building over graves emerged after the noblest centuries. And so on, as time went on the innovations became more intense and varied. (ii) Where did Bid'ah first appear: The cities of Islam vary in the emergence of Bid'ah therein. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taimiyyah said: "The great cities of Islam in which the Companions of the Messenger of Allah 35 lived, and from which knowledge and Iman emanated were five: the two sacred cities (Makkah and Madinah), Kufah, Basrah and Damascus. From these places emanated the knowledge of the Qur 'an and hadith, Fiqh (jurisprudence), Ibadah (worship) and all matters of Islam secondary to them. Bid'ah in the fundamentals (of Islam) emanated from these cities with the exception of Madinah; from Kufah emerged the Bidah o f at-Tashayyu' and al-Irja', and then it spread to other cities, from Basrah emerged the ‘Itizal and false asceticism, and it spread to other cities thereafter. In Damascus, there was the Bidah of N asb22 and Qadar. As for Jahmiyyah, it emanated from a part of Khurasan and it is the worst of The emergence (and spread) of Bidah was dependent upon the remoteness of various places from the city of the Prophet. When disunity occurred after the murder of 'Uthman, the Bidah of Haruriyyah emerged. As for the city of the Prophet 35 (i.e. Madinah), it remained safe from the manifestation of these innovations, although, there were some people therein, who secretly held such beliefs. However, they were humiliated and censured. There were some Qadariyyah and others therein, but they were subdued and humiliated. This was contrary to at-Tashayyu' and al-Irja’ in Kufah, al-'Itizal and asceticism in Basrah, and Nusb in Damascus, which were dominant. It is ' 1 The belief in the affirmation of the Names (of Allah), with the implication that they are wordings alone, devoid of meanings, and the denial of all (His) Attributes.(TN) 22 The doctrine of raising enmity towards the upright ones amongst the Ahl al-Bayt(TN) established in the authentic hadeeth from the Prophet that the Dajjal21 will not enter Madinah. Knowledge and Iman (Faith) did not cease to be dominant therein till the time o f the companions of Malik, and they were in the fourth generation.,24 As for the three noble generations, there was no manifest Bid'ah in the city of the Prophet, nor did any Bid'ah emanate therefrom in the fundamentals of the religion, as it occurred in all other cities.
2. Factors that led to the emergence of Bid'ah Undoubtedly, safety from falling into Bid'ah and misguidance lies in holding fast to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Allah - the Most High - said: “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path...” The Prophet has explained this in the hadith narrated by Ibn Mas'ud, who said: “This is the Path of Allah. ” Then he drew other paths on its right and left and said: “Each of these paths has a Shaytan (devil) upon it inviting to it. ” Then he recited the verse: “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His 23 The Great deceptive liar known as the Antichrist in Christian theology who shall appear at the end of time.(TN) 24 Majmu ’ al-Fatawa v. 20, pg. 300 - 303 Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious).”25 Whoever turns away from the Qur’an and Sunnah is bedeviled by deviant paths and innovations. The factors which led to the emergence and spread of Bid'ah can be summarized into the following: Ignorance about the rulings of the religion, following of desires, bias towards opinions and personalities, and imitating and following the disbelievers. We shall discuss each of these factors in some detail: (a) Ignorance about the rulings of the religion: As time passed and people become more remote from the influence of the Message (of the Prophet), knowledge diminished and ignorance became widespread as the Prophet had informed: ‘‘Allah does not take knowledge away by snatching it from the hearts of men, rather, He takes away knowledge by taking the souls of the scholars, till there is not left a single scholar. So, people take for themselves leaders who are ignorant, they inquire (about the religion) from them and they respond without knowledge, so they go astray and lead others astray.'21 25 Reported by Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, al-Hakim and others. 26 Reported by Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi who said: hadith hasan Sahth 27 Jami ’ Bayan at- 'llm wa Fadluhu, by Ibn 'Abdul Barr v. 1, pg. 180 Nothing subdues Bid'ah except knowledge and the Scholars. Once there is the death of knowledge and Scholars, an opportunity opens up for Bid'ah to emerge and spread, and for its proponents to be active. (b) Following desires: Whoever turns away from the Qur’an and Sunnah follows nothing but his desires as Allah - the Most High - has said: “But if they answer you not (i.e. do not believe in your doctrine of Islamic Monotheism, nor follow you), then know that they only follow their own lusts, without guidance from Allah?” (Qur’an 28:50) Allah - the Most High - also said: “Have you seen him who takes his own lust (vain desires) as his Ilah (god), and Allah knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his sight? fVho then will guide him after Allah?...” (Qur ’an 45: 23) Bid'ah is nothing but a woven fabric of desires being followed. (c) Bias towards opinions and personalities: Bias towards opinions and personalities places a barrier between a person and following the evidence and knowing the truth. Allah - the Most High - said: is=i!rlkj “When it is said to them: ‘Follow what Allah has sent down. ’ They ‘Nay! We shall follow what we found our fathers following...” This is the situation with today’s bigot from amongst the Sufis and the grave worshippers. When they are invited to follow the Qur’an and Sunnah, and to abandon what they are upon, which contravenes the two, they argue with the Madhhabs (schools of thought), their scholars, their fathers and forefathers. (d) Imitating the disbelievers: It is one of the most serious means by which one falls into Bid'ah as narrated by Abu Waqid al-Laithl who said: ‘We went out with the Messenger of Allah on the day of Hunain while we were still newly won from disbelief. The polytheists had a lotus tree upon which they would hang their weapons (with the belief that it would ensure victory over their enemies). This tree was known as Dhatu Anwat. We passed by a lotus tree and we said: “O Messenger o f Allah! Establish for us a Dhatu Anwat, just like they have a Dhatu Anwat. ’’ So, he said: "Allah Akbar (Allah is Great), verily it is the custom! (I swear) by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you have said exactly what the Band Israil (children of Israel) said to Musa: “...0 Musa (Moses)! Make for us an ilahun (a god) as they have You shall certainly follow the ways of those before you.'1" This hadith shows that it was imitation of the disbelievers that made Band Israil to make this horrible request from Musa that he should make for them an idol to worship. It was the same factor, which impelled these companions of Muhammad to request from him a tree by which they shall seek blessings from besides Allah. 2,1 Reported by at-Tirmidhi and he authenticated it. This is the same situation today; most Muslims have imitated the disbelievers in acts of innovation and polytheism such as the celebration of birthdays, designation of specific days and weeks for specific acts, celebrating religious dates and memorials, erecting statues and memorial busts, celebrating funeral ceremonies, the innovations in funeral, building over graves and so on.