Bid'ah Hasanah
Good Innovation
وَلُوْجًا ; entering. ثُمَّ فَسَّرَهُ ; then He explained it. فَسَّرَ يُفَسِّرُ تَفْسِيْرًا ; to explain, to describe in detail. مَحَارِمُ اللهِ ; the prohibitions of Allah, forbidden things.
Translation: Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave an example of a straight path. On both sides of it are walls. In these walls there are open doors. On the doors there are curtains drawn. At the head of this path is a caller who calls out. Remain steadfast on the path and do not adopt deviance, and above him is another caller who calls out. When a servant intends to open any of these doors, he says, "Woe to you! If you open it, you will enter it." Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ explained this example. Then You informed, You said: This path is Islam, and the open doors are the prohibitions of Allah, and the drawn curtains are the limits of Allah, and the caller at the head of the path is the Qur'an, and the caller above him is the preacher of God who remains in the heart (conscience) of every Muslim. (Conscience, common sense, sound intellect is a great blessing of Allah, but very few people pay attention to it). (This hadith is narrated by Razin, Ahmad, Baihaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman, and Tirmidhi also narrated it. It is slightly summarized from that and is also in Mishkat).
بَابُ مَا يُلْحَقُ بِالسُّنَّةِ مِنَ الْبِدْعَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ
(Some innovations that are good are those new matters which become attached to the Sunnah) Some matters which become attached to the Sunnah, they call them Bid'ah Hasanah.
قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰی : یٰاَیُّهَا الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا اَطِیْعُوا اللّٰہَ وَاَطِیْعُوا الرَّسُوْلَ وَاُولِی الْاَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ ۔
(Surah An-Nisa - Verse 59) Translation: Allah the Almighty says: O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those among you who are in authority. (Who are those in authority? The Mujtahid Imams, the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, pious rulers, practicing scholars, guides).
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عَنِ الْعِرْبَاضِ بْنِ سَارِيَةَ قَالَ صَلّٰى بِنَا رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ ثُمَّ أَقْبَلَ عَلَيْنَا بِوَجْهِهِ فَوَعَظَنَا مَوْعِظَةً بَلِيْغَةً ذَرَفَتْ مِنْهَا الْعُيُوْنُ وَوَجِلَتْ مِنْهَا الْقُلُوْبُ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ كَأَنَّ هٰذِهِ مَوْعِظَةُ مُوَدِّعٍ فَأَوْصِنَا فَقَالَ أُوْصِيْكُمْ بِتَقْوَى اللهِ وَالسَّمْعِ وَالطَّاعَةِ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَبْدًا حَبَشِيًّا فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ يَعِشْ مِنْكُمْ بَعْدِيْ فَسَيَرَى اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيْرًا فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِسُنَّتِيْ وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِيْنَ الْمَهْدِيِّيْنَ تَمَسَّكُوْا بِهَا وَعَضُّوْا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحْدَثَاتِ الْأُمُوْرِ فَإِنَّ كُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ ۔ (رواہ احمد و ابوداؤد والترمذی و ابن ماجة إلّا أنَّهُمَا لَمْ يَذْكُرَا الصَّلوٰةَ - مشکوٰۃ)
Vocabulary: صَلّٰى ; prayed. صَلّٰى بِنَا ; prayed with us, led us in prayer. ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ ; one day, at some hour of the day. ذَرَفَتْ ; flowed. ذَرَفَ ، يَزْرِفُ ، ذَرْفًا ; to flow. وَجِلَ ، وَجَلًا ; to fear or feel afraid, heart trembling. مُوَدِّعٍ ; one who bids farewell, one who says goodbye. عَاشَ ، يَعِيْشُ ، عَيْشًا ; to live. عَضُّوْا ; bite; hold with teeth. عَضَّ يَعَضُّ عَضًّا ; to bite with teeth, to cut. نَوَاجِذُ plural of نَاجِذٌ last molar. وَإِيَّاكُمْ ; and you save yourselves. مُحْدَثَاتٌ ; new things, unprecedented things. بِدْعَةٌ ; new matter. ضَلَالَةٌ ; misguidance. Translation: It is narrated from 'Irbad bin Sariyah (RA) that he said that the Messenger of God ﷺ led us in prayer one day. Then You turned Your face towards us and began to advise. The advice was so profound that people started weeping and wailing, and their hearts began to tremble. Then a man said, O Messenger of Allah! It is as if this is the advice of a farewell-bidder, so advise us. Then Your Highness advised: I advise you to fear Allah and to hear and obey the command. Even if the ruler is an Abyssinian slave, so be it, because whoever among you lives after me will see much disagreement. Therefore, it is obligatory upon you to follow my Sunnah and the practice of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs. Hold fast to it and bite onto it with your molars. Beware of new matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance. (Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah has it as well. Also in Mishkat)
O people! Reflect a little on this hadith that the deputies of the Messenger who are pious, the commands they deduce which are not explicitly in the Qur'an and hadith but which they have derived from the Qur'an and hadith, those are also acceptable. If something has no basis, that is, it is not in the Qur'an and hadith, there are two forms of it: (1) One is that someone does a task for their own convenience or necessity.
(2) Someone adopts something solely considering it an act of worship. For a thing to be an act of worship, it being established from the Qur'an and hadith is not strictly necessary; meaning doing it considering it a Sunnah or Wajib, or doing it to make others do it, then without a doubt this is an innovation. It is misguidance and going astray. May God protect us all. To do a task for one's own necessity and convenience and not as an act of worship is not an innovation; for example, a person does dhikr and for the convenience of his account keeps a tasbeeh (rosary), so this is by no means an innovation because he does not consider keeping the tasbeeh to be a reward, but rather keeps the tasbeeh for his necessity (to measure the quantity).
O people! I ask those people, is gathering the Qur'an in one place an innovation? Fine! Is printing it an innovation? Is putting vowel marks (Irbab) on the Noble Qur'an an innovation? The protection of the Noble Qur'an etc., all this work is by no means an innovation. Remember: The thing that is an innovation, whether you call it an innovation or a ruling. We do hundreds of things in the world. We cook Pulao, drink sherbet. Is eating Pulao an innovation? No! We do such things for our own pleasure and comfort. Yes! If someone says that eating Pulao is a Sunnah, then undoubtedly considering it such is an innovation. We do many tasks for conveying reward (Isal-e-Sawab). The Isal-e-Sawab is proven from prophetic ahadith. For Isal-e-Sawab, cooking any thing, eating and feeding is according to one's own taste. Every person prefers according to their taste. Also remember this! Some rulings in the Noble Hadith are absolute and some are restricted. We choose one restricted form for our own convenience. The execution of the absolute would only happen when it is in some specific form. The choice of specific forms in execution cannot be an innovation. Nowadays some dry-tempered Maulvis have developed a habit of considering the tasks of Muslims as innovation. They do not even have the discernment that they are doing these tasks because of their particular taste, not as an act of worship. If every new thing becomes an innovation, then life would become difficult. You cannot wear a Sherwani, nor eat Pulao, nor sit in a car, train, or ship, nor can you do any work because these are new tasks. You have new items! The style of your clothes is new, your necessities are new. Gun, artillery, other weapons, things for eating and drinking, and things of necessity in life are new. To call all these things an innovation is also an innovation. Now why are simple and ignorant Muslims, over sincere actions, starting to issue fatwas of innovation and Shirk? They are bewildered about where they got these words of Shirk and innovation, and have started applying them to every issue. Eating, sharing sweets or some other food items kept in front and offering Fatiha or Nadhr and Niyaz, the sayings of the elders regarding the justification of this from the ahadith have been detailed in my Tafseer of Surah Fatiha, whose repetition is not necessary here. Yes! This much hint is enough, that we will recite the Qur'an for Isal-e-Sawab to our pious elders and the deceased, we will recite Durood, we will complete Khatm, we will give Pulao, Muzaffar, sweets on Fatiha, we will eat ourselves and feed others. Yes, those who are deniers of Fatiha and Isal-e-Sawab, will not find these things to eat in life, nor will anyone recite Fatiha and Durood on them after they die. This
is their destiny. "یہ نصیب اللہ اکبر لوٹنے کی جائے ہے" (This destiny, Allah is the Greatest, is a place to be plundered/lamented). O people! It is in the Noble Qur'an: "خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيْعًا" God Almighty has created all things for our benefit. Now those who say every thing is an innovation should be asked that we have been given permission to take benefit from everything. We demand proof for something being impermissible. Then, there are three types of things: Haram, Makruh, and Mubah. You know the ruling of Haram? Haram is that whose prohibition is proven by definitive proof. Is it known? Whether the proof is definitive, or the Qur'an is definitively Mutawatir. The one who commits crimes is a sinner and the one who considers Haram as Halal is a disbeliever. Also remember this, that just as considering Haram as Halal is disbelief, similarly considering Halal as Haram is also disbelief because this is making laws in religion. Now as for Makruhat, staying safe from them is the work of God's special servants.
عَنْ بُرَيْدَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَا بِلَالُ بِمَ سَبَقْتَنِيْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ فَمَا دَخَلْتُ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا سَمِعْتُ خَشْخَشَتَكَ أَمَامِيْ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ مَا أَذَّنْتُ قَطُّ إِلَّا وَصَلَّيْتُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَمَا أَحْدَثْتُ قَطُّ إِلَّا وَتَوَضَّأْتُ عِنْدَهُ وَرَأَيْتُ لِلّٰهِ عَلَيَّ رَكْعَتَيْنِ فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِهِمَا ۔ (اخرجہ الترمذی و صححه - تیسیر ج ۲)
Vocabulary: بِمَ ; for what reason. بِمَ سَبَقْتَنِيْ ; with what have you preceded me. خَشْخَشَتَكَ ; the sound of your movement, meaning the sound of shoes. خَشْخَشَةٌ ; the sound of movement. أَمَامِيْ ; in front of me. مَا أَذَّنْتُ ; I never gave Azan. قَطُّ ; ever. تَوَضَّأْتُ ; I performed ablution. رَكْعَتَيْنِ ; two Rak'ahs. Generally called Tahiyatul Wudu or Tahiyatul Masjid. عَلَيَّ ; on my part it is necessary, obligatory on me. مَا أَحْدَثْتُ ; I was not without ablution. إِلَّا رَأَيْتُ ; but I saw. Translation: Hazrat Buraidah (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: O Bilal! With what have you preceded me into Paradise? For I have never entered Paradise without hearing the sound of your footsteps in front of me. Then he submitted: O Messenger of Allah! I have never given Azan without praying two Rak'ahs (Tahiyatul Masjid) along with it, and I have never been without ablution without immediately performing ablution and praying two Rak'ahs, considering it obligatory upon myself for the sake of Allah. You ﷺ said: Yes! It is because of these two actions (that you reach in front of me in Paradise). (Tirmidhi has narrated it and Taysir volume two also has it).
O people! If the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had given the command for ablution to Hazrat Bilal earlier, it would not have been a new thing. Thus, it is known that if any good thing is done out of an affinity, it will be a Bid'ah Hasanah (good innovation). But nowadays the job of Bid'ah is increasing. Someone