SALAAT:
It is Bid'at-e-Hasana to intend for praying Salaat by proclaiming
the intention loudly or to pray the 20 Rakaah Tarawih prayer
in congregation during the Holy Month of Ramadaan.
FASTING:
At the time of breaking fast (Iftaar) to say the Du'a: "O
Allah, for Thee have I Fasted and in Thee I believe and upon
Thee I trust and with the food given by Thee I open my fast"
and to intend for fasting by saying this Du'a audibly at the
time of Sehri: "O Allah, I intend to fast for Thy sake tomorrow"
are all Bid'at Hasana.
ZAKAAT:
To give Zakaat with the currency which is currently used
such as coins and paper notes is Bid'at because these were not
in vogue in the commencing centuries of Islam.
HAJJ:
To perform Hajj by travelling in aeroplanes, ships, cars, lorries,
buses and to go to the field of Arafaat by car or bus are all
Bid'ats because such conveyances had not been invented in that
age.
When Bid'at has been introduced in such things as Imaan and
Kalimah then how will we succeed in abstaining from it. So we
will have to agree that all Bid'ats are not Haraam and only
those Bid'ats are Haraam which contradict the Kitaab and Sunnah.
BID'AT
IN WORDLY AFFAIRS: Now a days we see around us such new
inventions that could not be found in the first three centuries
of Islam and we got so much accustomed to them that life would
be very difficult without them. Everyone is compelled to use
these things such as trains, cars, aeroplanes, watches, electricity,
and hundreds of other things, without which we cannot imagine
how life would be. But all these things are Bid'ats and cannot
be traced back to the blessed age of Rasulullah (sallal laahu
alaihi wasallam) or the Sahaba.
2.4
EXPOSTULATIONS ON THE DEFINITION AND CATEGORISATION OF BID'AT
- THE DEFINITION OF BID'AT AMALI (INNOVATED ACTION)
Is
that action which came into practice after the blessed age of
Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) be it in the religious
field or secular. If it was innovated in the age of the respected
Sahaba even then it will be considered to be a Bid'at. We will
not call that action innovated in the time of the respected
Sahaba a Bid'at, but in the terminology of the Shari'at it is
called Sunnah of the Sahaba. Because mostly the Bid'at is used
to mean Bid'at Sai'yya (vile innovation) and it is not respectful
to assign such a word towards the respected Sahaba.
This
is the definition of Bid'at.
There
are two well known objections regarding this definition and
we will answer them one by one.
CHAPTER
THREE
3.1
TWO OBJECTIONS RAISED ON THE DEFINITION OF BID'AT
3.1.1
FIRST OBJECTION
Bid'at is that innovation in religious matters which was brought
into practice after the blessed age of Rasullullah (salall laahu
alaihi wasallam) and if any novelty is introduced in worldly
matters it will not be called a Bid'at. So Maulid, Fatiha are
Bid'ats (because they are considered as religious activities)
and things such as telegrams, telephones and other inventions
will not be called Bid'ats because they have nothing to do with
religion. The Hadith says, "Whosoever innovates a new thing
in our religion is rejected." The word "in our religion"
in the Hadith proves that any new thing which is introduced
in religion will be Bid'at and not that which is secular. And
Bid'at in religious matters is Haraam, and lastly, there is
nothing like Bid'at-e-Hasana because the Hadith says that all
types of innovations are rejected.
ANSWER TO FIRST OBJECTION
Bid'at
is not confined to matters concerning religion only because
the Sahih Hadiths and the sayings of the Ulama, Fuqaaha and
Muhadditheen are against this. A Bid'at is that innovation which
came into practice after the blessed age of the Prophet (salall
laahu alaihi wasallam) be it worldly or religious. A Hadith
in the book Miskhat (Babul I'tisaam) says, "Every
new thing is a Bid'at." There is no restriction of Bid'at
being religious or worldly and we have also quoted the statements
from the books Ashi'atul Lam'aat and Mirqaat in
the preceding pages which say that Bid'at is not restricted
to religious matters only.
The
chapter, "Types of Bid'at and their Status in Shari'at," in
this book, we have quoted from the books Mirqaat and
Shami that to partake of good food and drink and to wear
nice clothes in Bid'at Ja'iz. These are worldly affairs but
they have been mentioned as Bid'ats which are permissable (Ja'iz),
therefore this restriction of Bid'at to matters religious only
is wrong and baseless.
Let
us, for a moment, suppose that Bid'at is restricted to religious
matters only. Now what can be called a religious matter? The
answer will be that thing which induces Thawaab (Reward). Mustahab,
Nafil, Wajib, Fardh, etc. are all religious affairs which are
done to gain reward and any worldly action done with a good
intention will surely induce reward. It is said in a Hadith
that "to meet a Muslim brother with a cheerful face is equal
to giving Sadaqa (charity) in Allah's way." Likewise, it
is rewarding to foster one's children with a good intention.
A Hadith says, "Even that morsel of food you put in your
wife's mouth is rewarding." Therefore, a Muslim's every
action, be it religious or secular is rewarding because it is
done with the intention of pleasing Allah Ta'ala.
