SUNNAH AND BID'AH

Brother R A Siddiqui     

Once some Jewish scholars said to Hadhrat Umar bin Khattab, “The Quran contains a verse that if it had been revealed to us, we would have designated a day to celebrate its revelation.” Upon enquiry, they mentioned the verse “This day, I (Allah) perfected your religion for you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion...” (Surah al Maaidah, 5:3)

Hadhrat Umar replied in affirmative.

Indeed it was a historic day — the day of Arafat during the farewell Hajj of Prophet Muhammad (SallAllaho alaihe wa sallam). This verse announced the completion of a ‘historic process’ that has started with the coming to earth of Prophet Adam. Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) sent His guidance with him and continued the same in the generations to come through the 124,000 messengers who were sent in different lands and in different times. It culminated with the coming of the last Messenger Muhammad (SallAllaho alaihe wa sallam) who received revelations over the period of 23 years. Then, during the Farewell Hajj on the plain of Arafat, in the presence of 150,000 companions, this verse announced that it was all done. The full significance of this message must never escape our attention. Islam, unlike all previous revealed religions, enjoys special place and exception. All came with expiry dates, Islam has none. The guidance from Allah (Subhaanahu wa Ta’aalaa) has been completed, the religion had been perfected. There would be no new message, no new prophet, no new Shari’ah, and no new command until the Last Day. The Straight Path has been laid down. Our job is to follow it and not try to discover new paths under any pretext.

In the sermon before every Salaatul Jumu’ah (Friday prayers), the Muslim global community hears the Hadeeth “I warn you of the newly invented matters (in the religion) and every newly invented matter is “Bid’ah” and every “Bid’ah” is misguidance and every misguidance is the Hellfire.” (Sunan An Nasaaee).

In Islamic terminology, Sunnah and Bid’ah are antonyms. Sunnah literally means ‘path’ and it is the path shown to us by the Prophet Muhammad (SallAllaho alaihe wa sallam). These include the Shari’ah teachings derived from the Quraan, Hadeeth and the consensus of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (SallAllaho alaihe wa sallam) and the “Ijtehad” of the qualified Imams.

Bid’ah means adding or changing the articles of faith or religious practices. It can take many forms. One may change the occasion of a prescribed act, thereby extending it to occasion for which it was not meant. One may add restrictions on a desired act that the Shari’ah had not imposed. One may change the Shari’ah’s status of an act from permissible to mandatory. One may add a ritual, which never existed. Thus, there are many manifestations of Bid’ah which are all forbidden.

Bid’ah is like ‘fake currency’ that tries to replace or drive out the real currency. By design, it may have an appearance of a virtuous religious act. But when studied in depth, it lies outside the Shari’ah. So do its sources, which in a great number of cases can be traced to non-Islamic influence from surrounding communities with which Muslim communities historically came into contact. Hence the telltale signs that set Bid’ahs apart from Sunnah.

First, Bid’ahs normally vary from region to region — revealing their local, non-Islamic source. This is unlike the genuine religious practices, that maintain the same form every where. In the modern times, cultures play a very important role in all the aspects of human lives. Naturally, culture varies from region to region, hence adaptability. Therefore, in Islam, culture does not bear any fundamental place. All Muslims are expected to use their judgment to identify the unIslamic practices from the popular customs. The golden particles of Islamic tenets must be sifted from the amalgamation of ambivalent cultural traditions.

Secondly, the Bid’ah practices are largely transmitted through oral tradition. Many of these have a pseudo-legal ritualistic framework of their own, but one would be hard-pressed to find it in the standard legal texts. Rather it lives in the folklore.

This leads to a simple test for determining whether a community observed practice in Sunnah or Bid’ah. If it is performed as a religious ritual, check it out in a reliable book of Fiqh. Look at the rituals normally performed on the death of a Muslim. Again, the Fiqh books describe in detail how the funeral and burial should be conducted. But do they also mention that on the third day (or the tenth or the fortieth day), a gathering should be arranged where participants should recite the Quraan for the salvation of the deceased, and after which they should be served with sumptuous food? The answer is No. Such practices are not part of Shari’ah, they are an addition or Bid’ah.

The unfortunate part in this regard is that various people with beard or no beard with no authentic knowledge and Islamic learning have become self proclaimed religious scholars, again with a degree of doctorate or simply M.A.s and have started creating confusion into the minds of Ummah. The Ummah must realize that these people, as modern day intellectuals have nothing to do with authentic Islamic knowledge from original sources. They depend on various translations and their communication skills. This is why the media prefers them to take as one of their cast in Religious program. The producer of the program can appreciate only the “acting” not the depth of Islmic knowledge. So it is advisable to learn your Denn through real Ulamaa only.

Adhering to the Islamic principles and tenets is a serious business not just embraced by virtue of descent. Pure submission to Allah in totality demands sacrifices and unadulterated indulgence. A Muslim should always aim at the reward in Akhirah (Hereafter) and treat their stay and life on earth just transitory. Then only they would find that Bida’hs are more deadly than ordinary sins. For committing an act that we know to be a sin, we can repent. But how can one repent or ask for forgiveness for a wrong that he or she considers right?

Bid’ahs, in fact, are a tremendous burden. Islamic teachings are simple, easy and approachable. There are no shortcuts to the path of Heavens. Islam is a very uncomplicated Deen. Adapting other religions’ easy-going practices are just traps and a burden. And the burden in the Hereafter will be much bigger for “every Bid’ha ends up in the Fire.”

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