The Concept of Bidʿa in the Islamic Shariʿa

by Nuh Ha Mim Keller

here are few topics that generate as much controversy today in Islam as what is sunna and what is bida or reprehensible innovation, perhaps because of the times Muslims live in today and the challenges they face. Without a doubt, one of the greatest events in impact upon Muslims in the last thousand years is the end of the Islamic caliphate at the first of this century, an event that marked not only the passing of temporal, political authority, but in many respects the passing of the consensus of orthodox Sunni Islam as well. No one familiar with the classical literature in any of the Islamic legal sciences, whether Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), hadith, or jurisprudence (fiqh), can fail to be struck by the fact that questions are asked today about basic fundamentals of Islamic Sacred Law (Sharia) and its ancillary disciplines that would not have been asked in the Islamic period not because Islamic scholars were not brilliant enough to produce the questions, but because they already knew the answers. My talk tonight will aim to clarify some possible misunderstandings of the concept of innovation (bida) in Islam, in light of the prophetic hadith, "Beware of matters newly begun, for every matter newly begun is innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in hell." The sources I use are traditional Islamic sources, and my discussion will centre on three The first point is that scholars say that the above hadith does not refer to all new things without restriction, but only to those which nothing in Sacred Law attests to the validity of. The use of the word "every" in the hadith does not indicate an absolute generalization, for there are many examples of similar generalizations in the Qur'an and sunna that are not applicable without restriction, but rather are qualified by restrictions found in other primary textual evidence. The second point is that the sunna and way of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was to accept new acts initiated in Islam that were of the good and did not conflict with established principles of Sacred Law, and to reject things that were otherwise. And our third and last point is that new matters in Islam may not be rejected merely because they did not exist in the first century, but must be evaluated and judged according to the comprehensive methodology of Sacred Law, by virtue of which it is and remains the final and universal moral code for all peoples until the end of time.

Genres: Islam, Religion

Paperback

First published November 11, 1999

About the author

Nuh Ha Mim Keller (born 1954) is an American Muslim translator of Islamic books and a specialist in Islamic law, as well as being authorised by Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri as a sheikh in sufism in the Shadhili Order. He is one of the foremost Muslim theologians and experts on Sufism in the West. Keller was born in 1954 in the Northwestern United States. He studied philosophy and Arabic at the University of Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, and the University of California, Los Angeles, located in Los Angeles, California. Keller converted to Islam from Christianity in 1977.

His English translation of Umdat al-Salik (Reliance of the Traveller) was the first Islamic legal work in a European language to receive the certification of Al-Azhar University. This translation has led to this work becoming influential among Western Muslims. In addition to his authorization to be a spiritual guide, Nuh Ha Mim Keller possesses ijazas, or "certificates of authorisation", in Islamic jurisprudence from scholars in Syria and Jordan.

Reviews

[useFOSS · Rating 1 out of 5]

The conclusions of this paper are extremely flawed, and in blatant contradiction with the sources of Islam: the Qur'an, the authentic Hadeeth and the authentically narrated statements of the Salaf.

For some texts on the issue, see:

http://hadeeth.webs.com/authentic/sun...

[Isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bid’ah can be a misunderstood term at times, some can go the extreme of its implementation, missing out on the mercy & blessings that Allah ﷻ has given us via technological advances.
on the other hand, others may be far too lax & come up with innovations that have no basis within the religion, with the mind that it is a worthwhile thing.

The truth, as usual, lies in the middle. This book does a great job of setting out the boundaries & providing a concept of how to differentiate if something truly is an innovation.

At only 10 pages long & costing £1, I highly recommend having it as a reference point.