The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said:

سيأتي زمان على أمتي يحبون خمسا وينسون خمسا، و يحبون الدنيا و ينسون الآخرة، ويحبون المال وينسون الحساب، ويحبون الخلق وينسون الخالق، ويحبون الذنوب وينسون التوبة، ويحبون القصور وينسون المقبرة
“A time will come when my Ummah will love five (things) and forget five others: they will love this world and forget the Hereafter; they will love money and forget the Reckoning; they will love creation and forget the Creator; they will love sins and forget repentance; they will love palaces and forget the grave.”

We should realize that bid’ah is different from other types of sin because the person committing it has good intentions – they believe/feel/have drawn the conclusion that they are doing something which will bring them closer to Allah and that Allah loves. From that perspective, I don’t see how a layperson, who has heard of a practice or sees a practice being performed by his teacher, etc and follows that – would be guilty of committing shirk. Also we have to realize that there has historically been a difference of opinion on ‘bid’ah hassanah’ and la inkaara fi masa’il ikhtilaafiya – as laypeople (and not scholars) if we find someone acting on an issue on which there is legitimate ikhtilaaf it is not our place to condemn or reject that. An example would be saying dhikr in unison which even Imam an-Nawawi has permitted. (Note: I’m talking here simply about people saying dhikr in one voice, not about hadras etc).

As for the one who originated an act of bid’ah- again, it depends on their intentions. I really doubt that such a person thought to themself ‘I know better than Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wa salam) about how to get closer to Allah.’ It is more likely that they interpreted some texts in such a way that they feel the act they are performing is legitimate. Or, it is possible that they performed an act and later on it became ritualized into a practice by their students/followers. If however, the person does have the belief of ‘I can improve on the Shari’ah’ then I can concede to the pt. being made above.

A really beautiful pt. that I have heard Sh. Mokhtar mention on the issue of bid’ah is that you have to really look at the person engaging in it, what their intentions are and their understanding and level of knowledge. Also, bid’ahs are at different levels and we have to think about the probable consequences of our actions and the best way of dealing with them. A layperson who for example does some type of dhikr that is not masnun regularly, because they had learned about it from some shaykh – such a person is different from someone who, for example rejects Hadith in its entirety or comes up with their own crazy ideas. Each should be treated differently depending on the particular circumstances, Allahu a’lam.

salaam

I would agree with ‘nobody.’ Although we shouldn’t say there is no love for Allah. We don’t know what is in the hearts of people. Nor should we judge people because that is not our duty.

RF is correct in that ‘frustrating’ is the improper word, but I think ‘nobody’ was meaning to say displeased or earned anger.

My next question is going to be much more technical and I hope that whoever responds has the requisite qualifications to speak on the subject and most importantly fears Allah (SWT).

Please keep in mind I’m only speaking about bidah in terms of acts of ibaadat.

If Islam has been perfected, then there cannot be anything added or deleted to make it better. Any new act of ibaadat is at best rejected and becomes a waste of time or at worst is a misguidance which leads to the fire. Furthermore, those who involve in bidah do not drink from the Haud on the Day of Judgement. So we have all of these warnings against committing it but people still involve themselves in it.

Why do people do it? They claim that other pious people have done it after the Prophet (SAWS) died, therefore we can do it.

There is a fallacy in the logic that there are other “good bidahs” throughout Islamic history. For example, many times those people claim that Umar’s (RA) practice of taraweeh or Uthman’s (RA) compilation of the Quran into its present day mushaf is bidah. While I personally don’t believe that these are bidahs at all because they are not new ways of worship, the similarity between all the people they quote as having committed bidah in fact have all been given the glad tidings of Jannah while the Prophet (SAWS) was alive. Therefore their understanding of the religion was sufficient for them to get into Jannah and that should also be our understanding.

Now for my question. Knowing that bidah is wrong, does it amount to minor shirk?

My analysis of this topic has led me to believe that those who follow bidah have actually taken whoever invented that bidah as their lord whether it was someone else or they themselves who invented the bidah.

In every rakah we pray not to be on the path of those who earned Allah’s (SWT) anger or the path of those who went astray. This is speaking of the Jews and Christians who have taken their rabbis and priests as lords by following them and not strictly adhering to the revelation. The Jews that I know are monotheistic. They only pray to Allah (SWT). But they are not Muslim because they have not submitted to the will of Allah by denying other messengers and books when those things confirm whatever they already have. When you ask them why they hold this opinion, they say my rabbi said so.

Unfortunately, some Muslims also fall into the same trap by merely replying, even if you bring them evidence to the contrary, my shaykh said so or the maulanas from my home country do it this way.

To me, the situation is exactly the same. Those Muslims have taken their shaykhs and maulanas as lords by following them in clear contradiction to the sunnah.

I’m not referring to people who are ignorant of what is actually sunnah but people who manifest the kibr in their hearts.

I don’t think bidah is major shirk, the type that takes you out of Islam. I think bidah is more in line with minor shirk such as riya.

Considering that shirk is the only sin that isn’t forgiven, it is imperative that Muslims are vigilant against it. We shouldn’t shy away from trying to purify ourselves from the filth that is shirk even if it may be committed by many Muslims because it will be an oppression upon us on the Day of Judgement.

Can someone critique this analysis? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Jazakallah

Totally agree with you on every point except one, and that is the attributing part. To attribute something is to give the object some sort of trait or characteristic. For example, “One attribute that Johnny has is that he tends to smile a lot.” An attribute is a distinguishing characteristic.

Here, I’m not saying Allah (SWT) is, naoothobillah, someone who is frustrated. All I’m saying is imagine if he was. A hypothetical situation. That’s it. That’s all.

As far as the the questioner’s understanding of Bi’daah, I assumed the questioner didn’t know, which is why I gave a very simple definition above, which was “a practice that has no basis in the Quran and Sunnah.” There is obviously more to it then just that, but as you know, I’m not a scholar to even speak about that.

But one thing I should have done was make it clear that I’m not a scholar. I appreciate you keeping me in check. I ask Allah (SWT) to forgive me for acting arrogant. I didn’t mean for it to be a fatwa or for people to take it that way. My intention was to give advice that’s all.

Assalamu alaykum
Nobody

Forgive me, I do not know the credentials of Nobody as a mufti, but I feel that was quite a quick issue of a fatwa…without even knowing what the questioner means and understands by the term bi’daah, leave alone finding out about the other circumstances.

Also, just a reminder to all of us, that we should refrain from attributing mortal emotions such as ‘frustration’ to our Creator, Who is above any such emotions that we can ever attribute to Him. He is as He tells us, Al-Ghani ( The Self-Sufficient).
“…but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures.” ( 3:97)

Jazakumullah khair for the reminder about the love for Allah.