Bid'ah
Muslims have to avoid bid'ahs (religious innovations) and beware of them for the Prophet ﷺ said, "He who does an act which we have not commanded, will have it rejected (by Allah)." and he ﷺ also said, "Avoid novelties [in religion], for every novelty is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is deviation.".
This Shari’ah is fully established by Allah, and needs no human to complete it, as Allah states, “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5: 3).
The fundamental rule on the acts of ‘Ibadah (worship) is that it is Tawqifiyyah (bound by a religious text from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and not subject to personal opinion). Whoever claims that an ‘Ibadah is legitimate should provide evidence to support it; otherwise, it is rejected. It is authentically reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stated, “He who innovates something in this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) that is not of it will have it rejected (by Allah).” In another narration, “He who does an act which we have not commanded, will have it rejected (by Allah)”
As for the meaning of Bid`ah, linguistically it means creating something new, with no previous example to follow; while in Shari’ah it means innovating a form of verbal, practical, or creedal ibadah which is not legislated by Allah (Praised and Exalted be He). Every Bid’ah leads to misguidance, according to what the Prophet ﷺ stated. Imam Ash-Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “A Bid’ah is anything that has no basis in the Quran, Sunnah or sayings of any of the Companions.”
- Ignorance about Islam.
- Following whims.
- Clinging to doubts.
- The sole use of ration with no reference to the Islamic texts (Quran and Sunnah).
- Dependence on weak or fabricated narrations.
- Blind imitation of the masses.
- Not following the instructions of sincere scholars.