Sorry about the delay as I havent been well so didnt get a chance to complete this paper on time.

Please
read carefully as Ive tried my best to clarify the concept as much possible. May Allah give us all hidayah
- Ameen
Now the questions in your mind were;
1) why it wasnt done by sahaba?
2) the fixation of date?
3) the way its being celebrated?
4) the concept of bidah.

Okhay these were the objections made by brother Mohd Abdul Najeeb after we proved that its been
done since 1400 years and till imam ibn-e-kathir, this practice was not in question so it cant be bidah
otherwise imam ibn kathir, Imam Ibn Teymiyah/Ibn Hajar Asqalani and millions of other awlia will be
called biddati? (nauzubillah min zalik) they are greater imam so we cant even think like this about them.
So lets discuss the other possibilities why we are confused about these things?
I will change the order of questions because they are all related n once one concept is clear than the other
should be cleared too. I have included the answers to all the arguments in my research paper so please
read carefully n pay attention to details JazakAllah.
1)

Concept of Bidah

2)

The way its being celebrated?

3)
4)

The fixation of date?

Why it wasnt done by sahaba if it really wasnt?

Core Concept:
Allah (swt) said In Quran: Today I have perfected your Deen and have completed my favor upon you
(mankind) and have chosen for you Islam (Submission to the will of God) as your Deen. Quran 5:3
Instructions about Islam were completed to RasulAllah (saw) and nobody including Sahaba karam (ra) is

not allowed to add/subtract anything IF ITS PART OF EMAAN OR AHKAMAT.

Hafidhh Ibn Taimiyyah writes: "Apart from the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] no
one has the right to introduce anything new to the Deen (Religion) and then call it Sunnah, the Khulafa
Rashideen followed the Sunnah, therefore their way is called the way of the Prophet [May Allah bless
Him and grant Him peace]. Wajib is only what Allah has made Wajib and Haraam is only that which
Allah and his Messenger has forbidden, the authority of classifying Mustahab (Desirable), Mubaah
(permissible), and Makrooh (Disliked), is with the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace]
alone. No others have such authority".
Which means that RasulAllah (Saw) seeded every possible good in the foundations of Islam n the root of
everything thats good goes to RasulAllah (Saw) himself. In other words he created the foundation and
sahaba started building the Palace on top which will keep going on till the end of this world when Ahle
BAIT of RasulAllah (saw) will come to this earth (Imam Mahdi(as). Till then the awlia
Allah/Salileen/ghous n abdaals will keep adding to the building of this beautiful palace.

Some people take this AYAH literally and would say....ISLAM IS ALREADY COMPLETE AND
ANYTHING NEW WOULD BE BIDDAH, That would be ignorance so just think for two minutes. If the
meaning of this was not to add anything to the palace but building a new one then would Hazrat Abi Bakr
Siddique (ra) ordered to change the QURANIC form into a book after Nabi (saW) did parda from this
dunya?
Hazrat Umar (Ra) added the taraveeh prayer? was he a bad innovator? nauzubillah we cant even think of
such absurds as a muslim for any Sahabi, forget ameer ul momineen.
Change of form doesnt change the reality unless the outcome is BAD, there are so many examples if you
look around and the conclusion is, DONT TAKE THE WORD OF QURAN LITERALLY because a lot of
Ayah's are mutashabihaat n one cannot make a decision on the basis of them. RasulAllah (saw) himself
told us to be aware of this.

What is Bid'ah?

The word Bida'ah has been taken from BADEE which means originator
Literal meaning of bid'ah: An innovation which has no previous grounds. As in Quran Allah (swt)
says....Badeeh us samawate wal ard. Means Allah is the ORIGINATOR of Heavens and EARTH.
The Sahaba karam took the meaning of Bid'ah in two senses, Good or Bad - like Hazrat Umer introduced
the 20 rakah n when asked, he said its a good innovation which PROVES that they had the concept of
good and bad innovation otherwise Ameer ul Momineen Hazrat Omer (ra) would innovate anything or
would he?
so its been learned that an innovation can be good or bad which in Arabic means bidat-ul-hasan or bidaatun dalala

Biddat-ul-Hasana proved from Quran/Hadith and practice of the pious in past 1400 years:
Allah Ta'ala says in the Holy Qur'an:
"And we ordained in the hearts of those who followed him Compassion and Mercy. But the Monasticism
which they innovated for themselves which we did not prescribe for them"
Surah Al Hadeed, verse 27"
This verse points out that when something new is invented to please Allah Ta'ala then it is permissible,
and Allah Ta'ala gives reward for it. Those who do not fulfil the requirements then Allah Ta'ala will not
reward them.
RasoolAllah [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] stated: "The person who introduced a good
thing in Islam, shall obtain the reward for it and also the reward for those who adopt it. As for the one
who introduces a bad thing (Bid'ah Sayyi ah) he will obtain the punishment for introducing it and also for
those who adopt it, will also be punished.
Good Innovation proved by Imams and Scholars of the past:

Imam Nawawi said in Sahih Muslim (6-21)

"The Prophet's saying every innovation is a general-particular and it is a reference to most innovations.
The linguists say, "Innovation is any act done without a previous pattern, and it is of five different kinds.'"
Imam Nawawi also said in Tahzeeb al Asma' wal Sifaat, "Innovation in religious law is to originate
anything which did not exist during the time of the Prophet, and it is divided into good and bad." He also
said, "Al-muhdathat (pl. for muhdatha) is to originate something that has no roots in religious law. In the
tradition of religious law it is called innovation, and if it has an origin within the religious law, then it is
not innovation. Innovation in religious law is disagreeable, unlike in the language where everything that
has been originated without a previous pattern is called innovation regardless of whether it is good or
bad."
Shaykh Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani, the commentator on Al Bukhari, said,
"Anything that did not exist during the Prophet's time is called innovation, but some are good while others
are not."
Abu Na'eem, narrated from Ibrahim Al Junaid, said, "I heard Ash-Shafi'i saying,
"Innovation is of two types; praiseworthy innovation and blameworthy innovation, and anything that
disagrees with the Sunnah is blameworthy.'"
Imam Albayhaqi narrated in Manaqib Ash-Shafi'i that Ash-Shafi'i said,
"Innovations are of two types: that which contradicts the Qu'ran, the Sunnah, or unanimous agreement of
the Muslims is a innovation of deception, while a good innovation does not contradict any of these
things."
Al `Izz bin Abdussalam said, at the end of his book, Al Qawa'id,
"Innovation is divided into obligatory, forbidden, recommended, disagreeable and permissible, and the
way to know which is which is to match it against the religious law."

Examples of bidat ul hasana (good Innovations) done by companions or after them:

1)

Milad un Nabi (saw)

2)

The Maqam of Ibrahim (as) in relation to the Ka'ba. (Al Bayhaqi narrated with a strong chain of

narrators from Aisha.) "The Maqam during the time of the Prophet and Abu Bakr was attached to the
House, then `Umar moved it back." Al Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in Al Fath, "The Companions did not oppose
`Umar, neither did those who came after them, thus it became unanimous agreement." He was the first to
build the enclosure (maqsura) on it, which still exists today.
3)

Imam Bukhari writes Umar [May Allah be pleased with Him] ordered that congregational Taravi

prayer should be offered together. When the people started this and Umar saw this he said This is a good
bid'ah. [Bukhari Kitab-us Taraweeh]
4)

The book of Allah in a book form is itself a good innovation done by companions - how? it was
never done by RasulAllah himself!! - (From a Prophetic saying related by Zaid Ibn Thabit.(r))
"The Prophet died and the Qu'ran had not been compiled anywhere. `Umar (r) suggested to Abu
Bakr (r) to compile the Qu'ran in one book. When a large number of Companions were killed in
the battle of Yamama, Abu Bakr wondered, "How could we do something that the Prophet did not
do?' `Umar said, "By Allah, it is good.' `Umar persisted in asking Abu Bakr until Allah expanded
his chest for it (Allah made him agree and accept these suggestions) and he sent for Zaid Ibn
Thabit and assigned him to compile the Qu'ran." Zaid said, "By Allah if they had asked me to
move a mountain, it would not have been more difficult than to compile the Qur'an." He also said,
"How could you do something that the Prophet did not do?" Abu Bakr said, "It is good, and
`Umar kept coming back to me until Allah expanded my chest for the matter." The saying is
narrated in Sahih Al Bukhari.

5)

Construction of Madresas because it was never done by prophet or sahabas the way people are
doing it right now!!

6)

The printing of other religious books is also bidah because they were present in prophet (saw)'s
times and he never ordered to have them printed in press?

7)

The compilation of Ilm Al hadith in books called bukhari/masnad and giving books the status as
sahih or ghalat is also bida because it wasnt done by prophet itself

8)

Mihrabs in the Masajaids

9)

Punctuations in Quran

10)

Fixing congregational prayer times with the clock times

Abu Hurairah radhiAllahu anhu would do masah (wiping) of his neck during wudhu. Umar radhiAllahu
anhu would put water in his eyes and do masah of the ears, Abdullah Ibn Umar radhiAllahu considered it
virtuous to walk along the same routes which the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace]
used in his lifetime also to stop where the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] stopped,
and to perform wudhu where (RasoolAllah Sallallahu' alaihi wa sallam) performed it. Abdullah Ibn Umar
would also touch with his hands the places where (Rasoolallah Sallallahu'alaihi wa sallam) sat to obtain
Baraka (blessings).
[Qaydah Jaleelah page 223 by Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah]
All of this is evidence in support of the fact it is permitted to do something not done by the Prophet [May
Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] so long as it does not oppose the Sunnah and is intended for
reward alone. As this was the practice of the Sahaba radhiAllahu anhum.
The objection, which could arise, is that: 'The Companions had the authority to start something new but
we do not.'
Firstly: Not all the things mentioned earlier were started by the Companions.
Secondly, Hafidhh Ibn Taimiyyah writes: "Apart from the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him
peace] no one has the right to introduce anything new to the Deen (Religion) and then call it Sunnah, the
Khulafa Rashideen followed the Sunnah, therefore their way is called the way of the Prophet [May Allah
bless Him and grant Him peace]. Wajib is only what Allah has made Wajib and Haraam is only that which
Allah and his Messenger has forbidden, the authority of classifying Mustahab (Desirable), Mubaah
(permissible), and Makrooh (Disliked), is with the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace]
alone. No others have such authority". He continues by saying, "The majority of Scholars do not consider
the (above) practice of Abdullah Ibn Umar to be permitted" ["Hafidhh Ibn Taimiyyah]
[Qaydah Jaleelah chap action of Sihabah by Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah]
According to Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyahs statement we can see that the sunnah can only be something that

was practised by the Prophet not by anyone else. Some people consider something to be Bidah, which
was not practised by the Prophet, or His Companions. According to the above statement they cannot say
this as the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] only had such Authority to do so.
Definition of BID'AT-UN- SAYYIAH:
Bid'ah say'iah is a new thing, introduced to and made part of the Deen (Islam) that has no origin what so
ever from the Qur'an or the Sunnah of Rasoolallah [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace]
Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim write that there was some companions talking and the Prophet was
listening. One of them said: 'I will make prayers (Salaah) all night long.' The second said: 'I will fast
(sawm) all the time.' The third said: 'I will never marry.' When our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and
grant Him peace]heard them say this he said: 'I am the most God conscious of Allah (Ta`ala) than any of
you. I pray (Salaah,) I fast (sawm) as well, and I do marry woman too. And who so turns his face from my
Sunnah, cannot be of my Ummah'.
[Mishkat Muslim, Bukhari chapter Ihtisam]
The reason why our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] stopped them from doing what
they wanted to do was because it was against Sunnah(his way). Whatever we do which is against the way
of our Prophets [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] Sunnah is a Bid'ah Say'iah.
RasoolAllah [May Allah blesses Him and grants Him peace] stated: "On the Day of Judgement, some
people will come to me when I will be standing by Haudh-e-Kauser (Well). They will be grabbed and
taken towards the Hellfire. I shall say: "These are my people" but in reply I will be told: "These are the
people who introduced innovations after you, so they are unbelievers."
[Bukhari & Muslim, Kitaab-ul-Haudh]
From the above Hadith we learn of the innovations from which we have been warned. Such innovations
that make a person Murtad (a non believer.) A few examples of innovations, which cause a person to
become Murtad:- A person claiming to be a Prophet, deny giving Zakaat. Perform Haj at a place other
than the Ka'ba, or to introduce any other new belief which is in opposition to Qur'an or Ahadith.

The above narration emphasises the fact that Bid'ah is to hold such an Aqeedah which is in direct
opposition to the Qur'an and Sunnah, i.e. to become Wahabiyah,Salafiyah, Jabriyya etc.
RasoolAllah [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] stated: "Every innovation leads astray and
every creator of the astray goes in the Fire."
[Muslim chapter Al-jumah]
An example of this Bid'ah is given by Hafidhh Ibn Al-Qayyim who writes: 'The one who denies the
punishment of the grave is an innovator'.
[Kitaab-ur-Rooh chap10]

As per our belief, there is no fixation of date and we do it on ever happy occasion and it can be celebrated
in many different possible ways.
Sahaba celebrated? YES - read the Naats for Hassan bin sabit (ra)
By Allah, no woman has conceived and GIVEN BIRTH To one like the Messenger, the Prophet and guide
of his people. Nor has Allah created among his creatures One more faithful to his sojourner or his promise
Than he who was the source of our light.
An objection would be did they celebrated the way we are celerbating? Then of course: none of them
prayed in our fashion either. Nor fasted in our fashion. Nor paid zakat in our fashion. Nor accomplished
pilgrimage or jihad in our fashion. Etc.
From all the above evidences, we can conclude that Its not just ONLY ALLOWED But Proffered by
everyone in the past.
The Grand Mufti of Dubai has given CLEAR Fatawa in favor of it in which he says:

Yes we should celebrate it every year And every month and every week
And every hour and every moment.
Dr. `Isa al-Mani` al-Humayri, Department of Awqaaf, Dubai

Office of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Dubai

Administration of Ifta' and Research

Barakallah