Islam's Reformers .pdf

sometimes omit them will be punished. An action which henever neglected and he said that those who would neglect itwould be punished is called wâjib. That which he performed attimes is called mustahab. An action which he used to do not asan ’ibâda but as a custom is called sunnat zawâid or adab. It isadab to begin with good things on the right and with bad thingson the left and to use the right and left hands, respectively.“It is not a bid’a to make changes in customs. It is better formen of wara’ not to do it. It is declared in a hadîth, ‘Hold fast tomy sunna and, after me, to the sunnas of al-Khulafâ’ ar-Râshidîn.’ The word sunna, when used alone, meanseverything that Islam declares. Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm),who taught Islam, did not declare anything on customs, for hecame in order to preach the religion, not to teach people how todo the things they needed in the world. It is declared in ahadîth, ‘You know better how to do your worldly affairs,’meaning that there was no need to tell them how to find and dothe things that were useful for their world and that they shouldlearn from him the religion and worship which they could notknow. For this reason, customs remain outside of Islam.Changes that are done in the things outside of Islam are notbida’.“Minarets, schools, books and the like which have beeninvented later are not bida’ or reforms in the religion. These arethings which help the religion. Islam has permitted and evencommanded them. Things of this sort are called sunnathasana. It is called sunnat sayyia to invent things which Islamhas prohibited. Bida’ are sunnat sayyia. The reason why thesunnat hasana were not done in the time of as-Sahâba andTâbi’ûn was because they did not need these useful things.They were performing the jihâd against unbelievers, conqueringlands and spreading Islam over the world. In their time, men ofbid’a had not appeared or increased. It is permissible andthawâb to invent sunnat hasana until the end of the world.“In ’ibâdât it is worse to commit a bid’a than to neglect asunna. It is harâm to commit a bid’a while it is makrûh to neglecta sunna without an ’udhr. [1] If one supposes that it is thawâb toneglect a sunna without any ’udhr, it will be bid’a for him to[1] ’Udhr means an excuse, a hindrance which Islam recognizes as agood reason for not doing a religious duty.- 285 -