The definition of Bid’ah is any practice which doesn’t find basis in Quran, the Sunnah of the Prophet, or the rightly guided Khalifas. Simply put, it’s an ‘innovation’.
It’s an interesting concept to talk about. More so in this age, when we are at a point in time that’s sufficiently removed from the time of the Prophet for innovations to have crept in and established themselves, yet not so far away for classical texts and interpretations to have lost relevance.
Naturally, it’s a sensitive subject to broach. Practices, even if innovations, after being held on to over long periods of time, eventually end up being identified as part of religion.
In matters of religion, people are wont to construct rituals. Even if there isn’t one to begin with and especially if it allows the possibility of public expression of faith as a spectacle. Practising faith on an individual level, as a singular conversation with Allah, doesn’t come as easily. There’s good reason why scholars have warned against Riya’ (ostentation in faith).
The Prophet said:
O people, pray in your houses, for the best of prayer is a man’s prayer in his house, apart from the prescribed prayers.
Ritualistic innovations become the exact opposite.
Sha’ban is a month of significance. Preceding the month of Ramzan, it is a time which should be best used to prepare for the month of fasting. Aisha narrated that the Prophet never fasted in any month more than in the month of Sha’ban.
Public Nuisance In the Guise of Religion
The night of mid-Sha’ban, better known as Shab-e-Barat, is a powerful one. There isn’t any doubt about the importance of prayer during this night, even though there are differences among scholars over its manner and acceptable ritual. I’m not qualified enough to comment on this aspect, but there’s something else that’s important to consider on this occasion.
Through the narration of Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, it is known that the Prophet visited Al-Baq’i cemetery on this night once. This Hadith is the basis for the creation of a ritual that involves visiting graveyards on this night. Nothing wrong with it. Rather, this should be a more regular practice, and not something that gets assigned to a few days of the year alone. It’s the associated carnival that needs addressing.
Spending the night in prayer is commendable. Instead, what happens in the guise of visiting graveyards is young men turning it into a circus of revelry. Zipping around on motorbikes till the wee hours of morning, they think of this time as a free license to be a public nuisance. Every year, there are reports of incidents where these boys get into heated altercations. The result? Muslims get flak en masse, and for something that’s not even part of Islam.
No to Hypocrisy and Cherrypicking
The other thing is firecrackers. Nowhere in Islam is there any mention of the use of firecrackers at any time, or on any occasion. That this practice is limited to South Asia signals its origin from the characteristic syncretism of the region. Lack of religious basis notwithstanding, firecrackers are a menace.
Recent years have witnessed debate around their use on Diwali. The effects are gradually beginning to be seen in reduced usage, as awareness is spread wider and deeper. Public discussions around this issue shouldn’t be any different for Shab-e-Barat.
On the matter of Bid’ah, the is important for another malpractice. Talaq-ul-Bid’ah, which is more notoriously known as Triple Talaq. While the honourable Supreme Court begins hearing the case against the abhorrent practice, it becomes all the more important for us to consider what truly constitutes the practices of Islam.
Unless we keep an eye out and educate ourselves, innovations will keep entering because of our lackadaisical ignorance. Only to jolt us awake when they’ve crept up close enough to bite our backs. Calling for the abolition of one practice because it is Bid’ah, while relishing another only because it’s “harmless”, or terming well-established notions of Fiqh (the theory or philosophy of Islamic law) as regressive is plain hypocrisy. This cherry-picking is a dangerous trend, both for the followers and society at large.
(This article was originally published here. It has been republished with the author’s permission. This is a blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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