Q: When is it permissible to describe an act as being Bid`ah (innovation in religion)? Is Bid`ah confined to the acts of `Ibadah (worship) only or expanded to transactions as well?
A: In the purified Shari`ah (Islamic law), Bid`ah describes any `Ibadah that people innovate without having a base in the Book or the Sunnah (whatever is reported from the Prophet) and the four RightlyGuided Caliphs did not perform it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected. (Agreed upon by Imams AlBukhari and Muslim). He (peace be upon him) also said: He who does any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected. (Related by Muslim in his Sahih (authentic) Book of Hadith)He (peace be upon him) said also in the Hadith reported on the authority of Al `Irbad ibn Sariyah (may Allah be pleased with him): Hold fast to my Sunnah and the examples of the RightlyGuided Caliphs who will come after me. Adhere to them and hold to them fast. Avoid novelties (in religion), for every novelty is Bid`ah, and every Bid`ah leads to misguidance. (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, AtTirmidhy and Ibn Majah, through a Sahih Sanad [chain of narrators])There are so many Hadiths to the same effect.
In the Arabic language, Bid`ah refers to things invented or acts done with no precedent; however, they are not prevented, if they are not related to religion. As for Bid`ah related to dealings, if it is in accordance with the Shari`ah, it is a Shar`y (Islamically lawful) contract. If it contradicts the Shari`ah, the contract is null and void and is not called as Bid`ah in the Shari`ah for it is not `Ibadah.