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𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐟𝐢’𝐢 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐰𝐨? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠? Imamash-Shafi’i رضي الله عنه said: New matters are of two kinds: something newly begun that contravenes the Koran, sunna, the position of early Muslims, or consensus of scholars (ijma): such innovation is misguidance. And something newly inaugurated of the good in which there is no contravention of any of these, and is therefore something which although new, is not blameworthy. For when 'Umar (Allah be well pleased with him) saw the (tarawih) prayer being performed (in a group by Muslims at the mosque) in Ramadan, he said, "What a good innovation (bid'a) this is!" meaning something newly begun that had not been done before. And though in fact it had, this does not negate the legal considerations just advanced [i.e. that it furnishes an example of something that 'Umar, who was a scholar of the Sahaba, praised as a "good innovation" despite his belief that it had not been done before, because it did not contravene the broad principles of the Koran or sunna) (Siyar al-nubala' 10/70). 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒇𝒊’𝒊𝒚𝒚𝒂𝒉 𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔? We do not know of any early or later scholars who ever called anything that the rightly guided Caliphs did an innovation in the absolute sense. And it occurred in the words of the great scholar, Shaykh al-Islām in his time, Abū Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām, regarding Tarāwīḥ prayers, that he called them a praiseworthy innovation. And similarly, it occurred in the words of the eminent scholar Abū Bakr al-Ṭurṭūshī al-Mālikī regarding innovations and new matters, except for Tarāwīḥ which he included. Many people were deceived by this, while these later scholars—may Allah be pleased with them—did not use the term “innovation” in the absolute sense. Rather, they qualified it as praiseworthy and included it within the overall answer, and this was a clear excuse. What they meant is that it was newly introduced in that particular sense. How excellent and precise are the words of al-Shāfiʿī—may Allah have mercy on him—when he said: Newly introduced matters are of two types. One of them is that which is introduced in opposition to the Book, the Sunnah, a report, or consensus; this is misguidance. The second type is that which is introduced of good, in which there is no disagreement among any of these; this is a newly introduced matter that is not blameworthy. And ʿUmar رضي الله عنه said regarding standing in Ramadan: “What an excellent innovation this is,” meaning it is newly introduced and was not previously practiced, and if it does not contradict what came before. This is the statement of al-Shāfiʿī—may Allah have mercy on him—note how he was cautious in using the word “innovation,” and did not object to the term “newly introduced,” interpreting the words of ʿUmar رضي الله عنه accordingly. And he is the Imam of the scholars, the master of those after him. The term “innovation” in the absolute sense in Sharīʿah is applied only to blameworthy newly-introduced matters; it is not permissible to apply it to anything else. And if the term “innovation” is qualified as praiseworthy or similar, it is permissible, and this is inferred from context; it is a legal metaphor with a real linguistic meaning. — Fatawa al-Subkī – Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī (2/107) Al-muḥdathāt” (with a fatḥa on the dāl) is the plural of “muḥdathah.” It refers to something newly introduced that has no origin in the Shariʿah, and in the terminology of Islamic law, it is called a bidʿah (innovation). Anything that has an origin indicated by the Shariʿah is not considered a bidʿah. In Shariʿah terminology, bidʿah is blameworthy. Linguistically, however, anything newly created without precedent is called a bidʿah, whether it is praiseworthy or blameworthy. (1/3)