Shirk and Bida

Question 1

What is shirk?

Answer 1

Shirk is to associate someone with Allah or think of someone else as worthy of worship. Polytheism is the opposite of Tawheed. Tawheed is to believe that the Esssence of Allah is free from any partner in his being or attributes.

Question 2

How many types of shirk are there?

Answer 2

There are 3 types of shirk:
1. To accept that anyone has the attributes of Allah
2. To accept anyone else as the creator
3. To consider someone else as being worthy of worship

Question 3

How is it to associate yourself with those who call permissible matters shirk?

Answer 3

A person who called a Muslim a mushrik and Kafir is misguided. Therefore one must stay away from such people as stated in hadith.

Question 4

What is bidat?

Answer 4

It is innovation. If the innovation is against sharia it is a Bida sayyidah. If it is not against sharia it is called Bida Hasana.

Question 5

How to act on a good innovation?

Answer 5

A Bida hasana can be wajib or mustahab. The one who starts it will get his own reward and the reward of those who follow. A bad innovation will accumulate sins in the same way.

Question 6

Describe an event regarding a good innovation.

Answer 6

Hazrat Umar Farooq passed by the masjid and saw people reading taraweeh individually so he began the congregation of taraweeh salah. He pointed to their imam and said “this is a good in novation”.

Question 7

How many types of innovation are there?

Answer 7

There are 3 types:

1. Bidat hasana is in accordance to Quran and Hadith. According to sharia it is recommended. This has 2 further types which are bidat e wajidah for example in order to understand Quran/Hadith you must seek the knowledge of nahw, and bidat e mustahabah for example constructing madrassas and mawlid.

Bidat Sayyidah is against the rulings of Quran/Hadith. The 2 further types are Bidat Mahroom which are forbidden such as bad Aqaid, and Bidat makruh which are disliked for example new ways of committing sins.

3.Bidat e Muhbah is an act that does not give reward or sin.

Question 8

Give some examples of matter that are understood to be good innovations.

Answer 8

1. The congregational tarawee prayer was stated by Hazrat Umar.
2. The dots and signs on the Quran were placed at the time of Hujjaj bin Yusuf.
   3.The Mihrab was an innovation of Sayyiduna Umar bin Abdul Aziz.
3. The 6 kalimas