Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress, 

The Berbers (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996); 

Ernest Gellner and Charles Micaud, Arabs and Berbers: 

From Tribe to Nation in North Africa (Lexington, Mass.: 

Heath, 1972).

Bible

  See 

holy

 

books

.

K  100  

Berber

---

bidaa

 

(Arabic: innovation)

Bidaa is a term used by Muslim jurists and the 

legally minded to classify beliefs, activities, and 

institutions accepted by Muslims that are not 

mentioned by either the q

Uran

 or the 

sUnna

. The 

most literalist jurists, following i

bn

  t

aymiyya

 (d. 

1328), such as members of the h

anbali

  l

egal

s

chool

 and the Wahhabi movement in s

aUdi

a

rabia

 and elsewhere overtly reject anything they 

determine to be such an innovation. Most jurists 

and many Muslims, however, follow the views of 

al

-s

haFii

 (d. 820), one of the founding figures of 

the Islamic legal tradition, who drew a distinc-

tion between innovations that are good (hasan) 

and those that are bad (sayya) or blameworthy 

(madhmuma). Permissible innovations include 

study of Arabic grammar, building schools, wear-

ing nice clothing, and serving good food to guests. 

Widespread practices such as using 

arabesqUe

 to 

beautify 

mosqUe

s and Quran manuscripts have 

been classed as “disapproved” (makruh) innova-

tions but have not been subject to any penalty 

or prohibition. Innovations that would lead to 

idolatry

 and 

heresy

 are classed as disbelief (

kafir

[or Kufr]), and may incur penalties. Sunni jurists 

have included in this last class of innovations 

popular religious practices associated with 

saint

shrines, Shii doctrines about the i

mams

, and the 

sectarian beliefs of the a

hmadiyya

 sect of i

slam

.

In the modern period, the idea of bidaa has 

become more a part of Muslim religious discourse 

and argumentation than ever before. Literalists use 

it to condemn not only popular religious practices 

but also secular customs in pluralistic societies, 

such as celebrating birthdays, keeping pets, lis-

tening to popular 

mUsic

, and saluting a country’s 

flag. Paradoxically, they also have embraced the 

use of modern technology never mentioned in the 

Quran and sunna in their daily lives, to run their 

institutions, and to disseminate their Islamic mes-

sage. Progressive Muslims for their part promote 

the idea of the good innovation in their efforts 

to reconcile medieval Islamic tradition with the 

vicissitudes and ambiguities of a rapidly changing 

world. Many are in agreement with thinkers such 

as k

halid

 a

boU

 e

l

 F

adl

 (b. 1963), who maintains 

that whatever is based on moral insight cannot 

be condemned or dismissed as a blameworthy or 

corrupt innovation.

See also 

fiqh

;  s

haFii

  l

egal

  s

chool

;  s

hiism

; 

W

ahhabism

.