Modern conceptualisations of bid‘a : Wahhābīs, Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood

• Main Author: Rosen, Ehud
• Published: SOAS, University of London 2015
• Subjects: 297.2
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.665101

One of the most interesting ways to follow the development of a religion over time is to look at the way that basic religious terms have been perceived in various times, places and circumstances. The term bid'a in this respect is unique, since it touches the very essence of the development of Islam itself: in particular, what is permitted to be innovated, and who should have the authority to decide what is or is not permitted. This work opens with a short historical survey of the origins of this term, and the ways it was understood in the first centuries of Islam. The research spans the 'modern' period from the end of the eighteenth century up until the late 20th century - an era of great social, geographic and political changes, which in the Middle East also saw the decline and disintegration of the Ottoman Empire that had ruled the region for centuries under the authority of Islam. We will look into modern conceptualisations of bid'a of two main groups - conservatives and revivalists. More specifically we will delve into the writings of two groups: 1. The early 'salafi' revivalists and the Muslim Brotherhood, the latter being in many respects the main group which continued the course of the former. 2. Prominent 'ulama' from the Wahhabi trend, to which we dedicate two chapters, examining both classic and more recent views, and the ways they adopted to return to their notion of 'pure' Islam; We will look at the causes which brought about the decline of Islam according to their thinking, and their thoughts on the relationship between the neccessity for renewal in Islam and deeply rooted religious guidelines - in this case, on the question of innovation. In each chapter we will also try to determine the overall scope of the discussion on bid'a, and its place in light of the discussions on related religious terms, such as tajdīd, ijtihād, shirk and ḍalāla.