bid‘a (bid‘a)

(Language: Arabic)

Short Description: Innovation. A heavily debated term in contemporary Islam; many strident puritans claim that all innovation is forbidden (ḥarām) in Islam

Long Description: Innovation. A heavily debated term in contemporary Islam; many strident puritans claim that all innovation is forbidden (ḥarām) in Islam. Innovation actually falls under the five axiological headings of the sharī’a: the obligatory (wājib), the recommended (mandūb), the permissible (mubāh), the offensive (makrūh), and the forbidden (ḥarām).

Sources: Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition, edited by Dr. Joseph Lumbard