Heretical Innovation of Distorted Beliefs (Bid’ah Dalalah) and Superstitious Practices Among Muslim Society in Malaysia

Abstract

The teaching of Islam has warned and reminded Muslim society regarding the threat of superstitious practices after the period of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Various distorted beliefs, such as shamanism and fortune-telling, have simultaneously spread all over the Muslim world including Malaysia. Among several causal of heretical innovation of distorted belief is ignorance and lack of religious knowledge. This article higlights contributing factors of Malays' involvement in superstitious practices which stresses on their perception, beliefs and practices. The writing of this article is based on the study conducted through qualitative methods using observation and interview. Selected key informants from religious affairs departments and political leadership are selected as respondents of the study. The result found that lack of religious education, ignorance, the influence of shamanism and strong belief in mystic and magic are accepted to contribute to the occurence of superstitious practices. These causal factors need to be addressed in the very best possible manner by the Islamic affairs authorities in order to prevent futher society involvement.

Revisiting the Terminology of Bid'ah Hasanah as a Counter Discourse Against Bid'ah Dalalah in the Public Sphere

“…This qualitative study employs a grounded theory approach to explain and propose the existence of the term bid'ah hasanah as a counter-discourse towards the general understanding of the term bid'ah which tends to have negative sentiments and close to superstitious practices (Adam et al, 2015). Grounded theory is a type of social research methodology that emphasizes generating knowledge and constructing theoretical claims in an inductive and generative way -starting from collecting the data needed, then elaborating and generating them to compose a research inquiry (Glaser & Strauss, 2006;Charmaz, 2006, Urquhart, 2013Hadley, 2017).…”

“…The discourse contention about this term is still happening today in public spheres such as social media and websites affiliated with certain religious groups, as well as in the academic sphere represented in the classrooms discussions and the textbooks used as teaching materials of Islamic religious education in university level (Jahroni, 2018;Zarif et al, 2013;Adam et al, 2015;Muhtadin & Ritonga, 2018;Musadad & Ngarfillah, 2016). When it comes to the history of the debate, it is known that this subject of debate has started since the beginning of the Islamic law establishment (Anshari, 2018;Musadad & Ngarfillah, 2016, Sopyan, 2018.…”

“…Historically, this word was taken or adopted as a term in the Science of Islamic Doctrine and Jurisprudence. In consequence, the word bid'ah has then interpreted as a new activity in religious (worship) matters that were contrary to what was introduced (exemplified) by the Prophet (Muhammad) and has no roots (basic doing) in Islamic Sharia (Anshari, 2018;Adam et al, 2015).…”

Concept of Taqribra'yai (Bridging Two Views) in Bid'ah Polemic Within the Malay Muslim Society

“…The term needs to be clarified and specified according to certain conditions or situations. This means, bid'ah practice can be divided into two situations whereby a practice that has the basis of syariah is considered bida'ah ḥasanah, while practices that do not have the basis of religious justification and ignorance are considered bid'ah ḍalālah (Ramli, 2005;Adam, et al, 2017). Following this understanding, Imām Al-Shafi'i (r.a) was on a view that any new matters relating to Islamic practices are divided into two conditions; i) new practices introduced, but contrary to the Quran, al-Sunnah, al-Athār and al-Ijma ' are categorized as ḍalālah (misguided) and ii) new practices introduced, made of goodness but do not contradictory to the Quran, al-Sunnah and ijma' are categorized as ḥasanah (Ramli, 2005) Among the supporters or proponents of this view is Al-'Izzu bin Abdul Salam (577H-660H).…”

Inquiring Arabic-Islamic Debatable Terms to ChatGPT: Will it Take a Side?

“…This phrase was officially appropriated or embraced by Islamic doctrine and jurisprudence. As a result, the term «bid'ah» has come to mean a new practice in issues of religion (worship) that is at odds with what the Prophet (Muhammad) taught (exemplified) and has no foundation in Islamic Sharia (Adam et al, 2015).…”