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

Abstract

This paper is aimed to revisit the existence terminology of Bid’ah Hasanah (Good Innovation) in the public and academic sphere as a counter discourse against the dominance of established meaning of Bid’ah which in terms of Islamic Sharia is interpreted as an act of misguidance (Bid’ah Dalalah). Counter discourse is a way of thinking that opposes an institutionalized discourse. In this context, we try to investigate the emergence of this term and describe how it is expressed as an opposing thought against the negative meaning of Bid'ah which was discursively long-established in the public and academic sphere by conducting the grounded approach. The data collected is taken from a mini survey and some specific discourses related to this topic such as the discussions in some chapters of the Islamic teaching textbook, and discourses from the online sources including social media and some websites affiliated with certain religious groups. The result shows that the terminology of Bid’ah Hasanah is emerged and echoed by traditional religious groups to label the non-exclusive worships (Ghairu Mahdhah) that originally don’t require any special rules in its implementation. According to them, this term is retrieved and interpreted from several Hadiths and the words of the Prophet’s companions. In the public and academic sphere, this term is still being roughly debated by some religious groups, mainly the Salafis and the traditionals, due to their differences in the methodology of meaning to this term. The Salafis prioritize the textual rigorous Sharia meaning contained in this term, whereas traditional parties put forward the literal and original meaning in understanding this term.

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

“…Regarding misconceptions about Arabic-Islamic religious terms, two studies discuss this: (Hanafi et al, 2022) and (Arifianto et al, 2021). Both discussed debatable terms in Islamic religions.…”

“…Both discussed debatable terms in Islamic religions. Hanafi et al (2022) investigated the students' perspectives on several Islamic religious terms that come from Arabic, regarding jihad, caliphate, and bid'ah, (Arifianto et al, 2021) revisited the bid'ah hasanah term in the public and academic spheres. These two studies highlight the debate on the meaning of several terms in the Islamic religion, which are still multi-interpretative, and how to respond.…”

“…These results imply that radical organisations can affect pupils' understanding of a term and foster unfavorable feelings. Meanwhile, Arifianto et al (2021) concluded that the term bid'ah hasanah is still being debated by some religious groups, mainly the Salafis and the traditional, owing to their differences in the methodology of the meaning of this term. The Salafists prioritise the textual rigorous Sharia meaning contained in this term.…”

“…One of the Arabic-Islamic terms, whose meaning is often misunderstood, is the term bid'ah. Arifianto et al (2021) state that in the Qur'an, this word is not mentioned literally, but there is only one derivative form of this word, namely badī› (the creator/ innovator), which is mentioned in Quran 6:101. To explore ChatGPT›s response to this term, we asked him one core question and two follow-up prompts.…”

“…ChatGPT also noted this difference of opinion in its response that «the distinction between bid'ah hasanah and bid'ah dalalah is subjective and can vary depending on the interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah by different scholars and schools of thought» (P2.5). Arifianto et al (2021) explain that the core of the debate lies in understanding the perspective of meaning contained in the term bid'ah -both epistemologically (literally) and terminologically. Disputes of views between opposing religious groups, especially between Salafi and Traditional, are happening because of their differences in perspective and the methodology of the meaning of this term.…”