A Concise Explanation of the Shariah Definition of Bidah From the Prophetic Sunnah

[Salaf.Com]

Wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuh, thank you for your post and beneficial questions. Regarding your first question, this is known from many other texts, such as the hadeeth of the three men who intended exaggeration in worship, and the various statements of the companions in showing rejection against those who departed in the details of worship, such as adding an extra word or two in remembrances etc. And the hadeeth of Ibn Mas'ood showing rejection against those making dhikr in congregation, using stones. And this is what is found in the explanations of the Scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah when they explain this hadeeth (whoever did an action....), by the illustrative examples they give, through actions having a foundation in the Sunnah, but differing with the Sunnah in the details (time, place, number, reason, form, etc.), you can refer to the various explanations of the hadith of Aishah given by the Scholars like Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin, Shaykh Salih Aal al-Shaykh etc. The specification of "absense of both a general evidence and a specific evidence" is to enable the maslahah mursalah (unspecified matter of broad public interest resting upon general shariah principles and evidences) to be excluded from being included in the Shariah definition of bidah. In the article itself, illustration of a general and specific evidence is given by the compilation of the Qur'an and the tarawih prayer respectively. The first is maslahah mursalah and the second has specific proof, hence, neither enter into the Shariah definition of bidah. Note the qualification, "Nothing is considered a bidah in the Shariah sense except when...", it did not say, "Nothing is considered worship except when it has a general or specific proof..." Rather, it is worded to enable what is not actually a bidah in the Shariah sense to be excluded, since that is what is being addressed, and you are looking at it from a different way, which is when can an act of worship be said to be in agreement with and from the Shariah, in that case, it must have a specific proof (for its basis and its details). Hope this clarifies.