Overview

The Sunnah of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is made available to us through massive collections of narrations, detailing the history and development of the religion, from its initiation with the Prophet ﷺ, till his passing. This narrative tradition carries key principles and guidelines on all the fields of study within the religion, from creed and theology to the sciences of worship and character development. The Companions of The Prophet ﷺ understood the importance of preserving and upholding the Prophetic traditions that have made it possible for us to follow the Quranic commandment of obeying and loving the Prophet ﷺ, and to safeguard the purity of our faith.

Muslims well-acquainted with this concept of The Sunnah, feel the obligation to love and follow the Prophet ﷺ, as he exudes the best depiction of the religious values deliberated in The Quran. However, factions of Muslims from as early as during the time of The Companions had begun to theorize new beliefs and practices that contradict not only the specific guidelines set by Allah and The Prophet ﷺ, but at times, even the general notion of the religion from its very roots. As bizarre as they seemed to be, people followed, neglecting the superiority of the words of Allah and His Prophet ﷺ, and favouring their own detrimental theories and practices.

This calls for us to re-ignite the passion within our hearts of faith, to uphold the sanctity of The Quran and The Sunnah, in response to foreign ideas and concepts that contaminate the pure understanding of the religion, conveyed through the authentic, preserved texts of our academic tradition.

Points of discussion include:

• Religious Innovations: Why Aren’t They Good?
• The History of Bid’ah: Origins & Motives behind Fabrications of Religious Beliefs & Practices
• The Typology of Heresy: A Categorization of Bid’ah & its Various Manifestations Across Religious Sciences
• The Way Forward: Understanding The Importance of Preserving The Religion
• Dealing With Bid’ah: The Dos & Don’ts of Living in Times of Innovative Regression in Religion

This MasterClass, we take a look at the history and development of Bid’ah within our academic and practical traditions, seeking to return to a comprehensive understanding of our faith, placing emphasis on the divine command of the religion over the human intervention of heresy, and pursuing an exemplary life based on true notions of the religion, as educated by Allah and His Prophet ﷺ.