Abd al-Rahman al-Muallimi al-Yamani
Haqiqat al-Bida - ضمن "Athar al-Mualimi
- Author died
- 1386 AH
- Editions
- Dar Alam al-Fawa'id lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
Haqiqat al-Bida (The Reality of Religious Innovation) is a theological and jurisprudential treatise by the Yemeni scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Muallimi al-Yamani (1313–1386 AH / 1896–1966 CE), written to elucidate the legal definition of religious innovation (bidʿah) and refute the spurious grounds used to justify it .
Background and Purpose
Al-Muallimi conceived the treatise while composing his work Rafʿ al-Ishtibah ʿan Maʿna al-ʿIbadah wa-l-Ilah (also known as Risalat al-Ibadah). In that work's introduction, while reviewing unreliable proofs that people frequently invoke, he addressed the use of weak hadiths . Because discussing weak hadiths required an extensive investigation of religious innovation and the prophetic declaration كل بدعة ضلالة ("Every innovation is misguidance"), he decided to dedicate an independent treatise to the topic .
Al-Muallimi noted that existing literature on religious innovation fell into two broad categories: works written at an advanced technical level inaccessible to non-specialists, such as Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's al-Iʿtisam, and works lacking critical refinement, such as Abu Shama al-Maqdisi's al-Baʿith ʿala Inkar al-Bidaʿ wa-l-Hawadith . He sought to provide a structured, accessible presentation focusing strictly on essential principles .
Contents and Methodology
Al-Muallimi defines bidʿah as introducing a ruling into Islam that does not originate from it . His core argument maintains that religious legislation belongs solely to God, and because the religion was completed through the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, anything not conveyed by him as part of Islam cannot be treated as religious duty .
The work adopts a dialectical method relying on logical division (al-sabr wa-l-taqsim), hypothetical dialogue, and question-and-answer exchanges . Al-Muallimi systematically invalidates non-scriptural proofs cited by proponents of innovative practices, including purely rational approval (istihsan ʿaqli), reliance on dreams and unverified spiritual intuition, and empirical trial when contradicted by explicit revelation . He also draws on real-life experiences and personal reflections to illustrate widespread folk practices—such as taking omens from the opening of Quranic copies, wearing inscribed brass amulets, and making offerings to spirits—contrasting them with legislated prophetic supplications and lawful remedies . He categorizes innovators into four classes according to their knowledge and claims, highlighting those who consciously attribute unlegislated acts of worship to divine approval .
Manuscript and Publication
The author left the treatise as an incomplete manuscript in a medium-format notebook of 38 pages, containing numerous strikethroughs and corrections .
The work was edited alongside another treatise of al-Muallimi, Sadʿ al-Dujnah fi Fasl al-Bidʿah ʿan al-Sunnah, by Uthman Muallim Mahmud and Ahmad Hajj Muhammad, and published by Adwa' al-Salaf in Riyadh in 1425 AH / 2004 CE . It was subsequently included as the second treatise in the sixth volume (Majmuʿ Rasaʾil al-ʿAqidah) of the multi-volume critical edition of his collected works, Athar al-Muʿallimi .
Answer updated