From Wikipedia, accessed April 2012
Bid‘ah (Arabic: بدعة) refers to innovations in Islam. Linguistically the term means “innovation, novelty, heretical doctrine, heresy”. In contrast to the English term “innovation”, in Arabic, the word bid’ah generally carries a negative connotation, however it can also have positive implications. It has also been used in classical Arabic literature (adab) as a form of praise for outstanding compositions of prose and poetry. In explaining the differing connotations the word can have, Umar Faruq Abd-Allah has explained,
[B]id‘a could take on various shades of meaning. When used without qualifying adjectives, it tended to be condemnatory, as, for example, in the statement, “bid‘a must be avoided.” Nevertheless, bid‘a was not always something bad. In certain contexts, especially when qualified by adjectives, bid‘a could cover a wide range of meanings from what was praiseworthy to what was completely wrong..”— Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, Innovation and Creativity in Islam
Though innovations in worldly matters, such as science, medicine and technology are generally acceptable and encouraged, bid‘ah within the religion is generally considered a sin.
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