The Shaykh’s detailed explanation of the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah regarding unlegislated public interests.
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The Shaykh : We return now to the detailed explanation of the statement Ibn Taymiyyah made regarding unlegislated public interests. He says: "If the factor necessitating the adoption of that means was present in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not adopt it and did not legislate it for the people, although the necessitating factor, which is the means, was present, then it is not permissible to adopt it, because if it had been prescribed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would have done it." Among the examples of this is the adhan for the two Eid prayers, or rather the call of "The prayer is assembled" for the two Eid prayers. The necessitating factor, which is informing the people of the entry of the time for the Eid prayer, whether Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha, as it exists today, was present in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not legislate the adhan for the two Eids for the people, given the presence of the necessitating factor?
The answer is: It is not permissible for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to legislate for the people anything other than what is revealed to him. If it is not revealed, he has no right to legislate, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone is the one to whom legislation is permissible, as He the Exalted said:[Ash-Shuraa 42:21] If the necessitating factor for legislating the adhan or "The prayer is assembled" was present in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he did not adopt the necessary consequence of this necessitating factor, then our creation of its necessary consequence, which is the means of informing, is an innovation in the religion and a transgression of the Sunnah of the Master of the Messengers. This is his statement regarding the case where the necessitating factor was present and established in his time (peace be upon him).
However, the necessitating factor may have occurred after it did not exist. This is part of the precision in his words -may Allah have mercy on him- He said: "In that case, we look. If the cause of the necessitating factor is the negligence of Muslims in applying the rulings of their religion, then it is also not permissible to adopt this necessitating factor, because it is a result of their negligence in applying the Shari'ah of their Lord." Perhaps he mentioned it, or al-Shatibi -I do not remember now- al-Shatibi certainly mentioned this in his book *Al-I'tisam*, because he also discussed the issue of unlegislated public interests there in a comprehensive and beneficial manner. But this detailed explanation that I am conveying to you is what we benefited from Ibn Taymiyyah -may Allah have mercy on him-.
The answer is: It is not permissible for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to legislate for the people anything other than what is revealed to him. If it is not revealed, he has no right to legislate, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone is the one to whom legislation is permissible, as He the Exalted said:
Or have they other deities who have ordained for them a religion to which Allah has not consented?
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُHowever, the necessitating factor may have occurred after it did not exist. This is part of the precision in his words -may Allah have mercy on him- He said: "In that case, we look. If the cause of the necessitating factor is the negligence of Muslims in applying the rulings of their religion, then it is also not permissible to adopt this necessitating factor, because it is a result of their negligence in applying the Shari'ah of their Lord." Perhaps he mentioned it, or al-Shatibi -I do not remember now- al-Shatibi certainly mentioned this in his book *Al-I'tisam*, because he also discussed the issue of unlegislated public interests there in a comprehensive and beneficial manner. But this detailed explanation that I am conveying to you is what we benefited from Ibn Taymiyyah -may Allah have mercy on him-.