Does adopting unlegislated public interest in the domain of worship open the door to religious innovation for people?
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The questioner : May I criticize the example?
The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead.
The questioner : Speaking of or adopting unlegislated public interest, naturally in the domain of transactions, there is some consideration regarding the organization of people's affairs.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : But do you not see that adopting it in the domain of worship opens the door to religious innovation for people?
The Shaykh : It is so, and therefore Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) established these two conditions:
If the underlying cause existed in the time of the Messenger, it is not permissible to adopt the unlegislated public interest, because if it were a true public interest, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have adopted it.
Then, if the underlying cause is found, even in transactions—you are now indicating that it is permissible to adopt unlegislated public interest in transactions—Ibn Taymiyyah also says: even in transactions, it is not permissible to adopt it if the underlying cause for adopting it is the Muslims' negligence in carrying out the rulings of their Shari'ah. These are transactions, but you see now that unlegislated public interest never relates to worship itself, but rather to a form of it. I am now entering into the detail to cite the previous speech I quoted from Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding this specific point. We did not legislate the greeting of peace to add to it worship and drawing near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), but we saw that if we raised our voices with "As-salamu alaykum" (as is the original practice), we would expose people to ruining their prayers. And I am telling you now.
The questioner : I do not mean the specific detail I cited.
The Shaykh : But I do mean it, may Allah reward you, because the question was directed at this specific detail, and the person who asked the question is present here.
The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead.
The questioner : Speaking of or adopting unlegislated public interest, naturally in the domain of transactions, there is some consideration regarding the organization of people's affairs.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : But do you not see that adopting it in the domain of worship opens the door to religious innovation for people?
The Shaykh : It is so, and therefore Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) established these two conditions:
If the underlying cause existed in the time of the Messenger, it is not permissible to adopt the unlegislated public interest, because if it were a true public interest, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have adopted it.
Then, if the underlying cause is found, even in transactions—you are now indicating that it is permissible to adopt unlegislated public interest in transactions—Ibn Taymiyyah also says: even in transactions, it is not permissible to adopt it if the underlying cause for adopting it is the Muslims' negligence in carrying out the rulings of their Shari'ah. These are transactions, but you see now that unlegislated public interest never relates to worship itself, but rather to a form of it. I am now entering into the detail to cite the previous speech I quoted from Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding this specific point. We did not legislate the greeting of peace to add to it worship and drawing near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), but we saw that if we raised our voices with "As-salamu alaykum" (as is the original practice), we would expose people to ruining their prayers. And I am telling you now.
The questioner : I do not mean the specific detail I cited.
The Shaykh : But I do mean it, may Allah reward you, because the question was directed at this specific detail, and the person who asked the question is present here.