The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) actions and his mere omissions

The questioner: Here is a question consisting of two parts: The first is the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) actions and his mere omissions; can it be said that this omission indicates prohibition, such that his (peace and blessings be upon him) omission of tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka'bah) is like his omission of kissing the Black Stone during tawaf? And when do we know that an action outside of tawaf, such as kissing the Black Stone outside of tawaf, is...? And when do we know that an action is specific to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and that a saying is legislation for the ummah? What is the rule in this? We ask for clarification?

The Shaykh: This question has two parts, or is it questions?

The questioner: No, it has two parts.

The Shaykh: When and when and when!

The questioner: The first is the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) actions and his mere omissions.

The Shaykh : Anyone else?

The questioner: Omitting the kissing of the Black Stone outside of tawaf.

The Shaykh: This is one. What is the second?

The questioner: The second is the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) saying and action: when do we know that it is specific to him, or that it is...?

The Shaykh: So let us take the first part and stop there. What was it?

The questioner: It is the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) actions and his mere omissions.

The Shaykh: Yes, if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) omitted something that we are required to do as an act of worship, then his (peace be upon him) omission of that act of worship, in our opinion, is an omission from...
... His division was that he said: The Sunnah (the Prophet's way) is of two types: an active Sunnah and an omissive Sunnah. An active Sunnah is understood, and an omissive Sunnah is the opposite; that is, what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) omitted from acts of worship, the Sunnah is the omission of that act of worship. The clearest example of this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not call the adhan (the call to prayer) for the prayer of the two festivals, nor for the prayer for rain, nor even for the prayer of the solar and lunar eclipses. If reason had a role in legislation, it would have said that these prayers are all more deserving; indeed, the prayer of the solar and lunar eclipses might be more deserving than the five daily prayers of having an adhan prescribed for it to inform people of the occurrence of this great event. Because if an eclipse occurs at night, it is very clear that people are in their sleep or in their late-night gatherings, etc.; so they do not notice the lunar eclipse. And during the day, if the sun is eclipsed, they are in their work; so they need a reminder, a caller, and an informer to tell them of the occurrence of this legal cause for establishing the prayer of the solar or lunar eclipse. But the matter is as Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If religion were by opinion, wiping the bottom of the leather sock would be more deserving than wiping the top of it. But I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) wiping over the leather socks." So religion is not by opinion. And for this reason, the school of all the scholars who belong to the people of the Sunnah and the community, despite their disagreement on some issues, was against the Mu'tazilah (a rationalist theological sect) who say that good and evil are determined by reason. The people of the Sunnah said that what is good is what Allah has made good, and what is evil is what Allah has made evil; that is, what is good is what Allah has legislated, and what He has omitted cannot be supplemented by us. This is not hidden from everyone.
So we return to the adhan; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not establish the adhan for the prayer of the two festivals. So is it recommended for us to call the adhan for the prayer of the two festivals? We said: No, based on that new, innovated division, a newly introduced division, but it has no basis in worship at least. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) omitted the adhan for all these prayers whose names I listed earlier. So it is our right to omit it, and it is not permissible to worship with it.
And based on that, we return to the example mentioned in the question: kissing the Black Stone. Kissing the Black Stone is an act of worship, as we know, and indeed it is one of the rituals of Hajj (the major pilgrimage). As long as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not present the Black Stone except during his tawaf, then at that time we say: what he omitted is a Sunnah, and what he did is a Sunnah. This is the answer, in my opinion, and I believe that no one’s adherence to the Sunnah is sound except with this detail.