What is the legal criterion for distinguishing between the Sunnah of custom and the Sunnah of worship?

The questioner : May Allah reward you. Regarding the legal criterion for distinguishing between the Sunnah of custom and the Sunnah of worship?

The Shaykh : The criterion requires some knowledge for the one who wants to distinguish between the Sunnah of worship and the Sunnah of custom. It is certain that there are actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that issued from him as a means of drawing near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He); this type is from the Sunnah of worship. Opposite to it is another section, also certain, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do that, at the very least, not by the ruling of worship, but by the ruling of custom, or by the ruling of a matter that returns to the desire of the person which has no relation to worship. From this section, some is clear that it has no relation to worship, so it is from the section of custom. Between the two sections are ambiguous matters.

Another questioner: Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. If one looks at them from a certain angle, a person may lean toward classifying them with worship. And if one looks at this middle section from another perspective, he may then lean toward considering them from the Sunnah of custom. It depends on the student of knowledge. This second section, which opposes the first, is sufficient for the student of knowledge to stop at it. For example, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had sandals with two straps. What appears at first glance to the student of knowledge is that a sandal having one strap is contrary to the Sunnah, and the Sunnah is to have two straps. It appears that this has a relation to worship, whereas it is an Arab custom. They used to wear this type of sandals, and they did not wear the sandals known today, which are called shoes, boots, slippers, or similar things, with names that differ according to the countries. And for the student of knowledge, the section that can be classified with the first or the second remains; this requires knowledge to distinguish or to be certain that it is classified with the first section without the second, or conversely, classified with the second without the first. For that reason, we find that some scholars agreed on matters that are from the Sunnah of custom, and they differed on specific items: are they from the Sunnah of worship or the Sunnah of custom?
For example, regarding Hajj—and we are approaching Hajj soon, if Allah wills—it was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) descended in the sandy area (al-Batḥah). So some of the Companions—and I think it was Aisha—said: "It is not the Sunnah to stay in the sandy area." Rather, it happened that a tent was set up for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) there, so some of the people from the past used to think that staying in the sandy area there in al-Batḥah is part of the completion of the rituals of Hajj. Here, there may be disagreement because it is a matter that requires something very clear to classify it with the first section or the second section. So let us now enter into some real examples. Now, many young people, and praise be to Allah, are concerned with shortening their garments and not lengthening them, acting according to the Sunnah. Is this a Sunnah of custom or a Sunnah of worship?
If we look at the action of the Messenger (peace be upon him) separated from some of his words, the view might hesitate in classifying this practical Sunnah with the first section or the second section. But when hadiths came from his words (peace be upon him), including the hadith: , this removes the hesitation in classifying this Sunnah with the Sunnah of worship or the Sunnah of custom, and confirms that it is a Sunnah of worship. Because he described the methodology of clothing for the believer, saying that it is to the middle of the shin. If it is longer, there is no harm. If it is longer, then to the ankles. But if it is longer than that, it is in the Fire. So this is a Sunnah of worship, not a Sunnah of custom. Opposite to this is a Sunnah established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which is that he had long hair. Sometimes it reached the lobes of his ears, and if it was longer, it reached the tops of his shoulders. Indeed, it is established that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered Makkah, he entered it with four braids. Is this lengthening of the hair, first, and then braiding it and making it into braids, second; is it a Sunnah of worship or a Sunnah of custom?
The answer, in my opinion, is that there is no need here, or justification, or excuse for hesitation. This is a Sunnah of custom. Why? First, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is not the one who established this Sunnah; rather, it existed before the birth of the Messenger, let alone before the mission of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So it was from the custom of the Arabs. They used to grow their hair, and the young men among them, even today in some Syrian deserts, we have seen them; the young men among them braid their hair, making it into braids. So this custom was not established by the Messenger (peace be upon him); rather, he followed the custom of the Arabs. So he lengthened his hair and took it as such when he entered Makkah; he entered it with four braids. There is nothing that compels us to not consider this Sunnah a Sunnah of custom. Unlike another Sunnah, for example, which is that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to wear white. Is this a Sunnah of custom or a Sunnah of worship? If his saying (peace be upon him) had not come: , we would have said this is a taste. The Messenger loved white, just as he loved honey, for example, and he disliked the meat of the monitor lizard. This is a matter of taste. But when his saying came: , and then he commanded—at least commanded as a recommendation—saying: , this Sunnah exited being a Sunnah of custom and entered being a Sunnah of worship.
With this criterion and this scale, we must measure the actions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So what he established initially, and there was no indication that makes us believe it is a Sunnah of custom; it is a Sunnah of worship. As for what he (peace be upon him) did in harmony with Arab customs; this is an Arab custom, and there is no harm in doing it, and no harm in leaving it. And what he (peace be upon him) did of work that has a relation to his nature and his taste; this also has no relation to matters of worship. The example was mentioned earlier: he (peace be upon him) loved honey. We may find some people who dislike honey. So what do we say: they opposed the Sunnah? Because eating honey in its origin is not worship. So if it was not easy for a person to eat honey, or if he did not desire to eat honey; we do not say he opposed the Sunnah. But he opposed the nature of the Prophet which loved honey. But from another side, he (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked the meat of the monitor lizard, and the Arabs found it palatable. When it was placed on his table (peace be upon him) and it was said to him: this is monitor lizard meat; he stopped. And one of his famous Companions was in front of him, namely Khalid ibn al-Walid, who was eating with intense appetite to the extent that it attracted attention. He was eating and the broth was dripping on his beard. When he saw his Prophet not eating, he said: O Messenger of Allah, is it forbidden? Because he was shocked internally; he was eating greedily, and the Messenger of Allah was not extending his hand. So he said: Is it forbidden? He said: . So we do not say to the one who loves monitor lizard meat: you opposed the Sunnah, because the Messenger disliked monitor lizard meat. And we do not say to the one who may not love honey—and this exists, and one of my children, I love honey and sweets in general, but one of my children dislikes honey—so I do not say to him: you opposed the Sunnah, because it has no relation to worship.
In this manner, we must look at the actions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The negligence of people, and especially students of knowledge in this time, regarding this distinction has led them to fall into some excess. You will find some young men deliberately growing their hair long, claiming that this is the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him). Yes, I say that this was among his actions (peace be upon him), but there is nothing indicating that this is the best. Rather, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) explicitly stated, as in *Sahih Muslim*: . Therefore, growing hair long is not a Sunnah of worship, but a Sunnah of custom. If a person shaves his head his entire life, it is not said that he opposed the Sunnah of the Prophet who grew his hair long his entire life, except in Hajj or 'Umrah; for he (peace be upon him) would shave his head. You know the hadith reported in *al-Sahihayn* that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . However, shortening is the lesser of the two, and shaving is the better. So, if a person grows his hair as a custom or a temperament that suits his nature, there is no harm in that. But if he deliberately seeks to draw near to Allah by growing his hair long as the Messenger (peace be upon him) did, we say that this is a contradiction of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Here is a subtle point that must be noted: the one who grows his hair long following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who grew his hair long thinks that he has followed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But I say with complete frankness that he has contradicted the Prophet. However, the contradiction here is not apparent; rather, it is internal and hidden. The following is apparent, as he grows his hair long as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. So, what is the nature of the contradiction?
The nature of the contradiction is that we must observe the statement of our Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him): . The one who went out as a mujahid with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the path of Allah—what is his outward appearance? He is a mujahid in the path of Allah. But he went out for worldly gain he would obtain, or for a woman he would marry. So, he has contradicted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his intention. Will he be rewarded with the reward of the mujahideen when he has contradicted the master of the mujahideen? In what? In the intention. The answer is no. Now, the one who grows his head hair long following his Prophet is like that mujahid who went out with the Prophet as a mujahid, but his intention contradicts the intention of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). How is this for the one who grows his hair? We say to him: Do you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he grew his head hair long, intended thereby to draw near to his Lord? If you believe that, then your action is indeed so. But if you do not believe that, then you have contradicted the Messenger in his intention. He did not draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by his love of honey, nor did he draw near to Allah by his dislike of eating hyena meat. Likewise, he did not draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by growing his head hair long. So, you are drawing near to Allah, and thus you have contradicted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the most noble of the two conditions of worship:
The first condition: that the intention be pure for the face of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
And the second condition: that the action conform to the action of the Messenger.
You conformed to the Messenger in his action, but you contradicted him in his intention.
The Fajr prayer, both the Sunnah and the obligatory part, is two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs. So, if a man prayed the two rak'ahs of the Fajr Sunnah with the intention of the obligatory prayer, did he hit the Sunnah? The answer is no. One of the delusions of the Qadiyyah is that they believe the Fajr Sunnah is obligatory. So, when they pray this Sunnah, outwardly they conformed to the Messenger (peace be upon him), but in heart and intention they contradicted the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So, the one who prays the two rak'ahs of the Fajr Sunnah with the intention of the obligatory prayer is like one who contradicted the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in intention but conformed to him in form. The form here has no value, because actions are by intentions. And the meaning of the hadith is that righteous actions are by righteous intentions. So, if we do not know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) drew near to Allah by growing his hair long, it is not permissible for the Muslim to draw near to Allah by what the Messenger of Allah did not draw near to Allah by. And this is the bid'ah (religious innovation) in the religion. As you know from the hadiths that warn most strongly against innovating in the religion: . So, this is an introduction into the religion, because he draws near to Allah by what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not draw near to Allah by. And this is the nature of the innovator, because they bring actions by which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not draw near to his Lord (Mighty and Majestic). Therefore, the issue here is the distinction between the Sunnah of worship, in which we follow the Messenger, and the Sunnah of custom, in which we are given a choice to do it or leave it, because it is a Sunnah of custom. But it is not permissible for us to add to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the action of the Sunnah of custom something he did not do. And the greatest of actions is what is related to the hearts, because the heart works as Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) explains in many of his books and letters. And I see it necessary now to end the session... for we fear that we have burdened our host who invited us, and may Allah reward him with good.

Another questioner: Extend until Dhuhr, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.

Another questioner: We will sit until Dhuhr, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh: May Allah reward you, but we must have our interests and the interests of others, especially since we have seen some eyes being teased by drowsiness.

Another questioner: And we came from Yemen for it.

The Shaykh : Do you have questions?

Another questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: And Sabir, what Allah willed, all this time!

Another questioner: Sabir, the brothers are speaking, and I do not want to interrupt them.

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Yes, please, what do you have? ... .