The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade religious innovation; so what about the unlegislated public interests?

The questioner : The questioner says: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade religious innovation; so what is the ruling regarding what is called the unlegislated public interests?

The Shaykh: How so?

The questioner : Are the unlegislated public interests a form of religious innovation, or are they something else?

The Shaykh : First, the unlegislated public interests have no connection to the issue of religious innovation, and this is a very important point. This is because by religious innovation, the innovator intends to increase his nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). The innovator in religion intends by his innovation to increase his nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). This is the intent of the innovator; therefore, all the texts that forbid religious innovation apply to him. The first of these is the noble verse: , "We have perfected for you your religion." The favor has been completed for you; so there is no longer room for anyone to innovate a form of worship to increase his nearness to Allah. How can it be, when the Messenger of Allah said: ? So how can you come with a form of worship that you claim brings you closer to Allah, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not bring it?
This is what applies to the innovator in religion. It is not so for the one who brings a new matter, but not with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah, rather with the intent that this new matter leads to a matter that is prescribed by explicit text. I mentioned a few days ago the difference between religious innovation and the unlegislated public interest. I mentioned this difference, not with this explicitness, but by clarifying that not everything that happens after the Messenger (peace be upon him) is lumped together with the condemned religious innovation in Islam. Rather, what happens after the Messenger with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is what the aforementioned texts apply to, including His saying (peace be upon him): .
I mentioned at that time as an example the expulsion of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab of the Jews from Khaybar. There is no doubt that this expulsion occurred after the death of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and after the death of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and after a period of the caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. Is this a religious innovation?
The answer is: No. Because religious innovation is a newly invented matter with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). As for something that occurs not with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah, but with the intent of implementing a ruling from the rulings of Allah, where this ruling is explicitly stated in the Book of Allah, here you will find that when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab expelled the Jews from Khaybar, he was implementing a condition from the conditions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he made a treaty with the Jews that they would not leave Khaybar, and that they would remain in this village and work in it, and that they would have half of what the earth produces, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have the other half. Among the conditions the Messenger imposed on them was that he said: . This condition was not permanent, but rather it was based on what appeared to us Muslims, . When it appeared to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab that the Muslims no longer needed to utilize the knowledge of the Jews in agriculture, planting, and livestock, he did without them and said to them: "Come, go to the wide earth of Allah." Exactly as is the case in many Islamic countries today, where they are forced to hire foreign employees, who may be disbelievers, to benefit from them in managing the affairs of the country, expanding in its resources, and in agricultural and economic aspects, and so on. When the people of the country themselves become knowledgeable about these matters, they do without these foreigners, and it is said to them: "Return from where you came."
The point is: When 'Umar expelled the Jews from Khaybar, this was a new matter that did not occur during the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him). But this new matter has a solid basis in the Shari'ah, which is the condition we mentioned earlier that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) imposed on the Jews. So the unlegislated public interest is a valid cause for a new occurrence, but it leads to achieving a public benefit that is prescribed by explicit text. However, there is a precise detail here, which is something that students of knowledge should know: the public benefit that arises and achieves a legal benefit stipulated in the Shari'ah. For example, the airplane and the car are things that did not exist in the previous era. If a Muslim uses them to achieve a legitimate Islamic goal, this falls under the category of unlegislated public interests; meaning, public interests left to the times. Every time has its circumstances, innovations, and inventions. If Muslims today strive to acquire cars and airplanes, I do not say only to fulfill necessary and desirable needs, but I say: to strengthen themselves so that Muslims can repel the aggression of disbelievers. So, in that case, do we fight the disbelievers with the old weapons we inherited from our fathers and grandfathers, on the claim that these new means are among the newly invented matters?
The answer is: No. These new means do not fall under the newly invented matters, because the newly invented matters that are condemned by the Shari'ah are those that are in the religion. As for these means, they are worldly matters. But we take them, especially in the matter of strengthening ourselves against the enemies of Allah in all lands of Allah. And in that case, this text applies to achieving a command from the commands of Allah, which is His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): .
So, if we take these newly invented matters today, which are means of strengthening ourselves against our opponents and enemies, we are taking unlegislated public interests; because they achieve a prescribed matter, which is strengthening ourselves against the enemies of Allah. Let us go down a level. Now, we are, unfortunately, very lagging in this field in terms of preparation with the known strength today to meet and confront the enemies of Allah. It is permissible for us to take these means on the basis that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) bestowed a favor on His servants when He said: . The beasts were known, but He created for them from their like what they ride. At that time, ships in the seas were like towering mountains moving in the seas and navigating them. Today, what Allah willed, you find the ship like a town in the middle of the sea, and you find the airplane like a palace flying in the sky, and so on. These means, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) indicated that they are from the favor of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) upon His servants with them. Therefore, He bestowed upon them by saying: . And in another verse, completing the reminder of the favor, what is the other verse? . So this airplane that we see today, and even the car, is from what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created, which our ancestors did not know. So it is permissible to adopt any means; a means that is not a goal or intent to increase nearness to Allah. Any means that occurs is permissible for us to take and adopt as a permissible matter in our Shari'ah, as long as it achieves a matter prescribed by explicit text.