A Note on the Fact That the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah Has a Very Beneficial Study on Distinguishing Between the Unrestricted Public Benefit That Is Adopted and That Which Is Not Adopted

The Shaykh: On this occasion, I would like to remind you that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) has a very important study on the subject of distinguishing between the unrestricted public interest that should or must be adopted, which some people call good innovation, and the public interest that is not permissible to adopt. He says—and what he says is excellent—that matters that occur among Muslims, from which benefits result for them, should be examined: Is the reason for adopting this occurrence as a means and cause to achieve an Islamic benefit present in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him), or was it not present? He says: If the reason for adopting this cause was present in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and it necessitated adopting this cause on the grounds that it achieves a benefit, yet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not adopt this occurrence on the grounds that it achieves a benefit, then adopting it at that time is an innovation. And why?
Because if adopting this cause had been legislated, the Messenger (peace be upon him) would have adopted it, because he is protected from overlooking a cause that contains good for the Muslims, if the Lord of the Worlds had intended to legislate it for the Muslims.
I do not know if he gives an example of this, or if I am giving it for clarification and explanation. The adhan is a very clear example, and we will follow it with another example of what we were discussing. The adhan for other than the five daily prayers—I am not saying for the festival prayer, for example—for other than the five daily prayers includes the festival prayer, the prayer for rain, the funeral prayer, and so on. Is there a benefit in it, or is there no benefit? The adhan for the festival prayer: no doubt, if we were to free ourselves from following what the Messenger (peace be upon him) did, and we ruled by our minds, which we—other than the Salafis—are accustomed to ruling by in many matters, the answer would be: What is in it? My brother, there is nothing in it? And I say with them the same: What is in it if we call the adhan for the festival prayer? No doubt, if you free yourselves from following—even hypothetically—your answer will be: By Allah, there is nothing in it, the remembrance of Allah and its proclamation; La ilaha illa Allah, there is nothing in it.
The adhan that some people do in some countries, often in Aleppo, and perhaps rarely here, when they lower the deceased into the grave, they stand over the grave and their mu'adhdhin calls the adhan. What is in it? There is nothing in it, it is a remembrance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
Now, we also say: If we leave this adhan at the grave, or for the festival prayer, or for the prayer for rain, we also say: What is in it? If we leave it; meaning, we counter their "what is in it" with our "what is in it." You say: What is in it if we do it? We say to them: What is in it if we do not do it? And they will certainly not be able to [answer], and we will have the upper hand and victory over them with argument in the future, but initially, if they say: What is in it if we do it? We say to them: What is in it if we do not do it?
We follow the Sunnah, so we do not do this thing, and what do you follow? You follow your desires and your customs! Now, we say: Is there a specific benefit in something like the prayer for rain, where the people are gathered in the mosque, and it appears to the imam that he should pray for rain, so instead of making a normal announcement, the mu'adhdhin calls the adhan in the mosque, and says: "The prayer is a congregation" in addition to the adhan, and the Sunnah is to say: "The prayer is a congregation," but—also—we return to their saying in this and other occasions: What is in it, my brother? An increase in good is good! The Sunnah is "the prayer is a congregation" or "the prayer is a congregation," but an increase in good is good, so we call the adhan. Is there an announcement in this adhan or not? It cannot be denied. Now, was the reason for this announcement present in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) or not? It was present. Now, since the Messenger did not do this, it is not from the Sunnah for us to do this; because the reason was present in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
This example is very clear and shows them the precision that Ibn Taymiyyah explained in his great book "Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim Mukhalafat Ahl al-Jahim" (Following the Straight Path by Opposing the People of the Hellfire).