Clarification of the Conditions for Acting on a General Text

The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead.

The questioner : Regarding the assertion of generality now, specifically concerning prostration of recitation: some say that regarding the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he would say Allahu Akbar at every lowering and raising, they argue that prostration of recitation also involves saying Allahu Akbar when going down and when standing up, citing this hadith as evidence. We need clarification regarding the rule of generality, and also regarding the pointing of the finger between the two prostrations in the sitting of rest.

The Shaykh : Let your question be separate from the second or third one; otherwise, you will force us to memorize your questions and then answer them all at once, which is not an easy matter. Instead, ask the question, take the answer, then follow it with the second question, and so on.
The student : If you please, sit on the chair, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Oh Allah, oh Allah. The generality that is considered valid requires two conditions. The first condition is that it must be issued by the Infallible One who encompasses His speech and means what He says, and that is none other than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The second condition is that every part of that generality must have been acted upon by the practice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Otherwise, if we imagine a part of that generality upon which the practice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not proceed, then that matter upon which the practice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not proceed is excluded from the generality, and one does not cite the generality as evidence for its legitimacy. I believe this contains some ambiguity, except for one who is well-established in knowledge, particularly in the principles of jurisprudence. Therefore, it is necessary to give an example or more, if necessary, to clarify what I just said: that a part of the generality issued by the Messenger (peace be upon him) upon which the practice of the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not proceed, it is not permissible to cite this generality as evidence for the legitimacy of that part upon which the practice of the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not proceed. For example: we are not going far; the previous discussion was about repeating the congregation, and I will attach a later example for further clarification. The previous example is one where some people might cite evidence for its legitimacy, and perhaps you have recalled the previous example, which is repeating the congregation in the mosque with a regular imam and a regular caller to prayer. Some might cite evidence for it based on the generality of his saying (peace be upon him): . This text is general and it came from the mouth of the Messenger (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace). Is this citation correct? The answer is no. Why? Because, as some scholars of the Salaf say regarding every newly invented matter among the matters that the majority of people are upon today and before today, claiming that it is an increase in good, and that an increase in good is good, they claim. The scholars of the Salaf, in refuting such claims, say: "If it were good, they would have preceded us to it." If what we are currently discussing, which is the second and third congregation and what follows, were good, our righteous predecessors would have preceded us to it for two reasons. The first reason is that they were more knowledgeable about the implications and concepts of the hadiths. The second reason is that they were more eager than we are to draw near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So, since this was not part of the practice of the Salaf, their practice is evidence for us of the error of our citation of this general text. This example is clear. This example addresses a real matter, as we said, repeating the second and third congregation. Now I move to an example I invented because it did not occur, and I hope it does not occur, because it is of the same family for which we gave an example with repeating the congregation. I said, and I continue to say, I have said repeatedly and I continue to say repeatedly: if a group of people in the mosque want to pray the sunnah of the time, such as the sunnah before the midday or afternoon prayer, which is the sunnah that the Salaf were upon, where each person would move to a side and pray the sunnah alone. If it occurred to one of them to say: "O people, why are you separating in this prayer? Come, let us pray in congregation." He (peace be upon him) said: . This is an authentic hadith. And he (peace be upon him) said in the previous hadith: . Would he be correct in this claim he made to the people to gather in congregation for the sunnah prayers? There is no doubt, and no question, that one who has been given an atom's weight of knowledge would say: No, this is not permissible, and this is a religious innovation in Islam for which Allah has not sent down any authority. So, what do you do with these hadiths? The answer is: these are general hadiths that do not include this specific detail, just as that one; why? Because the practice of the righteous Salaf did not proceed upon that. It is clear. If we know these two conditions, and I am reminding you of them again: the first condition is that the general text that is considered valid is the one that came from the mouth of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and not from anyone else. The second condition is that every detail of this generality must have been acted upon in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and in the time of the righteous Salaf. If a part of the parts of this generality is lacking in the practice of the Salaf acting upon it, that part exits from that generality.