It is known that innovation in religion is forbidden, so why do you rely on unlegislated public interests?
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The questioner : ... Are unlegislated public interests a form of innovation, or are they something else?
The Shaykh : First, unlegislated public interests have no connection to the issue of innovation in religion, and this is a very important point. This is because innovation in religion is intended by the innovator through that innovation to increase his nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. The innovator in religion wants his innovation to increase his nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. This is the intent of the innovator, and therefore all the texts that forbid innovation in religion apply to him. The first of these is the noble verse:[Al-Ma'idah 5:3]. The favor has been completed for you, so there is no room left for anyone to follow a form of worship that increases his nearness to Allah, how could he do so when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ? So you bring a form of worship claiming that it brings you closer to Allah, yet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not bring it. This is something that must be followed in religion, and 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 prescribed matter for the self. I mentioned a few days ago the difference between innovation and unlegislated public interests. I mentioned this difference, not with this explicitness, but to clarify that not everything that happens after the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is judged to be the blameworthy innovation in Islam. Rather, what happens after the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is what all the aforementioned texts apply to, including his saying (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan an-Nasa'i 1578Sahih (Darussalam).
I mentioned as an example the expulsion of the Jews from Khaybar by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. There is no doubt that this expulsion occurred after the death of the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), 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 an innovation in religion? The answer is no, because innovation in religion is a newly invented matter with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. As for something that happens without 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 truce with the Jews that they would not leave Khaybar and would remain there... and work in it, and they would have a share of what the earth grows, and the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would have the other share. Among the conditions the Prophet imposed on them was:. This condition was not eternal, but rather, as it appears to us Muslims, we grant you residence there as long as we wish. When it appeared to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab that the Muslims no longer needed the Jews' knowledge of agriculture, planting, and livestock, he dispensed with them... exactly as is the reality 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 and expanding its resources, agricultural and economic aspects, and so on. So when the people of the country themselves become knowledgeable about these matters, they dispense with these foreigners and are told to return to where they came from. The point is that when 'Umar expelled the Jews from Khaybar, this was a new matter that did not occur during the time of the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings 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 (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) imposed on the Jews. So unlegislated public interests are indeed a new cause, but they lead to achieving a prescribed benefit by explicit text. However, there is a precise detail here that students of knowledge should know.
The benefit that arises and achieves a legal benefit explicitly stated 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 legal Islamic goal, this falls under the category of unlegislated public interests. That is, interests left to time and the innovations and inventions of each era. So if Muslims today are keen 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, claiming that these new means are among newly invented matters? The answer is no. These new means do not fall under newly invented matters, because the newly invented matters that are blameworthy in the Shari'ah are those in religion. As for these means, they are worldly matters, but we take them, especially in the matter of being able to deal with the enemies of Allah in all lands of Allah. And in that case, this text is implemented to achieve one of the commands of Allah, which is His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-Anfal 8:60]. So if we take these newly invented matters and means today that bring us closer to our opponents and enemies, we are taking unlegislated public interests because they achieve a prescribed matter, which is strengthening against the enemies of Allah.
We lower the degree. Now, unfortunately, we are very lagging in this field in terms of preparation for the known power 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 upon His servants when He said:[Ya-Sin 36:42]. The beasts were known, but He created for them from the like of them what they ride. So at that time, they were ships in the seas, like towering mountains moving in the seas and navigating them. And 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.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, indicated that these means are from the favor of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, upon His servants, and therefore He bestowed upon them by saying:[Ya-Sin 36:42]. And in another verse, to complete the reminder of the favor: [An-Nahl 16:8]. So this airplane we see today, indeed the car, is from what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, created, which our earliest ancestors did not know.
So, among the taking of any means, and not with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah, any means that occurs is permissible for us to take and adopt for ourselves as a permissible matter in our Shari'ah, as long as it achieves a prescribed matter for people. But with that, if these means occur later, it is not permissible to adopt them or include them in the category of unlegislated public interests except with two conditions:
First: that it not be... from these means that it was possible to take them during the time of the Messenger, and yet the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) did not take them or adopt them. An example: today there are taxes in all Islamic countries, unfortunately, imposed on Muslim peoples on the basis that the interest of the state requires imposing these taxes, which are called in the language of the Shari'ah "mukus" (taxes), including customs duties. It is said that this is a means that occurred after the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), and it is not justified to adhere to it on the basis that the intent is to achieve a goal for the benefit of the nation, because we say that this means was possible for the Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) to take when the Shari'ah was being revealed to him in succession, and yet he was content with imposing zakah to grow the treasury of the Muslims, and was content with other means, including the spoils of war that Muslims gain in their wars against disbelievers, and other things detailed in books of hadith and books of jurisprudence.
So adopting a means today for the same purpose, which is the expenditures of the state to grow its treasury with money, as long as the means was possible to adopt during the time of the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not adopt it, then adopting it for the same purpose is an innovation in religion.
And an example closer and much closer than this, and perhaps many of the attendees have not heard of it:
We all know that the obligatory zakah was collected in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) by employees known as *sua'ah* (collectors), who are known today as tax collectors. In the past, the one who collected the wealth was called a *sa'i*, and their plural is *sua'ah*. They would go around the owners of cattle, livestock, and the owners of lands of dates, wheat, and barley, collecting everything from these categories in the season and driving them to the Bayt al-Mal (Treasury) of the Muslims. There is a very precise system, detailed in every aspect, in the books of the Sunnah and the books of hadith. But perhaps many of the attendees are not aware that these *sua'ah* did not collect the zakah of the two currencies (gold and silver), nor did they inspect the treasuries of the rich. This was not the case in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), unlike the zakah of livestock and crops, for which there were specialized employees to collect it from those upon whom the zakah was obligatory. As for the zakah of the two currencies, the zakah of gold and silver, the Wise Lawgiver entrusted its matter to the wealthy Muslim. It is he who is tasked with paying this zakah without there being any demanders, supervisors, or accountants over him. So if a state today wanted to collect the zakah of wealth, the zakah of the two currencies, as they used to collect the zakah of livestock and crops through the *sua'ah* in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), this would be an innovation in the religion. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who legislated for the Muslims to give zakah to the employed *sua'ah* who go to the owners of those wealths to collect from them, this Messenger (peace be upon him), who legislated from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) this collection in this manner, did not legislate for these *sua'ah* to collect the zakah of the two currencies. So the One who legislated that did not legislate this. Therefore, if we come and legislate a new means from ourselves, while the reason for its legislation was present in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), yet he did not legislate it, this would be an innovation in the religion.
And a final example, and with this I think we have fulfilled the definition of *maslakh mursalah* (unrestricted public interest) as every means that leads to the realization of a legislative matter, but with the condition that this means occurred afterwards and the reason for adopting it was not present in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
And another final example I mentioned on a recent occasion... for this reason, which is the *adhan* (call to prayer) for the prayer of seeking rain or for the prayer of the eclipse. This is not legislated because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the prayer of the eclipse and did not call the *adhan*. The reason for gathering the people by the method of the *adhan* was present in the time of the Messenger, yet he did not legislate this means for them, even though it is legislated for the five daily prayers. Consequently, no other means is legislated for it, as happened to me when I was in Sharjah during a lunar eclipse. We were strangers in that town, and in the middle of the night, we heard noise and commotion around us, and we did not understand their language well. After that, one of my family members drew my attention, while we were in the room, that the moon had been eclipsed. We realized that the matter was *takbir* (saying Allahu Akbar) and *tahlil* (saying La ilaha illa Allah) from various directions. So we said to ourselves that this, of course, was not in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather the people were gathered for such a prayer by the *mu'adhdhin* saying: "The prayer is gathered, the prayer is gathered". Nevertheless, I said that this means we saw there in the Emirates is better than the means we know in our Syrian country. There you hear a strange noise and beating, that is, striking the copper vessels, the vessels they cook on, striking them very hard, so you hear a clamor in the whole town. This is one of the effects of purely superstitious traditions, because it is common among us there that the cause of the eclipse is said to be that a whale opens its mouth and tries to swallow the moon, and thus they frighten this alleged whale with such annoying beating.
So I said, in any case, the *adhan* is not legislated for the prayer of the eclipse, which is not better than what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do.
So *maslakh mursalah* (unrestricted public interest) is every cause that leads to the realization of a legislative matter mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah, but this cause did not have its reason for adoption present in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If the reason was present and the Messenger did not adopt it, then it is not permissible for us to adopt it.
The Shaykh : First, unlegislated public interests have no connection to the issue of innovation in religion, and this is a very important point. This is because innovation in religion is intended by the innovator through that innovation to increase his nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. The innovator in religion wants his innovation to increase his nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. This is the intent of the innovator, and therefore all the texts that forbid innovation in religion apply to him. The first of these is the noble verse:
This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.
اليَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلَامَ دِينًاI have not left anything that brings you closer to Allah except that I have commanded you with it.
ما تركت شيئاً يقربكم إلى الله إلا وأمرتكم بهevery innovation is going astray, and every going astray is in the Fire
كل بدعة ضلالة وكل ضلالة في النارI mentioned as an example the expulsion of the Jews from Khaybar by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. There is no doubt that this expulsion occurred after the death of the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), 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 an innovation in religion? The answer is no, because innovation in religion is a newly invented matter with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. As for something that happens without 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 truce with the Jews that they would not leave Khaybar and would remain there... and work in it, and they would have a share of what the earth grows, and the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would have the other share. Among the conditions the Prophet imposed on them was:
We will keep you in it as long as We will.
إنما نقرّكم فيها ما نشاءThe benefit that arises and achieves a legal benefit explicitly stated 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 legal Islamic goal, this falls under the category of unlegislated public interests. That is, interests left to time and the innovations and inventions of each era. So if Muslims today are keen 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, claiming that these new means are among newly invented matters? The answer is no. These new means do not fall under newly invented matters, because the newly invented matters that are blameworthy in the Shari'ah are those in religion. As for these means, they are worldly matters, but we take them, especially in the matter of being able to deal with the enemies of Allah in all lands of Allah. And in that case, this text is implemented to achieve one of the commands of Allah, which is His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:
And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows
وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآَخَرِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْWe lower the degree. Now, unfortunately, we are very lagging in this field in terms of preparation for the known power 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 upon His servants when He said:
And We created for them from the likes of it that which they ride.
وَخَلَقْنَا لَهُمْ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ مَا يَرْكَبُونَAllah, Mighty and Majestic, indicated that these means are from the favor of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, upon His servants, and therefore He bestowed upon them by saying:
And We created for them from the likes of it that which they ride.
وَخَلَقْنَا لَهُمْ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ مَا يَرْكَبُونَAnd He creates that which you do not know.
ويخلق ما لا تعلمونSo, among the taking of any means, and not with the intent of increasing nearness to Allah, any means that occurs is permissible for us to take and adopt for ourselves as a permissible matter in our Shari'ah, as long as it achieves a prescribed matter for people. But with that, if these means occur later, it is not permissible to adopt them or include them in the category of unlegislated public interests except with two conditions:
First: that it not be... from these means that it was possible to take them during the time of the Messenger, and yet the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) did not take them or adopt them. An example: today there are taxes in all Islamic countries, unfortunately, imposed on Muslim peoples on the basis that the interest of the state requires imposing these taxes, which are called in the language of the Shari'ah "mukus" (taxes), including customs duties. It is said that this is a means that occurred after the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), and it is not justified to adhere to it on the basis that the intent is to achieve a goal for the benefit of the nation, because we say that this means was possible for the Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) to take when the Shari'ah was being revealed to him in succession, and yet he was content with imposing zakah to grow the treasury of the Muslims, and was content with other means, including the spoils of war that Muslims gain in their wars against disbelievers, and other things detailed in books of hadith and books of jurisprudence.
So adopting a means today for the same purpose, which is the expenditures of the state to grow its treasury with money, as long as the means was possible to adopt during the time of the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not adopt it, then adopting it for the same purpose is an innovation in religion.
And an example closer and much closer than this, and perhaps many of the attendees have not heard of it:
We all know that the obligatory zakah was collected in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) by employees known as *sua'ah* (collectors), who are known today as tax collectors. In the past, the one who collected the wealth was called a *sa'i*, and their plural is *sua'ah*. They would go around the owners of cattle, livestock, and the owners of lands of dates, wheat, and barley, collecting everything from these categories in the season and driving them to the Bayt al-Mal (Treasury) of the Muslims. There is a very precise system, detailed in every aspect, in the books of the Sunnah and the books of hadith. But perhaps many of the attendees are not aware that these *sua'ah* did not collect the zakah of the two currencies (gold and silver), nor did they inspect the treasuries of the rich. This was not the case in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), unlike the zakah of livestock and crops, for which there were specialized employees to collect it from those upon whom the zakah was obligatory. As for the zakah of the two currencies, the zakah of gold and silver, the Wise Lawgiver entrusted its matter to the wealthy Muslim. It is he who is tasked with paying this zakah without there being any demanders, supervisors, or accountants over him. So if a state today wanted to collect the zakah of wealth, the zakah of the two currencies, as they used to collect the zakah of livestock and crops through the *sua'ah* in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), this would be an innovation in the religion. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who legislated for the Muslims to give zakah to the employed *sua'ah* who go to the owners of those wealths to collect from them, this Messenger (peace be upon him), who legislated from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) this collection in this manner, did not legislate for these *sua'ah* to collect the zakah of the two currencies. So the One who legislated that did not legislate this. Therefore, if we come and legislate a new means from ourselves, while the reason for its legislation was present in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), yet he did not legislate it, this would be an innovation in the religion.
And a final example, and with this I think we have fulfilled the definition of *maslakh mursalah* (unrestricted public interest) as every means that leads to the realization of a legislative matter, but with the condition that this means occurred afterwards and the reason for adopting it was not present in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
And another final example I mentioned on a recent occasion... for this reason, which is the *adhan* (call to prayer) for the prayer of seeking rain or for the prayer of the eclipse. This is not legislated because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the prayer of the eclipse and did not call the *adhan*. The reason for gathering the people by the method of the *adhan* was present in the time of the Messenger, yet he did not legislate this means for them, even though it is legislated for the five daily prayers. Consequently, no other means is legislated for it, as happened to me when I was in Sharjah during a lunar eclipse. We were strangers in that town, and in the middle of the night, we heard noise and commotion around us, and we did not understand their language well. After that, one of my family members drew my attention, while we were in the room, that the moon had been eclipsed. We realized that the matter was *takbir* (saying Allahu Akbar) and *tahlil* (saying La ilaha illa Allah) from various directions. So we said to ourselves that this, of course, was not in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather the people were gathered for such a prayer by the *mu'adhdhin* saying: "The prayer is gathered, the prayer is gathered". Nevertheless, I said that this means we saw there in the Emirates is better than the means we know in our Syrian country. There you hear a strange noise and beating, that is, striking the copper vessels, the vessels they cook on, striking them very hard, so you hear a clamor in the whole town. This is one of the effects of purely superstitious traditions, because it is common among us there that the cause of the eclipse is said to be that a whale opens its mouth and tries to swallow the moon, and thus they frighten this alleged whale with such annoying beating.
So I said, in any case, the *adhan* is not legislated for the prayer of the eclipse, which is not better than what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do.
So *maslakh mursalah* (unrestricted public interest) is every cause that leads to the realization of a legislative matter mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah, but this cause did not have its reason for adoption present in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If the reason was present and the Messenger did not adopt it, then it is not permissible for us to adopt it.