What are the Shari'ah guidelines that regulate certain human sciences, such as psychology and sociology?

The questioner : And peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Today, talk is widespread about what is called the human sciences, such as psychology and sociology, and the necessity of establishing an Islamic psychology or sociology. This stems from the concept of seeking to know the laws of the horizons and the souls, based on the verse: . The question is: What are the Shari'ah guidelines that regulate these concepts, or the pursuit of them, and the adoption of them?
May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Before answering... I say, seeking help from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as it came in the sermon of necessity:
Indeed, all praise is for Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and the badness of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is no one who can mislead him, and whom He leaves to mislead, there is no one who can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. After that:
Starting from His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He), according to one of the interpretations of the exegetes: , and from the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which is considered a clear and obvious text and answer to the previous question, namely his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . In the meaning of this hadith is another hadith in Sahih Muslim, where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It is a very obvious matter that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), if he is truly the master of all prophets and messengers first, and the seal of the messengers second, then he must have performed this teaching in the best manner. Since that is the case, we should look at any science that is discussed today, which was not known in the usage of scholars in the past, such as psychology, sociology, economics, and the like. Any of these sciences, or others, undoubtedly contains error and truth, right and wrong, because we know that the best of all these sciences is the Shari'ah science, the jurisprudential science, about which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This fiqh, as you know, even though its foundation is the Book and the Sunnah for all the imams who were on the right path from their Lord, undoubtedly contained in their statements what was correct and what was wrong. Therefore, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in "Sahih al-Bukhari" came: . If this fiqh, which we might not call the best of sciences because it is based first on understanding the Book of Allah, then the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, then what our righteous predecessors were upon, if this science contains, as I mentioned earlier, correctness and error, truth and falsehood, then undoubtedly any other science must contain some of this correctness and some of this error. The result and fruit of this statement is that it is obligatory for us to remember that the guideline in these sciences, with their modern names and modern information, must have been looked at through the lens of the Islamic Shari'ah, in light of the Book and the Sunnah, and what our righteous predecessors were upon. Therefore, I have said and continue to say that any student graduating from a master's or doctorate, as they say today, who wants to specialize in one of these sciences, should be well-versed in the science of the Shari'ah so that he does not fall into violations, or as they say today, pitfalls, where he contradicts Islam while studying one of these sciences. For example, you know today that this science called economics is based on making lawful what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has forbidden, namely riba, which they call by a name other than its true name, which is interest. This science, in its principles and foundations, makes lawful what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has forbidden. And there may be many other things. So, for the student of any of these sciences, it is necessary that he be clear in his religion, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: . For him to have this clarity, he cannot do so unless he has studied this or that science in light of the Book and the Sunnah. Therefore, we find in the present era many problems that you hear from young students of some of these sciences who were not protected before studying them with the knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah. We hear from them many ideas and opinions that completely contradict many of the rulings of Islam. Therefore, rushing to study these sciences without this guideline and this rule is a stumbling block. This is what is easy for me to answer regarding this question. Studying these sciences is undoubtedly a collective obligation (fard kifayah); if some people perform it, it drops from the rest. But the student must not neglect the individual obligation (fard 'ayn) in exchange for it. This is the problem of study in the present era in general, for modern systematic study, for which no guideline has been placed in its curricula . Therefore, you find that these modern studies go down one path, and the Shari'ah study based on the Book and the Sunnah goes down another path; they may meet at times and differ at other times. Let us give a practical example now that we are in, and many Muslims do not feel because they are violating the Shari'ah. The reason is that they studied a science known as astronomy. Based on this astronomy, calendars were established, called the almanac or the calendar or similar. So, the Islamic world today, due to this astronomical study, without adhering to the previously mentioned guideline, may break their fast before the time, or pray before the time. The reason is their detachment from applying the rule I mentioned earlier. For example, the calendars based on astronomical study here in Jordan, for instance, the time differs, I do not say from the capital to the neighboring village, but the same time differs for the capital itself. However, the timing includes not only the capital but also the surrounding villages. Perhaps you know, like me or better than me, because I am new to this country, that recently some villages were not included in the capital of Amman. I remember, for example, the village of al-Na'ur, which has become part of Greater Amman, as they say. Perhaps Zarqa will also be so one day.

The questioner : Independent.

The Shaykh : It is still independent. Okay, but al-Na'ur, as it stands in my mind, is now considered part of Amman, is it not?

The questioner : Suwaylih.

The Shaykh : Yes, all of these were not part of it before.

The questioner : ... al-Jabiyah.

The Shaykh : Yes, so the point is that now the time in Amman differs completely from al-Na'ur, and in al-Na'ur it differs from place to place. And we have seen this with our own eyes, as they say. What is the reason for this? Their reliance on the science of astronomy without returning to the science of timings, the details of which came in the Book and the Sunnah, and which the jurists and imams adopted without disagreement among them regarding most of these times. Therefore, it is not permissible to study any science except in light of what came in the Book and the Sunnah. And this study, undoubtedly, will have effects; some of them will agree with the Book and the Sunnah, and there is no objection to that, especially since the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to say: . And some of them will contradict the Book and the Sunnah. The example now before you is the issue of the difference in timings and the unification of timings regarding the almanac. The previous example is what is called the science of economics and its violations. This is the second picture. The first picture is agreement with the Book and the Sunnah, and that is on our heads and eyes. The other picture is contradiction, and it is cast aside.
The third and final picture is that there is no contradiction; Islam does not object to that. For example, the system of traffic organization for pedestrians and for cars, and so on. This is undoubtedly a very useful study, and it is a cause for preserving the safety of citizens, as they say today, and organizing traffic and the like. On this basis, we should look at that question, and in light of this answer, the departure will be, if Allah wills.