The Correct Understanding of the Verse: “Today I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you…”

The Shaykh : Especially those who have not yet recognized the greatness of the noble verse . The majority of Muslims today, and before today, unfortunately, have not recognized the greatness of this verse. The proof is that one insists on drawing near to Allah by means that Allah has not prescribed in His Book and that His Messenger did not bring in his Sunnah. He says to you, as you just heard, “What is the harm in it, my brother?” Glory be to Allah! Do you not believe in this verse? You admit that what you are doing was not done previously, but you follow your desires and your intellect and say, “What is the harm in it?” At the very least, in every innovation, no matter how small, the one who commits it does not believe in this verse. That is, as long as the religion comes after this completion and perfection with additions that are too numerous to count, where is your faith and your belief that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has perfected His religion and bestowed that favor upon His servants?
It is very regrettable that this heedlessness of the masses of those who follow without knowledge and the innovators toward the greatness of this verse, and that it deserves that Allah bestow it as a favor upon His servants, is met with such neglect. It is very regrettable that these masses are heedless of the greatness of this verse, while a man from among the Jews, a non-Muslim man, but one who has shrewdness and jurisprudence, notices it. A man from these Jewish rabbis came to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab during his caliphate to say to him, “O Commander of the Faithful, there is a verse in the Book of Allah that, if it had been revealed to us, the Jews, we would have taken the day of its revelation as a festival!” He said to him, “What is it?” He said, and mentioned the noble verse. He was a Jew who felt the greatness of this verse because of what it contains of relieving the Muslims from much thinking, searching, and independent legal reasoning in the religion, because Allah has completed for them everything He wants them to do to draw near to Him. So why the searching, independent legal reasoning, and innovation? These efforts that these people would have spent, if Allah had not completed their religion for them, to complete it from their own side, they could have saved by moving forward in this world and benefiting from what Allah has created in it of laws, creatures, and created things, and so on. The opposite of this is the case with the ignorant among the Muslims and those who did not appreciate the value of this verse. They engaged in independent legal reasoning in matters in which they have no right to engage in independent legal reasoning, and they engaged in independent legal reasoning in matters in which it is of no benefit to engage in independent legal reasoning. They engaged in independent legal reasoning in the religion and left the world aside, even though the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us, So they left independent legal reasoning, searching, and increasing in knowledge in the world to us, and drew our attention to the fact that his function is to teach us and to convey to us what Allah revealed to him, whether in the Book or the Sunnah. This is the observation that that Jew made when he said to 'Umar, “This verse, if it had been revealed to us, the Jews, we would have taken the day of its revelation as a festival.” But without a doubt, 'Umar was not like these masses who do not appreciate this verse in its true worth and are ignorant of the magnitude of the favor of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, upon His servants with it. He was, as the Muslim expects, aware of its value, where he said, “We have indeed taken it as a festival, for it was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on a Friday while he was at 'Arafah.” A festival within a festival; this verse was revealed on a day of festival that is still known, praise be to Allah, among the Muslims. But the Muslims today celebrate festivals for which Allah has not sent down any authority. If it had been permissible for them to take a festival in which they celebrate as non-Muslims do, this day would have been more deserving of celebration than all the festivals they celebrate, with the exception of 'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-Adha. And when I say “celebration” and not “taking it as a festival,” there is no doubt that Friday is the weekly festival for the Muslims. But there are not these demonstrations and these rejoicings that others take on the occasion of their many festivals, which are too numerous to count. But the Muslims know the value of these days on which these great events occurred, including Friday, and they celebrate them in their hearts and move forward in their lives influenced by this belief in their hearts, without ostentation or taking it as a day of play, joy, and happiness, and the like. This is the way of the righteous predecessors. Friday is a festival for many reasons, that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed this noble verse. This verse has no value in the hearts of the Muslims today, because Satan has entered them through the door of “whoever innovates in Islam a good innovation,” and I do not say “whoever established this,” because Satan cannot enter through that, for this is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but in them through the door of “whoever innovates in Islam a good innovation, he has two rewards.” This is a misunderstanding by these later people and a lack of jurisprudence also in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) referred to, because of Satan opening the door of innovation in the religion to these later Muslims and beautifying it in their eyes, the correct knowledge has become strange, the Sunnahs have been abandoned, and the innovations are the ones that have… and the understanding, and the Sunnah has only the name left.