Was the law of those before us legislated for us?

The questioner : It is said that this statement is in the Gospel, is that right, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : Not everything in the Gospel is false.

The questioner : On this basis, is it not permissible for us to rely on it?

The Shaykh : Is that not so?

The questioner : It is not permissible for us to rely on it now, nor under any circumstances, even if it were authentic.

The Shaykh : Not every word? May Allah forgive you, how so, even if it were authentic?

The questioner : Even if what is in the Gospel were authentic, it is not permissible for us to rely on it, and this is approximately what the scholars said.

The Shaykh : No, I do not think it is that absolute.

The questioner : The law of those before us is not a law for us?

The Shaykh : No, no, allow me, it is not on that absolute basis.

The questioner : Please go ahead.

The Shaykh : Do you not believe that the law of those before us is not a law for us if it contradicts our law, but if it agrees with our law, it is a law for us?

The questioner : So it is our law, not a law for us?

The Shaykh : We are not speaking about them; we are speaking about us now.

The questioner : And so when it is said, "Establish the state of Islam in your heart," it is established on your land. This is a statement with no reality; it is a figment of the imagination and a sweetening of the soul, because the state of Islam has rulings, an economic system, an educational system, and a social system. So I hope you do not mean what I was wishing, and by Allah, I would have liked to avoid this topic entirely, but... ?

The Shaykh : No, no, that is good, but if this had come before that, because you initially relied on the legal principle that "the law of those before us is not a law for us," and when we clarified to you that this is conditional on it contradicting our law, you went back and said, "But it is not a law for them; we are speaking about us now."

The questioner : I did not say it is a law for them.

The Shaykh : Allow me a moment, you said it this way.

The questioner : I said it is not a law for us, even if it does not contradict our law.

The Shaykh : No, that is not correct to say.

The questioner : That is what we see.

The Shaykh : Allow me, allow me a moment, allow me a moment. Is the word of truth not wisdom? Is it not wisdom to say, "Wisdom is the believer's lost property; wherever he finds it, he picks it up"? What do you think? Is this wisdom or not wisdom?

The questioner : Wisdom, yes.

The Shaykh : What is your opinion? Is it obligatory for the Muslim to rectify his heart?
The audience : Yes.

The Shaykh : Is it not obligatory? Is this Islamic?

The questioner : My lords, may Allah be pleased with you. If he wants me to answer, I answer. But if you want to answer my question, then answer, and I have no part in that.

The Shaykh : Correct.

The questioner : As for a man rectifying his heart, it is obligatory for a person to rectify his entire self: his heart, his tongue, his limbs, and everything in him.

The Shaykh: Okay

The questioner : Please go ahead.

The Shaykh : We have drawn your attention to this.