The Shaykh’s mention of the conditions for adopting unlegislated public interests and his examples from reality of what falls under this category and what does not.

The Shaykh : However, despite this, these means that have emerged later are not permissible to adopt or include in the category of unlegislated public interests except under two conditions. First, that this means was not possible to adopt during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and yet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not adopt it or endorse it. For example, today there are taxes in all Islamic countries, unfortunately, imposed on Muslim peoples on the grounds that the interest of the state requires imposing these taxes, which are called in the language of the Shari'ah *mukus* (arbitrary taxes), including customs duties. It is said that this means emerged after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is not justified to adhere to it on the grounds that the intended goal is to achieve an objective beneficial to the nation, because we say that this means was possible for the Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) to adopt when the Shari'ah was being revealed to him in succession, and yet he was content with imposing zakah and filling the treasury of the Muslims, and he was content with sources such as the spoils of war that Muslims gain in their wars against the disbelievers, and other means detailed in the books of hadith and books of fiqh. Therefore, adopting a means today for the same purpose, which is the interests of the state and filling its treasury with money, as long as this means was possible to adopt during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not adopt it, then adopting it for the same purpose is an innovation in the religion. A closer and much closer example, and perhaps many of the attendees have not heard of it: we all know that the obligatory zakah was collected during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) by employees known as *sa'i* (collectors), who are known today as tax collectors. In the past, the one who collected money was called a *sa'i*, and their plural is *sa'ah*. They would go around the owners of cattle, livestock, and owners of lands, dates, wheat, and barley, collecting everything from these categories in the season and bringing them to the treasury of the Muslims. This was a very precise system, detailed in every aspect in the books of the Sunnah and books of hadith. But perhaps many of the attendees do not know or are not aware that these *sa'i* did not collect the zakah of the two currencies (gold and silver). They did not collect the zakah of the two currencies from the rich, and they did not inspect the treasuries of the rich, saying, "Let us see what you have; if you have a hundred, you pay two and a half, we calculate it and take this from you." This was not the case during 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 zakah was obligatory in them. As for the zakah of the two currencies, the zakah of gold and silver, the Wise Lawgiver entrusted its matter to the rich Muslim. He is the one obligated to pay this zakah without any demanders, supervisors, or enforcers. So if a state today wanted to collect the zakah of the two currencies as they previously collected the zakah of livestock and crops through the *sa'i* during 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 *sa'i* who go to the owners of those assets to collect it from them, this Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who legislated from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) this collection in this manner, did not legislate for those *sa'i* and those tax collectors to collect the zakah of the two currencies. The One who legislated that did not legislate this. So if we come and legislate from ourselves a new means, the necessity for which existed during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and yet he did not legislate it, this would be an innovation in the religion. And a final example, and I think this is sufficient to explain the topic of unlegislated public interests: it is that every means that leads to achieving a legislative matter is permissible, but on the condition that this means emerged later and the necessity for adopting it did not exist during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So a final example I mentioned on a recent occasion, but to complete the benefit, I mention it for this reason: it is the adhan for the prayer of seeking rain or 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 necessity for gathering people by the method of the adhan existed during the time of the Messenger, and yet he did not legislate this means for them, even though it is legislated for the five daily prayers. And consequently, no other means should be legislated for it, as happened to me. I was in Sharjah on the day of the lunar eclipse; perhaps you also had an eclipse...

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And we were strangers to that town. At about midnight, we heard a commotion around us and did not understand their language well. Then one of my family members drew my attention, and we were in the room, that the moon had eclipsed. At that time, we realized that the matter was takbir and tahlil from various directions. So we said to ourselves that this, of course, was not during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather 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, which is beating on copper vessels, the vessels they cook on. They beat them with a very annoying beat, so you hear a commotion 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 this whale... which tries to swallow the moon, and therefore they try to 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, as there is no better means than it, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do it. So the unlegislated public interest is every cause that leads to achieving a legislative matter explicitly stated in the Book and the Sunnah, but this cause did not have the necessity for adopting it existing during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If the necessity existed and the Messenger did not adopt it, then at that time it is not permissible for us to adopt it.