Examples of the Sunnah that is good by Shari'ah, not by ijtihad or rational preference.

The Shaykh : I will give you some examples to clarify this important reality. For instance, we all likely know that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Khaybar, he made a treaty with the Jews on certain conditions. Among those conditions was that he left them in Khaybar to work it as tenant farmers, with half the produce belonging to them and the other half belonging to the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his Companions. He also stipulated a condition, saying to them: meaning, you know that Khaybar was conquered by the sword, and...
...its people and residents became slaves to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning they were captives. However, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that it was in the interest of the Muslims at that time for Khaybar to remain in the hands of the Jews, so they could cultivate and improve it for the Muslims, with half the produce for the Muslims and the other half for the Jews. But he said to them: "We will leave you in it as long as we wish," meaning for the duration we see fit. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, and the Jews were still in Khaybar. Abu Bakr came after him and passed away while they were still there. Then 'Umar came, and they were still there, until it occurred to 'Umar to expel them from Khaybar. He gave them notice and ordered them to carry whatever light luggage they could, because they had been conditioned to stay as long as they wished. It occurred to the Caliph, the successor of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to expel them from Khaybar. This is the example that shows you the "good Sunnah" in the correct first meaning, and the "good innovation" in the interpretation of the group. If they see the word "good," we say: There is no doubt that 'Umar did something the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do, for he expelled the Jews from Khaybar where the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had left them, and he died while they were still there. Likewise, Abu Bakr after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not expel them from it. So 'Umar's expulsion of the Jews is a new matter, without any doubt. What is the ruling on this matter? Do we call it an innovation? We say no. But they call it an innovation and describe it as a "good innovation." We say there is no harm, as long as the evidence is established for the legitimacy of 'Umar's action. In our terminology, it is not an innovation; rather, it is an innovation in your terminology. In our terminology, it is not an innovation because 'Umar executed an order from the orders of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). First, this is explicit in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Second, note the previous condition: The will of the Muslims ended, so they expelled them from Khaybar. Thus, 'Umar did not introduce a new matter in the religion; rather, he executed a previous order from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), which is his saying: We do not allow ourselves to say that 'Umar innovated in the religion of Allah something that was not from Him. As for those who speak of "good" and "bad" innovations, they say, even if only verbally, that 'Umar innovated. What did he do? He expelled the Jews from Khaybar. But this is a "good innovation." Perhaps the previous answer does not occur to them: that he executed an order issued by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). But they bring the general evidence: to the end of the hadith.
So we say at that time, the disagreement between us and them remains, if they note this description of "good," "good Sunnah," and that "good" is not what people consider good in their minds, but rather what is established by Shari'ah evidence to be good. At that point, the disagreement between us and them remains a verbal disagreement. This is a reality we must know and adopt as a means to bring the dissenters to this Shari'ah reality, because we are not concerned with words as much as we are concerned with the meanings that have been poured and cast into these words.
If they agree with us that there is a "good innovation" in Islam, and that "good" is known through the path of Islam, then let them call it whatever they wish. But we consider it beneath us to call 'Umar's execution of a noble Prophetic order an innovation. This is one example. Another example, which is cited by the majority of these people who hold that there is a "good innovation" in Islam, is the gathering of the Qur'an. Our position regarding this matter is exactly the same as our position regarding 'Umar's expulsion of the Jews from Khaybar. We say, with the strongest disapproval: Is the gathering of the Qur'an an innovation? I seek refuge in Allah from such talk. Because whatever the description of this obligatory matter, the indicators in the Noble Qur'an and the Sunnah regarding the necessity of preserving the Qur'an are such as the saying of Allah the Exalted: Here is an indication that there is a Book. Will this be a Book? And as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So any means that achieves this goal, which our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) commanded in the Qur'an and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Sunnah, is an obligatory means to adopt. Therefore, the scholars and jurists say: Whatever is not established without which an obligation is not fulfilled, is itself obligatory. So the gathering of the Qur'an, especially when it was exposed to loss due to the loss of its memorizers, is one of the most obligatory duties. Because if they had not done so, Islam would have been lost, and the religion of Islam would have become like Judaism and Christianity, with no peak and no bridle, having no reference. If one of them wanted to know a word said by Moses or said by Jesus (peace be upon them both), it would have been an impossible matter. If not for the fact that the Companions hastened to gather the Qur'an, their Book would have suffered what the Gospel and the Torah suffered. And so, in reality, they did what 'Umar did later; they performed an obligation necessitated by the evidence of the Shari'ah. Did he innovate an innovation? We disavow, as we said, calling their action an innovation. But we say they performed an obligation that had not yet been necessitated for its achievement in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, in the same hadith, there is an explanation of the cause necessitating the gathering of the Qur'an, which is his saying: "When the killing became severe among the reciters of al-Yamamah," meaning it intensified among them, and seventy reciters were killed in one day. 'Umar came to present to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq the gathering of the Qur'an, and they agreed on it. Then they brought Zayd ibn Thabit and presented it to him, and they did not stop until he was convinced. Here is a profound wisdom, but unfortunately, it does not suffice. The profound wisdom is that he gathered the Qur'an, which is the foundation of the Qur'an, because in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he tasked Zayd ibn Thabit with gathering the Qur'an, he said to them: "How can you do something that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do?"
Look at the difference between the Companions, who understood the danger of religious innovation in the religion. How did they fear that if they collected the Qur'an, they would have introduced something reprehensible into Islam? Whereas today, you find the most ignorant of the ignorant and the most knowledgeable of the scholars; if you tell him, "Do not do such-and-such," he says, "My brother, what is the harm in it? It is nothing but the remembrance of Allah and sending blessings upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Well, what is the harm in collecting the Qur'an?" There is a preservation of the entire Shari'ah. They were very, very cautious about introducing innovations into the religion, to the point that they might leave something that was predominantly a prescribed recommended practice (sunnah) for fear of innovating in Islam something that was not part of the Sunnah. For example, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab called the Dhuha prayer an innovation, so the scholars were compelled, in light of the many explicit texts regarding the permissibility of the Dhuha prayer from the actions and sayings of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), to say that he perhaps meant the Dhuha prayer in the mosque, the Dhuha prayer in the mosque, because this prayer had taken on a character that did not exist in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The original rule for voluntary prayers is that they are prayed in the homes, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So look at the difference between the Salaf and the Khalaf. The Salaf were scrupulous about collecting the Qur'an for fear of innovation in the religion, while the Khalaf innovate whatever their souls and desires wish. The answer is prepared: what is the harm in the remembrance of Allah and sending blessings upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? There is something very serious in it, which is usurping the authority of Allah and preceding the Messenger of Allah, who is the one who conveys the message from Allah. If you say, "This is a good innovation," even if the Messenger did not do it, even if the Companions did not do it, and even if the four Imams did not do it, it means you are legislating something from yourself and ignoring the conclusive proofs that this matter is an innovation in the religion and a misguidance. Therefore, the collection of the Qur'an by the Companions is not an innovation in the religion, but rather an obligatory matter that 'Umar and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq carried out, and they were followed in this by Zayd ibn Thabit, the scribe of the revelation of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Companions agreed upon it when they saw that it was one of the necessities of the religion.