What is the criterion for performing the regular sunnahs or occasionally leaving them off?

The questioner : Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that it is part of the sunnah, for example, for the imam to recite Surat al-Sajdah and Surat al-Insan in the Fajr prayer on Friday. He stated that the imam should vary his practice sometimes so that people do not assume it is obligatory. But what is the criterion by which we distinguish, for example, in the case of the rest sitting (jalsat al-istirahah)? Do we leave it off sometimes so that people do not assume it is obligatory, based on this principle?

The Shaykh : This or that issue varies depending on the environment in which one is situated, specifically regarding the obligation to leave off this or that practice occasionally. If the imam lives in an academic environment surrounded by students of knowledge who are constantly receiving correct knowledge from this imam, then they do not need this kind of omission that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) ordered or considered. Consequently, it is not necessary for him to leave off, for example, the rest sitting, because they know it is a sunnah and it is impossible that they would think it is obligatory. However, if we are in another environment where ignorance and lack of interest in the rulings of the Shari'ah prevail, and the imam is convinced of two things that must be considered: first, the environment, and second, the imam's perception. If he is convinced that those who follow him in prayer follow him in all his movements and stillness, and that they are as attached to him as his shadow, as it was said in the past, then there is a fear that the evil Ibn Taymiyyah referred to may occur. But do you see this existing in our time? No, there is no need for it.

The questioner : The sunnah is lost.

The Shaykh : Ah, but sometimes this issue may materialize over time, and some matters become, with the passage of time, like obligatory matters in people's minds when they are not. Here, the opinion of Ibn Taymiyyah comes into play, and this opinion is not unique to Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). I read it in the books of the Hanafis when I was young and studied Hanafi jurisprudence. They explicitly stated regarding the prostration verse on Friday or Surat al-Sajdah that the imam should sometimes leave it off so that the common people do not assume it is obligatory. This warning was in its proper place, and I have two experiences: one concerning me personally, and one that occurred in the largest mosque in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque. Have you ever been to Damascus?

The questioner : I have not been there.

The Shaykh : You have not been there. This is the largest mosque in Syria. The imam once prayed Fajr on Friday there and did not recite Surat al-Sajdah. The common people rose up against him after the prayer and said to him, "You have invalidated the prayer," and so on. This was because it had become established in their minds that it is not permissible to leave it off. As for what concerns me personally, the following strange and amusing story happened to me. We have a village about fifty kilometers from Damascus; it is a summer resort, a mountain. I was staying there for the summer and went down to the mosque for the Fajr prayer on Friday. It happened that the imam did not attend, so they looked around and found a bearded young man. They had a good opinion of me and put me forward, so I led them in prayer. At that time, I felt that I did not have Surat al-Sajdah memorized without hesitation, so I decided to leave it off and recite what I had memorized from the Noble Qur'an. I began the first rak'ah with Surat Maryam (peace be upon her): and so on. I read two pages from it. When I bowed, I saw that all the people behind me were prostrating. ... You know that, unfortunately, all mosques have a pulpit that cuts off the view of the prayer. Those behind me noticed their mistake, stood up, realized the situation, and joined me in bowing. As for those behind the pulpit to the right, they remained prostrating until they heard me say, "Allah hears the one who praises Him." There, the commotion, talking, and shouting began, and so on. After the prayer, of course, I admonished them and reminded them. Some words I said at that time remain in my memory. I said to them, "O people, are you non-Arabs or Arabs? If you were non-Arabs, you would have distinguished between alif-lam-mim and kaf-ha-ya-ayn-sad. But it seems that your minds are not in the prayer, but rather behind the crops and the cattle." So, in this incident, the wisdom I had read in the Hanafi school and which Ibn Taymiyyah stated was restored for me. The point is that this observation made by the Shaykh al-Islam is not to be rejected, but rather one must look at the circumstances surrounding the worshippers and the imam's perception.