Are the means of da'wah (calling to Islam) based on divine prescription, or are they matters of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) in which expansion is permissible? And he spoke about the parties and the categories of da'wah means.

The questioner : Do you think that the means of da'wah (calling to Islam) are based on divine prescription, like prayer and fasting and other acts of worship, or is da'wah in its essence a matter of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) that relies on the fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) of the texts and the considered, established Sharia'ah (Islamic sacred law) interests in its means, such as jihad (struggle in the path of Allah), knowledge, and enjoining good and forbidding evil?

The Shaykh : Yes, I believe that the means differ from time to time and place to place, and this is a fact that no jurist or scholar of the Book and the Sunnah denies. However, expanding the use of these means requires knowledge, first of all, of the guidance and Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The criterion for this is that it is not permissible to turn away from the means that the Messenger (peace be upon him) employed on the grounds that the time has changed. If there is a means that supports what the Messenger (peace be upon him) did, such as the means we are using now of recording, printing, and the easy means of publishing to bring knowledge to distant places, no one denies these. But some people today, who claim to be callers to Islam, adopt means that contradict the means that the Wise Lawgiver explicitly stated should be used, on the grounds that knowledge has advanced and the means have changed and varied. From our experience, we know that many callers to Islam adopt means that the Sharia'ah did not bring, and they may even be things that the Sharia'ah has established the opposite of. In my opinion, the reason for adopting such means is ignorance of Islam. We do not need, and time is short, to expand now to mention many of the Islamic parties and groups existing today, in which there are no scholars firmly established in the knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah. Most of those in charge of these groups are young people who are first enthusiastic about Islam, and then are those who have not devoted themselves to studying Islam by the Book and the Sunnah and by the methodology of the Salaf (the earliest generations). The discussion in this field is truly long and long. Let us give an example now, which was recent for us and for you: the dispute that arose regarding the end of Ramadan between one state and another, where some states fasted for twenty-nine days and other countries completed it for thirty days. In some Western countries, like America for example, some Islamic callers announce their reliance on astronomy to prove the crescent for entering the month and exiting it. They either are ignorant or they are ignoring, as they say here, "the sweeter of the two is bitter," the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Then he said: And in some authentic narrations: Now, in many countries where some astronomers have control, they establish the crescent of Ramadan by astronomical calculations. The Messenger (peace be upon him) abolished this means, even if it is a scientific means, because knowledge of it may be accessible to only a few individuals in some countries, whereas the Sharia'ah means that the Messenger (peace be upon him) made a proof for the entry of a new month or the end of this month is a natural, innate means, visible by visual sight, not the scientific vision that we cannot imagine everyone sharing knowledge of. Therefore, it is not permissible to abolish such a means that came from—may Allah have mercy on you—that came from Islam on the claim that time has advanced or changed—drink, my brother, keep it for yourself—and the research, as I said, is finished now, the time is over. But I also mention what I spoke of earlier regarding the women's prayer area; this is also a means. I have learned from my previous experience that it is not appropriate now to adopt a means that the Messenger (peace be upon him) could have adopted but did not. The research in this is long and very long. Ibn Taymiyyah has a wonderful research, perhaps you will refer to it, in his book *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim Mukhalafat Ahl al-Jahim* (The Necessity of Following the Straight Path in Opposing the People of the Fire). And I, despite the shortness of time, will summarize what I can of Ibn Taymiyyah's words. The means that occur in every time and place are divided into two categories: a means for which the cause for adopting it existed in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) but it was not adopted, so its introduction is a bid'ah (religious innovation); and a means for which the cause for adopting it did not exist in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him). He said: "It is looked into: if the cause for introducing and adopting this means is the Muslims' negligence in applying the rulings of the religion, then it is not permissible to adopt it. And if that did not arise because of their negligence, but because of the difference in time and place and the like, then here it is looked into: any means that achieves a legitimate goal, it is permissible to adopt it." This requires lectures; this is dense speech that requires lectures. And suffice you for now with the two examples. The example regarding the prayer area: the cause for it existed in the time of the Messenger, he did not adopt it, so it is not permissible for us to adopt it. The adoption of astronomy was also present in the time of the Messenger, and he explicitly stated not to rely on it by his saying: And this is sufficient. Drink your tea, in the name of Allah.