What is the difference between bid'ah (religious innovation) and al-masalih al-mursalah (unrestricted public interests)?

The Shaykh : We said that an addition is a means of drawing closer to Allah. Now, we say that the intention is to draw closer to Allah. This condition excludes the case where a matter occurs and some people hold onto it, but it is not for the purpose of drawing closer to Allah; rather, it is either to remove a harm or to achieve a benefit that cannot be achieved except through such an occurring matter. This is not bid'ah (religious innovation). Why? First, it is not intended as an addition to draw closer to Allah. Second, it is not within the religion, but outside the religion; that is, it is in the means, not in the ends. Here we arrive at the rule of al-masalih al-mursalah (unrestricted public interests). Do you hear this term? Al-masalih al-mursalah. Imam al-Shatibi repeats this frequently in his two great books, al-Muwafaqat (the first one) and the other book, al-I'tisam. What are al-masalih al-mursalah? They are matters that occur and achieve a Sharia benefit. These occurring matters were not known before, so according to the first condition of the definition of bid'ah, they are occurring, but they do not fall under the term bid'ah. Why? Because they are not in the religion. We said that every matter in bid'ah, every matter that is occurring or newly introduced in the religion, is an addition to draw closer to Allah the Exalted. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. We return to explain the difference between bid'ah and al-masalih al-mursalah. We have spoken sufficiently about bid'ah, which is misguidance, and which is in the religion, and the intention behind it is to draw closer to Allah, and one does not draw closer to Allah except by what Allah has prescribed. Now, what are we discussing? Al-masalih al-mursalah. It differs from bid'ah of misguidance in that it is not in the religion, but rather in the worldly affairs, meaning in the means related to worldly matters. However, these means can be a means of good, and they can be a means of evil. Let us give an example now. This small recorder can record the words of Allah, or it can record the words of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or it can record the fatwas (scholarly legal rulings) and answers of the scholars, and so on. All of this is good. But it can also record disbelief, and it can record open sinfulness, lewdness, and songs, and so on. The means is the same, it has not changed, but the end that is intended to be reached through this means has changed. And measure whatever you wish of the newly introduced means today, and there are many of them. From this, it becomes clear first the ignorance of some Muslims who are innovators, and even their foolishness, when you tell them, "My brother, do not do this. This was not in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) nor in the time of the righteous Salaf (the earliest generations). This is bid'ah." He says to you, "What about the car you are riding in? Is it bid'ah?" Is that right? This is extreme foolishness, my brother. This car is like the device. If you take it to travel to Europe and spend your honeymoon there, they claim, and so on, then this is a means used for disobedience to Allah. But if you use it for Hajj (the major pilgrimage) to the House of Allah the Sacred, and 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage) there, then it is a means of obedience to Allah the Exalted. And this last statement reminds me of an issue you may hear researched and answered. The answer you hear may be correct or incorrect. I will tell you the correct answer in advance. I say: Look, Hajj to the House of Allah the Sacred, which was made obligatory in the Qur'an, is conditioned by ability. The ability here differs from one person to another. In the past, the Maghrebis from Andalusia to Morocco to Algeria to Libya, and so on, would perform Hajj on foot. Allah is Great. They would bear the burden of Hajj for a year or two, walking from region to region, from area to another, until they reached the season of Hajj at the House of Allah the Sacred. That is, they would walk. Why? Because they read the saying of Allah: So, if a person has been blessed by Allah with strength and vitality and is able to walk, this is called a person of ability. You know a smaller example: the Bedouin nomads. They do not have a house, they do not have a shelter; they are always moving. They and their mounts, and the mount may walk with him, or he may walk with it, and he does not ride it because he is accustomed to walking. And this actually gives them vitality and strength of nerves, and so on. Then Allah the Exalted created, as He said: and so on. And this is the known means in the old time, in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when this verse was revealed. They would perform Hajj to the House of Allah the Sacred on camels and on she-camels, and so on. Now there are new means that have emerged, from the carts that we call in Syria "timbar," either two-wheeled or four-wheeled, pulled by a donkey or a horse or something similar. It rose a bit, and what is called in the language of foreigners "automobile," meaning the car, appeared. Then this car improved and its speed became one hundred kilometers; before that, its speed was forty kilometers or so. Then so, then so, and then we reached the airplane.