It is not permissible for a Muslim to divide the Shari'ah into core and shell.

The Shaykh : I said, starting from his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) And it is our belief that it is not permissible for any Muslim to divide the Shari'ah into two parts, saying that one part is the core and the other is the shell. This is a bad expression that is not fitting for a Muslim to use regarding the Shari'ah of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) brought as a mercy to the worlds. Naturally, I do not mean that all legal rulings are, in the expression of al-Shawkani, equal in magnitude or on the same level. Some are obligatory, some are a confirmed sunnah, and some are below that. But what I intended to remind you of is two matters. The first, as a general principle, is that there are many legal rulings that the Muslim jurist cannot classify with precision. He cannot say, "This is a sunnah and not obligatory," or "This is obligatory and not a sunnah." Many of the forms and what relates to the manner of prayer fall into this category; that is, it cannot be said that it is a sunnah and not obligatory, or obligatory and not a sunnah. Likewise, the rituals of Hajj contain many acts of worship related to the manner of performing Hajj that a Muslim cannot classify as obligatory, confirmed sunnah, or recommended. In this case, I see that caution for the Muslim's religion is to not strain to make a definitive determination, saying, "This is obligatory and not just a sunnah," or "This is a sunnah and not obligatory." Rather, one should proceed from that general text or the other text related to Hajj, for example, that stoning the pillars is obligatory, or is it a confirmed sunnah, and that they are seven, and so on. We do not have an explicit answer for these details, but we return to the principle: This is the first matter I wanted to point out. By the way, my intention in pointing out the other matter, which is a branch stemming from that principle, is that I see some of our brothers from the people of the Sunnah and followers of the righteous Salaf, when they point with their finger in prayer, point as if they are doing so shyly. You find that one of them barely shows the movement of his finger. This is one thing. For example, I do not declare it a sunnah at least, nor do I get involved in contradicting the principle by saying it is a sunnah. No, Allah knows best. It falls within the generality of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) This is one thing: a dead movement that does not appear to the observer, even if the observer is close. The other thing, which may be more important than the first, and I mean what I say when I use "may be" and do not intend the quibbling that many people resort to in discussion, is that there are sunnahs regarding pointing with the finger in the tashahhud. First among them is directing it toward the qiblah, not striking it on the ground as people do today. Some of them do it like this. No, the sunnah is to direct it toward the qiblah. Some of them do it like this, it is prettier, and I do not mess around.
Abu Layla : Some of them do it like this, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : What do we have in this? The important thing is that the sunnah, when you place your right hand on your right knee, is to clasp your fingers and raise the index finger, which is known as the index finger, and direct it upright toward the qiblah, because you are facing the qiblah with your whole being, including your hands. So even when you straighten your foot, you direct the toes of your right foot toward the qiblah as well. This reminder, this index finger, this index finger, you must also straighten it upright toward the qiblah first, then move it in its place. Do not throw it to the ground, but while it is upright like this, move it. It came in some hadiths, and this is by way of reminder, that he used to bend it slightly. Perhaps one of the reasons that lead some people to move it as we said earlier, shyly like this, is this hadith in which it is mentioned that he saw the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had bent it slightly. This hadith is weak; it contains an unknown man. So the sunnah is to straighten it upright toward the qiblah, then move it. And during the movement, you do not deviate with it from the qiblah, neither downward, nor to the right, nor to the left, but in its place. This is what I wanted to remind you of. And I return and say: do not say "shells and cores." Islam is all good. And if there is a shell in the Shari'ah, it is a very necessary matter for preserving the core. The core is not preserved, or it is not possible to preserve it, except by the shell. But the expression is bad. The expression is bad. Please.