Are unrestricted public interests reserved only for the ruler or the judge? And what is the difference between an unrestricted public interest and a religious innovation?

The questioner : The issue of unrestricted public interests, Brother Ali, I did not understand the point of the speech regarding unrestricted public interests in the ruling: is it that they are reserved only for the ruler, or not for the ruler? What is their origin? What is the text regarding them?

The Shaykh : Look, Ibn Taymiyyah has a very great statement pointing to what we were just discussing. He mentions this in the context of distinguishing between a religious innovation and an unrestricted public interest. Because, for example, the Ottoman adhan: if we want to describe it in terms of language, it is a religious innovation. Why? Because it occurred after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Here comes the terminology known among scholars: Is this a good religious innovation or a bad one? We say there is no good religious innovation and no bad religious innovation after his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: But we do not say "good religious innovation"; we say "unrestricted public interest" with its conditions. Ibn Taymiyyah explains this topic with a wonderful explanation; it is jurisprudence itself. Whoever masters it and understands it does not fall into excess or deficiency. He says: The matter that occurs is either known and existing in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or it was not existing. If it was known in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), it is not permissible for us to establish for it a ruling other than what it was in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Let us assume the second case: that this occurred after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Regarding what occurred after him (peace and blessings be upon him), he says it carries one of two possibilities when we want to deal with it by a ruling from ourselves. Either the cause for this ruling existed and was present in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but he did not adopt it and did not legislate it; and it is not permissible for us to legislate it. Or, if this occurrence did not have the cause for establishing the ruling for it present in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then we may give it a new ruling. Why? Because it occurred after [the Prophet], and if this occurrence and the cause for legislating a ruling for it were not present in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then we give it a ruling and we call this chapter "unrestricted public interest." Unrestricted public interest means it is left to time. So, if the occurring matter achieves a public interest for the Muslims without contradicting the Shari'ah—and we mentioned two aspects of contradiction: that it existed in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not legislate a ruling for it, or that the cause for its existence was present and he did not legislate a ruling for it—as long as it achieves an unrestricted public interest, it is permissible for us to adopt this new ruling for it. He gives some examples of this. For example: imposing taxes today. There is undoubtedly a public interest for the nation by the ruling of the state, of course. But he tells you that this imposition that fills the state treasury existed in the time of the Messenger of Allah, and the cause for it was present. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not adopt this ruling, but he adopted another ruling: he imposed zakah and imposed the tithe, and so on. So it is not permissible for us to adopt the system of taxes because it contradicts what was the case in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the financial system in Islam. He gives an example regarding the adhan for the two festivals. What is the purpose of the adhan for the two festivals? Informing the people of the entry of the adhan. Was this informing present in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or was the cause for it not present? Of course, it was present. But he did not legislate for them this legislation that we want to legislate... Exactly, it is not permissible to legislate this because the cause was present in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the third section, like the traffic system now. The cause for legislating these means was not present in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So expand in it as much as you wish, as long as you achieve an unrestricted public interest in it and there is no oppression of the people, and it falls under what is called organization. When the Muslim recognizes this Islamic system, he adheres to its limits and does not fall into confusion. As for the others who do not want to adhere to the limits of Allah, they contradict the explicit limits of Allah, which do not need independent legal reasoning. Because the text suffices for this independent legal reasoning. So this is the true jurisprudence for these matters that occur, and it is obligatory for the people of knowledge to take a stance toward them and present it to the Muslim ruler who rules by what Allah has revealed.