What is the criterion for distinguishing between religious innovation and unrestricted public interest?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. A questioner says: “Your Eminence, often some people argue for their innovations by claiming they are from the unrestricted public interests. We ask you to give us the criterion for distinguishing between religious innovation and unrestricted public interest.”
The Shaykh : First: May Allah bless you. There is no evidence called “unrestricted public interests.” Whoever establishes this as evidence, his establishment is incorrect. Because these unrestricted public interests, if the texts testify to their validity, then they are from the texts. And if the texts do not testify to their validity, then they are rejected. If we were to open this door of unrestricted public interests, then everyone would say, “I say this because it is from the unrestricted public interests.” So unrestricted public interests are not evidence. The evidence is the Book, the Sunnah, scholarly consensus, and correct analogical reasoning. The unrestricted public interests that some people speak of: if the Shari'ah testifies to them, then what are they? They are from the Book and the Sunnah. And if the Shari'ah does not testify to them, or testifies to their invalidity, then they are rejected. Do you not know that some people say: “Dealing in investment riba is from the unrestricted public interests.” How is investment riba from the unrestricted public interests? A man who has a business, a good engineer, but has no money, comes to a bank, for example, or to one of the merchants and says, “Give me one million riyals, and I will give you one million and one hundred thousand after a year, because I want to establish a factory.” Some people say: “This is permissible.” How? They say: “Because this man who has no work is idle, and he benefits by establishing the factory, and he benefits people by what he manufactures for them. And the merchant benefits by what? Say, people.”
The student: ...
The Shaykh : He benefits by the increase. He gave one million and will take one million and one hundred thousand. So they say this is from the unrestricted public interests, in which both the lender and the borrower benefit. Can we accept this?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : It is not possible, because the Shari'ah has testified to its invalidity. Even the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), may Allah reward him for his Ummah with the best reward and make us among his followers, even though there is a benefit in it now: this one benefits by taking good dates, even if few, and that one benefits by taking bad dates, but in greater quantity. So he said: and he returned it. So the important thing, my brothers, is that whoever makes unrestricted public interests an evidence, he has no evidence. But we say: these public interests, if the Shari'ah testifies to them, then they are from the Shari'ah, either the Book or the Sunnah. And if it does not testify to them, or testifies to their invalidity, then they are not public interests; they are rejected. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Some say that the evidence for the permissibility of unrestricted public interest is the issue of the second adhan, because...
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : The issue of the first adhan in the Friday prayer, because 'Uthman ibn 'Affan did not legislate it except for pure public interest.
The Shaykh : No, no, absolutely not. The Sunnah indicated this. First, because 'Uthman was a righteous caliph, and his saying itself is evidence. His ordering of the adhan is evidence. For this reason, we establish the ruling and say, “By the saying of 'Umar,” or “by the saying of 'Uthman,” or “by the saying of Abu Bakr,” or “by the saying of 'Ali.” His very action is evidence.
The questioner : And the issue of holding craftsmen liable for damages.
The Shaykh : And holding craftsmen liable for damages is also indicated by the Sunnah. Every person who destroys wealth without right is liable.Sunan Ibn Majah 2400Da'if (Darussalam)
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : That is enough, men. That is it. Yes. I have given you a rule. May Allah bless you. Take it and keep it in your mind until you die. Yes.
The Shaykh : First: May Allah bless you. There is no evidence called “unrestricted public interests.” Whoever establishes this as evidence, his establishment is incorrect. Because these unrestricted public interests, if the texts testify to their validity, then they are from the texts. And if the texts do not testify to their validity, then they are rejected. If we were to open this door of unrestricted public interests, then everyone would say, “I say this because it is from the unrestricted public interests.” So unrestricted public interests are not evidence. The evidence is the Book, the Sunnah, scholarly consensus, and correct analogical reasoning. The unrestricted public interests that some people speak of: if the Shari'ah testifies to them, then what are they? They are from the Book and the Sunnah. And if the Shari'ah does not testify to them, or testifies to their invalidity, then they are rejected. Do you not know that some people say: “Dealing in investment riba is from the unrestricted public interests.” How is investment riba from the unrestricted public interests? A man who has a business, a good engineer, but has no money, comes to a bank, for example, or to one of the merchants and says, “Give me one million riyals, and I will give you one million and one hundred thousand after a year, because I want to establish a factory.” Some people say: “This is permissible.” How? They say: “Because this man who has no work is idle, and he benefits by establishing the factory, and he benefits people by what he manufactures for them. And the merchant benefits by what? Say, people.”
The student: ...
The Shaykh : He benefits by the increase. He gave one million and will take one million and one hundred thousand. So they say this is from the unrestricted public interests, in which both the lender and the borrower benefit. Can we accept this?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : It is not possible, because the Shari'ah has testified to its invalidity. Even the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), may Allah reward him for his Ummah with the best reward and make us among his followers,
They brought to him dates, good dates. He said: “Do you eat the dates of Khaybar like this?” They said: “No, O Messenger of Allah, but we take one sa' of these for two sa' of those, and one sa' for three.” He said: “Return it. This is pure riba.”
أتوا إليه بتمر تمر جيد فقال : أكل تمر خيبر هكذا ؟ قالوا لا يا رسول الله لكننا نأخذ الصاع من هذا بصاعين والصاعية بثلاثة قال : ردوه هذا عين الرباThis is pure `riba`.
هذا عين الرباThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Some say that the evidence for the permissibility of unrestricted public interest is the issue of the second adhan, because...
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : The issue of the first adhan in the Friday prayer, because 'Uthman ibn 'Affan did not legislate it except for pure public interest.
The Shaykh : No, no, absolutely not. The Sunnah indicated this. First, because 'Uthman was a righteous caliph, and his saying itself is evidence. His ordering of the adhan is evidence. For this reason, we establish the ruling and say, “By the saying of 'Umar,” or “by the saying of 'Uthman,” or “by the saying of Abu Bakr,” or “by the saying of 'Ali.” His very action is evidence.
The questioner : And the issue of holding craftsmen liable for damages.
The Shaykh : And holding craftsmen liable for damages is also indicated by the Sunnah. Every person who destroys wealth without right is liable.
The hand that takes is responsible for what it has taken until it returns it.
على اليد ما أخذت حتى تؤديهThe questioner : ...
The Shaykh : That is enough, men. That is it. Yes. I have given you a rule. May Allah bless you. Take it and keep it in your mind until you die. Yes.