What is your comment on al-Shatibi's statement, "And if it is in the category of the recommended, it is not a sin if the leaving off is partial"?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
He said in the abridgment
The Shaykh : He said:
The questioner : in the abridgment of the book *Al-I'tisam*
The Shaykh : Yes, al-Shatibi?
The questioner : Yes, yes. "If it is said: Is the one who leaves off the things sought by the Shari'ah, whether recommended or obligatory, called an innovator or not? The answer is that the one who leaves off the things sought is of two types. The first is that he leaves them off for a reason other than religious practice, such as laziness, negligence, or something similar from psychological motives. This type returns to the contradiction of the command. If it is in an obligatory matter, it is a sin." Here is the question, O Shaykh: "And if it is in the category of the recommended, it is not a sin if the leaving off is partial, and if it is total, it is a sin, as has become clear in the principles of jurisprudence."
The Shaykh : No, in any case, the phrase "if it is total, it is a sin" is questionable. But it seems, and Allah knows best, that he took it from the statement of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him): "Whoever leaves off the witr prayer is a bad man." His testimony should not be accepted, even though the witr prayer is a recommended practice according to the view of Imam Ahmad. And the companions of Imam Ahmad also said: "Whoever leaves off the regular voluntary prayers, even though they are not obligatory, his testimony is not accepted." And what he said regarding the distinction is good. For example, if a person leaves off the recommended acts as an act of worship, meaning he worships Allah by leaving them off, he becomes an innovator, because leaving off with intention is like doing it. But if he leaves them off due to negligence, laziness, or carelessness, or if he says that the obligatory is the obligatory and the non-obligatory is not obligatory, then he owes nothing, whether it is total or partial.
He said in the abridgment
The Shaykh : He said:
The questioner : in the abridgment of the book *Al-I'tisam*
The Shaykh : Yes, al-Shatibi?
The questioner : Yes, yes. "If it is said: Is the one who leaves off the things sought by the Shari'ah, whether recommended or obligatory, called an innovator or not? The answer is that the one who leaves off the things sought is of two types. The first is that he leaves them off for a reason other than religious practice, such as laziness, negligence, or something similar from psychological motives. This type returns to the contradiction of the command. If it is in an obligatory matter, it is a sin." Here is the question, O Shaykh: "And if it is in the category of the recommended, it is not a sin if the leaving off is partial, and if it is total, it is a sin, as has become clear in the principles of jurisprudence."
The Shaykh : No, in any case, the phrase "if it is total, it is a sin" is questionable. But it seems, and Allah knows best, that he took it from the statement of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him): "Whoever leaves off the witr prayer is a bad man." His testimony should not be accepted, even though the witr prayer is a recommended practice according to the view of Imam Ahmad. And the companions of Imam Ahmad also said: "Whoever leaves off the regular voluntary prayers, even though they are not obligatory, his testimony is not accepted." And what he said regarding the distinction is good. For example, if a person leaves off the recommended acts as an act of worship, meaning he worships Allah by leaving them off, he becomes an innovator, because leaving off with intention is like doing it. But if he leaves them off due to negligence, laziness, or carelessness, or if he says that the obligatory is the obligatory and the non-obligatory is not obligatory, then he owes nothing, whether it is total or partial.