The Difference Between Linguistic Innovation and Legal Innovation

Question:
Many people hear the saying of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "What a good innovation," and they say that the innovation here is linguistic, not legal. We would like you to explain the difference between the two?

Answer:
Answer: Linguistic innovation is a praiseworthy thing that has no precedent: (Creator of the heavens and the earth), (I was not the first of the messengers). In language, innovation is that which has no precedent, and it is a good thing that has no precedent. When 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered the Companions for the tarawih prayer behind a single imam, just as they had prayed it with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) behind a single imam, who was the Messenger; but the Messenger feared that if they continued, it would become obligatory upon them, so he stayed away from going out to them so that they would know that it is a recommended practice and not obligatory. So the recommended practice was established—praise be to Allah—by the prayer of the Messenger with them in congregation and his staying away for an excuse, which was that he feared it would become obligatory upon them; if it had continued, it would have become a duty and they would have been unable to fulfill it. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) died and legislation ended—legislation ended with the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)—'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered the people and revived the recommended practice that was in the time of the Messenger, gathering them behind a single imam just as they had gathered behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), because there is no danger now, since legislation has ended, so there is no fear that it will become obligatory after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: "This is a good innovation," meaning the good linguistic innovation, not the legal innovation. 'Umar did not approve of the legal innovation, and tarawih is not a legal innovation; tarawih is not an innovation, it is the recommended practice of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), it is not an innovation. He only meant by this the linguistic innovation, which is a good thing that has no precedent after the Messenger. Otherwise, it had a precedent in the time of the Messenger, but after the Messenger they were praying in scattered groups, so he gathered them behind a single imam.