and the like. They asked: “Where is the evidence in the Quran and Sunnah for these designations? Did the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, say: ‘The conditions of prayer are such-and-such, its pillars are such-and-such, and its obligations are such-and-such’? If you say yes, then show it to us; and if you say no, then why do you introduce something the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, did not do?”

The answer is that such an objection itself demonstrates the limited understanding of the one who raises it, and that he does not distinguish between an end and the means to it. When the scholars mentioned conditions, pillars, and obligations, they introduced nothing additional to the Sacred Law. Rather, they merely classified what the Sacred Law itself indicates, so that the body of knowledge might be more readily collected and organized, and consequently understood.

Thus, they do this not as an addition to Allah’s Law, but to make the Law more accessible. The means are governed by the rulings of their ends. Muslims have always—and continue even now—to build schools, compose and copy books, and, in recent times, to print them in printing presses. Someone might likewise ask: “Why do you print books? In the time of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, people wrote by hand, so why do you do something newly introduced?”

We say: These are means that Allah, Exalted is He, has made available to His servants in order to bring matters closer to them. The scholars have added nothing to Allah’s Law; rather, they have arranged it into chapters and put it in order. For example, the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Allah does not accept a prayer without purification.” (1) From this hadith, it is understood that if a person prays without purification, his prayer is invalid. Therefore, purification is a condition for the validity of prayer. What, then, is the difference between this and my saying: “For prayer to be valid, it is required...”