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The question

How can one benefit from what disbelievers possess without falling into the forbidden, and do al-masalih al-mursalah (unrestricted public interests) play a role in this?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

What disbelievers do falls into three categories:

1. Acts of Worship: It is not permissible to imitate them in these, and imitation can lead to disbelief. 2. Customs: It is forbidden to imitate them in what is specific to them, due to the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Whoever imitates a people is one of them." 3. Industries and Crafts: There is no harm in learning them and benefiting from them if they serve general interests, and this is not imitation.

As for "al-Masalih al-Mursalah" (unrestricted public interests), they are not considered an independent proof; rather, they are measured against the . If the Sharia attests to their validity, then they are from it. If it attests to their invalidity, then they are not interests. If the Sharia does not attest to anything, then if it is an act of worship, the default rule for it is prohibition. If it is not an act of worship, then the default rule for it is permissibility.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported

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Where this answer came from
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
3022
Imported
Translation status
Source text, unreviewed
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