The Concept of Sunnah

The Concept of Sunnah

The word Sunnah has been used by the scholars of different disciplines in different manners depending on the purposes and needs. Linguistically the word Sunnah means ,”A way, course ,rule, or manner of acting or conduct of life or the like, good or bad, approved or disapproved, a way that has been instituted or pursued by former people and has become one pursued by those after them.”[i]

Sunnah as used by the jurists

All acts in Islam can be classified into five categories of do’s and don’ts namely obligatory, recommended, permissible, reprehensible and forbidden. So the second and the third, i.e. recommended and permissible acts together can be termed as Sunnah. The Sunnah is of high significance though it falls short of declaring it obligatory. It is an act by which a person is praised for doing but not blamed for not performing the act. Sunnah is surely a means of getting closer to Allah and earns reward from Allah. We must keep in mind that abandoning Sunnah without any justifiable reason is sin. Dhumairriya stated,

“……..the scholars have stated on several hadith that encourage one to follow and adhere to the Sunnah that one who customarily leaves the Sunnah acts is to be punished or castigated. He is doing wrong and committing sin.”[ii]

Similarly, ibn Abideen, a hanafi jurist has stated, “it is a sin to leave an emphasized Sunnah like it is a sin to leave an obligatory act.”[iii]

Sunnah as used by the scholars of hadith.

The definition of sunnah as used by the scholars of hadith is “What has been passed down from the prophet Muhammad (saw ) of his statements ,actions , approvals ,manners ,physical characteristics and biography regardless of whether it was before he was sent as a prophet or afterwards.”[iv]

Let us elaborate each of these essences of Sunnah with the help of a hadith. An example of statement of the prophet (saw) is found in the two sahih narrated by Omar bin khattab ra, that he said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, ‘Actions are only by intentions, and every man has only that which he intended. Whoever’s emigration is for Allah and His Messenger then his emigration is for Allah and His Messenger. Whoever’s emigration is for some worldly gain which he can acquire or a woman he will marry then his emigration is for that for which he emigrated’.[v]

An example of the action of the prophet Muhammad (saw) is narrated by, Al-Bara ibn Azib (ra),
“When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to retire to his bed, he would lie on his right side and then say, ‘O Allah, I surrender my soul to you and I turn my face to you and I entrust my affair to You and I seek Your support with hope and fear of You. There is no refuge from you but to you. I have believed in Your Book which you sent down and Your Prophet whom you sent.[vi]

An example of the approval of the prophet Muhammad (saw ) is found in the hadith of Abu dawood narrated  from Qays ibn ‘Amr who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out when the iqaamah for prayer had been given, and I prayed Fajr with him, then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) finished and found me praying. He said, “Take it easy, O Qays. Two prayers together?” I said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I did not pray the two rak’ahs before Fajr.” the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) remained silent.[vii]

As for the manner of our noble prophet Muhammad (saw), it is narrated by Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri, may Allaah be pleased with him, said, “The Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was more bashful than a virgin in her chamber.” [viii]

An example of the physical characteristic of our noble prophet Muhammad (saw) Anas bin Malik said: “He had unfolded hands and was pink-colored. He was neither white nor brown. He was rather white. In both his head and beard there were as many as twenty gray hairs, besides some gray hairs at his temples.”[ix]

Concerning the prophet’s biography includes the report of his (saw) marriage with the Khadija ra when he (saw) was 25 yrs old.

Sunnah as used in Islamic legal theory

According to the legal theory, the Quran is excluded from this definition but the hadith qudsi form an integral part of the Sunnah. Further they exclude what prophet Muhammad (saw) did before the revelation. There are some acts which were exclusive to the prophet (saw).An example this would be that he use to snore lightly. Such would not be considered as an authority in Islamic law.

Sunnah as used by the scholars of Aqeedah

The scholars of this group use the word sunnah as to distinguish them from the innovations (bidah).The practice of the companions are given huge importance because it is through them that the sunnah have passed down to us. So if a person who turns away from the practice of the companions of our prophet (saw) has in fact turned away from the Sunnah. It is a big lesson for those who claim to follow Prophet Muhammad but their beliefs and practices are not consistent with the Sunnah.

Some important misconception

There are few groups who say that only Quran has the right to declare something obligatory whereas the Sunnah of the prophet (saw) can establish something only recommended. Two examples would be sufficient to remove such misconceptions. Allah says in the glorious Quran.” O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down. Let a scribe write it down in justice between you.”[x] This rule, though found in the Quran is not obligatory according to the consensus of the scholars. This proves that a command merely found in the Quran does not necessarily means obligatory.

Similarly the payment of zakat-al fitr at the end of the month of the Ramadan considered obligatory as stated by the prophet and according to the consensus of the scholars. This command of paying the zakat-al- fitr is found in the Sunnah still it is obligatory.[xi]

Thus we have seen the various definitions of the Sunnah understood and used by the scholars of different fields in different way. The importance of the Sunnah must never be undermined as it is a means of getting closer to Allah. I pray to Allah b    to grant us the health, strength and means to adhere to the Sunnah of our noble prophet Mohammad (saw).