The Authority of SunnahThe Authority of Sunnah

Presented by

Sh. Abdool Rahman Khan

IntroductionThe Qur’an and Sunnah are the foundation of Islam. Their importance cannot be over-emphasized. The Sunnah is next in importance only to the Qur'an and this status of the Sunnah has remained unchallenged and undisputed throughout the centuries. Despite the differences among Muslims in their (fiqhi) juristic opinions, the authority of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of Rasoolullah (SAS) was never denied by any jurist.

A proper understanding is therefore necessary with regards to knowing their authority in our Deen and understanding the whole process of transmission of this knowledge from one generation to another until it reaches us. We should also know our responsibilities in continuing this process of transmitting this knowledge to the next generation.

Introduction… ContinuedAllah SWT preserved not only the Qur'an for posterity but has also preserved the Sunnah by enabling the Companions and those after them (RA) to memorize, write down and pass on the statements of the Messenger (SAS) and the descriptions of his ways, in order to continue the blessings of practicing the Sunnah for the Ummah until the end of time.

As the purity of the knowledge of the Sunnah became threatened, Allah caused the Muslim nation to produce outstanding individuals of incredible memory-skills and analytical expertise, who journeyed tirelessly to collect hundreds of thousands of narrations and distinguish the true words of precious wisdom of Rasoolullah (SAS) from those corrupted by weak memories, from forgeries by unscrupulous liars, and from the statements of the enormous number of 'ulama', the Companions and those who followed their way, who had taught in various centers of learning and helped to transmit the legacy of Muhammad (SAS) - all of this achieved through precise attention to the words narrated and detailed familiarity with the biographies of the thousands of reporters of Hadith. Action being the best way to preserve teachings, the revivers of Islam also invigorated the practice of the blessed authentic Sunnah.

The Meanings of the Words “Sunnah and Hadith”

The Meanings of the Word “SunnahLexical Definition of the Word SunnahDefinition of the Word Sunnah as Used by the JuristsDefinition of the Word Sunnah as Used by the Scholars of Hadith Definition of the Word Sunnah as Used in Islamic Legal TheoryDefinition of the Word Sunnah as Used by the Specialists in Aqeedah

The Meaning of the Word HadithThe Relationship Between Sunnah and Hadith

Definition of Sunnah and Hadith

1.Sunnah; the second source of Shari’ah 2.Definition of Sunnah

Sunnah: Linguistic Meaning of Sunnah A way, manner, a path, a conduct (good/bad)

Hence the Hadith:�ه�ا ب ع�م�ل� م�ن جر�

� أ ل� م�ث �ه� ل �ب� �ت ك �عد�ه� ب �ه�ا ب ف�ع�م�ل� �ة� ن ح�س� �ة� ن س� � م ال� �س اإل ف�ي س�ن� م�ن�ه�ا ب ف�ع�م�ل� �ة� 'ئ ي س� �ة� ن س� � م ال� �س اإل ف�ي س�ن� و�م�ن يء* ش� ج�ور�ه�م

� أ م�ن ق�ص� �ن ي و�ال�ء* ي ش� ار�ه�م وز�

� أ م�ن ق�ص� �ن ي و�ال� �ه�ا ب ع�م�ل� م�ن ر� و�ز ل� م�ث ه� �ي ع�ل �ب� �ت ك �عد�ه� ب Whoever introduces in Islam a good practice/way, will have his reward

for it and also a reward for those who act upon it without reducing anything from this reward: likewise one who introduces an evil practice in Islam, will be punished for this and all those who act upon that evil practice will be punished without diminishing in any way the burden of their evil deeds. (Muslim)

Or as we read 33:62د�يال� �ب ت �ه� الل �ة� ن �س� ل �ج�د� ت �ن و�ل ل� ق�ب م�ن �وا ل خ� �ذ�ين� ال ف�ي �ه� الل �ة� ن س�

That was the Way of Allah in the case of those who passed away of old, and you will not find any change in the Way of Allah.

Technical Meaning of Sunnah… There are several definitions of the word Sunnah and it depends in what context it is

being used or who is defining “Sunnah”.

Fiqhi perspective: Sunnah denotes whatever is firmly established (thabata) as called for (matlub) in the Religion on the basis of a legal proof (dalîl shar`î) It is something recommended like saying: It is Sunnah to use miswak before Wudhu or additional Salaah.

Usool perspective: Sunnah is used as what the doer gets as a reward for doing it but not a punishment for avoiding it as opposed to neglecting an obligatory act. A Sunnah is one whose performance is indicated or encouraged by the law, however,

the law falls short of declaring it to be obligatory or required. A Sunnah act is one that when performed a person is rewarded for it, but for which

he is not punished if he fails to perform it. A Sunnah act is an action that one is requested to perform but not in a strict sense. A Sunnah act is when the Prophet performed on a continuous basis although he

would sometimes not perform it with no particular apparent reason for not performing it.

Technical Meaning of Sunnah… Continued

The Scholars of Aqeedah define Sunnah to be: What Muslim believes in. In other words the person is on Sunnah or he/she is following the beliefs of Prophet Muhammad SAS and His companions May Allah be pleased with them all, hence the name: “Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’ah”. Sunnah is also in this context what is the opposite of Bid’ah. It refers to the foundation of faith.

م�ن�ي ل�ي�س� ف� ن ت�ي س� ع�ن� غ�ب� ر� م�ن� ف�

ن ت�ي ب�س� ع�ل�ي�ك�م� ف� ا �ك�ث�ير ا �ف ت�ال� اخ� ى ي�ر� ف�س� ب�ع�د�ي ن�ك�م� م� ي�ع�ش� م�ن� �ن ه� إ ف�وا و�ع�ض, ا ب�ه� ك�وا ت�م�س د�ين� اش� الر د�ي�ين� ه� ال�م� اء� ل�ف� ال�خ� ن ة� و�س�

ب�د�ع�ة7 د�ث�ة8 م�ح� ك�ل إ�ن ف� �م�ور� األ� د�ث�ات� و�م�ح� �ي اك�م� إ و� ذ� اج� ب�الن و� ا ع�ل�ي�ه�

ل�ة7 ال� ض� ب�د�ع�ة8 و�ك�ل

Hadith perspective: it denotes any saying (qawl), action (f‘il), approval (taqrîr), or attribute (sifa), whether physical (khilqiyya) or moral (khuluqiyya) ascribed to (udîfa ila) the Prophet , whether before or after the beginning of his Prophethood.

A word spoken"None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." "He who eats his fill while his neighbor goes without food is not a believer." "Allah looks not at your figures, nor at your outward appearance but He looks at your hearts and deeds."

An act done “When the Prophet SAS would perform two Raka'ah of Fajr in his house, afterwards he would lie on his right side.”

Technical Meaning of Sunnah… Continued

Technical Meaning of Sunnah… Continued A confirmation

Given by Rasoolullah (SAS) known as Taqreer i.e. somebody said something, or acted in a particular manner, and his saying or act came to the knowledge of the Holy Prophet and he either confirmed it in express words or remained silent without giving any indication of disapproval “The two Raka'ah of prayer after the Maghrib Adhan.”“The refraining from eating Dabb.”

Physical qualities and natural dispositionRasoolullah (SAS) had a full beard.

MoralsRasoolullah (SAS) was very bashful and if he disliked something it could be seen on his face.

Linguistic Meaning of Hadith: New; something done for the first time, news

Technical Meaning of Hadith: Hadith is any report of Rasoolullah (SAS) saying, action, approval, manners, and physical characteristic. It is any report about the Sunnah. In other words, it is the physical method in which the Sunnah is preserved. Hadith basically is what preserved the Sunnah of Prophet SAS.

Hadith

Hadith Hadith, as a discipline, consists of two branches:

The first concerned with the validation of the individual traditions through the process of biographic examination of its chain of transmitters back to the Prophet (isnad),

And the second concentrating on the actual content of the validated traditions (matn) as a source of religious authority.

In each Hadith, there are two elements: A- Sanad or isnad, is the chain of narrators of the Hadith, andB- Matn is the text of the Hadith.

Hadith: Examples Continued

The following Hadith reported by Al-Bukhari as an example:

Musaddad told us that Yahyaa informed him from Shu’bah, from Qataadah from Anas from the Prophet (SAS) that he said:

“None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”

This means that the Hadith scholar Muhammed ibn Ismaa’el al-Bukhari recorded in his book of the collection of Hadith called Sahih al-Bukhari the statement: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”, which he heard from his Hadith teacher Musaddad, who heard it from his teacher Yahyaa, who was informed by his teacher Shu’bah that he heard it from his teacher Qataadah, a student of the Prophet’s Companion, who heard it quoted by the Sahabee (Companion) Anas ibn Malik from the Prophet Muhammad (SAS).

Hadith: The Sanad or Isnad Continued

Al-Bukhari > Musaddad > Yahyaa > Shu’bah > Qataadah > Anas > Prophet Muhammed (SAS) is the chain of narrators that leads to the text of the Hadith. The Sanad consists of all those who narrated the text, starting with the last narrator (who records the Hadith in his book) and ending with the Prophet.

Hadith: Thoughts on Isnad Continued Sahih al-Muslim bi Sharh an-Nawawi (Introduction) Chapter : The Isnad

is from the Deen Even though the text (Matn) of a Hadith may seem to be logical and

reasonable, it needs an authentic Sanad with reliable reporters to be acceptable. The Sanad is thus the most important part of the Hadith, as it is the bridge leading to the Hadith itself. Abdullah bin al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH), one of the illustrious teachers of Imam al-Bukhari, said:? The Isnad is from the Deen (religion), if it wasn’t for the Isnad anyone would say anything he wished?

During the lifetime of the Prophet and after his death, his Companions (Sahabah) used to refer to him directly, when quoting his sayings. The Successors (Tabi’un) followed suit, some of them used to quote the Prophet through the Companions, while others would omit the intermediate authority (such a Hadith is called Mursal). During the time of the Successors they either one of two narrators between them and the Prophet. But from then on the need for verification of each isnad rose, as Imam Malik (d. 179) said: “The First one to utilize the isnad was Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (d.124).”

The need to verify the Hadith rose because various sects appeared among the Muslims who fabricated Hadith, in order to support their deviant views and heretical philosophies (later such Hadith were classified as Maudu or fabricated)

Ibn Sirin (d.110) a Successor said, “They would not ask about the Isnad. But when the fitnah (turmoil/civil war) happened, they said, ‘Name to us your men. So the narrations of the Ahlus-Sunnah (Adherents to the Sunnah) would be accepted, while those of Ahlul-Bidah (Adherents to Innovations) would not be accepted”

Hadith: Thoughts on Isnad Continued

Hadith: The Matn

The MatnThe text of the Hadith or what the Prophet actually said or did is called the Matn. In the Hadith mentioned before, the Matn is:

“None of you truly believes until...”

Relationship between Sunnah and Hadith Sunnah is always an act of Rasoolullah (SAS) while a Hadith is a

report of his statement, act, silent approval or an incident that took place in his life.

Sunnah has come down to us from generation to generation while Hadith has been reported, in most cases, by one individual to another. Thus the act that qualifies as Sunnah is undoubtedly authentic -- quite as authentic as the Qur'an itself -- while Hadith, at best, carries a strong probability that it may have been correctively reported. This is because God Almighty arranged the two sources to be the way they are: He arranged Sunnah to remain completed beyond doubt, because it was to be a part of His last message and allowed Hadith to be a human effort at preserving information about the prophet.

Relationship between Sunnah and Hadith… Continued

Sunnah is clear in what it stands for where as the context of a Hadith had to be understood (and therefore interpreted) by all the narrators involved in the chain of transmission. The process of interpretation has also got to be done now by whoever is to benefit from a Hadith.

Sunnah has to be religious because Rasoolullah (SAS), like all other Prophets, came to give God's message in the form of religion to mankind.

The Sunnah refers to the commands, prohibitions, sayings, actions and tacit approvals of the Messenger of Allah (SAS). The whole of the Sunnah falls under the command of Allah in His Book:

وا انت�ه� ف� ع�ن�ه� اك�م� ن�ه� ا م� و� ذ�وه� خ� ف� ول� س� الر آت�اك�م� ا م� و�"Whatsoever the Messenger gives you then take it and whatsoever he

prohibits you from then refrain from it." [Surah Hashr, 59:7]

The knowledge of the Sunnah ha reached us via means of the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (SAS).

The Hadith refers to a combination of a text and a chain of narration (isnad) beginning from the Prophet (SAS) and ending at the scholar who recorded that Hadith.

There are a number of conditions that the Hadith must meet based upon which it is divided into two broad categories Sahih (authentic) and da'eef (weak).

The authentic Hadith is that Hadith from which beliefs and legislation can be derived. The weak Hadith does not allow us to derive beliefs or legislation from it.

Relationship between Sunnah and Hadith… Continued