What is the Sunnah?

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[ English - ‫] إ�ﻠ�ي‬

The Editorial Team of Dr. Abdurrahman al-Muala

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 What is the Sunnah?
A Revelation like the Quran
The Sunnah, according
to the scholars of hadeeth,
is everything that has been
related from the Messen-
ger, may the mercy and
blessings of God be upon
him, of his statements, ac-
tions, tacit approvals, per-
sonality, physical description, or biography. It does not mat-
ter whether the information being related refers to something
before the beginning of his prophetic mission, or after it.
Explanation of this definition:
The statements of the Prophet include everything the
Prophet said for various reasons on different occasions. For
example, he said:
“Verily deeds are but by intentions, and every person
will have only what he intended.”
The actions of the Prophet include everything that the
Prophet did that was related to us by his Companions. This
includes how he made ablutions, how he performed his
prayers, and how he made the Hajj pilgrimage.
The tacit approvals of the Prophet includes everything
that his Companions said or did that he either showed his fa-
vor towards or at least did not object to. Anything that had
the tacit approval of the Prophet is as valid as anything that
he said or did himself.

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 An example of this is the approval that was given to the
Companions when they used their discretion in deciding
when to pray during the Battle of Bani Quraydhah. God’s
Messenger had said to them:
“None of you should perform your afternoon prayers
until you arrive at Bani Quraydhah.”
The Companions did not arrive at Bani Quraydhah until
after sunset. Some of them took the Prophet’s words literally
and postponed the afternoon prayer, saying: “We will not
pray until we get there.” Others understood that the Prophet
was only indicating to them that they should hurry on their
journey, so they stopped and prayed the afternoon prayer on
time.
The Prophet learned about what the two groups had de-
cided, but did not criticize either of them.
As for the Prophet’s personality, this would include the
following statement of Aishah (may God be pleased with
her):
“God’s Messenger was never indecent or vulgar, nor
was he loud at the marketplace. He would never respond
to the abuse of others with abuses of his own. Instead, he
would be tolerant and forgiving.”
The physical description of the Prophet is found in state-
ments like the one related by Anas (may God be pleased
with him):
“God’s Messenger was neither overly tall nor was he
short. He was neither exceedingly white nor black. His
hair was neither excessively curly nor lank.”
The Relationship between the Sunnah and Reve-
lation

3
 The Sunnah is revelation from God to His Prophet. God
says in the Quran:
“…We have sent down to him the Book and the Wis-
dom…” (Quran 2:231)
The Wisdom refers to the Sunnah. The great jurist al-
Shafi’i said: “God mentions the Book, which is the Quran. I
have heard from people who I consider authorities on the
Quran that the Wisdom is the Sunnah of God’s Messenger.”
God says:
Indeed, God conferred a great favor on the believers
when He sent among them a Messenger from among them-
selves, reciting to them His signs and purifying them and in-
structing them in the Book and the Wisdom.
It is clear from the preceding verses that God revealed to
His Prophet both the Quran and the Sunnah, and that He
commanded him to convey both to the people. The Prophetic
hadeeth also attest to the fact that the Sunnah is revelation. It
is related from Mak’hool that God’s Messenger said:
“God gave me the Quran and what is like it from the
Wisdom.”
Al-Miqdam b. Ma’dee Karab relates that God’s Messen-
ger said:
“I have been given the Book and with it something
like it.”
Hisan b. Atiyyah relates that Gabriel used to come the
Prophet with the Sunnah just like he would come to him
with the Quran.
An opinion from the Prophet was not merely his own
thoughts or deliberations on a matter; it was what God re-
vealed to him. In this way, the Prophet was different from
other people. He was supported by revelation. When he ex-
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ercised his own reasoning and was correct, God would con-
firm it, and if he ever made a mistake in his thinking, God
would correct it and guide him to the truth.
For this reason, it is related that the Caliph Umar said
from the pulpit: “O people! The opinions of God’s Messen-
ger were correct only because God would reveal them to
him. As for our opinions, they are nothing but thoughts and
conjecture.”
The revelation that the Prophet received was of two
types:
A. Informative revelation: God would inform him of
something by means of revelation in one form or another as
mentioned in the following Quranic verse:
“It is not for a human being that God should speak to
him except as revelation or from behind a barrier, or by
sending a Messenger who reveals by His leave whatever
He wishes. Verily, He is Exalted, All-Wise.” (Quran
42:51)
Aishah related that al-Harith b. Hisham asked the Prophet
how revelation came to him, and the Prophet answered:
“Sometimes, the angel comes to me like the clanging
of a bell, and this is the most difficult for me. It weighs
upon me and I commit to memory what he says. And
sometimes the angel comes to me in the form of a man
and speaks to me and I commit to memory what he
says.”
Aishah said:
“I had seen him when the revelation came to him on
an extremely cold day. When it was over, his brow was
full of perspiration.”

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 Sometimes, he would be asked about something, but he
would remain silent until revelation came to him. For exam-
ple, the Meccan pagans asked him about the soul, but the
Prophet remained silent until God revealed:
They ask you concerning the soul. Say: ‘The soul is
from the affairs of my Lord, and of knowledge you have
but little’. (Quran 17:85)
He had also been asked about how inheritance was to be
divided, but he did not answer until God revealed:
“God commands you regarding your children…”
(Quran 4:11)
B. Affirmative revelation: This is where the Prophet ex-
ercised his own judgment in a matter. If his opinion was cor-
rect, revelation would come to him affirming it, and if it was
incorrect, revelation would come to correct him, making it
just like any other informative revelation. The only differ-
ence here is that the revelation came as a result of an action
that the Prophet first did on his own.
In such instances, the Prophet was left to use his own dis-
cretion in a matter. If he chose what was right, then God
would confirm his choice through revelation. If he chose
wrong, God would correct him to protect the integrity of the
faith. God would never allow His Messenger to convey an
error to other people, because this would cause his followers
to fall into error as well. This would contravene the wisdom
behind sending Messengers, which was that the people hen-
ceforth would have no argument against God. In this way,
the Messenger was protected from falling into error, for if he
ever erred, revelation would come to correct him.
The Prophet’s Companions knew that the tacit approval
of the Prophet was actually the approval of God, because if
6
they ever did something contrary to Islam during the Proph-
et’s lifetime, revelation would come down condemning what
they did.
Jabir said: “We used to practice coitus interruptus1 back
when God’s Messenger was alive.” Sufyan, one of the narra-
tors of this hadeeth, commented: “If something like this was
forbidden, the Quran would have prohibited it.”

The Sunnah in Islamic Law

The Difference between the Sunnah and the Quran

The Quran is the foundation of Islamic Law. It is the mi-
raculous speech of God that was revealed to the Messenger,
may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, by way of
the angel Gabriel. It has been transmitted to us with so many
chains of authority that its historical authenticity is unques-
tionable. It is written down in its own volume, and its recita-
tion is a form of worship.
As for the Sunnah, it is everything besides the Quran that
came from God’s Messenger. It explains and provides de-
tails for the laws found in the Quran. It also provides exam-
ples of the practical application of these laws. It is also either
direct revelation from God, or decisions of the Messenger
that were then confirmed by revelation. Therefore, the
source of all the Sunnah is revelation.
The Quran is the revelation that is formally recited as an
act of worship, and the Sunnah is revelation that is not for-

1 Coitus Interruptus: Withdrawal of the penis before emission of sperm

during sex. – IslamReligion.com.
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mally recited. The Sunnah, though, is just like the Quran in
that it is revelation that must be followed and adhered to.
The Quran takes precedence over the Sunnah in two
ways. For one thing, the Quran consists of the exact words
of God, miraculous in nature, down to the last verse. The
Sunnah, however, is not necessarily the exact words of God,
but rather their meanings as explained by the Prophet.
The Position of the Sunnah in Islamic Law
During the Messenger’s lifetime the Quran and Sunnah
were the only sources of Islamic Law.
The Quran provides the general injunctions that formed
the basis of the Law, without going into all the details and
secondary legislation, with the exception of a few injunc-
tions that are established along with the general principles.
These injunctions are not subject to change over time or with
the changing circumstances of the people. The Quran, like-
wise, comes with the tenets of belief, sets down acts of wor-
ship, mentions the stories of the nations of old, and provides
moral guidelines.
The Sunnah comes in agreement with the Quran. It ex-
plains the meanings of what is unclear in the text, provides
details for what is depicted in general terms, specifies what
is general, and explains its injunctions and objectives. The
Sunnah also comes with injunctions that are not provided by
the Quran, but these are always in harmony with its prin-
ciples, and they always advance the objectives that are out-
lined in the Quran.
The Sunnah is a practical expression of what is in the Qu-
ran. This expression takes many forms. Sometimes, it comes
as an action performed by the Messenger. At other times, it
is a statement that he made in response to something. Some-
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times, it takes the form of a statement or action of one of the
Companions that he neither prevented nor objected to. On
the contrary, he remained silent about it or expressed his ap-
proval for it.
The Sunnah explains and clarifies the Quran in many
ways. It explains how to perform the acts of worship and
carry out the laws that are mentioned in the Quran. God
commands the believers to pray without mentioning the
times that the prayers had to be performed or the manner of
performing them. The Messenger clarified this through his
own prayers and by teaching the Muslims how to pray. He
said: “Pray as you have seen me praying.”
God makes the Hajj pilgrimage obligatory without ex-
plaining its rites. God’s Messenger explains this by saying:
“Take the rites of Hajj from me.”
God makes the Zakah tax obligatory without mentioning
what types of wealth and produce it is to be levied against.
God also does not mention the minimum amount of wealth
that makes the tax obligatory. The Sunnah, though, makes
all this clear.
The Sunnah specifies general statements found in the Qu-
ran. God says:
“God commands you regarding your children: to the
male, a portion equal to that of two females…” (Quran
4:11)
This wording is general, applying to every family and
making every child an inheritor of his or her parents. The
Sunnah makes this ruling more specific by excluding the
children of Prophets. God’s Messenger said:
“We Prophets leave behind no inheritance. Whatever
we leave behind is charity.”
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 The Sunnah qualifies unqualified statements in the Qu-
ran. God says:
“…and you find no water, then perform tayammum
(dry ablution) with clean earth and rub therewith your
faces and hands… (Quran 5:6)
The verse does not mention the extent of the hand, leav-
ing the question of whether one should rub the hands up to
the wrist or the forearm. The Sunnah makes this clear by
showing that it is to the wrist, because this is what God’s
Messenger did when he performed dry ablution.
The Sunnah also comes emphasizing what is in the Quran
or providing secondary legislation for a law stated therein.
This includes all the hadeeth that indicate that Prayer, the
Zakah tax, fasting, and the Hajj pilgrimage are obligatory.
An example of where the Sunnah provides subsidiary
legislation for an injunction found in the Quran is the ruling
found in the Sunnah that it is forbidden to sell fruit before it
begins to ripen. The basis for this law is the statement of the
Quran:
Do not consume your property amongst you unjustly,
except it be a trade among you by mutual consent.
The Sunnah contains rulings that are not mentioned in the
Quran and that do not come as clarifications for something
mentioned in the Quran. An example of this is the prohibi-
tion of eating donkey flesh and the flesh of predatory beasts.
Another example of this is the prohibition of marrying a
woman and her aunt at the same time. These and other rul-
ings provided by the Sunnah must be adhered to.
The Obligation of Adhering to the Sunnah
A requirement of believing in prophethood is to accept as
true everything that God’s Messenger said. God chose His
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Messengers from among His worshippers to convey His
Law to humanity. God says:
“…God knows best with whom to place His Mes-
sage…” (Quran 6:124)
God also says:
“…Are the Messengers charged with anything but to
convey the clear Message?” (Quran 16:35)
The Messenger is protected from error in all of his ac-
tions. God has protected his tongue from uttering anything
but the truth. God has protected his limbs from doing any-
thing but what is right.
God has safeguarded him from showing approval for
anything contrary to Islamic Law. He is the most beautifully
complete of God’s Creations. This is clear from how God
describes him in the Quran:
“By the star when it sets. Your companion has neither
gone astray nor has he erred. Nor does he speak of his
own desire. It is only revelation that has been revealed.”
(Quran 53:1-4)
We see in the hadeeth that no circumstances, no matter
how trying, could prevent the Prophet from speaking the
truth. Being angry never affected his speech. He never spoke
falsehood even when he was jesting. His own interests never
swayed him from speaking the truth. The only goal that he
sought was the pleasure of God Almighty.
Abdullah b. Amr b. al-Aas related that he used to write
down everything that God’s Messenger said. Then the tribe
of Quraish forbade him from doing so, saying: “Do you
write down everything that God’s Messenger says, and he is
but a man who speaks in contentment and in anger?”

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 Abdullah b. Amr stopped writing and mentioned this to
God’s Messenger who told him:
“Write, for by Him in Whose hand is my soul, only
truth comes forth from this.” …and pointed to his
mouth.
The Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the jurists
all point to the fact that obeying God’s Messenger is obliga-
tory. God says in the Quran:
“O you who believe, obey God and obey His Messen-
ger and those in authority among you. If you fall into
dispute about a matter, refer it back to God and His
Messenger if you believe in God and the Last Day…”
(Quran 4:59)

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