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1. What is the Sunnah?
- In Islam, after the Quran, the second source is the Sunnah.
Definition: The Sunnah is the life and the words of the Prophet ﷺ. The Sunnah is also called hadith.
2. Evidence from the Quran
| Verse | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 3:31 – قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّوْنَ اللهَ فَاتَّبِعُوْنِي | If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins |
| 4:80 – مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُوْلَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللهَ | Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah |
| 59:7 – وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُوْلُ فَخُذُوْهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوْا | Take whatever the Messenger gives you, and keep away from whatever he forbids you |
| 62:2 | The Messenger recites the verses, purifies the people, and teaches the Book and wisdom (hikmah) |
"Hikmah" = the Sunnah
- In many places the Quran joins the word hikmah (wisdom) with the word kitab (the Book).
- Imam ash-Shafi'i (RH): here "wisdom" refers to the Sunnah.
- His evidence – the hadith (meaning): "I have been given the Quran, and something like it along with it."
3. Evidence from the Sunnah
| Meaning of the hadith | Source |
|---|---|
| My Lord has commanded me to teach you what you do not know | Muslim |
| "I am leaving among you two things; you will not go astray as long as you hold to them: the Quran and my Sunnah" | Muwatta' |
| Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise; whoever disobeys me has rejected (the truth) | Bayhaqi |
This is why we call the Quran wahy matluww and the Sunnah wahy ghayr matluww.
4. The relationship between the Quran and the Sunnah
- The two are interdependent parts of one whole.
- Comparison: the relationship between the Quran and the Sunnah is like the relationship between a book and the light that helps you read it in the dark.
- So it is impossible to understand, practise or derive rulings from the Quran while ignoring the Sunnah.
5. The Quran cannot be understood without the Sunnah – examples
(1) Prayer
- The Quran commands us to pray.
- How should we pray? The Sunnah explains the times, the method and the rules.
(2) The incident of 'Imran ibn Husayn (RA)
- A man said: "Tell us nothing except the Quran."
- 'Imran (RA) asked him: does the Quran say
- that Zuhr has four rak'ahs?
- that tawaf around the Ka'bah is seven times?
- that sa'y between Safa and Marwah is seven times?
- All of these are known only through the Sunnah.
(3) The incident of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (RA) (Muwatta')
- A man asked: "Is the shortening and combining (qasr and jam') of prayers mentioned in the Quran?"
- Answer: "Brother! Allah sent the Prophet ﷺ as a messenger; we do as he did."
(4) The punishment for theft
- The Quran: if theft is proven, the hand is to be cut off.
- Explanations given by the Sunnah:
- Children and the mentally ill are exempt
- The stolen item must be worth more than the value of a shield
- The hand is cut only up to the wrist
- This punishment cannot be given for stealing food
(5) Others
- The funeral prayer (salat al-janazah), zakat al-fitr, and the rules of ihram are among the things explained only through the Sunnah.
6. Efforts to preserve the Sunnah
The Companions, the Tabi'un and those who came after them:
- Memorised the hadiths without mistakes.
- Those who could write wrote them down and preserved them.
- Handed over and reported the hadiths they knew with witnesses.
- Put the hadiths into practice.
- Later scholars travelled in person to find those who knew hadiths.
- Carried out strict research to separate authentic hadiths from fabricated ones.
- Compiled books of hadith.
- When problems arose, found solutions with the help of hadiths.
Tabi'un (تابعين) = the next generation, who met the Companions and learned from them.
Quick revision
- Sunnah = the life and words of the Prophet ﷺ (= hadith); the 2nd source.
- Quranic evidence: 3:31, 4:80, 59:7, 62:2.
- Hikmah = the Sunnah – Imam ash-Shafi'i (RH).
- "The Quran and the Sunnah – hold to these two and you will not go astray" (Muwatta').
- Quran = the book; Sunnah = the light that helps you read it.
- Examples: the method of prayer, Zuhr 4 rak'ahs, tawaf 7, sa'y 7, qasr and jam', the rules of the punishment for theft.