As-Sunnah: The Prophet’S Way
 In the Arabic language, the term “Sunnah” refers to a
habit or custom or way of doing things. For an example
a Hadeeth says, “Whoever establishes in Islam a good
sunnah gets its reward and reward of all those who
follow it. And whoever establishes a bad Sunnah in
Islam gets its sin and sins of all those who follow it…”
Therefore, sunnah in the Arabic language is a way, a
conduct or a lifestyle of a person or people.
 Muslim scholars define the Sunnah in the following




manner:
The Sunnah is any speech, action, approval or attribute
of Messenger of Allah. Here are some examples:
A. Speech: In Arabic ‫ قول‬qawl, which means
everything the Prophet said after he became a
Prophet. An example of that is the Hadeeth of the
Prophet “‫”انمااالعمال بالنيات‬
“Actions are judged according to intentions” (AlBukhari)
B. Action: In Arabic ‫ فعل‬fi’l which means everything
the Prophet did after he became a Prophet, can be
subdivided into three categories:
 - Actions intended to demonstrate some part of the
religion like how he prayed and how he performed
Hajj, etc.
 Actions demonstrating parts of the religion that are
unique to him. For example: He would sometimes fast
for several consecutive days without eating or drinking.
We are not permitted to fast in this manner.
 - Actions that relate to him as a human being. For
example: He liked certain foods or he stood up , sat
down or went to sleep in certain places. We are not
required to follow this category of action but a few
companions like ibn omer used to do so out of their
love for the Messenger of Allah.
 C. Approval: In Arabic ‫ تقرير‬taqreer, which means
everything the Prophet approved of. An example of
this is when one of the Sahabah said the following
statement after he raised from Rukooa, during Salah:
“‫ ” ربنا ولك الحمد كما ينبغي لجالل وجهك وعظيم سلطانك‬
 After Salah the Prophet commanded and approved
what the man had said.
 D. Attribute: In Arabic ‫ صفة‬Sifah, which means all the
reports about him, i.e about what he was like. For
example he was described as man that was not overly
tall nor short.
What is the difference between the
Sunnah and the Qur’an?
 The Qur'an contains the message, teachings. And laws
of Allah that are conveyed by the words of Allah. The
Sunnah contains the message. Teachings, and laws of
Allah, conveyed in the words and actions of the
Messenger of Allah. Allah says in the Qur’an about the
Messenger of Allah,
‫َو َما َي ْن ِط ُق َع ِن‬
.
‫ْال َه َوى‬
“Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.”
‫ُوحى‬
َ ‫إِنْ ه َُو إِ اال َوحْ ٌي ي‬
“It is only a Revelation revealed.”
 Based on the above ayah, the Hadeeth of the Prophet is part of
Wahy, or divine guidance and revelation. That is because every
time Rasoolullah said or did anything, it was the approval of
Allah. So in this way, both the Qur’an and the Sunnah are
messages from Allah.
 The difference between the two, is that the words of the Qur’an
are the actual words of Allah, while the wording of the adeeth are
those of the Prophet.
There is a type of Hadeeth, that relates exact words of
Allah that are not part of the Qur’an and it is called
“Hadeeth Qudsi”. The Prophet usually says in the
beginning of the Hadeeth Qudsi “Allah says,”and then
he mentions the saying of Allah.
Table: Similarities and
Differences among Qur’an
Hadeeth and Hdeeth Qudsi
pe of Revelation
Qur’an
Hadeeth
Hadeeth Qudsi
Meaning revealed by Words chosen by
Can be recite
Qiyam positio
during prayer
a worship
Allah
Allah
Yes
Allah
Prophet Muhammad
No
Allah
Allah
No
The Roles of Sunnah in Islam
 1. The Sunnah tells us how to implement Al-Qur’an.
 If we only had the Qur’an alone we would not know exactly
how to apply it to our lives. S Allah has taught us , through
His Messenger, how to properly understand and
implement the Qur’an.
 The Qur’an is something brief and non specific regarding
matters of Fiqh. The role of the Prophet was to describe in
details how we should worship Allah. For example, Allah
ordered the Muslims to pray but he did not detail in Qur’an
how many times a day we should pray. Nor did Allah state
how many Rak’aat we should perform in each prayer.
 Al Qur’an instructed us to give Zakah, fast and perm
Hajj. However, Allah did not explain in details how to
perform all of the pillars of Islam. This was the role
assigned to Rasoolullah. He explained and
demonstrated to the early Muslims all details of
worship and etiquettes of Islamic life.
 Allah has ordered us in Al-Qur’an to demonstrate
noble characteristics such as honesty, truthfulness,
kindness, mercy, and courage along with many other
qualities. He sent Rasoolullah to show us through his
actions how we could achieve a high level of character
in our daily lives.
 2. The Sunnah clarifies the Qur’an.
 There are many phrases and concepts in Al-Qur’an
that needed clarification. Although the early Muslims
understood much of the Qur’an, they could
understand everything in it without the help of
Rasoolullah. Therefore, Rasoolullah was the teacher
who explained Allhas’ message to his followers.
ِّ ‫ْك‬

‫ُون‬
َ ‫اس َما ُن ِّز َل إِلَي ِْه ْم َولَ َعلا ُه ْم َي َت َف اكر‬
َ ‫َوأَ ْن َز ْل َنا إِلَي‬
ِ ‫الذ ْك َر لِ ُت َبي َِّن لِل ان‬
 “And I have sent down to you the Qur’an so that you
will clarify to the people was has been sent to them.”
 3. The Sunnah is the second source of religious
knowledge after Al-Qur’an.
 As was explained in the above points 1 and 2, the Sunnah
teaches Muslims additional details about Islam that are not
found in the Qur’an. However, all scholars of Islam
understand that Al-Qur’an remains the first source of
knowledge for us and Sunnah comes second. In fact,
learning the Qur’an alone with out learning the Sunnah
may lead misinterpreting Allah’s directions in Al-Qur’an.
 Allah sent Prophet Muhammad to teach us how to practice
the Qur’an. Much of the details of Islamic teachings can be
found in the Sunnah, but were not mentioned in the
Qur’an. Therefore, the Sunnah is the second source of
religious knowledge in Islam.
Hadeeth Shareef
:‫ قال رسول هللا عليه و سلم‬:‫ عن مالك بن الحويرث رضي هللا عنه قال‬
‫ رواه البخارى‬.“‫”صلوا كما رأيتموني أصلي‬
 Malik ibn-ul-Huwayrith narrated that the Prophet
said: “pray like you see me pray.”(Bukhari)
:‫ عن جابر بن عبدهللا رضي هللا عنه قال رسول هللا صلله عليه وسلم‬
‫“ رواه مسلم‬.‫”لتاخذوا عني مناسككم‬
 Jabir ibn Abdulah narrated that the Prophet said:
“Learn from me your rituals”.
Obeying Prophet Muhammad is
Mandatory in Islam
 Obeying the Prophet and following his Sunnah is
mandatory in Islam. In many ayaat,Allah stressed the
importance of obeying Prophet Muhammad and following
his Sunnah and his great example. Let’s explore what AlQur’an says about obeying Prophet Muhammad.
 a. Allah granted Prophet Muhammad many great attributes
and manners that are the perfect example for all mankind.
The lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad is Allah’s choice for
those who seek to please Him and win Jannah . Therefore,
the Sunnah and the lifestyle of the Prophet is the one that
is favored by Allah.
‫ان َيرْ جُو َا‬
‫هللا َو ْال َي ْو َم ْاْل ِخ َر‬
ِ ‫ُول ا‬
َ ‫هللا أُسْ َوةٌ َح َس َن ٌة لِ َمنْ َك‬
َ ‫ لَ َق ْد َك‬
ِ ‫ان لَ ُك ْم فِي َرس‬
‫هللا َك ِثيرا‬
َ ‫َو َذ َك َر ا‬
 “Indeed in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad
SAW) you have a good example to follow for him
who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allâhand the
Last Day and remembers Allâh much
 b. Obeying the Prophet is mandatory in Islam.
Allah orders all Muslims in Surat-Al-Imran to obey
Allah and His Prophet,
‫ُون‬
َ ‫هللا َوالرا سُو َل لَ َعلا ُك ْم ُترْ َحم‬
َ ‫َوأَ ِطيعُوا ا‬


And obey Allâh and the Messenger
(Muhammad SAW) that you may obtain mercy.
 C. Allah confirmed that whoever obeys the Prophet, he
or she will be obeying Allah. This is possible only by
following the Sunnah. Allah says in Surat-un-nisa,
‫ من يطع الرسول فقد أطاع هللا‬
 “Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah.”
 D.. Allah has made obedience of His Messenger a way
to winning the love of Allah. Allah says:
ۗ ‫ قُ ْل إِ ْن ُكْنتُ ْم ُُِتبُّو َن اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُ ِوِن ُُْيبِْب ُك ُم اللَّهُ َويَ ْغ ِف ْر لَ ُك ْم ذُنُوبَ ُك ْم‬
ِ‫واللَّه َغ ُفور ر‬
‫ح‬
‫يم‬
ٌ َ ٌ "Ifُ you
َ
Say (O Muhammad SAW to mankind):
(really) love Allâh then follow me (i.e. accept
Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur'ân and the
Sunnah), Allâh will love you and forgive you your
sins. And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.“
e
During the life of the Prophet, Allah has
made submission to the decisions of the
Messenger of Allah a precondition for belief
Allah says:
...
.
َ ‫َف ََل َو َر ِّب َك ََل ُي ْؤ ِم ُنونَ َح َّت ٰى ُي َح ِّك ُمو َك فِي َم‬
ْْ ُِ ُُِِ‫َ ََ َر َب ْي َن ُُ ْْ ُُ َّْ ََل َي َُِدُو فِ ََ ْن‬
َ ‫ض ْي‬
‫ِلِّ ُمو َت ِْلِي ًم‬
َ ‫ت َو ُي‬
َ ‫َح َر ًَ ِم َّم َق‬

But no, by your Lord, they can have no
Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad SAW)
judge in all disputes between them, and find in
themselves no resistance against your decisions,
and accept (them) with full submission.
Don’t Take the Sunnah lightly
 Rasoolullah was once sitting in masjid with his
companions. He told them that there would come a
day when some people will claim that the Sunnah is
not important. He said: “I have been given the Qur’an
and its equivalent with it. A time is about to come
when a man will sit back in his chair and say, “Only
follow the Qur’an. Whatever you find in it that is
permissible, consider it permissible and whatever you
find in it that is forbidden, consider it forbidden.”
 The Prophet then said “I say, whatever the Messenger
of Allah forbids is like what Allah forbids.”
 Then the Prophet gave example of the things that he
prohibited, although it is not mentioned in the
Qur’an. He said, “It is prohibited for you to eat the
meat of donkeys and wild animals. It is also prohibited
to enter the houses of the People of Book (Christians a
and Jews) without their permission, to take their food
or belongings without their permission, and to hurt
their families.”
Hadeeth Shareef
‫ ”من رغب عن‬:‫ قال رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم‬:‫ عن أنس بن مالك رضي هللا قال‬
)‫“ (رواه البخاري‬.‫سنتي فليس مني‬
 Anas bin Malik narrated that the Prophet said:
“Whoever neglects my Sunnah is not one of my true followers.”
‫ ”كل أمتي‬:‫ قال رسول هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم‬:‫ عن أبي هريرة رضي هللا عنه قال‬
‫ من أطاعني دخل الجنة ومن‬:‫ يارسول هللا ومن يأبى؟ قال‬:‫ قالوا‬.‫يدخلون الجنة اال من أبى‬
)‫“ (رواه البخاري‬.‫عصاني فقد أبى‬
 Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah Said:
“Everyone from my ummah (nation)will enter paradise, except
those who refuse.”
 He was asked, “Oh , who would refuse?”He said, “Whoever obeys
me enters Paradise and whoever disobeys me has refused.”
Study Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Write a story that shows the Sahaba or the early
scholars of Islam were sincere and motivated to
follow the Sunnah of the Prophet.
What dose the term “Sunnah” mean in Arabic?
Define the term “ Snnah”.
Discuss at least three reasons for obeying the
Prophet and following his Sunnah.
Can Muslims understand the Qur’an without the
help of the Prophet? Explain your answer .
6) State five example that illustrate why Muslims need
the “Snnah”if they are to follow Islam correctly.
7) State one hadeeth that shows the importance of AsSunnah.
8) “Following the Sunnah leads to Jannah.” Is this true?
Support your answer with a Hadeeth.
9) List some similarities and differences between ALQur’an and As-Sunnah.