Quran Aur Hadith Ki Roshni Mein Fazail e Ihsan
TAG: Quran and Sunnah
Different Usages Of The Term ‘Sunnah’
Sunnah – literally meaning a way or path that is followed – has been used in different contexts in Islamic scholarship. Common Muslims, however, have come to understand it in a limited sense and they often get confused when it is used in varying contexts.
Here is how scholars of different Islamic expertise have used the term:
1. Jurists
Jurists who derive Islamic rulings have used the term Sunnah to distinguish between obligatory and recommended acts of worship. Generally speaking, deeds fall into five categories – Obligatory (Fard/Wajib), Recommended (Sunnah), Permissible (Mubah), Disliked (Makrooh), and Forbidden (Haraam). Jurists use the term Sunnah to describe deeds that are recommended to do but may not be obligatory. It is usually defined as a deed that a person is rewarded if he does, but is not sinful if he leaves it.
However, it must not be used as an excuse to abandon doing the Sunnah. A Muslim is required to adhere to the Sunnah as much as possible.
It is also used in the context of explaining the prohibition of bid’ah – innovation in the religion. That acts of worship must be upon the way – Sunnah – of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Any new acts of worship that are not from the Sunnah and are invented into the religion will be rejected.
2. Islamic legal theorists
Scholars of this specialization (Usool Al-Fiqh) are concerned with the foundations and the principles that form the basis for deriving rulings. In this context, scholars use the word Sunnah to distinguish its status as a primary source of Islamic knowledge along with the Qur’an. The Qur’an and the Sunnah are usually referred together as the sources of Islam pointing to the fact that both are revelations from Allah.
It is often thought that Qur’an alone is the revelation of Allah. It must be known that the commands of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are also solely based on revelation from Allah. In fact, Angel Jibreel would come down to teach the Prophet (peace be upon him) Sunnah just as he would teach him the Qur’an. The evidence for this can be found in the famous Hadith Jibreel. Furthermore, there are several verses and Ahadith that testify to this phenomenon.
3. Scholars of Hadith
Scholars of Hadith are primarily concerned about collecting every piece of information available with regard to the Prophet (peace be upon him). They refer to the term Sunnah in its broadest possible meaning – everything that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, did, and tacitly approved of, and furthermore his physical characteristics, manners and customs, and biography are all included in the usage of the word Sunnah.
4. Aqeedah specialists
The word Sunnah was also used by scholars of Aqeedah with regard to articles of faith and referring them back to the early generation of Muslims. This was to distinguish between the pure beliefs of the early generation of Muslims and the innovative, false beliefs that swept into later generations.
Ref: Jamaal Al-Din Zarabozo, Authority of Sunnah
What It Means To Respect The Prophet
You who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), and fear Allah. Verily! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. (Qur’an, 49:1)
SURAH Hujurat opens with Allah’s command to the Believers not to interrupt the Prophet’s conversations or obstinately contradict him (peace be upon him). Instead, they are advised to fear Allah by being patient and to obey the Prophet (peace be upon him) by following him in all their affairs.
Respect for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and what he had to say is portrayed as an expression of the fear of Allah because the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not speak of his own accord. He was guided by Allah; therefore, his statements and actions should be looked at as divine guidance from Allah.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the means by which Allah chose to convey His last message to mankind. This vital point was emphasized and immortalized by Allah in the following verse:
“And, he (the Prophet) does not speak from his desires; verily, what he says is revelation from (God).” (Qur’an, 53:3)
We are required to revere the Qur’an and quietly listen to its message based on Allah’s statement, “When the Qur’an is being recited, listen to it attentively and be quiet.” (Qur’an, 7:204) We are also required to revere the Prophet (peace be upon him) and listen attentively to his pronouncements. Ibn Abbas, the greatest Qur’anic commentator among the Sahabah, added another dimension to the meaning of this verse and similar verses by interpreting it to mean that the Believers should not say anything which goes against the Qur’an and Sunnah. (Quoted by lbn Katheer in his Tafsir, vol. 4, p. 315)
Figuratively speaking, one is in Allah’s presence when he or she reads the Qur’an, and likewise when the Ahadith which describes the Prophet’s Sunnah is studied, one also enters into the presence of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Hence, “Allah and His Prophet’s presence” can be said to refer today to the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Forwardness and haste in Allah’s and His Prophet’s presence could then be interpreted to mean the making of snap judgments based on superficial reading or making unauthorized and unfounded interpretations of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Giving one’s personal opinions or cultural habits precedence over the divine commands of the Qur’an and Sunnah also represents another aspect of forwardness in Allah’s and His Prophet’s presence. Great care has to be taken when explaining the principles of Islam in order that no statements contrary to those of Allah and His Messenger are inadvertently made which may consequently lead people astray.
If at any time ideas in opposition to the Qur’an and the Sunnah are held and clear proofs of their inaccuracy are later presented, a true Believer is required to immediately give up his or her mistaken concepts and submit to the authentic commands of Allah and His Messenger. If one does otherwise, claiming his ideas and practices were that of his forefathers, he would be, in fact, no better than the pagans of Makkah who replied to the Prophet’s call to One God by saying, “Verily, we found our forefathers on this path and we Intend to follow their steps.” (Qur’an, 13:22)
He would also be guilty of the crime of “believing in a part of the Book and disbelieving in a part” (Qur’an, 2:85); a crime for which Allah cursed the Jews. Instead, one should, “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger” (Qur’an, 3:32) without the least hesitation otherwise one’s Islam, which itself means submission to Allah and His Apostle, would be in question.
Allah then closes the verse with a reminder to fear Him at all times, for it is only the consciousness of Allah, longing for His pleasure and a fear of His displeasure, which can create a real and lasting improvement of human habits. The verse is then sealed with two of Allah’s qualities both of which produce a state of real God consciousness in all who comprehend their implications.
Allah is the Hearer of all statements, plans, or plots and He is the Knower of the secret intentions behind all deeds. His knowledge knows no bounds of time and space. Hence, any disrespect shown to Allah and his Prophet (peace be upon him), His Qur’an, and the Sunnah is known to Allah; and those who dare to commit such acts will be held to account for them.
– Excerpt from the writer’s book ‘Tafseer Soorah Al-Hujuraat’
– Bilal Philips
Wisdom Behind Shaving the Head During Haj
The wisdom is that by shaving off one’s hair, one demonstrates one’s sincerity and humility to Almighty Allah without caring for one’s physical appearance.
This practice of shaving or clipping the hair is affirmed by the Qur’an, the Sunnah of the Prophet, and the consensus of the Muslim scholars.
Almighty Allah says: “Indeed Allah shall fulfill the true vision which He showed to His Messenger (peace be upon him) [ i.e. the Prophet saw a dream that he has entered Makkah along with his Companions, having their (head) hair shaved and cut short] in very truth…” (48:27)
Both Al-Bukhari and Muslim quote the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying, “May Allah bless those who shaved (their head during Haj).” The Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what about those who cut their hair short?” Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “May Allah bless those who shaved.” They repeated their question the third time, and again the Prophet said, “May Allah bless those who shaved.” When they asked him for the fourth time, “O Messenger of Allah, what about those who clip their hair short?” He said, “And (may Allah bless) those who clip their hair short.”
Shaving here means removing hair of the head with a razor, etc., or plucking them out. It suffices, however, to remove only as many as three hair. And cutting the hair short means cutting the length of one fingertip of the head’s hair.
However, the issue of which one is obligatory, between shaving or cutting hair short, is controversial among jurists. Most scholars hold that shaving or cutting the hair short is obligatory, and one failing to do so is to slaughter an animal in order to atone for this omission.
According to the Shafi’i school, it is an integral part of Haj.