THE SUNNA OF THE PROPHET AND ITS PLACE IN ISLAMIC LEGISLATION

THE SUNNA OF THE PROPHET AND ITS PLACE IN ISLAMIC LEGISLATION

THE SUNNA OF THE PROPHET AND ITS PLACE IN ISLAMIC LEGISLATION

By Shaykh Fethullah Gullen, http://www.fethullahgulen.org/infinitelight/inf2pg15.htm#f

INTRODUCTION

The science of Hadith deals with the life of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, especially concentrating on his own sayings and actions, and on the actions he approved in others. In this chapter, we will restrict ourselves to his own sayings and actions.

The sayings of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, include his utterances out of the Qur’an, described as the Recited Revelation, whose meaning and wording belong to God exclusively. As for his actions, they include those actions whose rule and authority we must follow as law, and those, concerning his personal affairs, which are also a source of spiritual reward and blessing and which we should follow.

The science of fiqh, Islamic Law, does not concern itself with the latter, the personal affairs of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. The fuqaha’ (scholars of fiqh) or jurists are of the opinion that if those affairs touch upon the voluntary and purposed acts, they are actions in the former sense relevant for law. However, if they are of the kind such as his likes and dislikes which do not constitute a basis for legislation, they lie outside the concern of the fuqaha’. According to the muhaddithun (scholars of Hadith or traditionists), everything related to God’s Messenger is included in the meaning of Hadith (Tradition) and concerns the traditionists.

The Sunna of the Prophet, being every act, saying and confirmation of him, is the second source of Islamic legislation

The Sunna of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, being every act, saying and confirmation of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, is the second source of Islamic legislation after the Qur’an. All the scholars of religious sciences and sometimes even natural scientists resort to the Sunna to establish the principles of their fields of study and to solve their difficulties.

The Qur’an enjoins Muslims to follow the Sunna

The Holy Qur’an enjoins the Muslims, in many verses, to follow the Sunna, as do numerous authentic Traditions of the Prophet himself. Except by a few who have been charmed by their own intellectual capacity, the Sunna has, from the beginning, been regarded as the second source of or basis for Islam and the Islamic life.

The Sunna is inseparable from the Qur’an

The Sunna is inseparable from the Qur’an. It clarifies the ambiguities of the Qur’an, it expands on what is brief therein, specifies what is unconditional therein, enables generalizations from what is particularly stated and particularizations from what is generally stated.

The details of the acts of formal worship were all established and expounded by the Sunna

The details of the acts of formal worship — prayer, fasting, alms-giving and pilgrimage — were all established and expounded by the Sunna of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Again, it was established by the Sunna that no one can inherit from the Prophet and that a killer cannot inherit from the one he has killed. There are many more examples which show the place and role of the Sunna in embodying the Qur’anic commands, as well as in establishing new legislation such as, for example, the prohibition of eating the flesh of domestic donkeys and wild animals, and the prohibition of marriage to female cousins of a wife still living. Indeed, the Sunna is relevant to the practice of all aspects of Islam, and every Muslim must design his life according to it. For this reason, the Sunna has been studied almost with the same care as the Qur’an: it was recorded, it has been studied and transmitted down the centuries through succeeding generations.

During his own lifetime, God’s Messenger drew the attention of his Companions to his Sunna

During his own lifetime, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, drew the attention of his Companions to his Sunna and ordered them to obey him absolutely. He spoke distinctly so that his audience could understand and memorize his words, and he encouraged them to convey every word of his to future generations; on occasion, he even urged them to write down whatever he uttered and said: Whatever comes out of my mouth is true.

The Companions, may God be pleased with them all, were fully attentive to what God’s Messenger said and showed great desire to appropriate his lifestyle even in his smallest acts. They regarded every word and every deed of this unique member of mankind as a Divine trust to which they must be faithful and tried to follow his example in every step they took. They honored all his pronouncements as a Divine gift, digested and preserved them and transmitted them to the succeeding generations.

Traditions were recorded during the lives of the Companions

Truthfulness being the cornerstone of Islamic character, the Companions were absolutely free from lying. Just as they did nothing to imply any distortion or alteration in the Qur’an and became the first and foremost means of its preservation and transmission to succeeding generations, so too they did their utmost to preserve the Traditions as they took them from the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, and entrusted them to those coming after them. With the same care they gave to the memorization and recording of the Qur’an, some of them wrote down the Traditions and some others committed them to memory. Among the compilations of Hadith during the period of the Companions, three are very famous: al-Sahifah al-Sadiqah by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, al-Sahifah al-Sahihah by Hammam ibn Munabbih, and al-Majmu‘ by Zayd ibn ‘Ali ibn Husayn.

The Companions were extremely conscientious in relating the Traditions

The Companions were extremely conscientious in relating the Traditions. For example, ‘A’isha and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar were so meticulous in relating them word for word as not to change even a letter; Ibn Mas‘ud and Abu al-Darda’ would tremble as if caught by a fever when asked to report a Tradition from the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings.

‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, the Caliph, ordered the recording and compilation of the Traditions which were orally preserved and circulated and the collection of individual compilations. Such illustrious figures as Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, Sha‘bi, Alqama, Sufyan al-Thawri and Zuhri pioneered this sacred task. They were followed by the greatest specialists, who practised the utmost care in the transmission of Traditions including the study of their meaning and wording and careful critiques of their narrators.

It is thanks to the tireless energy and meticulous study of the traditionists (muhaddithun) that we have, after fourteen centuries, the second source of Islam in its original purity, by means of which we can follow the example of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, in designing our life. It is only through following the example of the Prophet that we can gain the good pleasure of God and travel along the way leading to Paradise. Even the greatest of saints receive their light from the ‘sun’ of guidance, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. As somebody says, the Prophet Muhammad is the ‘sun’ of guidance and virtues, while saints are ‘stars’ sending light to those in ‘darkness’ so that they may be able to find their way.

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THE SUNNA AND ITS ROLE

What is the Sunna?

Sunna literally means ‘a conduct and a path good or evil to be followed’. It is used, in its literal meaning, in the following hadith:

The one who establishes a good path in Islam, gets the reward of those who follow it without any decrease in their reward. Another one who establishes an evil path in Islam is burdened with the sins of those who follow it without any decrease in their burden.1

In its terminological meaning, Sunna has different connotations according to each group of the Traditionists, methodologists and jurists. According to the Traditionists, it includes everything having some bearing on or relation with religious commandments, reported from God’s Messenger and categorized, according to the Hanafis (the followers of Abu Hanifa), as obligations, necessities, practices particular to or encouraged by the Prophet himself, recommended and desirable.

The methodologists take the Sunna as every word, deed and approval of God’s Messenger. That is, according to them, the Sunna means the sayings and acts of God’s Messenger himself, as well as those acts or sayings he approved in what he witnessed in his Companions.

Jurists approach the Sunna as the opposite of innovation in religion (bid‘a) and is, according to them, a synonym of Hadith (Tradition), it is used for the words, deeds and approvals of the Prophet which provide a basis for legislation and categorization of people’s actions.

Hadith, derived from the word haddatha, to inform, means, literally, tiding or information. It came, over time, to mean every word, deed and approval ascribed to God’s Messenger. Ibn Hajar says: ‘What is meant by Hadith in the language of the Shari‘ah is everything related to God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings.’

Some scholars of fine discernment distinguish Hadith as that which is not Divine, not eternal or without beginning in time. This is the fine line which separates Hadith from the Qur’an: as against the Qur’an which is Divine and eternal, Hadith connotes something coming into existence at a point in time. God’s Messenger himself distinguishes his sayings from the Qur’an, as can be understood from the following hadith:

It is two things only, nothing else: the Word and guidance. The best word is the Word of God and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad.

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THE CATEGORIES OF THE SUNNA

The Sunna is divided into three categories:

A. Verbal Sunna or the words of God’s Messenger

The first category of the Sunna consists in the blessed words of God’s Messenger, which provide a basis for many religious commandments. To cite a few examples:

a. Our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, decreed:

No bequest to the heir.

That is, a man can bequeath a certain, small portion of his wealth before his death but he cannot bequeath at all to his heirs since they will naturally inherit the large portion of his wealth. A bequest can be made to the poor or some social institutions in the service of people.

b. God’s Messenger has many concise sayings which provided a basis for several legal rulings. Among them, the following is one of the basic principles of Islamic jurisprudence:

No harming and no returning harm for harm.

That is, no one may do harm to any other, nor may he retaliate against anyone by doing him harm; he may not return ill treatment for ill treatment.

c. The Qur’an enjoins alms-giving, but it does not set out for us what kind and what amount of wealth, and by what measure, one must give alms. All of these were established by the Sunna. For example, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, declared:

A tenth will be given (out of the crops grown in the fields) watered by rain or rivers; but half of a tenth (out of those grown in the fields) watered by man himself (by digging wells or building canals or carrying water on animals, etc.)

d. When asked whether one could do ritual ablution (wudu’) with sea-water, God’s Messenger gave the following answer, which has provided a basis for many other rulings:

A sea is that of which the water is clean and the dead animals are lawful to eat.

Generally, the Qur’an forbids eating the meat of animals which have died without being slaughtered according to Islamic rules. The Sunna, however restricts this ‘general’ rule (commandment) by allowing as food the flesh of sea creatures that have died in water.

B. Practical Sunna or the practices of God’s Messenger

The Qur’an usually lays down general rules and principles and does not enter into details or particulars. For example, it enjoins prayer and pilgrimage but does not describe in detail how to do the prayer or pilgrimage. God’s Messenger, taught by God through inspiration or through the archangel Gabriel, showed in practice how to perform all the religious commandments. Thus he set, through his life, a unique example to be followed by all Muslims. For example, he led the daily prayers before his Companions five times a day and ordered them: Perform the prayer the way you see me praying.

C. The Sunna based on the approvals of God’s Messenger

God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, corrected the mistakes of his Companions, but not by specifying the one who did the mistake; he never exposed anyone publicly. Instead, he would usually climb the pulpit and warn: What ails the people that somebody does that? If, on the other hand, he saw in his Companions something agreeable, he showed his approval tacitly, i.e. by keeping silent, or in some explicit way.

For example, once two Companions could not find water in the desert to do wudu’ before the prescribed prayer and did the ritual ablution with sand (tayammum). However, when they came across some water some while later within the time of the same prayer, one of them did wudu’ and re-did the prayer while the other did not. When they referred the matter to God’s Messenger later, the Messenger responded to the one who had not repeated the prayer: You acted in accordance with the Sunna. Then, he turned to the other and said: For you, there is double reward.

To cite another example, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, ordered a march upon Banu Qurayza immediately after the Battle of the Trench and announced: Hurry up! We will perform the afternoon prayer there! Some of the Companions, concluding that they should be quick to reach the land of Banu Qurayza and pray there, started out without delay. Others understood the order to mean that they should make haste to arrive in Banu Qurayza’s territory only and that they could perform the prayer before departure. God’s Messenger approved the actions of both groups.

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THE SUNNA IN THE QUR’AN

The Sunna, the example of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, is the main source of our religious life, promoted and encouraged by the Qur’an. To cite a few verses:

He Who raised among the unlettered ones a Messenger from them, reciting to them His signs, purifies them and instructs them in the Book and the Wisdom. (al-Jumu‘a,62.2)

What is meant by the Wisdom in the verse is, according to most interpreters of the Qur’an and the Traditionists, the Sunna. The Qur’an, being of a miraculous exposition, is never otiose nor exceeds the proper terms: as Wisdom in the verse comes after Book as a separate word, it must refer to something different from the Book. The Book is the Qur’an and the Wisdom is the Sunna which expands on what is brief in the Book and clarifies its ambiguities, specifies what is unconditional and general and vice versa, so that general principles or specific rulings can be understood from what is commanded in the Qur’an.

The Qur’an enjoins absolute obedience to the Messenger

The Qur’an in many verses enjoins absolute obedience to God’s Messengers. This obedience is not due to their person, but because of their mission as the ‘officials’ of God in guiding people to truth both individually and socially, materially, intellectually and spiritually.

We have not sent a Messenger save to be obeyed by God’s leave. (al-Nisa’, 4.64)

O you who believe! Obey God and His Messenger, and do not turn away from him. (al-Anfal, 8.20)

Obedience to God means unconditional obedience to His Commandments in the Qur’an and His laws in life and in the operation of the universe. Obedience to the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, is following his way in all the aspects of life, in practicing the Qur’an, and in all the orders of the Messenger besides the Qur’an. The Sunna contains all the orders and prohibitions, warnings and encouragements of God’s Messenger, who said: Take care! I have been given the Book and its like together with it.

Verse 20 of al-Anfal warns the Muslims not to turn away from the Messenger. Therefore, disobedience to the Sunna, even belittling and criticizing it, amounts to heresy, even apostasy.

There are many other verses which emphasize the importance of the Sunna, or following the example of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings:

O you who believe! Obey God and obey the Messenger and those in authority from amongst you. (al-Nisa’, 4.59)

The verse stresses, besides obedience to God, obedience to God’s Messenger, and the repetition of the verb obey in the imperative mood points to the fact that the Messenger has the authority to command or forbid, and that the Muslims must carry out his commands and refrain from his prohibitions. Besides, where obedience to those in authority who share the same faith and feelings as the Muslims, is ordered, the Prophet has a far greater right to be obeyed.

Another verse:

Obey God and His Messenger and do not dispute with one another, lest you should be dissolved (dispersed) and your strength fade away; and be steadfast. (al-Anfal, 8.46)

Love of God is impossible for one to acquire without following the Prophet

According to this verse, the strength and unity of the Muslims lie in their submission to God and His Messenger. The Sunna is the unique way or example set by God’s Messenger for the Muslims to follow. Also, it is through the Sunna that a Muslim can live according to the Qur’an. By putting the Qur’an into practice, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, established the way which the Muslims must follow. From this viewpoint, the Sunna is more comprehensive than the Qur’an and, without it, the Muslims cannot design their life according to the Qur’an. So, obedience to God is possible by obeying the Messenger or by following his Sunna. This is explicitly stated in the following verse:

Say (O Muhammad!): ‘If you love God, follow me so that God loves you’. (Al ‘Imran, 3.31)

Love of God is impossible for one to acquire without following the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. No one can claim love of God, nor can he be loved by God, unless he follows the Sunna.

Another verse:

Surely there is for you in God’s Messenger an excellent example for him who aspires to God and the Hereafter, and mentions God oft. (al-Ahzab, 33.21)

In order to secure himself against any deviation and to follow the Straight Path without going astray, a Muslim must cling to the Sunna

In order to secure himself against any deviation and to follow the Straight Path without going astray, a Muslim must cling to the Sunna of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings.

One day a woman came to ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud and said: ‘I have heard that you call down God’s curse upon the women who have tattoos on their bodies, who pluck hairs on their faces, who force their teeth apart in order to look more beautiful, and who change the creation of God.’ Ibn Mas‘ud answered: ‘This is to be found in the Scripture of God.’ The woman objected: ‘I swear by God that I have read whatever is between the two covers of the Book but could not find anything in it related to this matter’, Ibn Mas‘ud concluded: ‘Our Prophet called God’s curse upon the women who wear wigs, who join somebody’s hair to theirs, and who have tattoos on their bodies. And, have you not read in the Qur’an: Whatever the Messenger brings to you, adopt it, and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it (al-Hashr, 59.7)?’

The Qur’an also declares:

Nay, by your Lord, they will never become believers until they choose you as judge to settle the matters in dispute between them. (al-Nisa’, 4.65)

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THE SUNNA IN THE TRADITIONS

The way of the Prophet is the way of God, so following his way means walking in the luminous atmosphere of the Divine Message. For this reason, rejection of the Sunna implies disobedience to God. This is stated by the Prophet himself: Whoever obeys me, obeys God; and whoever disobeys me, disobeys God. Such a disobedience results in punishment of Hell:

‘The whole of my nation will enter Paradise, except those who have rebelled.’ When asked who rebelled, the Prophet answered: ‘Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise; and whoever disobeys me surely has rebelled.’

Only by following the Sunna can the Muslims maintain their unity

As explained earlier, the Sunna is the link between the Muslims of the past and the future. Only by following the Sunna can the Muslims maintain their unity. Concerning this, God’s Messenger declares:

Those who, among you, survive me will witness many disputes and disagreements. It is, therefore, incumbent upon you to follow my way and the way of my rightly-guided and rightly-guiding successors. Hold firm to that way, cling to it with your teeth.

Following the Sunna gains much more importance especially when Islam is attacked and the Muslims lose the upper hand in the world. The Messenger states that at a time when the Muslim community breaks with Islam and consequently disintegrates, the one who holds firm to his Sunna gains the reward of a martyr.

The Sunna being so important and vital in the maintenance of the Islamic life, whether individually or collectively, those who still dare to criticize it should be asked, as the Qur’an asks unbelievers: Where are you headed?