Sunnah

Presented by Irawan Febianto, MMgt

Source: Dr. Ahcene Lahsasna, INCEIF, (2008)

The Holy SunnahThe word sunnah in its literal meaning stands for

the “well known path” which is followed again and again.

This may be the path on which people tread or it may be a practice. Whether it is good or bad

It is defined as: “What was transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) of his words,

acts and (tacit) approvals”. The term Sunnah shall be used in the context as the Sunnah

of the Prophet (pbuh) and a source of Islamic laws.

Literally Technically

Other meaning of sunna

Sunnah In different meaning according to discipline

1: jurists Apply it to mean recommended acts of worship, while others apply it to supererogatory acts (nawafil). This term in this case is opposite of the wajib.

2. The word sunnah is opposite of bid’ah (innovation). in matters of religion. Therefore we say this act is a sunnah,” that means is s legal.

The meaning of “legal” is assigned to it irrespective of the legality arising from the Qur’an or the Sunnah. Therefore such act is a bid’ah it means it is not legal

according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

3. The term sunnah is used to mean the practice of the Companions (Sahabah)irrespective of their relying in it on the Book, the Sunnah, or their own ijtihãd.

Kahbar: What was transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) Or his companions of words, acts and (tacit) approvals, attribute.

Atar: equivalent to the adith Marfu (to the prophet) or Mawquf (Companion). Some jurist confines it only to mawquf

HadithThe word hadith means “saying.”

In this sense, the word hadith has a meaning narrower than that of sunnah.

Some of the traditionists use the term hadith to mean all that is reported from the Prophet (peace be on him), that is, words, acts, and approvals.

In this sense, the words sunnah and hadith are synonyms.

In this literal meaning it could stand for the sayings of the Prophet, that is, qawl, act, tacit.

hadifth, is the record of the Sunnah of the Prophet.

This record may be written or in the form of an oral report.

In this sense, one hadith may contain more than one sunnah.

When we say that a sunnah has been reported with a complete chain, what we mean is that it is contained in a hadfth with perfect isnãd.

Justification of the Sunnahas a source

of law

Fom the BookOn the Basis

of Ijmã’ (Consensus)

Rational Argument

“Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him.” [Qur’aii 53 3, 4] . وماینطق عن الھوى إن ھو إال وحي یوحي

The Sunriah is unanimously accepted as a primary source of law and ahkam can be derived from it independently of any other source. “And We have sent down

unto thee (also) the Message that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent down for them.” [Qur’an 16 : وأنزلنا إلیك الذكرى لتبین للناس 26{44ما نزل إلیھم

0 ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Apostle [Qur’an یا أیھا الذین أمنوا أطیعوا هللا [59 4والرسول

Kind of sunnah

the Sunnah is classified in two ways

The channels through which the ahkam are established.

This is also called the classification of the Sunnah according to its nature.

The kinds of the Sunnak with respect to the channels through which it is transmitted to us.

It is classification Of the Sunnah according to its written record,

This is apply to the entire written record.

DirayaUnderstanding the concept

Of the Hadith

RiwayaTransmission

Classification of the Sunnah

Ahkam Transmission

Qawl (word) Fiil (Act) Taqrir (approval) Muttasil Munqati

Mutawatir

Mashhur

Ahad

Sahih Daiif

Kinds of the Sunnah with respect to the

channels of the ahkãrn

sunnah qawiyyah is the sayings of the Prophet

(peace be on him).

sunnah fi’liyyah is the acts of the Prophet

(peace be on him).

sunnah taqririyah is the tacit approval

given by the Prophet (peace be on him).

Act Word Tacit

Sunnah al-qawliyyah

It is defined as the sayings of the Prophet (peace be on him) through which he intended the laying down of the law

or the explanation of the ahkãm.

Some well known examples are:

(The nature of acts is dependent upon the underlying intentions) األعمال بالنیات No injury is to be caused and none is to be borne)ال ضرروال ضرار

It is to be noted that not every saying of the Prophet (peace be on him) is a source of law.

Al-Sunnah al- fi‘liyyah

It is defined as the acts of

the Prophet (peace be on him)

having a legal content,

like his prayer, fasts, hajj.

Ordinary physical acts performed by every

human being, like eating, drinking, walking and sitting.

Acts that are specific to the Prophet

(peace be on him) and the rest of the ummah is not to

follow him in such acts. number of his

marriages

Acts that are intended to be explanations of

unelaborated rulesin the texts.

All such explanations have the status of law.

- The persuasive force of such explanations is the same as that of the text being elaborated. - The explanation of a mujmal (unelaborated) word will take the force of the mujmal on which it is based.

- The acts of his prayer, after his saying, “Pray as you see me praying,” as well as his acts concerning the rites of hajj based on his saying, “Take (the knowledge of) your rites from me,” are examples.

Acts that establish new laws obviously have

the force of law.

Different acts of the prophet

These acts or the method of their performance that he adopted are to be followed in the same way as his sayings. The acts that do not have a legal content do not become a source of law.

Sunnah taqririyyah

It is defined as the commission of certain acts, by word or deed, by some companions and the maintenance of silence by the

Prophet without expressing disapproval.

His silence in such a case is called taqrir or tacit approval

and is considered a sunnah that becomes a source for the permissibility

of an act or a statement.

An exampleof this type is the statement of Mu’ãdh ibn Jabal when he was

sent to Yemen and the Prophet asked him how he will decide cases.

This approval was a little more emphatic than mere silence.

Implication Implication

Kinds of Sunnah with respect to its modes

of transmission Ahadith (traditions)

are divided, with respect to narration

into two types.

the ahãdith whose chain of narration is complete.

These are the ones in which the narrators are mentioned

from the beginning of the sanad up to the Messenger

of Allah, and no narrator is missing.

the ahãdith from the chains of which one or more narrators are missing.

The hadith from which a narrator is

missing is calledm’ursal by the hanafis.

Traditionists (Muhaddithün) confine the term mursal

to a tradition from the chain of which the name of the Companion is missing.

while they term as munqati’ a tradition from the chain of which

the name of a narrator other than a Companion

is missing.

Mursal Hanafi Munqati MajorityMuttasil

Hadith Muttasil

Hadith Mutawatir Hadth al-A had Hadith Mashhür

The majority of the jurists divided the muttasil ahãdith into two types: mtttawãtir and ahad.

In between these two, the Hanaf jurists added a third category called mashhür.

Hadith MutawatirThe mutawãtir hadith is the one that is related by such a large

number of people that their agreement to propagate

a falsehood cannot be conceived.

When all the narrators are in agreement about the words as well as meaning, the

hadith indicates tawãtur by its very words.

An example is the words of the Prophet: “He who intentionally attributes a falsehood to me should prepare his abode in the Fire.”

This tradition was related by a large number of Companions in these words.

This makes it tawãtur lafzi.

The other kind is known as tawãtur ma’nawi, which is a tradition that conveys the

same meaning even if the words are not exactly the same.

Most of the mutawdtir traditions are of the latter category.

This applies to the narration from the beginning of its chain to its end, where it reaches the Prophet.

tawãtur lafzi tawãtur ma’nawi

Large number In the 3 generation

Large number

5, 7, 20, 40, 7o, 317, 500,

Islamic ruling of the Implication of tawatur

Qat’i al-thubüt - conveys definitive knowledge (ilm)

The mutawãtir tradition conveys definitive knowledge (ilm) and is also definitive with respect to its authenticity.

mutawãtir tradition is qat’i with respect to ‘ilm as well as thubüt. In other words, it must be followed under all circumstances.

Qat’i al-thubüt means that we are certain about its narration from the Prophet.

that the words of such a tradition may be subject to interpretation, in which case the meaning arising from such a tradition (its dalãlah)

will not be definitive, but will be probable.

Hadith Mashhür

the majority of the jurists classified the tradition with a complete chain

into two types.

but the Hanaff jurists added a third category called

mashhur.

The mashhur tradition is one the number

of whose reporters do not reach the level of tawatur

in the first generation.

if one or two Companions related the tradition from the

Prophet, but in the next generation,

that is, the generation of the Täbi’ün, a very large number

narrated from them and so on till the end

of the chain.

mashhur (well-known) is the number of persons in the

second and the third generation narrating it,

because after this compilation

started and all traditions became well-known.

The mashhür tradition, according to the Hanafis, falls into a category that is lesser in strength than the mutawãtir tradition, but is stronger than the khabar wahid.

Hadth al-A had.

The hadith al-ahãd or the khaba’r wahid is reported by one or two persons from the beginning of its chain up to its end when all traditions were recorded.

the narrators do not reach the level of tawãtur in either of the firstthree periods: the period of the Companions, the Täbi’ün, and the Tab’ Täbi’ün.

After the third period, as stated above, the traditions were compiled and all became well known.

The khabar wdhid is generally not relied upon by jurists in matters of faith (aqa’id), but it is accepted in matters of conduct, that is,

in matters covered by the mu’amalat.

there is generally an agreement of the Muslims about the acceptance of the khabar wahid in matters of fiqh.

Conditions for acting upon the muttasil hadith

Hanafis stipulate three conditions

for the khabar wãhid:

That the narrator should not have acted against the

implication of the report.

If he does act against it, the reliance will be upon his reported act rather

than on the report.

A narrator does not act against a report from

the Prophet, unless he knows that the content ofthe report was abrogated.

1

Cont.

Condition of Kahbar al Wahid

That the report should not pertain to a matter

of universal need, that is, something which is performed often and continuously repeated.

Such an act requires that it be known

to many people due to their need to know it prior to performance.

An act that should be known to many people by

necessity will push its report to the level of a report that is

rnutawatir or mashhür, and it cannot be the subject-matter

of a khabar wãhid.

2

Cont.

Condition of Kahbar al Wahid

it should not oppose analogy (qiyas). if the companion is not jurist

By this is meant opposition to general and fundamental principles.

If a report opposes a general principle it ceases to be a valid proof for the ahkãm.

The reason is that the principle is usually

not derived from a single text, but is based upon a number of texts, which

together indicate a definitive meaning.

3

khabar wahid indicates a probable meaning that cannot be preferred over a definitive (qati) meaning.

The Hanafis made an exemption from this rule in the case of traditions reported or upheld by the Companions who were well known as jurists and mujtahids, like the first four caliphs, Ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn Mas’ üd,

Exemption

This condition stipulated by Isa ibn Aban

Imam MãlikConditions

Imam stipulates for the khabar wãid that it should not oppose the practice of the people

of Medina.

If it does oppose it, the obligation is to follow the practice of the people of

Medina and to forgo the requirement of the

khabar wãhid,

The reason is that the practice of the people of Medina amounts

to a mutawatir report, and the mutawdtir being definitive isto be preferred

over the khabar wahid, which is probable.

Implication Meaning Justification

Imam al-Shãfi’i&

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

Shafii

Imam Shafii does not stipulatefor the khabar wahid any

other condition except that it has a sound and complete

chain of narration.

Ibn Hanbal

The condition stipulated by Ahmad ibn Hanbal is similar to that laid down

by al-Shãfi

- Imam Ahmed sometimes accepts traditions that do not strictly

meet this condition.

- He is reported to have preferred even

mursal traditions over analogy.

Hadith that is notmuttasit

(myrsal or Munqati)

MunqatiA tradition that is not

continuous (muttasil) is one that has the names of

one or more narrators missing from the chain of narration.

MursalIt is like a reliable narrator

from a later generation saying: “The Messenger of

Allah said that . . . .“

The jurists disagreed about the employment of

a mursal tradition as proof for a hukm.

If the name of someone other than a Companion is missing,

they term the tradition as munqati’.

As for the Traditionists, they apply the term mursal to

a tradition from the chain of which the

name of the Companion is missing.

Al-Shäfi’i does not rely upon it, unless its

authenticity is supported by another tradition.

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal accept it

Soundness of this hadith

Mursal of the companion is accepted without any argument

-Majority accept mursal.

-Ibn Hajib and Ibn Humam accept mursal if it is from recognized scholar.

- shafii accept it with condition:

1) from great scholar of tabiin.

2) suported by other ahadith. 3)supported by the fatwa of jurists

Status of the Sunnah with Respect to the Qur’än

If the mujtahid does not find a text in the Qur’an for a

case he has to settle, he has recourse to the

Sunnah for the derivation of the hukm.

The evidence for this is the well known tradition

of Mu’adh ibn Jabal who was sent to Yemen

by the Prophet.

In addition to this there is the letter of ‘Umar ibn

al-Khatab to QadI Shurayh in which he instructs

him to follow the Qur’an first and then the Sunnah.

Role of the Sunnah With regards to the

Quran

Reemphasis the injunctions of the Qur’an.

Explain and elaborate the Concise injunction of

The Quran

The Sunnah qualified the General meaning

(taksis al Am)

The Sunnah restrict the Absolute content of the

Quran (taqyyid al mutlaq)

The Sunnah establish and enact a new ruling

The Sunnah abrogates the Qura’n.

Reemphasis the injunctions of the Qur’an.

Prophet said: it is unlawful to Possess the property of a

Muslim without his expressedConsent

ال یحل مال امرئ مسلم إال بطیبة من نفسھ

Quran said: o you who believeEat not up your property among

Yourselves unjustly except it Be a trade amongst you by

Mutual consent.

یا أیھا الذین أمنوا ال تأكلوا أموالكم بینكمبالباطل إال أن تكون تجارة عن تراض منكم

The Sunnah explains And elaborates the

Concise of the Qur’an.

The ahkam are often found in the Qur’an in general,

undetermined, or unelaborated form. The Sunnah explain

And elaborates these ahkãm.

- The timings of prayer - their number, their rok’as;

kinds of wealth in which zakãt is to be paid

- the amount to be paid in each

- the time of obligation;

An example of this the distinction of the white thread from the

black thread during the month of Ramadän.

The Sunnah explains that this is the light of day

and the darkness of the night

The Sunnah qualified the General meaning

(taksis al Am)

example of the restrictionof a general meaning is

to be found in inheritance: “For the male two shares

of the female.”

The Sunnah qualified the general meaning Of the verse and mentions that

the murderer will not inherit.

This role of the sunnah here is to qualified The general meaning of the of the Quran

The Sunnah restrict the Absolute content of the

Quran (taqyyid al mutlaq)

cut off the hand of thethief as a recompense For that they committed

The prophet said: the hand a ofA thief should be cut off for

Stealing a quarter a of dinar. The sunna specified the right handAnd the location which is wrist joint

This role is obvious in relation To many unqualified and General verses of Quran regarding Different ruling of ibadat and muamalat

The Sunnah establish and enact a new ruling

The prophet prohibited the practice of Mut’ah marriage and the easting of

Domestic donkey

In addition sunnah prohibited easting wild animal With canine teeth, sdakat fitr,

wearing gold for man, ect

This role of the sunnah here is to enact A new ruling (sunnah tashri’iayh), sunnah

Mu’assisah

The Sunnah abrogates the Qura’n.

The jurists provide several examples of this. lmãm al-Shafi does not accept this and says that only the Qur’an

can abrogate the Qur’an and the Srnnah can abrogate the Sunnah.

Some modern scholars deny the theory of abrogation altogether.

وهللا أعلم بالصواب

وصلى هللا على نبینا محمد وعلى الھ وصحبھ أجمعین

والسالم علیكم ورحمة هللا وبركاتھ