The status of the Sunnah in Islam

The Role of the Sunnah towards the Quran:

The Sunnah cannot dispense with the Quran: Allaah Almighty chose Muhammad  , as His Prophet and selected him to deliver His final message. The Quran was revealed to the Prophet  in which Allaah commanded him to obey everything that was ordered of him; that is, to convey and explain His message to the people.

Allaah Almighty says what means: "…And We revealed to you the message [i.e., the Quran] that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them…" [Quran: 16:44]

The declaration mentioned in the verse contains two commands:

1. To propagate the speech of Allaah (i.e. the Quran). This is to openly communicate the Quran to (all) mankind as Allaah Almighty has revealed to the Prophet  that which means: "O Messenger! Announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord…" [Quran: 5:67]

‘Aa’ishah  is reported to have said: "Whoever says that Muhammad  concealed anything that he was commanded to communicate has forged a great lie against Allaah." Then she read the abovementioned verse. [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]

Another narration is found in the book of Imaam Muslim  which states: "If the Messenger of Allaah  had concealed something that he was commanded to communicate, he would have concealed the saying of the Almighty (which means): "And [remember, O Muhammad], when you said to the one on whom Allaah bestowed favour: 'Keep your wife and fear Allaah,' while you concealed within yourself that which Allaah is to disclose. And you feared the people, while Allaah has more right that you fear Him." [Quran: 33:37]

2. To clarify words, sentences or verses from the Quran that are not easily understood by most people. Some verses may be comprehensive or general in their meaning, and the Sunnah clarifies and defines them through the Prophet’s sayings, actions and confirmations.

The Necessity of the Sunnah to Understand the Quran:

Allaah says what means: "[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands..." [Quran: 5:38] In the context of this verse, the thief and the hand are mentioned in a general manner. It is the Sunnah that explains the first of them and places a restriction on it by explaining the meaning of the word 'thief' to mean the one who steals something worth at least a quarter of a Deenaar (a unit golden currency) according to the saying of the Prophet : "There is no cutting of the hand unless the thing stolen is worth a quarter of a Deenaar or more." [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]

The latter (i.e., how the hand is to be amputated) is explained by the actions of the Prophet  and his Companions . They would amputate the hand of the thief from the wrist, as is known from a saying of the Prophet .

There are many other verses of the Quran that cannot be completely understood except through the Sunnah, such as:

1.        Allaah says what means: "And when you travel throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer, [especially] if you fear that those who disbelieve may disrupt [or attack] you. Indeed, the disbelievers are ever to you a clear enemy." [Quran: 4:101] It is obvious from this verse that fear is a pre-requisite for the shortening of prayers. However, some of the Companions  asked the Prophet :"Why do we shorten our prayers while we feel safe?" He replied: "It is an allowance from Allaah, so accept it." [Muslim]

2. Allaah says what means: “Say: 'Who has forbidden the adornment of [i.e., from] Allaah which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?..." [Quran: 7:32]

But the Sunnah has forbidden some 'adornments', and this is evident from the saying of the Prophet : "The wearing of silk and gold has been made unlawful for males and lawful for the females of my nation.''[At-Tirmithi]

3. Allaah says what means: "Say: 'I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine – for indeed, it is impure - or it be [that slaughtered in] disobedience, dedicated to other than Allaah…” [Quran: 6:145]

But the Sunnah has forbidden many things not mentioned in the abovementioned verse; an example of this lies in the saying of the Prophet : "All predatory animals with tusks and every bird with claws are forbidden for consumption." There are other narrations that have forbidden the consumption of such animals, such as the one where the Prophet  is reported to have said: "Allaah and His Messenger have prohibited the consumption of domesticated donkeys, for they are filth."[Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]

There are many other examples that show the necessity of the Sunnah within Islamic Law. There is no other way to understand the Quran correctly except with the interpretation of the Sunnah.

The Inadequacy of Philology to Understand the Quran:

The Companions of the Prophet  were the most knowledgeable of people in the Arabic language, yet, if they were to attempt to understand the verses quoted above by relying on the Arabic language alone, then they would have erred.

It is agreed upon by the majority of Muslim scholars, past and present, that the Quran should first and foremost be interpreted by the Quran itself, then by the Sunnah, then by the sayings of the Companions, and so on.

It is here that the cause of deviation of scholastic theologians (Ahl Al-Kalaam), both ancient and modern, becomes clear, as well as their opposition to our righteous predecessors  in doctrine and law.

In short, what is obligatory upon all Muslims is that they do not separate the Quran from the Sunnah; moreover, it is obligatory to follow both of them and to formulate laws using both. This is a safeguard for the people, so that they do not falter and regress, as explained by the Prophet : "I am leaving behind two things - you will never go astray if you hold fast to them: the Quran and my Sunnah." [At-Tirmithi]

Source: A lecture delivered by Shaykh Al-Albaani  

History of the Sunnah – IV: The era of the Companions and their Followers

6 - Writing of the Hadeeth

Earlier in this series we discussed in some detail the writing of the Sunnah in the era of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) and also showed that the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them were encouraged by him  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) to learn writing and that many of them learned and mastered it. Thus, not only did the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them use their gift of strong memories to start a tradition of oral transmission of the Sunnah, but also they added to that the use of their newly learned skill of writing. Many Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them had recorded these Sunnah for their personal references and to supplement their memorized Hadeeth. The existence of these personal references has been the subject of numerous treatises by old and contemporary scholars, both Muslims and non-Muslims.

There are, however, two points, which are mentioned by those who believe that the Sunnah was not recorded by the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them and they need to be clarified. The first is the claim that some of the well-known Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them were reported to have refused to write the Sunnah and have ordered others not to write it. Such reports included Abu Bakr, ‘Umar lbn Al-Khattaab, ‘Ali, Ibn Abbaaas and Ibn Mas’ood  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them. And while some of these reports are authentic, none of them present the writing of the Sunnah as being forbidden to undertake, rather these Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them were afraid that this writing might generate confusion with the Quran, and no report ever indicated that they tried to prevent others from writing it. In addition, these Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them were against having a personal collection of the narrations, not against writing the Sunnah in general, later some of them, like Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Ali  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them while being Caliphs, each ordered the writing of the Sunnah in occasions for a variety of reasons.

The second point is the claim that it was ‘Umar Ibn Abd Al-‘Azeez, who first ordered the writing of the Sunnah as a collection. Obviously, this is cited in support of the claim that no written record was made of the Sunnah until that point in time. This is not true, for the authentic records prove that many collections-mostly personal were dated back to the era of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) and that of the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them. ‘Umar's  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him efforts however were part of the attempt to collect the Hadeeths on a global scale to facilitate its availability to all. Eventually this objective was achieved and all of the Sunnah was put together in the well-known books, which represent a tradition of care and preservation unmatched by any religion or nation. It is an undisputable fact that the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them used their writing skills to preserve the Sunnah and convey it to their Followers.

7 - Practice

An extremely important way the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them used to preserve the Sunnah was their efforts to bring the Sunnah into their practice and shape their life according to it. They  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them truly understood that the emphasis Islam places on knowledge goes beyond the mere theoretical understanding and intellectual exercise. They realized that Prophet Muhammad’s  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) teachings are not philosophical contemplations but ways and guidance that are intimately connected to the affairs of this life. They  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them saw in the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) a trainer and a role model, whatever they absorbed for him  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) they immediately put into practice. Their atmosphere was one of following the Sunnah at all levels, an environment that was produced by a widespread reverence and a constant practice of the Sunnah. This environment provided the best situation for them to teach and train those who followed them the whole religion as they learned it and practiced it thus preserving it for all the time to come. We are all indebted to them.

Efforts of the Followers  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them to preserve the Sunnah

The Followers (taabi'een)  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them were the closest, of all Muslim generations, to the generation of the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them in terms of righteousness, knowledge, Ijtihaad (deduction of juristic opinion on matters which are not specified in the Quran or the Sunnah), keenness in following the guidance from the Sunnah, and seriousness in spreading the religion. This was expected for they were the Companions' students and were the first to receive the religion and knowledge from them as well as made every effort to preserve them.

In their era, Islam spread over a very large area of the known world, people from all religions, nations and races came into Islam, and the Followers  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them had a major responsibility in preserving the religion as well as deliver it to all of these people—authentically and effectively. That turned out to be a major task for the number of the new comers into this young religion was far overwhelming to any number of scholars, teachers or callers (to Islam). What made their job even more difficult was the fact that some of those who did not want Islam to prevail, chose to fight it from within—by pretending to be Muslims while their ultimate goal was to hurt Islam.

The challenges the Followers  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them had to deal with were new and difficult but Allaah guided them to do the right thing - to follow the methodology set and provided to the Companions of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). The books of the Seerah (the Prophet's biography), Islamic history and biographies are full of their struggle and success stories. They should be consulted by all for they are an incredible source of knowledge and inspiration.

Looking at the era of the Followers, one can easily see that they followed the exact footsteps of the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them in their methodology in preserving the Sunnah. A closer examination however reveals that the Followers  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them efforts to preserve the Sunnah and spread the religion were further characterized by at least four points:

·        They followed the same methodology they learned from the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them in loving the Sunnah, learning it, and in following and teaching it. They embraced it strongly and honestly. However, they had to add to it new rules as well as extend some of the existing ones. They were facing a situation in which efforts to distort the Sunnah were rampant, especially in some places like Kufah. Shu'bah Ibn Al-Hajjaaj, may Allaah have mercy upon him, for example, used to say: “Accept knowledge only from those who are well-known to you.”

·        They showed an unrivaled enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge. Some of the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them had to teach groups that numbered in the thousands. Ibn Asaaker  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him wrote in At-Taareekh Al-Kabeer (the Grand History) that Abu Ad-Dardaa’  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him had more than 1500 students in his circle in the Masjid (mosque) of Damascus alone. They encouraged one another as well as their children and the young among them to seek knowledge and devote all the time needed to master it. They learned the Sunnah so well that they were capable of applying it in a fashion similar to that of the Companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them.

·        They made a distinctive effort to write down the Sunnah—both at the personal and official levels. Records of these personal and official (by order of the Caliph ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abd Al-Azeez  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him) writings are available today.

.      They made an amazing effort in spreading the Sunnah everywhere and teaching it to all. The large number of study circles was a phenomenon of the Followers'  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them era. Scholars were available in large numbers in all of the regions of the Muslim countries—Egypt, Kufah, Basrah, Syria, North Africa, Spain, Persia and parts of the Indian Subcontinet.

History of the Sunnah – III: The era of the Companions and their followers

As a part of our discussion of the Companions’  methodology in preserving the Sunnah of the Prophet  we mentioned thus far two of its aspects; namely, prudence in narrating the Hadeeth, and verification and substantiation of the Hadeeth before accepting it. Three more aspects are presented here.

3. Study, critique, and assessment of the narrations

Of the ways the Companions  used to preserve the Sunnah, properly learning and studying it, was perhaps the most important. They refer to this using terms like, "Tadaarus" and "Muthaakarah," both of which indicate a studying that involves more than one person as well as a mutual exchange of knowledge and ideas. The results of this "studying and discussing" were manifold. Learning the Sunnah correctly, free of mistakes was one of the goals, and so was the firm memorization of it. And since it was physically impossible for a large number of the Companions  to have equal time access to the Prophet  these discussions were the means through which the narrations known to only a few individuals were passed on to many others, thus expanding the circle of narrators. Books such as Jaami' Bayaan Al-‘Ilm by Ibn Abd Al-Barr  and Al-Jaami’ Li Akhlaaq Ar-Raawi by Al-Khateeb  have many authentic narrations from the Companions  bearing witness to the effectiveness of these discussions in preserving the Sunnah.

Another aspect of the Companions'  methodology in preserving the Sunnah was the critical assessment and evaluation of what they narrated and taught to one another. Anytime a Companion  felt what he heard from another had a problem, he or she would critically analyze it and give his/her opinion about it. A major example of this effort by the Companions  was demonstrated by Badruddeen Az-Zarkashi who wrote a book in which he collected more than seventy narrations in which one Companion, ‘Aa’ishah, the Mother of the Believers  was reported as having corrected other Companions'  narrations based on her assessment of the narrations in light of the Quran and the Hadeeth.

4. Traveling in search of the Hadeeth

Another great effort they made was traveling in search of the Hadeeth, for after the death of the Prophet  the Companions  moved to different places within the Muslim land, and traveling became an essential method of Hadeeth collection, authentication and preservation. Here are a few examples of the Companions’  travel for the sole purpose of confirming certain narrations:

Jaabir Ibn Abdullaah  traveled a whole month to Ancient Syria only to verify one Hadeeth. [Al-Bukhaari]

One of the Companions  traveled to visit Fudhaalah Ibn ‘Ubayd and told him that he came not to visit him but only to ask him about a narration that they both heard together from Prophet  and he was hoping that Fudhaalah  had the complete wording of that Hadeeth. [Abu Daawood]

One of the Companions  left his home in Madeenah in order to meet Abu Ad-Dardaa’  in Damascus only to have Abu Ad-Dardaa’ confirm a narration which this Companion  had already heard from the Prophet. [Ibn Abd Al-Barr]

The Companion Abu Ayyoob  traveled all the way to Egypt to ask ‘Uqbah Ibn ‘Amr  about one Hadeeth. Abu Ayyoob told ‘Uqbah that the two of them were the only living Companions who have heard that Hadeeth directly from the Prophet  and he wanted to confirm the Hadeeth from ‘Uqbah . [Ahmad]

5-Memorization of the Hadeeth

Muslims – one generation after the other – did all that is humanly possible to preserve the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah as accurate as they received it from the Prophet . Beside the extra effort they exacted to develop the Methodology, the Companions  benefited from a talent that came naturally to them, one that was truly befitting to the main undertaking of that methodology—the verbatim transmission of the Sunnah. This unique quality of the Companions  was that they enjoyed powerful memories. It was easy for anyone of them to commit to heart any number of narrations and retain them as such for a very long time.

This quality was not specific only to the Companions  but rather was a common feature of the Arab society as a whole. Many scholars—Muslims and non-Muslim alike – established the fact that the Arabs of that era were masters of language, and their society had a profoundly strong oral tradition. The known narrator of poet­ry, Hammaad, for example, was reported to have memorized at least one hundred long poems for each letter in the Arabic alphabet. That is more than 2800 pieces of poetry. Powerful memory was a source of pride for them and they placed more con­fidence in it than in writing, they believed that writings could be tampered with. Some even took this pride to extreme levels, they would not write anything down for fear that may be taken as indication of defective memory.

Obviously, the Companions  who had more passion for preserving the Sunnah than poetry and literature used this powerful quality to protect and maintain the Sunnah. Imaam Ad-Daarimi  narrated that the Companion Abu Hurayrah  said: "I used to divide the night into three parts. In the first, I would perform the optional night Prayer, in the second I would sleep, and in the third I would spend committing Hadeeth to my memory.” Actually, all of the Companions  considered this an honor and a blessing, for they were encouraged to do so by the saying of the Prophet : "May Allaah make radiant (bestow vigor upon) anyone who heard what I said and commit­ted it to his memory until he is able to convey it to another. Perhaps the person who hears it from him can have a better understanding of it than him.” [At-Tirmithi]

On the other hand, the Prophet  also taught the Companions  two aspects that brought a needed balance to the use of memorization in conveying his Hadeeth, namely the importance of writing, and the need of being moderate in all matters. This fact complemented their efforts in establishing a sound and well rounded methodology.

The phenomenon of “Memory Power” continued to be a general character of the Arab society well into the third and fourth centuries of Hijrah, the time by which all of the Sunnah was collected into books and records. But the diminishing of its prevalence in the society with time did not minimize the role memory played in the preserving of the Sunnah. “Memory Power,” or Dhabt—proficiency in narration, as it later came to be known—became an essential part of the standards used to judge authenticity. Judging the narrators memory power is central in what we know as the science of “Al-Jarh wa Ta'deel.”