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What is the Sunnah?

Sunnah is the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (SAW), as well as various reports about Muhammad's (SAW) companions.

The Sunnah and belief about Allah

The second most important source of authority for Muslims is the Sunnah. This refers to the practices, customs and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that are considered to be a perfect example. They are found in Hadith and other texts.

Many of Muhammad’s (SAW) followers memorised his teachingswhile he was alive. These were later written down and scrutinised and then collections were made of them. Different groups of Muslims accept different collections of Hadith as reliable sources of authority.

When reading the Hadith, Muslims can experience the way Muhammad (SAW) explained and illustrated the teaching in the Qur’an including the teaching about Allah. For example, the following Hadith might help a Muslim better understand the idea that Allah is all-forgiving:

“Allah the Almighty has said: 'O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me, and hope in Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds in the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I shall forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with an earthful of sins and were you then to face Me, without having associated anything with Me, I shall grant you an earthful of pardon.'”

Recorded by Al-Tirmidhi (An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith -42)

Miracles

Miracles are not a major concern of Islam. There are examples of miracles recorded in the Qur’an, in particular the Al-Mi‘raj when Muhammad (SAW) was taken through the heavens to meet Allah. The Qur’an makes clear that Allah can perform miracles if he wishes. The Qur’an itself is sometimes seen as a living miracle because of the way in which it has been passed down unchanged.

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Example:

As far as a person’s sleeping after praying Fajr is concerned, no text (of Qur’an or hadeeth) has been reported to indicate that this is prohibited, so the general principle applies (i.e., everything is permitted except that which has been expressly forbidden).

But the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his Companions after praying Fajr was to remain sitting in the place where they had prayed until the sun rose, as is reported in Saheeh Muslim (1/463) in the hadeeth of Sammaak ibn Harb, who said: “I asked Jaabir ibn Samurah, ‘Did you used to sit with the Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘Yes, frequently. He would not get up from the place where he had prayed Subh until the sun rose. When the sun rose, he would get up. They used to talk about things that had happened during the Jaahiliyyah (time period translated as Age of Ignorance), and they would laugh and smile.’”

Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked his Lord to bless his ummah in the mornings, as is reported in the hadeeth of Sakhr al-Ghaamidi, who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “O Allah, bless my ummah in the mornings.’ Whenever he sent out troops or an army, he would send them at the beginning of the day.’” Sakhr was a trader, and he used to send out his caravans at the beginning of the day, and he did well as a result and made money.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah, with an isnaad in which there is some jahaalah (i.e., one narrator is unknown); corroborating evidence is to be found in a hadeeth narrated by ‘Ali, Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbaas, Ibn Mas’ood and others, may Allah be pleased with them all.)

For this reason some of the salaf disliked the idea of sleeping after Fajr. Ibn Abi Shaybah reported in his Musannaf (5/222, no. 25442) with a saheeh isnaad from ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr that he said: “Al-Zubayr used to forbid his children to sleep in the morning.” ‘Urwah said: “I do not hear of any man who sleeps in the morning, but I lose interest in that person.”

In summary then, people should make the most of this time which can bring many benefits in this world and in the Hereafter, but if a person sleeps at this time to gain strength to do his work, there is nothing wrong with this, especially if it is not easy for him to sleep at any other time of the day. Ibn Abi Shaybah reported in his Musannaf (5/223, no. 25454) from the hadeeth of Abu Yazeed al-Madeeni who said: “Umar came to Suhayb one morning and found him sleeping, so he sat down until he woke up. Suhayb said: ‘The Ameer al-Mu’mineen is sitting in his place and Suhayb is sleeping!’ ‘Umar said to him: ‘I did not like to disturb your sleep that could be beneficial for you.’”

As for sleeping after ‘Asr, this is also permitted; there is no saheeh hadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to indicate that sleeping at this time is prohibited.

As for the words, “Whoever sleeps after ‘Asr and loses his mind as a result has no-one to blame but himself,” which are attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), this is a false hadeeth and there is no proof that these words were uttered by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

What is the hadith?

a collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad which, with accounts of his daily practice (the Sunna), constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Qur'an.

• any of the sayings from the Hadith.

What Are The Hadith?

The Arabic word Hadith means “speech.” In Islam, hadiths relate to stories or narrations about Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).

Sometimes the hadith may be a quotation of Prophet Muhammad. Or the hadith might be a story about something that happened during his lifetime.

The hadeeths are used as legislative statements and are second only to the Quran in importance in Islam.

The hadiths are very important in Islam because they fill in the details on Islamic life. Where the Quran gives Muslims a broad framework for how we should live, the Hadeeths give us specific information. Here are some examples of how the hadiths give us specifics on general commandments from the Quran.

The Quran commands Muslims to pray. –However, Prophet Muhammad has informed us how and when to perform Islamic prayers in several hadiths.The Quran commands Muslims to make Hajj. – However, narrations describing the Hajj and Umrah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) tell us how to make Hajj.The Quran commands Muslims to give Zakah. – However, it is hadith quoting narrations from Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that tell us who must pay Zakah, and how much to give.

To put it simple, the hadith explain the Sunnah(practice or tradition) of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Who Wrote The Hadeeth?

The Hadeeths weren’t actually written. The hadiths were reported by several of Prophet Muhammad’s companions. Some of the companions, or Sahaba, recorded the hadiths, but none of them exist today. The stories, or hadeeths, relating to Prophet Muhammad were passed down orally for the first hundred years of Islamic history.

By the time the first collection of hadeeths was put into written form, the Islamic world had grown very large and had been through several upheavals. Muslims realized the importance of the Sunnah, or tradition, of Prophet Muhammad.

With the encouragement of Muslim rulers, several scholars began to collect the hadeeths.

In order to weed out the several hundred fabricated and inaccurate hadeeths prevalent amongst at that time, the scholars of Hadeeth formulated a science of hadith collection. Using a rigid method of inspection, they were able to weed out the weak and fabricated hadeeths from the strong and authentic ones.

The Six Major Collections of Hadeeth

This determination to collect the most authentic hadeeths possible led to six major collections. These hadeeth collections have varying levels of authenticity and acceptance.

The first two collections, written by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, are considered the most authentic by most Sunni Muslims. The other four are generally accepted as well, but are not as highly regarded.

Imam Bukhari’s and Imam Muslim’s collections are called “Saheeh” (authentic) but in reality all six collections contain mostly authentic hadeeths.

The Six Major Hadeeth collections are:

Saheeh Bukhari – Compiled by Imam Muhammad Ibn Ismail Al-Bukhari. It is said Imam Bukhari collected over 300000 hadiths but only considered 2600 authentic enough to go into this collection.

Saheeh Muslim – Compiled by Imam Muslim Ibn Al-Hajjaj. Imam Muslim was the student Imam Bukhari. Imam Muslim’s collection contains about 4000 hadeeths.

Sunan Nasa’I – Compiled by Ahmad Ibn Shuaib Al-Nasa’i. This collection contains over 5000 hadeeths.

Sunan Abu Dawud – Compiled by Abu Dawud Sulayman Al-Sijistani.

Sunan Tirmidhi – Compiled by Abu Isa Muhammad At-Tirmidhi.

Sunan Ibn Majah – Compiled by Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Majah Al-Rabi Al-Qazwini.

Examples of Hadith

The prophets of Allah are our guides and examples. In order to live a righteous life of monotheistic worship, we have to follow their example. The only prophet for whom we have detailed knowledge of their daily life is Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).

We can follow Prophet Muhammad’s tradition, or his sunnah, by learning, studying, and implementing the authentic hadeeths. The purpose of this website is to impart knowledge about the basics of Islam. However, even following the basics of Islam is impossible without using the hadeeths.

There are some misguided people who state we only need to follow the Quran. No doubt, the Quran is the most important piece of literature to Muslims as it comes straight from Allah.

However, Prophet Muhammad was sent by Allah to give us guidance and it is imperative that we follow his teachings as well as what is in the Quran.

Here are several hadeeths that prove just how important the Sunnah, or tradition of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is to our daily lives as Muslims:

The Five Pillars of Islam

Islam is built upon five [pillars]: the testimony that there is no god but Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah; establishing regular prayer (salaah); paying the zakaah; Hajj (pilgrimage) and fasting Ramadaan.

Al-Bukhaari.

Islamic Prayers

(The difference) between the believer and the disbeliever is the Salah.

Imam Muslim.

Laylatul Qadar (The Night of Power)

Verily I saw Lailatul Qadr, and I was caused to forget it, and indeed it is during the last ten (nights). It is during an odd night and I saw myself as if I were prostrating in mud and water.
Imam Muslim.

Islamic Dress

Narrated Aisha (the Prophet’s wife): Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr, entered upon the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) wearing thin clothes. The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) turned his attention from her. He said: ‘O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this, and he pointed to her face and hands.

Abu Dawud, Book 32, Number 4092

Articles of Faith

The Islamic Articles of Faith are described in a long and famous hadeeth known as “The Hadeeth of Jibreel.” This hadeeth gives detailed information about faith in Islam and signs of the last day. It was collected by Imam Muslim.

From these hadeeths we can see how important the statements and stories of Prophet Muhammad are to Islam. Anyone who denies this fact is seriously misguided and not really practicing Islam at all.

Source: Islamiclearningmaterials.com

So what is the difference?

Sunnah is the way of the Prophet (SAW). The way prophet (SAW) acted,prayed, slept and coversed with people etc. Hadith on the other hand is the sayings of the Prophet(SAW). The difference between Hadith and Sunnah is very large.