The Status of Sunnah in Islam

A Declaration that it cannot dispense with The Qur'an
All
Praise be to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help and His forgiveness.
We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and evils of our
deeds. One whom Allah guides, none can lead him astray, and one whom He
misguides, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is nothing
worthy of worship(1) except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad
(SAW) is His servant and His messenger.
Oh you who believe, Fear Allah Truly, and do not die except as Muslims. (S.3 A.102).
O
Men fear your Lord who created you from one soul, and created its
partner, and from them spread men and women in numbers. Take care, Allah
will question you about it and the kinship. Surely, Allah is ever
watchful of your deeds (S.4 A.1).
O those who believe. Fear Allah and
say what is correct so that it fits you. He will forgive your sins.
Whoever obeys Allah and His messenger that is a great achievement (S.33
A.70-71).
The best of speech is the speech of Allah. That is
The Book of Allah. The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. Of
all matters, the worst are innovations; and everything new is an
innovation, and every innovation is a deviation, and every deviation
leads to Hell-fire.
I do not think that I will be able to offer this
high ranking assembly - especially when there are distinguished ulama
(scholars) and professors present - some knowledge which has not been
dealt with before. If what I think is true, I will rest contented that
my address will be a reminder, as it says in the Qur'an: Remind, for the reminder would benefit the believers (51:55).
I
do not think that my talk in this blessed month of Ramadhan, the month
of importance, is an exposition of something of its merits, rules and
their practice, and the like, which generally the preachers and
instructors touch on, on account of the benefit they give to the
listeners, and procure for them good and blessing; but I have chosen my
talk to be a study of a general nature, surely it is one of the roots of
the Shari'ah (Islamic law). It is a declaration of the importance
attached to the Sunnah in the Islamic law.
The Role of Sunnah Towards The Qur'an
You
all know that Allah, The Blessed and Mighty, chose Muhammad (SAW) as
His Prophet and picked him to deliver the final message. The Qur'an was
revealed to him and commanded him to obey all what He had ordered him to
do, that is, to expound His message to the people. Allah says, We have revealed to you the Reminder (The Qur'an) to expound to people what was revealed to them (16:44).
I think that the declaration mentioned in the verse contains two orders:
1.
Declaration of the word and its arrangement. It is the communication
of the Qur'an and its non-concealment, and its pursuit to Mankind just
as Allah, The Blessed Almighty, has revealed to the heart of the Prophet
(SAW) which is the intent of His saying O Messenger proclaim what is revealed to you from your Lord (5:67).
Sayyida Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) is reported to have said
"Whosoever says that Muhammad (SAW) concealed something which he was
commanded to communicate, is is a great calumny against Allah." Then she
read the abovementioned verse. (Bukhari and Muslim have stated it.)

And
according to the narration of Muslim: "If the Messenger of Allah (SAW)
had concealed something which he was commanded to communicate, he would
have concealed the saying of The Almighty Behold
thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah and thy
favour: Keep your wife to yourself and fear Allah. But thou didst hide
in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest; you did fear
the people, whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him
(33:37).
2. The explanation of the meaning of the word or
sentence or verse for which man needs an explanation, most of which bear
reference to 'Mujmal' (comprehensive) verses or 'Amah' (general) verses
or 'Mutlaq' (unbounded) verses.

Then comes the Sunnah and
clarifies the sentences and specifies the verses called 'Amah' and
defines what is 'mutlaq' that is, in refernce to the saying (Qaul) of
The Prophet (SAW), his deed (Fi'l) and the act he confirmed (Iqrar).
The Necessity of Sunnah to Understand
The Qur'an and Parables on that...
Allah says:The male thief and female theif cutt of their hands (5:38) is a fitting example of that. The thief in it is general like the hand.
The
oral tradition explains the first of them and restricts it by
'as-sareq' (the thief) who steals something worth a fourth of a Dinar(2)
according to the saying of the Prophet (SAW) There is no cutting - of
the hand - unless the thing stolen is worth a fourth of a Dinar or more
(Buhkari & Muslim) the two shaikhs have recorded this Hadeeth.
Again,
the other is explained by the action of the Prophet (SAW) or the action
of his companions and his confirmation. They used to cut the hand of
the thief from the wrist as is known in the work of Hadeeth. The oral
tradition explains the hand mentioned in the verse on Tayammum (dust
ablution) And rub therewith your faces and hands (5:6) is also the palm
of the hand as is stated in a Hadeeth Tayammum is the wiping of the face
and the hands recorded by the two shaikhs and Ahmad and others from a
tradition reported by Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with them).
There are other verses that cannot be completely understood except through Sunnah. They are:
1.
It is whose who believe and confuse not their beliefs with
wrong,'dhulm'that are(truly) in security for they are on(right) guidance
(6:82).

The companions of the Prophet (SAW) understood the word
'dhulm' in its general sense to mean every wrong doing, even if it be
little. On this account the verse is regarded as dubious and they said,
"O Messenger of Allah, which of us did not involve his faith with
obscurity?" He (SAW) said; It is not that. It is only the 'shirk'(3).
Have you not heard what Luqman said: Verily Shirk is a very great sin
(dhulm) (31:13). The two shaikhs have recorded it with others.
2.
Allah says: When you travel on earth, there is no blame on you to
shorten your prayer, for fear the unbelievers will persecute you
(4:101). It is obvious from this verse that fear is a pre-requisite for
the shortening of prayers. Some of the Prophet's companions asked him:
"Why do we shorten our prayers while we feel safe?" He said: It is a
charity from Allah, so accept it (Muslim).
3. Allah says: The carcass and it's blood are forbidden to you (5:3).
In explanation of this verse, the corpse of locusts, fish, the livers,
spleen of blood are lawful. So the Prophet (SAW) said: He has made two
dead things and blood lawful: the locusts and the fish, the liver and
the spleen.

Baihaqi and others have recorded it as 'marfu' type
of hadeeth as also 'mauquf' type. The 'isnad' od 'mauquf' is authentic
and it is as good as 'marfu' tradition, since it is not stated in the
form of a 'ra'y' (decision based on one individual's judgement not on
Qur'an and Sunnah).
4. Allah says: I
find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (food)
forbidden to be taken by one who wishes to, unless it is dead meat or
blood poured forth or the flesh of swine, for it is an abomination, or
what is impious (meat) on which a name has been invoked other thatn
Allah's (6:145).

The Sunnah has forbidden many things not
mentioned in the verse mentioned above, as for example in the saying of
the Holy Prophet (SAW): All predatory animals with tusk and every bird
with claw are forbidden for consumption. There are other traditions
which have forbidden the consumption of such animals as the Prophet
(SAW) is reported to have said on the Day of Khayber: Allah and His
Messenger have prohibited the consumption of domesticated asses, for
they are filth. The two shaikhs have reported it.
5. Allah says: Who
has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His
servants, and the things clean and pure (which he has provided for
sustenance) (7:32).

The Sunnah, too, has forbidden some
adornments, and this is evident from the Prophet (SAW) who is reported
to have met some of his companions, and had a silk garment in one hand,
and gold in the other, and said: These are prohibited to Muslim males,
lawful to females. The hadeeths in their interpretation are many and
well known in both the authentic collections of hadeeths, and others and
the like of many examples well known to scholars familiar with hadeeth
and Islamic Jurispudence.
From what has been stated above, O Muslim
Brethren, you can see the importance attached to Sunnah in Islamic Law.
When we divert our intention again to the exaples mentioned beside
others not mentioned, we are certain that there is no way to understand
the Qur'an correctly except in association with the interpretation of
the Sunnah.
In the first example, the understanding of the 'sahabah'
of 'dhulm' mentioned in the verse is on its general sense, despite the
fact that the (Allah be pleased with them) were, as stated by Ibn
Mas'ud: "The best of this community, most pious, profound in learning,
least of dissimulation." Yet with all that they erred in their
understanding of that.
Were it not for the Prophet (SAW), who held
them back from their mistaken notion, and made them take the step in the
right direction in that the correct meaning of 'dhulm' in the context
is shirk (association of partnership with Allah), we too would have
followed in their wrong thinking. Allah, The Blessed and The Most High
saved us from that wrong notion by the grace of the right direction of
the Prophet (SAW) and his Sunnah.
In the second example - with
Allah's guidance - if not for the hadeeth mentioned above, we would have
been in doubt at least with regard to the shortening of prayer
(qasr-as-salat) during a journey while secure - if we did stipulate the
condition of fear as obvious in the verse - till the companions saw the
Prophet (SAW) shorten the prayers when it was safe and secure.
In the
third example, if not for the hadeeth, we would have forbidden
ourselves the consumption of good things made lawful to us: locusts,
fish, liver, and the spleen.
In the fourth example, if not for the
hadeeths, some of which we have mentioned, we would have considered
lawful what Allah has made unlawful through the dictum of the holy
Prophet (SAW) like predatory animals, and the birds which have claws.
And
so in the fifth example, if not for the hadeeths in regard to this
question, we would have considered lawful what Allah prohibited through
the words of His Prophet (SAW) like gold and silk.
It is for this, some forbearers (as-salaf) say that 'Sunnah' pronounces judgement of The Book (al-Qur'an).
The Deviation of Those Who are Satisfied with The Qur'an to the Exclusion of Hadeeth
It
is a matter of regret that according to the interpretation found in the
works of some commentators and moders authors, that it is permissible
to do what is stated in the last two examples: Consumption of the
predatory animals and the waearing of gold and silk by referring their
interpretation only to the Qur'an.
Today, a sect exists called
"Quranites" who comment according to their whims and fancies; without
seeking the explanation of the authentic Sunnah. They only accept and
follow the Sunnah which suit their desires, the rest they throw behind.
The Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said that: None of you reclines on
his bed, the order comes to him on an affair which I am commanded to do
or not to do. He says: "I don't know, what is found in The Book of
Allah we follow" (Tirmidhi). According to another report: What is found
in The Book of Allah as 'Haram,' we pronounce it 'haram' (forbidden).
Surely, I am given The Qur'an and its example with it. Yet, according to
another report: What the Messenger of Allah has forbidden, Allah has
prohibited it.
It is a matter of regret that one renowned scholar has
written a book on Islamic law and its dogma, and in its preface, he
says that he has written it and that he has made reference only to The
Qur'an.
This true hadeeth gives positive evidence that the divine law
of Islam - As-Shari'ah - is not merely Qur'an, but Qur'an and Sunnah.
Therefore, whoever holds fast to one source for reference to the
exclusion of the other, he held fast to neither of them, since both
complement each other. The Qur'an says Whoever
obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah. Allah says, No, by your Lord they do
not believe until they submit to your adjucation in all disputes between
them, then they do not find themselves oppressed with your decisions
and they completely submit (4:65). Again, Allah says When a matter has
been decided by Allah and His Messenger, it does not behove a believer,
man or woman, to have choice in their matter. One who disobeys Allah and
His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path (33:36).
Furthermore, Allah says What the Messenger teaches you, take it, and
what he forbids you, avoid doing it (59:7).
In connection
with this verse, I am marvelled by what is corroborated by Ibn Mas'ud
(Allah be pleased with him) that is, a woman came to him and told him,
"You who says: May Allah's curse be on 'Al-Namisat' and
'Al-Motanamisat'(4) and those who tattoo." He said "Yes." She said, "I
read the Book of Allah (Al-Qur'an) from beginning to its end. I did not
find what you have said. He told her, "If you have read it, you would
have found it. As for your reading what the Messenger teaches you, take
it, and what he forbids you, avoid doing it." She said, "Certainly." He
said, "I have heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say May Allah's Curse
be on the Al-Namisat." (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Status of Sunnah in Islam Qur

Inadequacy of Philology to understand The Qur'an
From
what has been stated above, it is clear that there is no scope for
anyone with all his Arabic Scholarship to understand the glorious
Qur'an, without the help of the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), his sayings
and actions.
The companions of the Prophet (SAW) were the most
knowledgeable in the language, which The Qur'an was revealed in, when it
was not blemished by the incorrectness of the common folks knowledge or
their grammatical mistakes. Yet, they erred in understanding the verses
quoted above when they relied on language alone.
It is self-evident
that a man well-informed of the Sunnah is more appropriate to understand
The Qur'an and deduce the rules from it than one who is ignorant of it.
How can it be a source to one who does not reckon it and does not make
reference to it?
For this reason, it is part of the rules agreed upon
that Qur'an should be interpreted by the Qur'an itself as welll as the
Sunnah, then by the sayings of the Sahabah... etc. (5)
It is here
that the cause of deviation of scholastic theologians (Ahlul-Kalam)
become clear, both ancient and modern, and their opposition to the
forbears 'As-salaf' (May Allah be pleased with them) in their doctrines
not to speak of their laws. They are far from Sunnah, and knowledge of
it, and rely on their intelligence and desires to decide on the verses
of attributes and others.
What is best is what was written down in the exposition of Tahawi's doctrine (page 212 Fourth Edition):
When
one is not well-informed of The Book and Sunnah, what would he say
about the Fundamentals of Religion (usoolud-deen)? He only receives the
assertion of someone. If he says that he takes it from The Book of
Allah, he does not study the commentary of The Qur'an on the basis of
prophetic traditions, and reflects over it, nor what the companions
(Sahabah), and the following generations narrated, which is transmitted
to us from the authorities whom the critics chose. They have not
transmitted the system and arrangement of The Qur'an, but its poetic
expression and meaning. They did not learn the Qur'an like children, but
studied it with meaning. One who does not follow in their footsteps,
speaks on his own accord. One who does that thinks it be the religion of
Allah, and does not study The Book of Allah, he sins, even if he is
right.
One who studies The Qur'an and The Sunnah, he is rewarded,
even if he goes wrong, but if he is right in his opinion, his reward is
doubled. Then he says:
What is obligatory, is submission to the
Messenger (SAW) carrying out his saying and accepting his saying with
satisfaction and belief without contradicting it with false ideas called
'opprehensive faculty' (Ma'qul) bearing doubt or complaint, or offering
the opinions of men and the garbage of their intellect. We unite with
The Prophet (SAW) in judgement, submission, obedience and compliance,
just as we have unison with Allah, glory be to Him, by worshipping Him
by humility, submissiveness, repentance and reliance.
In short, what
is obligatory on all MUslims is that they do not separate between Qur'an
and Sunnah; whereas, it is obligatory to take both of them and to
formulate the law on both of them.
This is a safeguard for them, so
that they won't fall right or left; and that they won't fall back in
error as explained by The Prophet (SAW): I leave behind me two things.
You will never go astray if you hold fast to them: The Qur'an and my
Sunnah.
CAUTION
It is self-evident after this that I say:
The
Sunnah which has an important bearing on Islamic Law is only the Sunnah
confirmed by scientific channels, and authentic chains of narrations
known to the learned in regard to hadeeths and the background of the
narrators.
It is not the one which is found in different works of
Tafseers (commentaries of The Qur'an) and Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh),
and in different writings of longing, intimidation, advices, and
admonitions, etc...
They contain weak, spurious, and fabricated
hadeeths, of which Islam absolves, like the story of 'Harut and Marut,'
and the sotry of 'gharanik.' I have a special letter which makes it void
and it is printed(6). A major part of it is recorded in two huge books
namely "A chain of weak and fabricated hadeeths and their evil impact on
the community." Their number upto date have reached approximately four
thousand hadeeths(7).
It is obligatory on the learned, especially
those who spread the knowledge of fiqh and legal opinions among the
public, that they shouldn't dare to argue with hadeeth unless it is
well-attested. Books of jurisprudence, which they refer to, are normally
filled with traditions which are not well-attested, nor have any bases,
as is well-known to the learned.
I have begun an important project,
and I think it will be of use to those occupied with jurisprudence, and I
will name it: "Weak and Fabricated Hadeeths in the Major Jurisprudence
'fiqh' Books," by which I mean:
1. Al-Hidayah, by Al-Marghinani, in Hanafi fiqh,
2. Al-Modawwanah, by Ibnil-Qasim, in Maliki fiqh,
3. Sharhul-wajeez, by Al-rafiee, in Shafiee fiqh,
4. Al-Mughni, by Ibn Quddamah, in Hanbali fiqh, and
5. Bidayatul Mujtahid, by Ibn Rushd-al-Andalusi, in comparative fiq

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