Sunnah

Sunnah (Arabic: سُنَّة‎, sunnah, plural Arabic: سُنَن‎ sunan [sunan]), also sunna or sunnat, is the body of literature which discusses and prescribes the traditional customs and practices of the Islamic community, both social and legal, often but not necessarily based on the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions (or disapprovals) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as various reports about Muhammad's companions.

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Sunnah . Salah (Prayers)

What is the philosophy behind the division of prayers into Sunnah and Farz?

Abbas Di Palma, Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in... Answered 5 years ago

as salam alaikum

Some Sunni schools put emphasis on classifying the ritual prayers in Fard, Sunnah and Nafl. Accordingly, a Fard prayer is a mandatory prayer that Allah has prescribed on His servants (like the five daily prayers). A Sunnah prayer is complementary to the Fard prayer and it is the one that the believer should not miss without justification; however if there is a particular justification, it can be missed. A Nafl prayer is a optional prayer whose performance bring particular blessings but it is not compulsory in any case.

In the Shi'i world all supererogatory prayers are usually called "Nawafil" (plural of "Nafl"). There are ahadith in some Shi'i books, like "Tahdhib al-Ahkam" by Shaykh Tusi, from which we can derive the preference of some Nawafil more than others.

With prayers for your success.

71487

Sunnah . Air Travel

If following the Sunnah means to obey the rules and acts as performed by the Prophet (s) why is it allowed to travel by air to go to Makkah to do our Hajj rather than having to travel by land?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 5 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. If your premise was that only reported actions of the Prophet (saw) are allowed, no matter what society or context, and that everything else is forbidden, then travelling by plane would not be allowed as planes were not invented at the time of the Prophet (saw) and since he (saw) didn't travel on one, travelling on one is not allowed.

However, if your premise in following the sunnah is that all actions are allowed, except for those forbidden by the Prophet (saw), and that the rest of his (saw) actions either preferable or obligatory (that distinction being decipherable through certain means), then that would not necessitate travelling on a plane being impermissible.

Most scholars and believers work on the second type of premise and others like it rather than the first, and that is why travelling by plane (anywhere) is allowed by the vast majority.

May you always be successful.

62876

Fajr . Sunnah . Salah (Prayers)

Can we just pray Fard such as only two units for Fajr prayers and leave the Sunnah if we have less time?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 6 years ago

The daily obligatory Prayers are obligatory to be performed in its time, and the recommended Nafilah for every obligatory Prayer is just recommended and not obligatory. Recommended prayers are very useful and get us nearness to Allah (SWT) but hey are not obligatory on us. There are narrations that recommended prayers are obligatory on the Prophet (SAWA).

We need to try our best to perform the recommended prayers as much as we can, to gain frm the great benefits of it and to be more near to Allah (SWT). In Hadeeth Qudsi that Allah (SWT) says: My servant keeps on performing recommended prayers till I love him, and when I ove im, I will be his ears with which he hears in, and his eyes with which he sees, and hand with which he acts.....

Recommended prayers are not Wajib that if we leave it like we have left an obligatory, but it is very much helpful in our spiritual uplift and we should never ignore trying to perform the recommended prayers as much as we can.

Wassalam.

Fajr . Sunnah . Salah (Prayers)

Can we just pray Fard such as only two units for Fajr prayers and leave the Sunnah if we have less time?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 6 years ago

Yes

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Sunnah . Prophet Muhammad

Can someone recommend me a book or a link to know more about the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?

Zeinab Donati, Zeinab Donati has been studying books about various Islamic subjects for more than 19 years. She is deeply interested in history and politics as well as social issues in particular those pertaining... Answer updated 6 years ago

A list of a few good texts about The Prophet (S), his life and teachings:
Sunan An-Nabi https://www.al-islam.org/sunan-nabi-allamah-sayyid-muhammad-husayn-tabat...
The Message https://www.al-islam.org/message-jafar-subhani
Life of the Prophet Mohammad before Starting the Mission https://www.al-islam.org/message-thaqalayn/vol10-n1-2009/life-prophet-mo...
History of Islam up to the Demise of the Prophet (S) https://www.al-islam.org/history-islam-demise-prophet-s-mahdi-pishvai
Hayat Al-Qulub Vol. 2, A Detailed Biography of Prophet Muhammad (S) https://www.al-islam.org/hayat-al-qulub-vol-2-allamah-muhammad-baqir-maj...

Sunnah . Prophet Muhammad

Can someone recommend me a book or a link to know more about the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?

Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answered 6 years ago

'The Message' by Ayatollah Ja'far Sobhani.

Sunnah . Prophet Muhammad

Can someone recommend me a book or a link to know more about the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?

The books containing Hadeeth are many. The most authentic books of Hadeeth are : 1. Al-Kaafi

2. Al- Tahtheeb

3. Al-Istibsaar

4. Al- Faqeeh.

Sunni Muslims have six famous books of Hadeeth, but the narrators are mixture of good and bad.

Al-Kaafi English translation is available.

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Sunnah . Salah (Prayers) . Dhuhr

How does one pray the Zuhr 4 rakat sunnah prayer? Is it to be prayed in 2 rakat twice or together as a single 4 rakat prayer?

Every Sunnah (Recommended) Prayer is in two Rak'ats and not more. The Sunnah prayer for Zohr is in fact Rak'ats (2+2+2+2). This is according to the Prophetic Sunnah narrated from Ahlul Bayt (AS), although some Muslim sects pray 4 Rak'ats only according to their own sect.

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Sunni . Hadith . Sunnah . Caliphate

What are the origins and status of the Sunni hadith "Upon you is to follow my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me"?

Mahmood Abu Maryam, Trying to make sense of it all... Answered 6 years ago

The term al-khilafa al-rashida (the rightly guided caliphate) was coined around or soon after the time of the civil wars that took place between Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib and his opponents.

It was designed to contrast the period of the first 3 caliphs, who were promoted as rightly guided, against the rule of 'Ali who was being denigrated by this comparison.

This will probably come as a surprise to our Sunni friends who clearly believe that ‘Ali is very much a part of the rashidun caliphs.

Yes it’s true today, but it wasn’t the case when this term was coined and the fictitious hadith was invented, amongst so many others, in order to give power to this anti-’Ali propaganda.

Here’s that work of fiction referred to in the question:

“Adhere to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly-guided successors after me. Hold on to it and cling on to it stubbornly.”

This narration is recorded by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

A study of the various chains of narration shows multiple weak and unreliable characters. But notice these ones in particular and see if you can find a pattern.

Khalid b. Ma’dan b. Abi Karib al-Kitabi - Belonged to Hims, a Syrian town under the rule of Mu’awiya that was notorious for its people's enmity towards ‘Ali, and he was the chief of police of Yazid b. Mu’awiyah!
Thawr b. Yazid - Belonged to Hims as mentioned by al-Dhahabi (Mizan al-I’tidal, vol. 1, p. 374). As mentioned by Ibn Hajar ‘al-’Asqalani (Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 2, p. 34) he hated ‘Ali who had killed his father in a battle. ‘Abd Allah b. Mubarak refrained from narrating from him and considered him a heretic (fasid al-madhhab).
Hajar b. Hajar al-Kila'i - Belonged to Hims and was considered of unknown standing as mentioned by Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalani in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 3, p. 118.

So this fake hadith was put in circulation to undermine the legitimacy of ‘Ali. Later, after the fall of the Umayyads and the rise of the ‘Abbasid’s, Sunni theology and creed started to take shape. And the chapter of the hatred of ‘Ali was officially closed.

‘Ali was now considered the fourth of these rashidun caliphs.

Sunni . Hadith . Sunnah . Caliphate

What are the origins and status of the Sunni hadith "Upon you is to follow my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me"?

This hadith has been reported in the Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Abi Dawud, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musnad Ibn Hanbal and Mustadrak al-Hakim. There are eight chains of transmission of this hadith, all going back to the sahabi 'Irbad Ibn Sariah, none of them is authentic even according to Sunni standard. The hadith therefore cannot be technically relied upon. As far as its content, following the sunna of the Prophet and his successors after him has been established via other widely-reported and more established narrations.

With prayers for your success.