The Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad

genc_kalem

Okumak,Yaþamaktýr
A Muslim who believes in the Qur’an is obliged to accept the [figures of } authority that have been prescribed by the Holy Qur’an.

The Sunnah is "are the words, works and behaviors of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and what he has found appropriate and supported through these." Hadith are the narrations or statements of the Sunnahs of Prophet Muhammad's words, affairs and behaviors. The narration and inscription of the experiences, thus Sunnah, of the Prophet Muhammad to following generations form what are called the Hadith.

Those close to Prophet Muhammad as well as his friends determined his Sunnah accurately, acting very meticulously in narrating these as Hadith to the following generations. These efforts on their behalf, culminated in the early complete compilation of the Sunnah and Hadith.

The relation between Prophet Muhammad's behavior and revelation

All of Prophet Muhammad's behaviors regarding religious rulings and prohibitions were based on revelation and occurred within the boundaries set by revelation; thus, obeying his orders and obedience to his prohibitions are considered obedience to the orders and prohibitions of Allah (Surah An Nisa (4):89, Surah Hashr (59): 71).

"We sent not a messenger, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah." (Surah An-Nisa (4):64).

"He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah..." (Surah An-Nisa (4): 80).

"It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path." (Surah Al Ahzhab (33): 36).

It is Allah the Almighty who informed us that Prophet Muhammad, who was described as the “living Qur’an,” was the “best of examples,” and must be followed.

A Muslim who believes in the Qur'an is obliged to accept the [figures of } authority that have been prescribed by the Holy Qur'an. Views which urge, "All I need is the Qur'an, I accept no authority or source other than the Qur'an," contradict the Holy Qur'an it's self. For the Qur'an informs us that prophets, who have been chosen from among the people, have been sent to us by Allah, with the authority to exercise judgment and so that they may be followed. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that holy books have only been revealed to few prophets in order to reflect the authority of prophets in religion. Additionally, all of Prophet Muhammad's words, actions and statements which were not inspired by revelation have undergone a divine control. Meaning his mistakes have not been left without correction, as is the case with other human beings. This is how we understand the innocence of Prophet Muhammad. Herein lays the difference between the Messenger of Allah and other human beings.

When we look at the Qur'an, we see that revelation has not been limited to holy books that were revealed to prophets. We see in the Holy Qur'an that many verses that point to revelation outside of the Holy Qur'an. It is stated in the Qur'an that "hikmah" (wisdom) was given to Prophet Muhammad, as well as some other prophets alongside revelation. "...For Allah hath sent down to thee the Book and wisdom and taught thee what thou Knewest not (before): And great is the Grace of Allah unto thee." (Surah An-Nisa (4): 113). In this verse and similar verses in the Qur'an, this "wisdom" that is stated to be granted to the Messenger of Allah is generally interpreted as the "Sunnah."

In one of the verses dealing with the authority of Prophet Muhammad to exercise judgment, it says the following, "But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against Thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction." (Surah An-Nisa (4):65).

While exercising judgment on a matter, Prophet Muhammad would at times base his decision directly on a verse, while sometimes relying on a revelation outside of the Qur'an and also acting on ijtihad (interpretation), as someone who had the most firm understanding of religious matters. However, all of his efforts concerning the duty of prophecy have undergone divine control.

Understanding the Sunnah properly

It is Allah the Almighty who informed us that Prophet Muhammad, who was described as the "living Qur'an," was the "best of examples," and must be followed. In this case, the most important duty falling upon the shoulders of people who see him as a guide is understanding him and the truth inherent in the purpose of his applications [of righteous deeds.] While doing this one should not overlook the fact that he was a "human prophet." One should not exalt him so much that he cannot be taken as an example for mankind.

If we can understand the exemplary personality of Prophet Muhammad, who understood the Qur’an most accurately and reflected this understanding into his life through his behaviors, we will have the opportunity to understand Islam in its purest, correct form so that we may internalize it.

When one thinks of the Sunnah, it is generally his clothing, manners and worship that comes to mind. We don't witness that the economic, judicial and political applications in the lofty manners of the Prophet being considered as part of the Sunnah. This is matter which needs to be emphasized. In actuality, the Sunnah means the life style of Prophet Muhammad. It could be said that the life style of a person is the external manifestation of one's understanding of life. So in this case, what lies at the basis of Prophet Muhammad's Sunnah is his understanding of life.

If we can understand the exemplary personality of Prophet Muhammad, who understood the Qur'an most accurately and reflected this understanding into his life through his behaviors, we will have the opportunity to understand Islam in its purest, correct form so that we may internalize it. Through this method again, we may reflect the good deeds and beneficial acts of Prophet Muhammad and his friends in line with the conditions of our modern age.

www.lastprophet.info
 

genc_kalem

Okumak,Yaþamaktýr
Understanding and Following the Sunnah of the Prophet

Understanding and Following the Sunnah of the Prophet

Salahattin Polat, PhD

It is necessary to dwell upon the problem of understanding the sunnah in its true meaning, as there is some confusion about this term. We believe that such misunderstandings of the sunnah have a vital role not only in difficulties in following the sunnah, but also in the recent heated debate about the function and importance of sunnah in religion.


sunnetianlama180.jpg
People use concepts for communication. No matter what meaning you attach to the concept you use, the person you are talking to will understand the concept within the framework of the meaning and content s/he attributes to. If the parties attribute the same meaning to the concept then healthy communication can occur.

Otherwise, many social problems arise in societies because people cannot make themselves understood due to such a confusion of concepts. There are people who take advantage of this circumstance to produce vague and ambiguous concepts and use them as weapons.

Therefore, there is a need for a scientific compromise on the concept of sunnah. If the concept of sunnah is different for everyone, then people will start to follow and impose what they understand from this concept.

The first thing that comes to mind when the word sunnahis mentioned generally is the mustahabs (favored or recommended actions) related to the clothing, customs and ibadah (worship) of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The virtues of the Prophet related to his high morality, his economic, legal and political practices are not among those attributes that first spring to mind when contemplating the sunnah. Therefore, this is a crucial point which should be considered. The fact that the perception of the sunnah in the mind of Muslims is incomplete and deficient has given rise to a formalistic understanding of sunnah consisting of mere imitation of behavior patterns.

The confusion of the concepts sunnah and mustahab, a term meaning sunnah in fiqh (canonical rulings), must have some role in the formation of such a superficial understanding of sunnah. As the chapters about mustahab in the books of canonical rulings most often encountered begin with the concept of sunnah, people generally understand that sunnah refers only to such behaviors of the Prophet. Thus, a superficial religious knowledge and the fact that books of canonical rulings have not been developed in accordance with the needs of the times are the root causes for this misconception.

Is it feasible that a Muslim or Islamic society fully develops with such an understanding of sunnah? What I mean here is that if a person follows the above-mentioned sunnah practices, without omitting any of them, can one achieve the life-style of the Prophet? Absolutely not. Both Allah and the Prophet put more stress on the person's soul, their inner world, faith, morality and social relations than on their appearance. Therefore, by limiting Islam to a framework of forms and words, we cannot prevent people developing in such a way that they are Muslim in appearance but their faith, worldview and morality are not parallel to Islam. Moreover, an understanding of the sunnah that does not embrace every part of one's life causes un-Islamic practices to fill up the empty spaces of life.

Another problem in following the sunnah is that the integrity of the person and society is neglected. Believing that we are following the sunnah, some of us neglect social sunnah practices, some of us neglect the sunnah practices necessary for the training of our nafs (ego) in order to follow the sunnahpractices of social life. In particular, Muslims who are in positions of irshad (guidance) and tableeqh (calling to Islam) may forget about their nafs when dealing with other people. This is one of the reasons for the failure of tableeqh. However, the educational method of the Quran and sunnah is that first of all Islam will dominate in the egos and lives of people, and only then will it have reflections on social life. Saying this, we do not reject the fact that society affects the life of a person or that each system produces its own people. However, what we want to emphasize is that we have to determine the starting point, the initial target and the necessary stages to be taken in the Quran and sunnah while changing any undesirable social structure, in particular when the aim is moral maturity.

Before answering the question, "What is sunnah and what is not?" it is necessary to remember the classical definition of sunnah. The Arabic word sunnah means the way, the trodden path, custom, behavior, life style, etc. The concept of sunnah means the words, deeds and things approved of by Prophet Muhammad. If the Prophet did not criticize a word or a deed when he heard or witnessed it, this shows that he approved of that word or deed, or at least he accepted it as mubah (an action which is neither forbidden nor recommended). It is not possible that a prophet charged with keeping people away from everything contrary to Allah's consent would remain silent in view of a fact that is contrary to the religion or consent of Allah, as he is aware that his every word and deed is followed by his community. Therefore, our scholars have accepted the Prophet's silence or lack of criticism as approval of those words and deeds that he witnessed.

In short, the sunnah means the life-style of the Prophet. It can be said that a life-style is a reflection of one's concept of life. Therefore, the basis of the Prophet's sunnah is his life-style. Throughout history, people have looked for answers for questions like "Who am I? Where did I come from? Why did I come? Where am I going?" and they have given meaning to their lives and even determined the aims of their lives in accordance with the answers to these questions. Allah has informed people of the answers to the above questions via the prophets and we are expected to live our lives in accordance to these answers. If the sunnah is a life-style - which it is - having a clear understanding of sunnah depends on the life-style that lays behind it. The person who perceives this understanding of life correctly can follow the sunnah consciously.

An understanding of life based on the sunnah is called itiqaad, that is faith (imaan). At this point, the dimensions of sunnah, namely faith and mentality, are the issue. That is, the aim and faith of a Muslim should be in line with those of the Prophet. A Muslim should adopt the value judgments of the Prophet. This is the fundamental and basic aspect of the sunnah. First of all, a Muslim should try to understand and follow the Prophet's world of faith, his world of the soul, and his world of opinion. A Muslim should determine and take up the following points seriously and they must establish them on the basis of the sunnah: that is, the Prophet's understanding of tawheed (Islamic monotheism), his breaking of the material and spiritual idols including his nafs and the desires of his soul, his rejection of all authorities but Allah, his consciousness of being a servant of Allah, his love for Allah, his fear of Allah, his understanding of fate and submission, his consent to everything that comes from Allah, his observing the reflections of Allah in every part of the universe, his precaution, his understanding of the relation between the cause and the causer, his understanding of the uluhiyyah (the oneness of Allah), and his value judgments.

Afterwards, comes the dimension of the sunnahthat is related to worship. With this dimension we are not only talking about how the Prophet worshiped but also how he manifested his worship as a servant of Allah, as well as the spirituality of his worship, namely his relationship with Allah. When the deep dimension of a person's worship depends on their faith, they will turn this worship into a responsibility and an understanding of being a servant of Allah every moment of their life, instead of seeing worship as merely duties to be fulfilled at certain times. The Muslim will have the consciousness of being a servant of Allah in their worship on the smaller scale, and on the larger scale they will have this consciousness in their every behavior; in addition, they will try to resemble the Prophet in the spiritual characteristics of being a servant, such as submission to Allah, peace, benefaction, thanking Allah, and marifatullah (divine gnosis).

The third dimension of sunnah is the relationship between a person and other people or objects. In classical literature, this field displays the social dimension of sunnah, and is observable in interactions with other people, morality, customs, education and family lives.

With this dimension the sunnah displays how a person should be a member of society and how a perfect Islamic society should be in practice. We have to understand the following and try to make these aspects the basic elements of our social lives: our Prophet's sensitivity to the rights of others, his understanding that authoritative control is not power but justice, his understanding of social justice in his command "The one who sleeps full while his neighbor is hungry is not one of my community," his understanding of divine kalimatullah (the word of God), which is the basis of justice on earth, his understanding of an economy that avoids every kind of exploitation and is directed so that the human, the most honorable creature, should live like a human; in short, the Prophet's aims and principles for society. It must be the aim of our lives to embrace and follow the Prophet's humanity, mercy, forgiveness, tolerance, his efforts to make everything easy, to practice charity, to display humility, fidelity, altruism, geniality, honesty, truthfulness, gentleness, bravery, generosity, to practice economy, to ignore the temporary advantages of the world, to practice asceticism, to display thankfulness, patience, reliance on Allah, submissiveness, amicability, to have a soft-spoken personality, to possess characteristics of nicety, delicacy, shyness, cleanness, dignity, glory, calmness, courage, confidentiality - actually, all of the Prophet's countless distinguished characteristics. By saying "I have been (sent) to you to complete good moral values," Prophet Muhammad emphasized that the aim of his prophethood was to educate people until they reach a maturity of morality.

In the wholeness of the sunnah even the smallest detail is of importance. However, it is also true that the sunnah has inner stages. Following some sunnahs is fard (compulsory), some are wajib (obligatory) and some are mustahab (recommended). Vice versa, it is haraam (prohibited) not to follow some sunnahpractices, and for others it is makruh (abominable).
 

genc_kalem

Okumak,Yaþamaktýr
The value given to sunnah of the prophet by the quran

THE VALUE GIVEN TO SUNNAH OF THE PROPHET BY THE QURAN

Mevlut Gungor, PhD

In the Quran, the basic source of Islam, Allah puts Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his sunnah (words and actions of the Prophet and actions of others that were approved by the Prophet) in a special place, equating obedience to the Prophet to obedience to Himself. (Al-Nisa 4/80). But it should be noted here that all hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) are not binding on believers to the same degree. Actions can be compulsory, recommended, forbidden or reprehensible.

mevlutg180.jpg


One of the main reasons why some Muslims are careless or unconcerned about the sunnah is that they perceive the sunnah and hadiths as being outside the revelation; however, some hadiths are clearly derived from revealed sources. All the words and actions that were approved of or performed by the Prophet are approved by Allah. In other words, any mistakes the Prophet made were corrected. In this way, we can understand the purity of the Prophet's actions.


Even minor mistakes of the Prophet were corrected by verses in the Quran. Prophet Muhammad differed from other people in this way. If one were to suggest that his mistakes were not corrected, this is tantamount to stating that Islam includes mistakes or defects. At this point, it is not possible to say that this announcement is an "incontrovertible announcement" (belagun mubin). For this reason, one of the main reasons why the sunnah is so important in Islam is that most of the hadiths are revelation-based.

When we analyze the verses of the Quran, we can see that the revelations are not limited to those contained in the revelation sent to Prophet Muhammad, and that there are many verses that state that the Prophet received revelations through ways other than the Quran.

It is stated in the Quran that all prophets, including Prophet Muhammad, were granted wisdom in addition to the revelations.

"But for the Grace of Allah to thee and his Mercy, a party of them would certainly have plotted to lead thee astray.

But (in fact) they will only lead their own souls astray, and to thee they can do no harm in the least. For Allah hath sent down to thee the Book and wisdom and taught thee what thou knewest not (before): And great is the Grace of Allah unto thee" (Al-Nisa 4/113).

Of course, Prophet Muhammad revealed the wisdom that came to him. In Surah Baqarah it is stated: "A similar (favor have ye already received) in that We have sent among you a Messenger of your own, rehearsing to you Our Signs, and sanctifying you, and instructing you in Scripture and Wisdom, and in new knowledge" (Al-Baqarah 2/151).

Most of the scholars interpret the wisdom that was given to Prophet Muhammad in addition to the Quran as composing the sunnah of the Prophet. For example, Imam Shafii declares:

"Allah first mentioned the book (which means the Quran) and secondly the wisdom. I have heard from those who have authority on Quranic sources that what is being referred to by the "wisdom" is the sunnah of the Prophet. The Quran is mentioned first and then, separately and secondly, the wisdom is added."

Awzai points out that Hasan b. Atiyyae reported Archangel Gabriel taking the sunnah to the Prophet in the same way that he brought him the Quran. Another important piece of evidence that the Prophet received revelation from Allah in addition to the Quran was that he was given the responsibility and authority to explain the Quran. Prophet Muhammad fulfilled his duty not only with his personal knowledge and wisdom, but also with additional information granted by Allah.

"(We sent them) with Clear Signs and Books of dark prophecies; and We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may give thought." (Al-Nahl 16/44).

Allah stresses out the wisdom of Prophet Muhammad and his decisions and authority is granted to him to explain the verses of the Quran that require explanations. While fulfilling this duty, the Prophet first examines the verse and, if there is no clear information, he then looks to other sources until he arrives at the final decision
It can be understood from this that Prophet Muhammad had the authority to make a general decision without being dependent solely on the decisions of the Quran. For example, he would wait for a revelation about a certain situation, but if revelation did not come he would then arrive at a conclusion by taking other sources into account.

Any minor errors that he made were corrected through revelation. Without a doubt, all of his decisions were guided by revelation and therefore we can understand that that all of his decisions were approved by divine revelation.

In the Quran, in a verse related to the authority of Prophet Muhammad to make decisions, it is stated: "And Allah sends down rain from the skies, and gives therewith life to the earth after its death: verily in this is a Sign for those who listen" (Al-Nisa, 4/65).

While making a decision, the Prophet sometimes directly took a verse of the Quran (if there was an appropriate one) as a main source; at other times he would take into account a kind of extra-Quranic revelation and at other times he would make a decision based directly on personal experiences. Whatever the method was that he used, it is clear that all his activities and words were granted approval by divine revelation.

There are many examples of decisions made by Prophet Muhammad related to topics that are not mentioned in the Quran, for example the time of prayer, the ritual of prayers, the performance of prayers, the requirements of supererogatory prayers, those things that negate or do not negate prayer, to whom obligatory alms can be given, the punishment for drinking alcohol, when women cannot pray, and the heritage of grandmother.

www.lastprophet.info
 

genc_kalem

Okumak,Yaþamaktýr
The authority of the sunnah

THE AUTHORITY OF THE SUNNAH

This article provides a brief examination of the authority of the sunnah, which comprises a fundamental part of understanding Islam. In order to understand its importance, the literal meaning of the sunnah and its classification throughout Islamic history will be dealt with briefly. Since the first centuries, sunnah has been classified in various ways. However, two of these classifications are especially significant for the purposes of this article; the first one is the classification of the sunnah from the viewpoint of its subject matter (matn). This will be called structural classification. The second is the manner of its transmission (isnad).

The Arabic word sunnah literally means "road", "trodden path" or "beaten track1 This meaning is used in a hadith: "Whoever sets a good example (man sanna sunnatan hasanaten) he and all those who act upon it shall be rewarded until the day of resurrection; and whoever sets a bad example (man sanna sunnatan sayyi'atan) he and all those who follow it will carry the burden of its blame until the day of resurrection"2In Islam, sunnah or the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), has come to represent the way Prophet Muhammad lived his life. Since he was sent as a blessing for all creation (rahmah lil ‘alameen),3with an excellent conduct (uswah hasanah),4and an excellent character (khuluqin ‘azim),5 the life of the Prophet is not only an ethical example, but also a source of legal proof alongside the Quran. In terms of its structure, the sunnah is divided into three types: verbal (qawli), actual (fi‘li) and tacitly approved (taqriri). The verbal sunnah consists of Prophet Muhammad's sayings on any subject, such as the hadith that states "actions are by intentions"6

The actual sunnah consists of Prophet Muhammad's actions, for example how he performed ablutions, ritual prayer or pilgrimage. Tacitly approved sunnah indicates all sayings and acts of the Companions which were approved or disapproved by the Prophet, such as described in the following instance: one of the Companions said that during a campaign he had had a wet dream in the night, but because of the extreme cold he had not taken a bath. Then he performed the salah al-fajr with tayammum and upon his return to Medina he related the story to the Prophet. Rasulallah (Messenger of Allah) laughed and did not say anything. Hence, it became an approval sunnah 7

Moreover, in terms of its transmission, the hadith is divided into mutawatir (consecutive hadith), mashhur (well-known hadith), and ahad (solitary hadîth). Mutawâtir hadîth means a report by a significant number of narrators at each level in the chain of narration that they cannot be expected to agree upon a lie, all of them together. The authority of mutawatir hadith is equivalent to that of the Quran.

Examples of mutawatir are the five daily prayers and the hadîth "whoever invents a lie and attributes it to me intentionally, must prepare his seat in the Hell-fire".8The second one, mashhur is defined as a hadith that was originally reported by only one or two Companions, but later became widely known (among the Companions' successors and the successors to the successors) and was narrated by an indefinite number of people.

According to the Hanafî School of Law, acting upon the mashhur is obligatory, however, denying it does not amount to disbelief. Therefore the mashhur may qualify the general (‘amm) of the Quran. "A murderer does not inherit"9is an example of mashhur hadith. The third type is ahad hadith (also known as khabar al-wahid), which is one that has been narrated by people whose number (single person or individuals) does not reach that of the mutawatir case. The saying of the Prophet "surely, Allah does not regard your forms (looks) nor your wealth, but He scans your hearts and activities"10 is an example of ahad hadith11

The majority of scholars have reached a consensus on the necessity of performance upon the sahih hadith. Moreover, since the first generations exemplified of the sunnah among the societies shows the actual consensus of the ummah (Islamic community). In addition, in the same way that other societies have been ordered to follow their prophets, the Muslim society has been ordered to follow Prophet Muhammad in various Quranic verses. In the following paragraphs the authority of his sunnah is examined in connection with some Quranic verses.

"He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah"12, "Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, you should know that it is Our Messenger's duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner".13In both these verses obedience to the Messenger is vitally ordered, and submission to him is declared to be equivalent to submission to Allah. As a matter of fact, religious duties are considered as an entirety. It is clear that without submission to the Prophet, duties of servanthood could not be performed and, without obeying him, obedience to Allah cannot be fulfilled. Compliance to the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, therefore, is accepted as a criterion for the affection of Allah. In the Quran it is said that this affection can be shown merely by recognizing the authority of the sunnah: "Say (O Muhammad, to mankind) ‘If you do love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful'"14. Thus, fondness and love between the servant and Allah and His forgiveness of people depends on allegiance to the Prophet and following the right way, which he has demonstrated to his ummah both with his life style and his sayings.

The authority of the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad is one of the central concepts that are emphasized in the Quran when Prophet Muhammad is mentioned. This obedience to the Prophet is commended in many different verses as a sign of submission to Allah, and is a way of avoiding His wrath. For instance the following verse tells us: "Take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you. And fear Allah. For Allah is strict in punishment"15. According to this verse believers do not have the choice of rejecting what the messenger of Allah, who has been sent as blessing for all creations (rahmah lil ‘alameen), assigns to them. The Prophet also stresses this fact in the following hadith:"none of you believes until his desire follows what I have brought."16There is only one way: obedience with inner calm. If the believers take the life style of the Prophet as an example and make efforts to live like him, ultimately they will be able to reach the consent of Allah. This is the purpose of the institution of prophethood. Refusing what the Prophet has ordered, on the other hand, means perversity and requires strict punishment by Allah. The verse reads clearly: "It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path"17.

In conclusion, the life of the Prophet is shown to be an excellent dynamic model for those who want the consent of Allah. As it is reported, the Prophet said, "I have left two things among you. You shall not go astray so long as you hold on to them: the Book of Allah and my sunnah"18.Rasulullah's sunnah, in other words, his life, is his inheritance and the love of the Prophet depends on claiming that legacy.

www.lastprophet.info
 

genc_kalem

Okumak,Yaþamaktýr
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REVELATION AND THE SUNNAH

Ayhan Tekines,PhD Page 1 of 3
sunnetvahiyi200.jpg


Imam Shafii said that those who do not accept the sunnah (practices and rules derived from the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) habits and words) either reject the sunnah as a proof or reject the bindingness of the “al-khabar al-khassa (the genuine news).” In addition to those who fully reject the sunnah as a proof, there are groups that only accept it on certain topics or accept it when it is in agreement with proofs of the Quran and reason.

According to Sunni scholars, the sunnah is proof of knowing Allah’s commands. The sunnah can be proof of knowing the command from its manifestation, discovery or sign. The sunnah, being an absolute proof of knowing Allah’s commands, is only possible with the “purity” of the Prophet and the protected status of his sunnah.

For this reason, in order to determine the value and obligation of the sunnah, it is necessary to put forth his source or, in other words, determine the sources of the Prophet’s knowledge and, in particular, how the sunnah/revelation relationship was understood during the age of hadith (sayings of the Prophet) transmission.

THE PROPHET’S PROTECTION AGAINST SIN (ISMET)

In prophets there are some common characteristics that are considered as qualities inseparable from the station of prophethood. The attribute of purity heads this list.

Becoming more detailed in later periods, it was indicated that prophets had the qualities of purity, intelligence, truthfulness, trustworthiness and the ability to convey religion. However, during the period of transmission all these qualities were evaluated within the attribute of purity, because all the other characteristics are tied to purity.

The attribute of purity was defined as “Allah’s protecting his prophets from things that would harm their power and value” and “the quality of avoiding sin although it is possible.” Taking into consideration debates made in books on usul (methodology) and kalam (theology), a broader definition was made within the framework of views preferred by Sunni scholars. According to this, purity is “Allah’s protecting his prophets from visible and invisible blasphemy and big sins, and His informing them of small sins so they can repent of them”. In this definition Sunni scholars have gathered together all the definitions of purity. According to this, prophets are protected from blasphemy and big sins. They can commit small sins, but they are not left in that state. Allah informs them and makes it possible for them to correct their mistakes by repenting. Consequently, prophets have been protected by the grace of Allah from a number of flaws and sins found in ordinary people. Before prophethood, prophets did not commit small sins accepted as ugly and debasing by people. They were under Allah’s divine guidance and protection before prophethood in the same way.

SOURCES OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S KNOWLEDGE

Prophet Muhammad’s sources of knowledge will be examined under this heading. Thus, an attempt will be made to determine the legal and scholarly value of the sunnah. The relation of the sunnah with revelation puts across both its religious and scholastic value. However, as is known, the whole sunnah was not revealed. The Prophet spoke about some subjects from experience and some matters were resolved by means of intelligence. However, the Prophet was sent as an example and guide to man. His being able to fulfill this mission is tied in every respect to his being trustworthy. In order for him to be trusted, all his words and actions need to be true and without mistake. Regardless of how flawless experience and intelligence are, they can always be mistaken. Protection from error and mistake is only possible through control by revelation. In this situation, it is necessary to take into consideration the relationship between the Prophet’s hadiths and revelation.
Revelation

It is not right to claim that all the revelations the Prophet received are included in the Holy Quran, and to limit revelation to the Quran. First of all, the Quran prevents such a claim. It is understood that in some events explained in the Quran, Allah gave further information to the Prophet by means of revelation. In addition to this, it is my opinion that one of the most important proofs is the relationship between the sunnah and hikmat (wisdom) in the Quran pointed out by Imam Shafii. Allah says in the Quran, “He is the one who sent a messenger from among the illiterate who recites Allah’s verses to them, who purified them and taught them the Book and its wisdom.” Imam Shafii said that the word “Book” refers to the Quran and the word “wisdom” refers to the sunnah. According to this, the sunnah derives fully from revelation and was revealed to Prophet Muhammad.

The matter of the source of the sunnah was also mentioned by compilers of hadith books in the century in which they were transmitted. We understand this from the title of the “Itisam (Book of Protection)” section of Sahih, a book written by Imam Bukhari (d. 256/869): “When the Prophet was asked about subjects not revealed to him, he would say ‘I don’t know’ or he would not answer until revelation came. Due to Allah’s words, ‘The face Allah has shown you,’ he would not answer with opinion or analogy.”

Islamic scholars in agreement on the subject of the sunnah’s guidance did not see all the sunnah binding to the same degree. In respect to its being obligatory, the sunnah was divided into two classes. The first group is sunnah that it is virtuous to follow, but abandoning it does not lead to punishment in the next world. The second class is sunnah that is obligatory. Ibn Kutayba divided this second class of sunnah into two groups according to source: “The first is the sunnah that Gabriel brought from Allah. The second is sunnah that Allah allowed the Prophet to make judgment on and ordered him to make decisions about with his opinion. In this group the Prophet was left free to give permission to whom he pleased due to different reasons and excuses.”

The approaches of scholars of procedure after the age of transmission regarding the sunnah-revelation relationship can be summarized as follows: It was seen as impossible for prophets to knowingly lie in legal judgments. Their making mistakes and telling lies was not accepted by the mass of scholars. Prophets’ forgetting was accepted to be impossible, and there is said to be concurrence on this subject. In an authentic hadith the Prophet said, “I am only a human being like you. I forget like you; when I forget, remind me.” This and similar hadiths were interpreted as follows: A prophet can forget at first, but he is not left in that state. He is reminded with revelation. The majority of those who saw the Prophet making a mistake and forgetting as permissible claimed that his forgetfulness would immediately be corrected.

After demonstrating that the Prophet received revelation besides that in the Quran, it is necessary to determine the limit of those known through revelation. Revelation is the source of knowledge most trustworthy for transmitting to us knowledge from the invisible world. It is impossible to understand the invisible world by means of the mind and feelings. For in this area rules of perception and mental principles are not operative. For this reason, one of the vehicles for raising man’s knowledge beyond the visible world and above current boundaries is revelation. There is absolutely no possibility of lie or error in the information that the Prophet gave based on revelation. The Prophet’s knowledge regarding the invisible world is as much as Allah informed him by means of revelation.
Prophetic Intelligence

In addition to revelation, one of the sources of the Prophet’s knowledge is the “faculty of intelligence” appropriate to the station of prophethood. The Messenger’s “intelligence” was enlightened with revelation, and sometimes the curtain to the invisible world was raised and the hereafter was presented for his viewing. In addition, the aims Allah intended to realize by sending a religion were taught to him; thus, his faculties of intelligence reached a point of perfection, making it impossible for him to err. For this reason, the Prophet’s superiority over others in terms of intelligence, knowledge, patience, closeness to Allah and the truth of his views was accepted by all Muslims.

Caution was taken in explaining the Prophet’s “faculty of intelligence” and words were carefully chosen for this reason. The most frequently used words were “ray (opinion),” “ijtihad (interpretation),” and “qiyas (comparison),” and sometimes “firasat (intuition).” However, because the terms in question are also used for other people, in later periods the concept of “fatanat (shrewd intelligence)” was preferred to describe the Prophet’s faculty of intelligence that had been improved with superior prophetic light.

According to Imam Bukhari, what was given to the Prophet was a faculty that appeared with “Allah’s showing him.” Some scholars of procedure also interpreted the Prophet’s faculty of intelligence, which was enlightened with the light of revelation and which reached a level of perfection in making accurate decisions, as “intrinsic revelation.”
Experience

Every person is influenced by his environment. He benefits from the knowledge and experience of people around him. Also, he learns new knowledge everyday as a result of his own experience and observations. For this reason, it can be said that an important part of an ordinary person’s accumulation of knowledge is knowledge he has gained as a result of experience and observation. However, the environment of prophets is not people; they are ambassadors sent to change their surroundings. For this reason, in order for the Prophet’s words to be understood, it is not sufficient to take into consideration only his experience and the socio-cultural environment he was raised in. Revelation organized every aspect of his life and it brought invisible knowledge to enable him to become aware of the reality of objects.

Prophet Muhammad learned the customs, habits and traditions of the Quraish clan, the dialects of the Arab tribes and eloquent Arabic from the Bedouin Arabs that he lived among for a certain period. In fact, for this reason, he was accepted as an authority on vocabulary and similar topics related to language. Just as the Prophet learned the language, customs and habits of the clan among which he lived, he also learned their methods of treating illness, business behavior and some religious traditions handed down from Prophet Abraham. However, all this knowledge he learned through experience and observation passed through the control of revelation after his prophecy and some of it was confirmed with “revealed knowledge,” some was corrected and some was completely changed.

It is not possible to gain knowledge on every subject through experience and thinking. News from the unseen world, knowledge about creation and knowledge related to God’s attributes are truths that can only be known through revelation. Consequently, it is obvious that all hadiths on these subjects are derived from revelation.

It cannot be denied that the Prophet had some experimental knowledge; however, part of this knowledge is that which can only be learned by experience anyway and cannot be incorrect. Part of experimental knowledge which is learned from the environment can be inaccurate.

The incorrect part of this knowledge was corrected by revelation, and the rest was retained. Some subjects cannot be known through experience. It is an undeniable truth that this type of knowledge was taught directly to the Prophet by revelation.

As a result, it can be said that different explanations have been made on the subject of the source of the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. As was seen, a part of the sunnah is based on revelation, a part on the Prophet’s intelligence and the other part on experience. It is obvious that the Prophet’s hadiths related to circumstances in the next life, worship and the Heaven are all based on revelation. Because one part of them stems from experience and intelligence –for whatever the reason- it is known that he made some small mistakes. However, it is also a fact that his mistakes were corrected with revelation. The majority of Sunni scholars adopted the view that there is a possibility at the beginning that sunnah which are not based on revelation could be erroneous, but that if in fact they were, then they were definitely corrected by revelation. Consequently, it is understood that all sunnah have passed through the control of revelation. For this reason, we can comfortably say that the Prophet’s sunnah related to history, the sciences and the mind do not contain erroneous or contradictory knowledge.

www.lastprophet.info

 
Üst