Introduction to Sunnah (esp. for Amy)

[Abdul Basit]

Make sure you read each and every word of it, please.

Part 1.(taken from " AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SUNNAH" )
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The Qur'ân is the word of God which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, and preserved both verbally and in writing by his Companions. Apart from the Qur'ân, whatever the Prophet uttered or did was also preserved by the Companions. Thus the Sunnah includes the sayings of the Prophet, peace be upon him, known commonly as Ahaadeeths (i.e. sayings), his practices, and actions which gained his approval. Both the Qur'ân and the Sunnah fall under a common title "wahy" (i.e. revelation or inspiration); the difference between the two is that the Qur'ân is a revelation which is recited (matalu) in the formal prayer (salat) while the Sunnah is not recited in the formal prayers. The importance of the Sunnah as the second source of Islam is covered in Chapter 2.

First of all, we will establish that the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, not only received the verses of the Qur'ân from God, but he also received other revelation from time to time which is now preserved in the form of Ahaadeeths. The following examples show how the Qur'ân itself refers to this revelation:

1. According to verse 144 of Surah al-Baqarah (Chapter 2 of the Qur'ân), God Almighty commanded the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, to face the Ka'bah (in Mecca) in his daily prayers instead of Jerusalem.

"We see the turning of thy face to the heavens: now shall We turn thee to a Qiblah that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque; wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction."

But why was the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, facing Jerusalem before that? Verse 143 (of Surah al-Baqarah) shows that God Himself had appointed Jerusalem as the initial Qiblah (i.e. direction faced when praying) for the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him.

"And we appointed the Qiblah to which thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels (from the Faith)."

The appointment of the previous Qiblah is referred to as being in the past. But there is no verse in the Qur'ân which commands the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, to face Jerusalem at the beginning of his mission! Therefore, the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, must have received this guidance from God in a form other than the Qur'ân. As we have said above, this alternative revelation is preserved in the Sunnah.

2. In verse 3 of Surah al-Tahreem (Chapter 66 of the Qur'ân), a certain incident is cited.

"When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his wives, and she then divulged it, and God made it known to him, he confirmed a part of it and repudiated a part. Then when he told her of it, she said, 'Who told you this?' He said, 'He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted (with all things)'."

We must consider carefully the phrases "God made it known to him" and "He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted", The question is, how did God make it known to him and tell him? Certainly not via the Qur'ân, since there is no mention of it anywhere else in the Book of God. Therefore, the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, must have been told via revelation from God which is not part of the Qur'ân.

3. In verse 5 of Surah al-Hashr (Chapter 59 of the Qur'ân), a reference is made to the expedition against the rebellious Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir, during which the Muslims cut down some palm-trees and left others alone.

"Whether ye (O Muslims) cut down the tender palm-trees or ye left them standing on their roots, it was by leave of God, and in order that He might cover the rebellious transgressors with shame."

Here, their action is attributed to the "leave of God" given to them. Nowhere in the Qur'ân is such permission found. Hence God guided the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, in this matter but not via the Qur'ân.

4. According to verses 17-18 of Surah al-Qiyamah (Chapter 75), God took it upon Himself to collect the Qur'ân. The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, directed the scribes of the Qur'ân to arrange its surahs (chapters) in the order found today; this is not the order in which they were revealed. Therefore, since this was God's responsibility, it shows that He guided the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, with respect to the order of the surahs.

These are just a few examples out of many which leave no doubt that the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, used to receive revelation from God either directly or through the medium of the Angel Gabriel (Arabic: Jibreel). A part of this revelation was preserved word for word under the title of the Qur'ân. All other revelation was embodied either in the Prophet's sayings or in his practices which were carefully preserved by the Companions as the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him.

The various purposes served by the Sunnah

The Mother of the Believers (Arabic: Umm al-Mu'mineen) 'Aishah was once asked: "What was the character of the Prophet?" She replied: "His character was nothing but the Qur'ân". Thus the Prophet, peace be upon him, was an embodiment of the Qur'ân itself: whatever he practiced or said, i.e. the Sunnah, is related to the guidance of the Qur'ân. Let us explore the role of the Sunnah in relation to the Qur'ân.


We will know if you read the whole thing or not, we will.

[amy]

Basit:

Quran: 60:40-47

That this is verily the word of an honored apostle; it is not the word of a poet: little it is ye believe! Nor is it the word of soothsayer; little admonition it is ye recieve. This is the message sent down from the lord of the worlds. And if the apostle were to invent any sayings in ourname, we should seize him by his right hand and we should certainly then cut of the artery of his heart, nor could any of you with hold him from our wrath.
Here quran tells us that prophet was not allowed to add anything fron his person into the message of God. So to write something 200 or so years after his death and attribute it to him as his teachings and call it sunnah, is complete non-sense.

As I explained to you politely before, refrain from making it a personnal issue because I don't consider any human capable of adding anything to quran. In his last sermon, Prophet very clearly explained that this was the last message. So take your hadith and sunnah and put it, you know where.



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Punjabi Kurhi

[This message has been edited by amy (edited June 10, 2001).]

[sholay]

Amy

We have sent you forth as a Messenger to mankind. Allah is (your) all sufficient witness. He who obeys the Messenger obeys Allah Himself. For those who pay no heed to you, know then that We have bot sent you to watch over them. 4:79-80

The meaning of Sunnah is (way), so to stick the Sunnah where you said, is to stick the way of the Prophet PBUH.

But nay, by the Sustainer; They do not (really) believe unless they make you(O Prophet) a judge of all on which they disagree among themselves, and then find in their hearts no bar to the acceptance of your decision and give themselves up (to it) in utter self surrender. 4:65

So if you don't believe in the way of the Seal of Prophets PBUH, why except the Message?

No doubt you are exercising the greatest gift of all - CHOICE.

[amy]

Originally posted by sholay:

Amy

We have sent you forth as a Messenger to mankind. Allah is (your) all sufficient witness. He who obeys the Messenger obeys Allah Himself. For those who pay no heed to you, know then that We have bot sent you to watch over them. 4:79-80

The meaning of Sunnah is (way), so to stick the Sunnah where you said, is to stick the way of the Prophet PBUH.

But nay, by the Sustainer; They do not (really) believe unless they make you(O Prophet) a judge of all on which they disagree among themselves, and then find in their hearts no bar to the acceptance of your decision and give themselves up (to it) in utter self surrender. 4:65

So if you don't believe in the way of the Seal of Prophets PBUH, why except the Message?

No doubt you are exercising the greatest gift of all - CHOICE.

Pay heed to the messenger in the context of the message he brought to you, meaning quran and that's it. Don't add anything to it and call it sunnah because that is nonsense

[Abdul Basit]

Amy, it seems that you ONLY want to follow ISLAM the way you feel its right and NOT the way it was practiced by Muhammed(saw).

Part 2.
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1. The Sunnah explains Qur'ânic injunctions in detail.

a) God says in verse 43 of Surah al-Baqarah (Chapter 2 of the Qur'ân): "Establish prayer and practice regular charity", and many similar verses (Arabic: ayaat) also exist. All issues related to the prayer, such as the required number of daily prayers, the number of prayer units (Arabic: rak'at) and the recitation in each prayer, as well as how to perform the prayer from beginning to end, are explained by the Sunnah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Pray as you have seen me pray." (Reported in Sahih al-Bukhari.) Similarly, all issues related to the Poor Due (Arabic: zakat), such as the minimum amount on which zakat becomes payable, the percentage paid, the kinds of wealth, goods, and animals on which zakat is obligatory, etc. are clearly expounded by the Sunnah of the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him.

Again, a detailed picture of fasting and Hajj can only be seen in the Sunnah, for the Qur'ân has touched upon both subjects briefly.

b) Almighty God says in verse 38 of Surah al-Ma'idah (Chapter 5 of the Qur'ân):

"As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hand - a punishment from God by way of example for their crime. And God is exalted in Power, Wise."

The Sunnah explains the minimum of stolen goods for which a thief deserves this punishment and the manner in which the hand should be cut off.

To reject the Sunnah, as some misguided "Muslims" advocate, will render the whole Qur'ân open to a hotchpotch of interpretations inspired by the individuals' whims and desires, which often come from the devil. For example, someone who does not accept the practical demonstration of formal prayer (Arabic: salat) given by the Prophet, peace be upon him, will make a mockery of salat by doing it in a way suitable to his wishes. But how can a Muslim worship God, if he does not know the way in which God wants to be worshipped?

[sholay]

Amy

Can you please confirm if the following is correct or incorrect. I will be grateful if you can use all sources except A'Hadeeth in order to answer, as you have stated yourself that A'Hadeeth is garbage:

After praising, and thanking Allah (The One True God) the Prophet began with the words:


"O People! lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen carefully to what I am saying and Take These Words to Those Who Could Not Be Present Here Today.
“O People! just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that he will indeed reckon your deeds.

“Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib (Prophet's uncle) be waived.

“Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabiah ibn al-Harithiah.

“O Men! the unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calender in order to make permissible that which Allah forbade, and to prohibit which Allah has made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve in number. Four of them are holy, three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumada and Shaban.

“Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope of that he will be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

“O People! it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

“O People! listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat (obligatory charity). Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.

“Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

“O People! No Prophet or Apostle Will Come after Me and No New Faith Will Be Born. Reason well, therefore, O People! and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QUR’AN and my SUNNAH (i.e., sayings, deeds, and approvals) and if you follow these you will never go astray.

“All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.

“Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people."

As part of this sermon, the Prophet recited them a Revelation from Allah which he had just received and which completed the Qur’an, for it was the last passage to be revealed:


This day the disbelievers despair of prevailing against your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me (Allah)! This day have I perfected for you your religion and fulfilled My favor unto you, and it hath been My good pleasure to choose Islam for you as your religion (Surah 5, Ayah 3).

The sermon was repeated sentence by sentence by Safwan's brother Rabiah (RA), who had a powerful voice, at the request of the Prophet and he faithfully proclaimed to over ten thousand gathered on the occasion. Toward the end of his sermon, the Prophet asked “O people, have I faithfully delivered unto you my message?" A powerful murmur of assent “O Allah, yes!", arose from thousands of pilgrims and the vibrant words “Allahumma na’m” rolled like thunder throughout the valley. The Prophet raised his forefinger and said: “Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people."


How do we actually know that this was said!

[a1shah]

Sholay,

Not to stray from the topic, but the quote of the holy apostle (pbuh) is:

"I am leaving you two weighty things - the qur'an and my ahl-bait. Cling on two both of them for they will lead you to the fountains of kauser".

This tradition has been reported in numerous sunni books of authority.

ws.

[sholay]

A1shah

Whether it was the Ahl-Bait or the Sunnah that was mentioned in the last sermon of the Prophet PBUH, I'm sure we can debate this at another time.

In the meantime, let's just see what Amy has to say about the actual event taking place and on what basis.

[amy]

I am not going to address any one in particular but I think this post will cover all the questions so far including the corrupt copy of prophet's sermon posted in this thread. This is not cut and paste either.

We have to make distinction between obeying the messenger by following his message ( the quran) and obeying him by following the false allegations ( hadith and sunnah) of what he did as a huma being.

Having said that, when God told Muhammed in the quran, Today I completed your religion for you " Muhammed had only one thing in his hands (quran) 12:111

Prophet had no mandate to deliver anything other than Quran.
10:15, 24:54, 27:91-91

Following Prophet's example according to Quran, is none other than staunch faith in God and strict adherence to quran. No where is it stated that we have to follow his personnel traits and cultural traditions. He was born amongst arabs and so those were arab customs. He could have been born in Indonesia or UK and then customs would be entirely different.

It is very clear in quran that God allowed fabrications and inventions of fancy words like hadith and sunnah because these are the tests of the beleivers.
Quran: 6:112-113

Messengers Function: Just deliver quran
quran: 13:40, 42:48, 5:99

Meaning of the true believer or a true Muslim:
Believe in God
Believe in Angels
Believe in the Book (Quran)
Believe in the Messenger as a last prophet
Believe in all the other messengers and not differentiate amongst them.
See Quran: 2:258, 3:84





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Punjabi Kurhi

[sholay]

Amy

So what you are actually saying is that the sermon DID NOT take place.

Well that sums up your frustrations.

'If only you could see(the time)when the sinners will bow their heads before their Lord(saying), 'Our Lord! We have now seen and heard, so send us back and we will do righteous deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty'. 32:12

'.... but if they were returned(to this world), they would certainly go back to what was forbidden to them. Indeed they are liars'. 6:28


The Qur'aan has summed you up perfectly.

[amy]

Sermon did take place but no body has the original content. It has been corrupted for several groups.

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Punjabi Kurhi

[amy]

Originally posted by sholay:

Amy

So what you are actually saying is that the sermon DID NOT take place.

Well that sums up your frustrations.

'If only you could see(the time)when the sinners will bow their heads before their Lord(saying), 'Our Lord! We have now seen and heard, so send us back and we will do righteous deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty'. 32:12

'.... but if they were returned(to this world), they would certainly go back to what was forbidden to them. Indeed they are liars'. 6:28


The Qur'aan has summed you up perfectly.

My email summed you up perfectly, hahahahaha



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Punjabi Kurhi

[LooksCanKill]

Amy .... you have a very wrong concept about sunnah. Please answer this for me.

Quran was revealed to Prophet (PBUH), Allah swt revealed his meesage to him and he then propagated the message to his followers.

Eseentially those revelations are just words adhering to some practice, who established the practice? And what do you call those practical actions that took place to exemplify the revelation.

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Its our Wits that make us MEN .... 'Braveheart'

[Changez_like]

Originally posted by amy:
I am not going to address any one in particular but I think this post will cover all the questions so far including the corrupt copy of prophet's sermon posted in this thread. This is not cut and paste either.

We have to make distinction between obeying the messenger by following his message ( the quran) and obeying him by following the false allegations ( hadith and sunnah) of what he did as a huma being.

Having said that, when God told Muhammed in the quran, Today I completed your religion for you " Muhammed had only one thing in his hands (quran) 12:111

Prophet had no mandate to deliver anything other than Quran.
10:15, 24:54, 27:91-91

Following Prophet's example according to Quran, is none other than staunch faith in God and strict adherence to quran. No where is it stated that we have to follow his personnel traits and cultural traditions. He was born amongst arabs and so those were arab customs. He could have been born in Indonesia or UK and then customs would be entirely different.

It is very clear in quran that God allowed fabrications and inventions of fancy words like hadith and sunnah because these are the tests of the beleivers.
Quran: 6:112-113

Messengers Function: Just deliver quran
quran: 13:40, 42:48, 5:99

Meaning of the true believer or a true Muslim:
Believe in God
Believe in Angels
Believe in the Book (Quran)
Believe in the Messenger as a last prophet
Believe in all the other messengers and not differentiate amongst them.
See Quran: 2:258, 3:84

Amy:

I don't know why you have not been banned, and I don't know why Mr Abdul Basit started this thread knowing that you really don't want to learn and all you intend is "fitna".

you've been BSing around a lot more now. You said that you don't beleive in bodily movements, rituals as some scholars/hadith says to pray, praying means communication with God no matter when and how.

if you really have read Quran (not just browsing www.Quran.org) have you come across words "raaki'oon, yasjudoon"? what does Allah mean by "qum" in nights? does it means just leave your bed and stand up? why don't you think that "raki'oon, yasjudoon" are part of praying?

there are lot more ayats which would support the way Muslims today pray. you and miscreants like Rashad Khlifa after 1400 years think that Muslims have been doing nothing for these 1400 years and suddenly you guys discovered what true Islam is? and now you will tell us what prayer is and what Islam is?

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We oughta be Changez like, don't we?

[iqadeer]

Amy,

It is not even possible to understand the meaning of the many ayaats of the Qur'an without taking prophetic traditions into account. For example, take the following:

"Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage) with her, with the necessary (formality), We joined her in marriage to thee" (Ahzaab:37).

Is it possible to explain who was Zaid, who was his wife and how the entire story happened without the help and aid of Narrations.

"(The Prophet) frowned and turned away,

2. Because there came to him the blind man (interrupting).

3. But what could tell thee but that perchance he might grow (in spiritual understanding)?-

4. Or that he might receive admonition, and the teaching might profit him?" ('Abas:1-4)

Can somebody explain from the Qur'an only who is this blind man? And who were the people that prophet was engaged with at the time of his arrival?

Similarly, all the incidents regarding Battles of Ahzaab and Hunain cannot be explained completely if we were to reject the narrations as historically inaccurate. For example, it is in the Qur'an:

"Behold! Allah promised you one of the two (enemy) parties, that it should be yours: Ye wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but Allah willed to justify the Truth according to His words and to cut off the roots of the Unbelievers" (Anfaal:7)

Can anybody tell who were these two parties? And the promise that Allah is reminding about, where is it in the Qur'an? If its not in the Qur'an then you have to YIELD to the fact that there is another type of revelation as well.

More to come, by the will of Allah.



[This message has been edited by iqadeer (edited June 13, 2001).]