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Definition of Sunnah
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[quote]Respected Mr. Ibrahim Thanks for the reply. I have come to understand that Sunnah might not be defined in the past, but the people of the past were clear about what is Sunnah and what is not Sunnah. So the real thing is not the definition of Sunnah but to know what is Sunnah. I have gone through the course material, the above links and some other sources, and have following questions/confusions. It is a long list, but I hope you will find some time to answer these. 1. [blue]Reference the following paragraph/lines from the link http://monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=77[/blue] [blue] “Only that thing can be a Sunnah which is religious by nature and status”.[/blue] I believe that anything that Holy Prophet (PBUH) asked us to do must be religious, because prophets do not demand anything from their human capacities. Thus Beard and Walima are religious by nature and status. But in his videos, Dr. Shehzad Saleem says that these are not religious. It creates confusion in the mind. Please let me know how we can determine whether something is religious or not? What are parameters and criteria which make something religious or non-religious? 2. [blue]Reference the following paragraph/lines from the link http://monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=77[/blue] [blue]“Things which merely state some aspect of human nature cannot be regarded as Sunnah”. [/blue] The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said: "Five practices are characteristics of the Human nature: circumcision, shaving the pubic region, clipping the nails and cutting the moustaches short." If the things which state some aspect of human nature cannot be regarded as Sunnah, why do you call these practices (circumcision, shaving pubic hair, clipping the nails and cutting the moustaches short)as Sunnah? [blue]Reference the example of the above principle:[/blue] [blue]“Beasts having canine teeth, wild birds having claws and tamed donkeys have been prohibited by the Prophet (sws); however, this prohibition is only a delineation of human nature, which is averse to eating such things. Hence this prohibition cannot be termed as Sunnah”.[/blue] According to my understanding this example is related to determination of Halal & Haram, and is not of PRACTICAL nature. So these are not Sunnah as per Second Principle of determining Sunnah, and have nothing to do with the Fifth Principle. Is there any other example of the Fifth Principle (Things which merely state some aspect of human nature cannot be regarded as Sunnah)? 3. [blue]Reference the following paragraph/lines from the link http://monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1000 under the heading “SUNNAH”[/blue] [blue]“In the discussion which follows, we are going to discuss the SUNNAH of the Prophet (sws). This means the way of life which the Prophet (sws) taught the people in theory and practice and for which, in his capacity as a teacher of Sharī’ah (Islamic Law), he laid down IDEAL STANDARDS of leading a life which one should meet to earn Allah’s approval through complete submission to His Commandments. This assignment was a necessary corollary to his status as a Prophet and has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’ān as follows: “God did confer a great favour on the Believers when He sent among them a Prophet from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of God, purifying them and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while before that they had been in manifest error.” (3:164) “You have indeed in the Prophet of God a BEAUTIFUL PATTERN (OF CONDUCT) for anyone whose hope is in God and the Final Day, and who engages much in the praise of God.” (33:21)”[/blue] According to my understanding the above paragraphs indicate that Uswa e Hasanah is also Sunnah. But your point of view is that Uswa-e-Hasanah is not the Sunnah. On what grounds do you say that Uswa-e-Hasanah is not Sunnah? And what is the difference in STATUS and SIGNIFICANCE between Sunnah and Uswa-e-Hasanah? Please Explain. 4. [blue]Reference the following paragraph/lines from the link http://monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1000[/blue] [blue]NEED FOR SUNNAH: The religion with which we have been blessed by Almighty Allah through the Qur’ān only lays down broadly the fundamentals for life. It does not embrace all the details of expositions thereof. Comprehensive education of the Ummah in the matter of details has been left entirely to the Mu’allim-i-Qur’ān, the Prophet (sws) himself. The overall structure of Islam has been raised and completed through the Sunnah of the =Prophet (sws). For instance, basic commandments with regard to prayers, fasts, pilgrimage, zakat and other obligations and rites have, no doubt, been laid down in the Holy Qur’ān. However, there are no details mentioned on any of these subjects; so much so that the Qur’ān does not even mention the details of such an extremely important matter as prayers, for example their timings, total number, and the number of rak’ats in each prayer. The same is true of all other modes of worship and of other commandments and laws. For instance, the Qur’ān lays down the cutting of the hands as a penalty for theft. However, the DETAILS HAVE BEEN LEFT TO THE PROPHET (SWS) TO EXPLAIN---as WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF ‘THEFT’ WITH REFERENCE TO THE VALUE THEREOF, OR WHAT IS THE POINT WHERE THE HAND SHOULD BE SEVERED ETC.”[/blue] This paragraph is written with the heading “Need for Sunnah”. The paragraphs indicate that details for penalty for theft will be regarded as Sunnah, but the course material and the book Meezan say that “things which belong to the practical sphere CANNOT BE REGARDED AS SUNNAH IF THEY ARE INITIATED BY THE QUR’AN”. These two things are contrary to each other. Please comment on it. 5. [blue]Reference the following paragraph/lines from the link http://monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1000[/blue] [blue]IN ANY PRACTICE THE SUNNAH CAN VARY:[/blue] [blue]The common man appears to be unaware of the fact that in case of one particular issue there can be more than one Sunnah. Owing to ignorance on this point, the followers of Sunnah themselves are divided into different sects, and continue to accuse one another of disregarding the Sunnah. However, if they are fair to themselves in this regard, it should not be hard for them to comprehend that a Sunnah can vary on any single issue.[/blue] [blue]It has been narrated that on the occasion of his last pilgrimage to Mecca, the Prophet (sws) sat down at one place, and people started to approach him in the form of groups for guidance. Some one explained that he had acted on a certain issue in such and such manner. The Prophet (sws) replied that there was no harm in it. Another one observed that in a particular issue he had acted in such and such manner. The Prophet (sws) approved that action too. Likewise, people approached him one after the other and asked his opinion on the manner they had been acting on different matters; according to the narrations, the Prophet (sws) approved all the different ways of practice of the people and disapproved none.[/blue] [blue]Apparently the reason for this could only be that they must have all been acting within the sphere of the Sunnah. While carefully preserving the core and essence of a practice, if there happens to be some variation in its outward form, that practice cannot be said to have overstepped the limits of Sunnah.[/blue] [blue]For instance the narrations with regard to Tashahhud4 are all associated with Companions who were authorities on Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Although the wording of each one differs, the spirit underlying each is identical. Now supposing a person chooses to adopt that Tashahhud which is associated with Hazrat ‘Umar or Hazrat ‘Abdullāh Ibn ‘Umar (May Allah’s blessings be upon them), and does not adopt the one practised by Hazrat Aishah or Hazrat ‘Abdullāh Ibn Masūd (May Allah’s blessings be upon them), would it be justified if we declare his action contrary to the Sunnah? One can of course discuss, as a point of academic interest, the practice which might be preferred and the merits thereof. But how can one reject any of these practices as going against the Sunnah?[/blue] [blue]To my mind, the same is the position with regard to the word Amen---reciting the word Amen audibly and reciting Amen mutely during the course of prayers; or with regard to folding the arms below the chest or letting the arms down loose during the prayers. There is a possibility, even evidence, of these different practices being reckoned as the Sunnah. In fact, we do have arguments supporting their status as Sunnah. Owing to certain factors for which this is not the occasion for elaboration, some of these practices gained greater popularity than others at certain places. However, none of them can be set aside as being repugnant to Sunnah. At the most, one can raise the question of the degree of emphasis being laid on a particular practice vis-a-vis others. But one just cannot deny it the status of Sunnah.[/blue] The above paragraphs tells that different narrations of Tashahhud are Sunnah. But in the course material and the book “Meezan”, it is written that these are not Sunnah. The above paragraph also indicates that there might not be consensus over a particular Sunnah (as in case of Tashahhud and saying Ameen). But it is written in course material module 4 that there is consensus on Sunnah among all the Muslims. Please explain these two contradictions. 6. [blue]Reference the following lines from the course material Module 4 under the heading “SUNNAH DOES NOT DEPEND ON HADITH”[/blue] [blue]“We do not need to learn Sunnah from books”[/blue] [blue]“According to the Muslim ideology, if we want to find out the Sunan, we should look for them in the the traditions and practices of Muslim Ummah and not in the books of history”.[/blue] How can we look for a Sunnah in the traditions and practices of whole Muslim Ummah? Although Sunnah is related to practical affairs and one learns these things from people, there must be some authentic book on Sunnah from where one can check whether something is Sunnah or not. Is there any such book? If someone attributes some saying/order to Quran and Hadith, we can easily verify it from Quran and authentic books of Hadith. But if someone attributes something to Sunnah, how can we verify it in the absence of some authentic book?[/quote]
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