Asslaum Aliakum how is the day spreading for you ? Sunnah and the people of Sunnah The Prophet peace be upon him has said The children of Israel were divided in to 72 sects. ,y Ummah shall split into 73, all of which, save one, will go to Jahannam (hell). The Sahabah (companions) asked, which group is that? The Prophet peace be upon him replied, ( it is the group which follows that (path) on which I and my Sahabah are. (Tirmidhi) The Prophet peace be upon him, in the above-mentioned Hadith, has predicted the division of this Ummah into 73 sects, each of which is destined for Jahannam save ONE. And further more on, he also goes to identify the one group, which would not deviate like the rest. It is surprising to note that the present-day Ummah is, as foretold by the Prophet peace be upon him, split into numerous groups and sects, and the number is still on the increase. Each of these sects claims to be on the right path, yet as we learn from the Hadith, only ONE of these will actually be on the right path. Which is the right group from among these,is a question which is as significant as it is interesting, yet the answer is found in the very Hadith quoted above. The Prophet peace be upon him has himself identified the faithful and upright people through the words, (it is that group which follows) that (path) on which I and my Sahabah are. Adherence to the Sunnah of the Prophet peace be upon him and the Jamah (group) of Sahabah is the distinguishing mark and feature of such people who will attain salvation. Those who fail to meet the above criterion will invariably be consigned to Jahannam. Having understood that adherence to the Sunnah and affiliation with the group of Sahabah is the key to success, it would be important for us to understand what these words really stand for. Only then will we realise whether we fall within the specified category treading on the right path or are forming part of a deviant sects also highlighted in the Hadith. Below we attempt to elaborate on the two terms Sunnah of the Prophet peace be upon him and the Jamaah of the Sahabah Definition of the Sunnah The definition of Sunnah is the statement of Rasul (sal-lal-laahu alayhi wa sal-lam), his practice and verification. Verification implies his tacit approval, i.e, upon observing someone doing something, the Prophet peace be upon him did not object to it, but remained silent. His silence has been equalled to his explicit approval, as it cannot be expected of him to remain silent at things disapproved by the Shariah(Divine law) Hence, it would follow that whatever the Prophet peace be upon him had said is Sunnah, whatever he had done is Sunnah and whatever he had verified through his silence will also be classed as Sunnah. Deninition of the Jamaah Jamaah means the group, which refers to the Sahabah,. Being the direct students of the Prophet peace be upon him, they were the ones most worthy and capable of interpreting the noble sayings of the Prophet peace be upon him. It then becomes binding on us to draw on their works and explanations for the correct understanding of the Ahadith, and not study the Ahadith independently and draw our own conclusions therefrom.The Sagabah were the direct addressees of the Quran and also the direct recipients of the Ahadith. It was they who observed the Prophet peace be upon him first hand and were fully aware of the context of his statements. They were the noblest and most pious of people after the Prophet peace be upon him of Allah, and were furthest from evils of Shaytan (Satan) and the ego. These noble personalities transmitted every detail of the life and Sunnah of the Prophet peace be upon him and left no stone unturned in presenting a sound image of every aspect of his person and lifestyle. It would then be logical and wise to rely on their interpretations and give preference to their explanations over ours. Having been defined and specified in the above Hadith, adherence to the Sunnah and the Sahabah is the only way to salvation, and all other options will have to be rejected. Ahl-as-Sunnah wal-Jamaah Those who adhere to the above are known as the Ahl-as-Sunnah wal-Jamaah. Many modern day youths, upon hearing this fancr titls, such as, Ahl-al-Hadith, become the victims of an inferiority complex. The begin to think, ;Oh, they are followers of the Hadith whilst we arent such thoughts, however, are based purely on ignorance .Alhamdulillah, we follow the Hadith more than anybody else, as can be understood from the title, Ahl-as-Sunnah, which is only an alternative of Ahl-al-Hadith. We have the honour of following the Ahadith of Rasoolullah (sal- lal-laahu alayhi wa sal-lam) in every aspect of Din.We, the Ahl-as-Sunnah, believe strongly that the path leading to Allah can never be a path that diverges from the Sunnah of Rasoolullah (sal-lal-laahu alayhi wa sal-lam). Rasoolullsh (sal-lal-laahu alayhi wa sal-lam) has laid great emphasis on following his Sunnah. He. for instance, said, J have left amongst you two things, which if you hold fast to, you will never go astray; the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet peace be upon him. (Muatta Imam Malik) The Hadith predicted the division of the Ummah (mentioned at the beginning) also explains the significance of Sunnah. And the statement of the Prophet peace be upon him (the path on which I and my Sahabah are) is general in that it encompasses all aspects of Din. This, then, explains that in the sight of Allah, any ideology, way of life, or action that does not conform to the path shown by the Prophet peace be upon him and the Sahabah, will be invariably rejected, as such paths do not fulfil the criteria of being rightly guided and Divinely protected. Similarly, a path that digresses from the path of the Sahabah will also fall outside the Sunnah category, as is indicated by the above Hadit. The Sahabah were not a people who would ever do a thing that was at variance with the Sunnah. And how can that be expected of a people who were described by the Prophets peace be upon him as guiding stars. (Bayhaqi) This is the distinguishing sign of the Ahl-as-Sunnah was-Hamaah, for they are the only people who accept the Sahabah as sole authorities on Islam (after the Prophet peace be upon him) and cast aside any opinions, reason and logic that is in conflict with their collective interpretations and understanding
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 08:28:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015