The Sunnah of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) In Islam obedience to the Prophet is equal to obedience to God. This is because Muslims believe that, whatever the Prophet said or did, he acted on behalf of God and by his command. He could not err because, Muslims believe, all prophets are protected by God from sin and error. With regard to the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) in particular, the Qur’an asserts: Your companion did not go astray, nor did he err. He speaks not out of capricious desire; Rather it is a revelation revealed to him (Q.53:2 – 4). The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) is reported to have declared: “ I was given the Qur’ an and its equivalent (i.e. the sunnah) along with it.” The Prophet’s sunnah consists of his actions, his tacit consent, and his sayings. Along with the sunnah of action and the sunnah of consent, there is the sunnah of speech, collectively known as hadith. The aim of the science of hadith (‘ilm al – hadith) is to ascertain the authenticity of a particular hadith by establishing the completeness of the chain of its transmission and the veracity of its transmitters. Thus a hadith that has three or more complete chains of transmissions, all of whose authorities are well known and recognized as pious people who cannot be accused of falsification, is considered a sound (sahih) and universally accepted (mutawatir) tradition. A hadith that has one complete chain of well-attested authorities going back to the Prophet through a well - known Companion is sound. Where one or more links in the chain of authorities is missing, or one or more of its transmitters is unknown, the hadith is considered to be either good or weak, depending on the veracity of its remaining authorities. A hadith most or all of those transmitters are unknown, or known to be untrustworthy, is considered weak (daif) or fabricated. Finally hadiths transmitted by single authorities are doubted or altogether rejected. A hadith consists of a chain of transmissions (isnad), beginning with the compiler or last transmitter and going back to the Prophet, followed by the text (matn). Generally speaking, the majority of hadith traditions follow a set pattern of expression and subject matter. A hadith that deviates from the pattern, but is otherwise considered to be good, is usually called strange (gharib) or rare (nadir). An exception to this norm is the genre known as hadith qudsi (“divine” or “sacred utterance”). While Prophetic hadith generally deal with legal or moral issues or with legislation, hadith qudsi consist of moral or pious exhortations and reflections. Hadith qudsi traditions are not the words of the Prophet but of God. Often their isnads, after the Prophet, go through Gabriel and several other angels before they reach God, who is their final authority. Thus hadith qudsi traditions are extra-Qur’anic revelations that are believed to have been either communicated to the Prophet by the angel Gabriel, or received by the Prophet in dreams. The following are three typical examples of hadith qudsi traditions. When God decreed the creation of all things, He inscribed in a book which He keeps always before Him, “ My mercy shall overcome My wrath.” The first of men to be judged on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died as a martyr. He will stand before God and God will make known to him His bounties and the man will acknowledge them. God will ask, “How did you use them?” “ I fought in Your cause until I was martyred,” the man will answer. But God will say, “You lie! Rather, you fought in order that it may be said of you ‘ He is brave.’ “ He shall thus be dragged headlong into the Fire. Another man will be one who acquired much learning and taught it to others and was a Qur’an reciter. God will remind him of His bounties and he will acknowledge them. God will then ask, “How did you use them?” The man will answer, “I acquired much learning and taught others and I recited the Qur’an for Your sake.” But God will answer, “You lie! Rather, you acquired learning so that others may say ‘He is a learned man’; and you recited the Qur’an so that they may say ‘he is a Qur’an reciter.’ ” He too shall be thrown headlong into the Fire. Another will be a man upon whom God bestowed good fortune and granted all kinds of riches. God will, likewise, remind him of His bounties and he will recognize them. God will ask, “How did you use them?” The man will reply, “I never neglected any manner of almsgiving, which You love, but rather I spent much wealth therein for Your sake.” But God will say, “You lie! For you did all this only that people may say ‘ He is a generous mam.’ ” He too shall be dragged headlong into the Fire. I am at My servant’s expectation. And I am indeed with him when he makes mention of Me. If he remembers Me secretly in his mind, I will likewise secretly remember him in My mind. But if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I will make mention of him in an assembly far better than it. If he drawn nearer to Me the distance of a hand’s span, I draw nearer to him an arm’s length. And if he draws nearer to Me by an arm’s length, I draw nearer to him by a phantom’s length. If he comes to Me walking, I will come to him running. May Allah rightly guide us and all those who share this. Source: Islam – Faith and History by Mahmoud M. Ayoub
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 22:13:21 +0000
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