In the name of Allah most
gracious most merciful
Assalaamualaikum wa
rahmatuallahi wa barakatah
Adhering to the sunnah of the
prophet:
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Introduction
--------------
the article contains sunnah
covering various aspects of islamic way of living ,rituals etc.
Taken from -adheringtosunnah
Praise be to Allaah, the Lord
of the Worlds, and peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the Master of the Prophets
and Messengers, and upon all his family and companions.
The Prophet (saas) (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to teach the Sunnah to his companions in
word and deed, and urged them to follow it,
as he said in his hadeeth:
“Adhere to my Sunnah” and “Whoever neglects my Sunnah does not belong to me.”
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be
pleased with him) narrated
that the Messenger of Allaah (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “There is no Prophet whom Allaah sent
to any nation before me, but
he had disciples from among his nation, and companions who followed his Sunnah
and obeyed his commands.” (Narrated by
Muslim, no. 71).
Some aspects of the Sunnah are
waajib (obligatory) and some are mustahabb (encouraged). The Muslim should
follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas)
(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), whether it is waajib or mustahabb, as long as it is proven in
sound reports. The Sahaabah (may
Allaah be pleased with them) used to spread the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) among people and they called
people to follow it.
The proper number of
Takbeeraat during prayer is Sunnah
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Ikrimah said: I prayed behind
an old man in Makkah (i.e., Zuhr) and he said Takbeer twenty-two times. I said
to Ibn ‘Abbaas that the man was a fool. He
said, “may your mother lose
you! The Sunnah of Abu’l-Qaasim (saas) (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was to say Takbeer five times in
each
rak’ah, plus the Takbeer for
ihraam and for standing up for the third rak’ah. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no.
746).
Sitting muftarishan in prayer
is Sunnah
------------------------------------------
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abd-Allaah
narrated: I used to see ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him)
sitting with his legs crossed when he sat
(to recite Tashahhud during
the prayer). I was a mere youngster, and I did the same, but ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
‘Umar told me not to do that. He said the
Sunnah is to put your right
foot upright and to fold the left foot beneath you [this is what is meant by
Iftiraash or “sitting muftarishan” –
Translator]. I said to him,
‘You do not do that.’ He said, ‘My legs do not let me [i.e., because of old age
or sickness].’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 784).
It is Sunnah for
a traveller to shorten his prayers if he misses praying a prescribed prayer
with an imaam
Moosaa ibn Salamah al-Hudhali said:
I asked Ibn ‘Abbaas, how should I pray if I am in Makkah and I do not pray with
the imaam? He said, Two rak’ahs is
the Sunnah of Abu’l-Qaasim
(saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). (Narrated by Muslim, no.
1111).
Hajj al-Tamattu’ is Sunnah
-------------------------------
[Hajj al-Tamattu’: this is
when the pilgrim enters ihraam for ‘Umrah only, performs ‘Umra, finishes ihraam
and then later enters a new ihraam for Hajj – Translator].
Muhammad ibn al-Muthannaa and
Ibn Bashshaar said, Muhammad ibn Ja’far told us, Shu’bah told us: I heard Abu
Jamrah al-Duba’i say: “I wanted to do Hajj
al-Tamattu’, and some people
told me not to do that. I went to Ibn ‘Abbaas and asked him about it, and he
told me to do it. Then I went home and slept,
and someone came to me in my
dream and said, An accepted ‘Umrah and Hajj Mabroor [Hajj done in accordance
with the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas)
(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), and accepted by Allaah]. I came to Ibn ‘Abbaas and told him about
what I had seen (in my dream) and he said:
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar,
the Sunnah of Abu’l-Qaasim (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
(Narrated by Muslim, 2183, and by
al-Bukhaari, no. 1465).
Praying two rak’ahs after each
Tawaaf is Sunnah
-----------------------------------------------------
Ismaa’eel ibn Umayyah said: I
said to al-Zuhri that ‘Ataa’ was saying that the prescribed prayer was
sufficient and there was no need to do two rak’ahs after Tawaaf. He said: The
Sunnah is better. Abu’l-Qaasim never did Tawaaf seven times around the Ka’bah
but he prayed two Rak’ahs afterwards.
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, Baab
salaa al-Nabi (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) li suboo’ihi
rak’atayn.)
Keeping the khutbah short and
hastening to stand at ‘Arafaah is Sunnah
Saalim said: ‘Abd al-Malik wrote to al-Hajjaaj telling him not to differ from Ibn ‘Umar concerning the (rituals of) Hajj. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) came at noon on the Day of ‘Arafaah, and I was with him. He called at the pavilion of al-Hajjaaj, who came out wearing a wrap dyed with safflower. He said, “What is the matter, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan?’ [Ibn ‘Umar] said, ‘Let us go, if you want to follow the Sunnah.’ [Al-Hajjaaj] said, ‘Now?’ [Ibn ‘Umar] said, ‘Yes.’ Al-Hajjaaj said, ‘Wait for me, while I pour water on my head, then I will come out.’ So Ibn ‘Umar waited until al-Hajjaaj came out, then he walked between me and my father. I said, ‘If you want to follow the Sunnah, keep the khutbah short and hasten to stand at ‘Arafaah.’ He looked at ‘Abd-Allaah and when ‘Abd-Allaah noticed that, he said, ‘he is telling the truth.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, no. 1550).
Going from Muzdalifah to Mina
at daybreak is Sunnah
------------------------------------------------------------
‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Yazeed
said: “We went out with ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) to Makkah,
then we came to Muzdalifah and prayed the two prayers [Maghrib and ‘Ishaa’],
each with its own Adhaan and Iqaamah, and we ate dinner between the two
prayers. Then he prayed Fajr when dawn came
and some were saying that dawn
had come and others were saying that it had not come. Then he waited until the
day got brighter, then he said: if the
Ameer al-Mu’mineen [‘Uthmaan]
moves on towards Mina now, he will be following the Sunnah. I am not sure which
came first, ‘Abd-Allaah’s comment
or ‘Uthmaan’s setting out for
Mina. He kept reciting Talbiyah until he reached Jamrat al-‘Aqabah and threw
the stones on the Day of Sacrifice (Yawm
al-Nahr).” (al-Bukhaari,
1571).
Doing the prayer before the
khutbah on Eid is Sunnah
----------------------------------------------------------
Taariq ibn Shihaab said: the
first person who put the khutbah before the prayer on Eid was Marwaan. A man
stood up and said to Marwaan, ‘You have
gone against the Sunnah.’ Abu
Sa’eed said, ‘This man has done what he was supposed to, for I heard the
Messenger of Allaah (saas) (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) say,
“Whoever sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand [by taking
action], and if he cannot, then with his tongue [by
speaking out], and if he
cannot, then with his heart [by feeling that it is wrong], and that is the
weakest of faith.”’ (Abu ‘Eesaa said: a saheeh hasan
hadeeth, 2098).
Sacrificing a camel whilst it
is standing up and its left foreleg is tied is Sunnah
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ziyaad ibn Jubayr said: I saw Ibn
‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) come to a man who had made his camel sit
down so he could slaughter it. He
said to him, ‘Make it stand up
with its foreleg tied, for this is the Sunnah of Muhammad (saas) (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1598).
When drinking, one should pass
the vessel to one’s right
-----------------------------------------------------------
Anas ibn Maalik said: the
Messenger of Allaah (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to
our house and asked for something to drink. We
milked a ewe then added some
water from this well of mine. We gave it to the Messenger of Allaah (saas)
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
he drank. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar
were to his left, and a bedouin was to his right. When the Messenger of Allaah
(saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) finished drinking,
‘Umar said, ‘here is Abu Bakr, O Messenger of Allaah,’ pointing to him. But the
Messenger of Allaah (saas) (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon
him) gave the cup to the bedouin, not to Abu Bakr or ‘Umar. The Messenger of
Allaah (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, “Those who
are on the right, those who are on the right, those who are on the right.” Anas
said, This is Sunnah, this is Sunnah, this
is Sunnah.
(Agreed upon; this version
narrated by Muslim, 3785).
Dividing one’s time equally
among co-wives is Sunnah
---------------------------------------------------------
Anas said: It is part of the
Sunnah, if a man marries a virgin after having married a previously-married
woman, he should spend seven nights with her,
then divide his time equally
(among the co-wives). And if he marries a previously-married woman after having
married a virgin, he should spend
three nights with her, then
divide his time equally…” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4813).
--------------------------------------------------------
Chapter: the words of Allaah (interpretation
of the meaning): “O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them at their
‘Iddah (prescribed periods),
and count (accurately) their ‘Iddah (periods)…” [al-Talaaq 65:1]. We should count the days and know how many days have passed at any given time. The way
of divorcing according to the
Sunnah is to divorce a woman when she is taahir (pure, i.e., not during her
period or post-natal bleeding) and
without having had intercourse
with her since she became taahir, and the divorce should be witnessed by two
witnesses. (Saheeh al-Bukhaari).
When departing this world
-----------------------------
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with him) reported that when the deceased was placed in the grave [Abu
Khaalid said on one occasion: when the deceased
was placed in the lahd (niche)
of his grave], the Prophet (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said, “Bismillaah wa Billaahi wa ‘ala
millati Rasool-illaah (in the name of Allaah and by the help of Allaah andon the religion of the Messenger of Allaah).” On another occasion, he said:
“Bismillaah wa Billaahi wa
‘ala Sunnati Rasool-illaah (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
(in the name of Allaah and by the help of
Allaah and on the Sunnah of
the Messenger of Allaah (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)).”
(Abu ‘Eesa said: this is a
ghareeb(strange) hasan(good)
hadeeth with this isnaad. 967).
Seeking permission to enter
three times is part of the Sunnah
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Abu Sa’eed said: Abu Moosa
sought permission to enter upon ‘Umar. He said, Assalaamu ‘alaykum, may I
enter? ‘Umar said, That was once, then he kept
silent for a while. Abu Moosa
again said, Assalaamu ‘alaykum, may I enter? ‘Umar said, That was twice, then
he kept silent for a while. Abu Moosa again
said, Assalaamu ‘alaykum, may
I enter? ‘Umar said, That was three times.Then Abu Moosa went away. ‘Umar asked
the doorkeeper, What happened? The
doorkeeper said, He went away.
‘Umar said, bring him back. When he came back, ‘Umar said, What is this that
you have done? Abu Moosa said, It is the
Sunnah. ‘Umar said: is it?
Then he said, I did not know this… (Abu ‘Eesa said: a saheeh hasan hadeeth,
2614)
Ibn ‘Abbaas recited al-Faatihah
aloud during a Janaazah (funeral) prayer in order to teach people the Sunnah
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Talhah ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
‘Awf said: I prayed the Janaazah prayer behind Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be
pleased with him), and he recited the Opening of
the Book (i.e., he recited
al-Faatihah aloud). He said: (I did that) so that they might learn that this is
Sunnah. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1249)
The imaams denounced those who
go against the Sunnah.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said in his Saheeh:
Chapter on following the
Sunnah of the Prophet (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
Ibn ‘Awn said: there are three
things which I love for myself and my brothers: this Sunnah, that they should
learn about it and ask about it; the
Qur’aan, that they should seek
to understand it and ask about it; and that they should leave people alone
unless it is for a good reason.” (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, Kitaab
al-I’tisaam bi’l-Kitaab wa’s-Sunnah).
Let those people fear Allaah
who think of the Sunnah as unimportant and sayit is only the matter of
externals and does not matter, and they go against
it deliberately, thinking that
this proves how moderate and reasonable they are, as they claim. They are
doomed and lost, for the Sunnah of our Prophet
(saas) (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) is most dear to us.
Even if a particular aspect of
the Sunnah is mustahhab (encouraged) rather than waajib (obligatory), is there
not a reward for us in following it? Do
we have so much hasanah that
we do not need to seek more?
brothers and sisters, may Allaah
have mercy on me and on you, strive to follow every proven Sunnah that you
learn from your Prophet (saas) (peace
and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and do not neglect it, for it will benefit you on a Day when neither
wealth nor sons will be of any avail.
Adhere to the Sunnah and teach
it to your children. Revive it in the midst of those who are unaware of it, so
that you may be among the most blessed of
people through the
intercession of Muhammad (saas) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
O Allaah, help us to follow
the Sunnah. Cause us to live in accordance to the Sunnah and to die adhering to
the Sunnah. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Allah knows best.