Friday Sermon: Understanding the Sunnah in Islam

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.

All praise belongs to Allah, who set up our religion, sent down the Reminder (az-Zikr), and promised to protect it. I testify that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partner. I also testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah shower him with peace and blessings, ameen. Now to the matter at hand:

Dear brothers and sisters! One day, Ya’ala Ibn Umayyah asked Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both):

“Show me the Prophet (Peace be upon him) when he is receiving revelation!”

Later, while the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was on his way to perform Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage), a man approached him and asked:

“O Messenger of Allah! What do you say about a man who enters the sacred state of Ihram for Umrah while heavily covered in perfume?”

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) stayed silent for a moment, then the revelation came to him. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) signalled to Ya’ala, who went over and looked under a garment that was covering the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). He noticed that the Prophet’s face was red and he was breathing heavily. Soon, the intensity eased, and he asked:

“Where is the person who asked about the Umrah?”

The man was brought forward, and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) told him:

“Wash off the perfume that is on you three times, remove your cloak, and do during your Umrah what you do during your Hajj (pilgrimage).” [Narrated by al-Bukharī and Muslim]

Respected servants of Allah! Ya’ala Ibn Umayyah wanted to see the revelation himself. What he witnessed was the Prophet (Peace be upon him) being asked a question, waiting for revelation, and then responding through his Sunnah (Prophetic Hadith). This shows that his Sunnah is also a revelation from Allah the Almighty.

The Qur’an and the Sunnah are both essential guides against wrong paths and suffering. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:

“I have left among you two things after which you will never go astray as long as you hold fast to them and act upon them: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah. They will never separate until they meet me at the Prophet’s Basin (al-Hawd).” [Narrated by al-Hakim]

Both are part of the Reminder (az-Zikr) that Allah sent to His Messenger (Peace be upon him), as He mentioned:

“And We revealed to you the message [the Reminder] that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them.” [Surah al-Nahl: 44]

And Allah, Glorified be He, has promised to protect this Reminder, saying:

“Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [the Reminder] and indeed, We will be its guardian.” [Surah al-Hijr: 9]

You might ask: how did Allah protect the Sunnah of His Messenger (Peace be upon him) for us?

It started with clear verses of the noble Qur’an urging complete obedience to the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). Allah the Most High said:

“Say, ‘Obey Allah and obey the Messenger.’” [Surah al-Nur: 54]

Also, Allah confirmed that whatever the Prophet speaks is inspiration (Wahy) from Him, stating:

“Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.” [Surah al-Najm: 3, 4]

Because of this, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) encouraged his Companions to listen to his Sunnah, memorize it correctly, and pass it on to future generations. He addressed them during the Farewell Pilgrimage, saying:

“Let those who are present convey it to those who are absent, for perhaps the one to whom it is conveyed will understand it better than the one who heard it directly.” [Narrated by al-Bukharī and Muslim]

He also promised a bright and happy life to anyone who carries his Sunnah and shares it, saying (Peace be upon him):

“May Allah grant brightness and beauty to a person who hears a Hadith (Prophetic saying) from us, memorizes it, and conveys it to others. For many a carrier of knowledge carries it to one who is more understanding than himself, and many a carrier of knowledge is not a person of deep understanding.” [Narrated by Abu Dawud]

He urged them to memorize it and promised Allah’s help in doing so. One day, he said:

“No one will spread out his garment until I finish this speech of mine and then gather it to himself except that he will retain everything I say.” So Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) spread out his woolen cloak. When the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) finished speaking, Abu Hurairah said, “I gathered it to my chest, and I never forgot a single word from that speech of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him).” [Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim]

At the same time, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) warned strongly against lying about him, saying:

“A lie against me is not like a lie against anyone else. Whoever intentionally fabricates a lie against me, let him take his place in the Fire.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Driven by this important duty, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) worked hard to preserve and record the Sunnah. They focused on him, capturing his words, actions, and guidance in every part of life. Some memorized these details in their hearts, while others wrote them down.

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) noted this himself, saying:

“None of the Companions of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) narrated more Hadith from him than me, except for Abdullah Ibn Amr, because he used to write them down and I did not.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari]

Abdullah Ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) was very dedicated to writing down the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). He reported:

“I used to write down everything I heard from the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), intending to memorize it. However, the Quraish tribe discouraged me, saying, ‘Do you write down everything you hear, when the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) is a human being who speaks in times of anger and joy?’ So, I stopped writing. Later, I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), who pointed to his mouth with his finger and said: ‘Write! For by the One in Whose hand is my soul, nothing comes out of it except the truth!’” [Narrated by Abu Dawud]

Finally, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) told his Companions that they would pass this religion to the next generation, who would then pass it on to those after them, saying:

“You hear from me, and people will hear from you, and others will hear from those who heard from you.” [Narrated by Abu Dawud]

Hundreds of Companions shared knowledge and the Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). Among them were those who narrated many Hadiths and those who narrated few. The Companions who shared the most from the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) were Abu Hurairah, Abdullah Ibn Umar, Anas Ibn Malik, Aisha, Abdullah Ibn Abbas, Jabir Ibn Abdullah, and Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with them all).

This is how the Companions received the Hadīth from the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). Then came the Tabiʿun (the Successors of the Companions), who received the Hadīth from them, both by listening and writing. Sa’id Ibn Jubair said:

“I used to listen to Hadīth from Ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) at night, and I would write it down.” [Narrated by al-Darimi]

Bashīr Ibn Nahīk (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“I used to write down what I heard from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him). When I intended to leave him, I brought his book to him and read it back to him, and I asked him, ‘Is this what I heard from you?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’” [Narrated by al-Darimī]

Maʿruf al-Khayyat said:

“I saw Wathilah Ibn al-Asqaʿ (may Allah be pleased with him) dictating Hadiths to the people while they wrote them down in front of him.” [Narrated by al-Baihaqī]

During this great generation, the Tābiʿun, the booklets written by the Successors from the Companions increased. The Successors then shared what they memorized of the Sunnah from the Companions with the next generations, both through memorization in their hearts and in writing from their booklets. Thus, the Sunnah was passed down through the Isnad (chain of narration), the Companions took it from the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), the Successors took it from the Companions, and the Followers of the Successors took it from the Successors.

So we thank Allah for this blessing, as He prepared outstanding Islamic scholars and great memorisers (Huffaz) who carried the trust of knowledge with honesty and shared it faithfully.

When Umar Ibn Abdul’aziz became the Caliph, he wrote to Abubakar Ibn Amr Ibn Hazm, who was the governor of Madīnah at the time:

“Look for whatever there is of the Hadīth of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), or his Sunnah, and write it down for me, for I fear the fading of knowledge and the passing away of the Islamic scholars.” [Narrated by Malik]

The scholars followed the order of the Leader of the Believers. Ibn Shihab az-Zuhrī (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“ʿUmar Ibn Abdul’aziz commanded us to collect the Sunan (Prophetic traditions); so we wrote them down volume by volume, and he sent a volume to every land under his authority.” [Narrated by Ibn Abdul-Barr]

After this initial recording, the phase of classification and codification started in the middle of the second century AH. The authors of these books compiled the Hadīths with their chains of narration so that the Sunnah would not be lost. When people of innovation and falsehood appeared among the Ummah and intentionally twisted words about the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), the Islamic scholars set rules to identify authentic Hadīths. They developed strict conditions, examined the reliability of the narrators, created the sciences of Hadīth, and outlined the rules of al-Jarh wat-Taʿdīl (criticism and validation of narrators).

As a result, the chain of narration became an essential part of the religion. No statement attributed to the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) or anyone else, including the Companions, would be accepted unless it had a connected, authentic, and acceptable chain of narration, whose transmitters were known for their good character and precise memory.

Muhammad Ibn Sirin said:

“Indeed, this knowledge is religion, so look to whom you take your religion from.”

Abdullah Ibn Mubarak said:

“The chain of narration is part of the religion; were it not for the Isnad, anyone who wished could say whatever they wanted.”

One of the strongest critics of Islam once stated:

“The Muslims are justified in taking pride in their science of Hadith.”

He was right, as no other nation on earth has cared for the words and actions of its Prophet, even his smile, his tears, his laughter, his food, his drink, and even the names of his riding animals (Peace be upon him), like this Ummah has, generation after generation. They passed all of this through connected chains of narration preserved in their hearts and recorded in written collections. They also went beyond just transmitting through the chain of narration; they carefully checked every single letter, setting strict rules to protect the religion from lies and mistakes.

Finally, dear brothers and sisters! Know that following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is a key duty in Islam, acting as a divine guide for everyday life, a guard against misguidance, and the true sign of our love for Allah and His Messenger (Peace be upon him).

The noble Qur’an tells Muslim believers to obey the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and accept whatever he gives them as law. Following his way keeps the heart free from doubt and helps a person stay on the right path.

True and sincere love for Allah Almighty comes from following the Prophet’s way, which brings Allah’s forgiveness and mercy.

Practicing simple actions like smiling, eating with the right hand, and saying the right prayers when waking up or sleeping. Treating your neighbors kindly, speaking good words or being silent, and showing mercy to the young and old. Performing the regular voluntary prayers (Sunnah Ratibah) that go with the five daily prayers, visiting sick people, and visiting someone for Allah’s sake, all show the blessed Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

Ya Allah, all praise belongs to You; You have preserved our religion for us by Your might and mercy. May Allah be pleased with the Islamic scholars of this Ummah and reward them for us with the best reward.

Ya Allah, help us and do not let others overcome us; grant us victory and do not give victory over us; support us with Your power and let not the plans of others harm us; and grant us victory over those who oppress us.

Ya Allah, grant security to our homelands, fix our leaders and those in authority over us, and place our governance under those who fear You, who are mindful of You, and seek Your pleasure.

Ya Allah, be with our oppressed brothers and sisters in Nigeria, in Gaza, and in every place, and grant them quick victory and relief.

Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire, ameen Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyum!

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace, security, and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, his family, all his Companions, and true followers.