3. THE SUNNAH
Literally, Sunnah means a clear path or a beaten track but it has also been used to imply normative practice, or an established course of conduct. It may be a good example or a bad example, and it may be set by an individual, a sect or a community. In pre-Islamic Arabia, the Arabs used the word ‘Sunnah’ in reference to the ancient and continuous practice of the community which they inherited from their forefathers. Thus it is said that the pre-Islamic tribes of Arabia, the Arabs used the word Sunnah in reference to the ancient and continuous practice of the community which they inherited from their forefathers. Thus it is said that the pre- islamic tribes of Arabia each had their own Sunnah which they considered as a basis of their identity and pride. The opposite of Sunnah is bid’ah, or innovation, which is characterized by lack of precedent and continuity with the past. In the Qur’an the word ‘Sunnah’ and its plural, sunan , have been used on a number of occasions (16 times to be precise). In all these instances, sunnah has been used to imply an established practice or course of conduct. To the ulema of Hadith, Sunnah refers to all that is narrated from the Prophet, his acts, his sayings and whatever he has tacitly approved, plus all the reports which describe his physical attributes and character. The ulema of jurisprudence, however, excludes the description of the physical features of the Prophet from the definition of Sunnah. Sunnah al-Nabi (or Sunnah al- Rasul), that is, the Prophetic Sunnah, does not occur in the Quran as such. But the phrase uswah hasanah ( excellent conduct) which occurs in sura-al-Ahzab (33:21) in reference to the exemplary conduct of the Prophet is the nearest Quranic equivalent of the Sunnah al-Nabi. The uswah, or example of the Prophet, was later interpreted to be a reference to his Sunnah. The Qur’an also uses the word ‘hikmah’ (lit-wisdom) as a source of guidance that accompanies the Qur’an itself. Al-Shafi’i quotes at least seven instances in the Qur’an where ‘hikmah’ occurs next to al-kitab (the Book). In one of these passages, which occurs in sura Al-Jum’ah (62:2), for example, we read that God Almighty sent a Messenger to educate and to purify the people by ‘teaching them the Book and the hikmah’. According to al-Shafi’i’s interpretation which also represents the view of the majority, the word ‘hikmah’ in this context means the Sunnah of the prophet. Both the terms Sunnah and Sunnah Rasul Allah hav e been used by the Prophet himself and his companions. Thus when the Prophet sent Muadh b. Jabal as judge of Yemen, he was asked as to the sources on which he would rely in making decisions. In reply Mu’adh referred first to the ‘Book of Allah’ and then to the ‘Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah’
In another Hadith, the Prophet is reported to have said, ‘I left two things among you. You shall not go astray so long as you hold on to them: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah (sunnati). There is evidence to suggest that the Sunnah of the Prophet was introduced into the legal theory by the jurists of Iraq towards the end of the first century. The term ‘Sunnah of the Prophet’ occurs’ for example, in two letters which are addressed to the Umayyad ruler, ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan (d. 86) by the Kharijite leader ‘Abd Allah b. lbad, and al-Hasan al-Basri. But this might mean that the earliest available record on the establishment of terminology dates back to the late first century. This evidence does not necessarily prove that the terminology was not in use before then.
Initially the use of the term ‘Sunnah’ was not restricted to the Sunnah of the Prophet but was used to imply the practice of the community and precedent of the Companions. This usage of ‘Sunnah’ seems to have continued till the late second century when al-Shafi’i tried to restrict it to the Sunnah of the Prophet alone. Sometimes the Arabic definite article ‘al’ was prefixed to Sunnah to denote the Sunnah of the Prophet while the general usage of Sunnah as a reference to the practice of the community, or its living tradition, continued. By the end of the second century Hijrah, the technical/juristic meaning of Sunnah appears to have become dominant until the ulema used it exclusively to imply the normative conduct of the Prophet. The ulema thus discouraged the use of such expressions as the Sunnah of Abu B akr or Unar. In their view, the proper usages of Sunnah were to be confined to Sunnah Allah, and Sunnah Rasul Akkah, that is the Sunnah of God, or his way of doing things, and the Sunnah of his Messenger. But there were variant opinions among the ulema which disputed the foregoing, especially in view of the Hadith in which the Prophet is reported to have said, ‘You are to follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided caliphs.’
But again, as al-Shawkani points out, it is possible that in this Hadith, the Prophet had used ‘Sunnah’ as a substitute for ‘tariqah’ or the way that his Companions had shown. Al-Shawkanis interpretation might suggest that the Prophet may not have used ‘Sunnah’ in the exclusive sense that the ulema later attempted to attach to this term.
In its juristic usage, ‘Sunnah’ has meant different things. To the ulema of usul al-fiqh, Sunnah refers to a source of the Shari’ah and a legal proof next to the Qur’an. But to the ulema of fiqh, ‘Sunnah’ primarily refers to a shar’i value which falls under the general category of mandub. Although in this sense, Sunnah is used almost synonymously with mandub, it does not necessarily mean that Sunnah is confined to the Mandub. For in its other usage, namely as a source of Shari’ah, Sunnah may authorize and create not only a mandub but also any of the following: wajib, haram, makruh and mubah. Thus in the usage of usul al-fiqh, one might say that this or that ruling has been validated by the Qur’an or by the Sunnah’ whereas a faqih would be inclined to say that this or that act is Sunnah, which means that it Sunnah is used almost synonymously with mandub, it does not necessarily mean that Sunnah is confined to the Mandub. For in its other usage, namely as a source of Shari’ah, Sunnah may authorize and create not only a mandub but also any of the following: wajib, haram, makruh and mubah. Thus in the usage of usul al-fiqh, one might say that this or that ruling has been validated by the Qur’an or by the Sunnah’ whereas a faqih would be inclined to say that this or that act is Sunnah, which means that it is neither fard or wajib, it is one of the five values which falls under the category of mandub.
Notwithstanding the fact that the ulema have used Sunnah and Hadith, almost interchangeably, the two terms have meanings of their own. Literally, Hadith means a narrative, communication or news consisting of the factual account of an event. The word occurs frequently in the Qur’an (23 times to be precise) and in all cases it carries the meaning of a narrative or communication. In none of these instances has Hadith been used in its technical sense, that is, the exclusive saying of the Prophet. In the early days of Islam following the demise of the Prophet, stories relating to the life and activities of the Prophet dominated all other kinds of narratives, so the word began to be used almost exclusively to a narrative from, or a saying of, the Prophet.
Hadith differs from Sunnah in the sense that Hadith is a narration of the conduct of the Prophet whereas Sunnah is the example or the law that is deduced from it. Hadith in this sense is the vehicle or the carrier of Sunnah, although Sunnah is a wider concept and used to be so especially before its literal meaning gave way to its juristic usage. Sunnah thus preferred not only to the Hadith of the Prophet but also to the established practice of the community. But once the literal meanings of Hadith and Sunnah gave way to their technical usages and were both exclusively used in reference to the conduct of the Prophet, the two became synonymous. This was largely a result of al-Shafi’i’s efforts, who insisted that the Sunnah must always be derived from a genuine Hadith and that there was no Sunnah outside the Hadith. In the pre-Shafi’i period, ‘Hadith’ was also applied to the statements of the Companions and their Successors, the tabi’un. It thus appears that ‘Hadith’ began to be used exclusively for the acts and sayings of the Prophet only after the distinction between the Sunnah and Hadith was set aside.
There are two other terms, namely khabar and athar’ which have often been used as alternatives to ‘Hadith’. Literally, khabar means ‘news or report’, and athar, ‘impression, vestige or impact’. The word ‘khabar’ in the phrase ‘khabar al-wahid’ for example, means a solitary Hadith. The majority of ulema have used Hadith, khabar and athar synonymously, whereas others have distinguished khabar from athar. While the former used synonymously with Hadith athar (and sometimes ‘amal) is used to imply the precedent of the Companions.
The majority of ulema have upheld the precedent of the Companions as one of the transmitted (naqli) proofs. The jurists of the early schools of law are known to have based opinions on athar. Imam Malik even went so far as to set aside the Prophetic Hadith in its favor on the strength of the argument that athar represented the genuine Sunnah, as the Companions were in a better position to ascertain the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet. There were indeed, among the Companions, many distinguished figures whose legal acumen and intimate knowledge of the sources equipped them with a special authority to issue fatwas. Sometimes they met in groups to discuss the problems they encountered, and their agreement or collective judgment is also known as athar. For al-Shafi’i (d. 204/819) however, athar does not necessarily represent the Sunnah of the Prophet. In the absence of a Hadith from the Prophet, al-Shafi’i followed the precedent of Companions, and in cases where a difference of opinion existed among the Companions, al-Shafi’i preferred the opinion of the first four caliphs over others, or one which was in greater harmony with the Qur’an. According to al-Shafi’i, the Sunnah coming directly from the Prophet in the form of Hadith through a reliable chain of narrators is a source of law irrespective of whether it was accepted by the community or not. He emphasized the authority of the Hadith from the Prophet in preference to the opinion or practice of the companions. Al- Shafi’i’ contended that Hadith from the Prophet, even a solitary Hadith must take priority over the practice and opinion of the community, the Companions and the Successors. Al-Shafi’i directed his efforts mainly against the then prevailing practice among jurists which gave preference to the practice of the community and the decisions of the Companions, over the Hadith. Al-Shafi’i attempted to overrule the argument, advanced by Imam malik, for example, that the Madinese practice was more authoritative than Hadith. In his Muwatta, for example, Malik (d. 179/795) generally opens every legal chapter with a Hadith from the Prophet, but in determining the detailed legal issues, he does not consistently adhere to the principle of the priority of Hadith over athar. It is interesting to note that the Muwatta’ contains 1,720 Hadiths, out of which 822 are from the Prophet and the remainder from the Companions, Successors and others. This would suggest that Imam Malik was not overly concerned with the distinction between Hadith, and athar which was to become the main theme of al-Shafi’i’s endeavor to establish the overriding authority of the Prophetic Hadith.
by M. H. Kamali
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