Statement on Firmly Holding onto the Sunnah:
The person who follows the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in belief and practice and follows the way of the Rightly Guided Caliphs is successful. And the person who is an innovator (Bid’ati) and does not have patience in obeying Allah and His Messenger and does not follow the way of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, but rather goes beyond the limits set by Allah and His Messenger, is unsuccessful. It should be remembered that there are three types of Sunnah:
[1] Verbal Sunnah:
(That is) the verbal sayings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are called Verbal Sunnah. For example, his command: Before eating food, say بسم اللہ.
[2] Practical Sunnah:
The blessed actions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are called Practical Sunnah. For example, the Companions رضي الله عنهم said: When we stood for prayer, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would straighten our rows, and when we stood straight, he would then say اللہ اکبر and start the prayer.
[3] Tacit Sunnah:
An action done in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, upon which he remained silent or expressed approval, is called Sunnat Taqreeri (Tacit Sunnah). For example, the Prophet ﷺ saw a man praying two rak’ahs after the Fajr prayer and said, “The Fajr prayer is two rak’ahs.” The man replied that he had not prayed two rak’ahs before the obligatory prayer, so he prayed them now.
Upon hearing this reply, the Prophet ﷺ remained silent (which means he permitted it).
All three types of Sunnah hold the same status and are authoritative in Shariah because:
[1] Obedience to the command of the Prophet ﷺ in matters of religion is obligatory.
[2] Obedience and following the Prophet ﷺ guarantee success.
[3] How can one receive the full reward and recompense of deeds except by following the commands of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
[4] Forgiveness of sins is conditional upon following the Prophet ﷺ.
[5] Those who obey Allah and His Messenger ﷺ will be with the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous on the Day of Resurrection.
[6] Despite believing in Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, some people do not practically obey the commands of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ; such people are not believers.
[7] The result of not obeying Allah and His Messenger ﷺ is mutual discord and fighting.
[8] Disobedience to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ is misguidance.
[9] Those who disobey Allah and His Messenger ﷺ will be answerable for their own deeds.
[10] The punishment for disobeying Allah and His Messenger ﷺ is Hell and disgraceful torment.
[11] The Prophet ﷺ has given the glad tidings of Paradise to those who follow the Sunnah.
[12] Obedience and submission to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is obedience and submission to Allah.
[13] In times of differences within the Ummah, firmly adhering to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ will be the means of salvation.
[14] The action that is according to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ is deserving of reward. Whoever turns away from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has no connection with him ﷺ.
[15] After knowing the Sunnah, those who do not act upon it are called disobedient by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Two questions arise here:
[1] Can a person be called a Muslim without Tawheed? The Quran clearly states that whoever does not have Tawheed is not a Muslim.
[2] Do claims of love for the Prophet ﷺ have any meaning without obedience to the Prophet ﷺ? Claims of love for the Prophet ﷺ without obedience to him ﷺ are meaningless.
