WHAT IS THE SUNNAH?

Hello everyone! Peace be upon you all. I wanted to share a little something I had written for my tafseer class about the Sunnah. 

What is the Sunnah? 

The Sunnah, is the example of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It includes the du'aas (supplications to God) he would make and the things that he did. It is not enough for one to live by the Quran alone as some Muslims may argue. We must also adopt the Sunnah in our lives to attain success in the Hereafter. In his famous last sermon to the people, the Prophet said:

"O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray."

In addition, in the Quran, Allah Almighty Himself advises us that following His Prophet (in addition to following His commandments in the Quran) is the path to success:

"There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent  pattern (example) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often" (33:21).

He also commands that we follow His Prophet:

"...and whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad SAW) will be admitted to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), to abide therein, and that will be the great success" (4:13).

This is just one of many verses that command us to follow Muhammad peace be upon him. So what better way can we, as Believers, follow and obey the Prophet than by adopting the Sunnah?

Where can we find the Sunnah?

The Sunnah can be found in the hadith, which is a collection of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Pbuh. One example of the Sunnah is getting dressed the way the Prophet did. He would say:

 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي كَسَانِي هَذَا الثَّوْبَ وَرَزَقَنِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلاَ قُوَّةٍ  

Alhamdulilahi ladhee kasaani hadha thawba, wa razaqanihi min khayri howla minni wa la khowwatin

This means "Praise be to Allah Who has clothed me with this and provided me with it through no might and power on my part" (Sunan Abi Dawud 4023). When he put his garments on, He would begin with the right side (Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1766).

Another example of the Sunnah is a supplication the Prophet would make when leaving the home: 

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ 

Bismillahi tawwakkaltu 'alallahi la howla wa la khowwata illa billah

This means "In the name of Allah, I trust in Allah; there is no might and no power but in Allah" and the benefit of saying this when leaving the home is protection from the shaytaan (devils) - it will be said to the person who says this: "You are guided, defended and protected" (Sunan Abi Dawud 5095).

How can we implement the Sunnah?

You can attach papers or sticky-notes to places you'll see everyday. Whenever you see the du'aas written on these papers, read them out loud. You'll have those supplications memorized in no time! For example, to memorize the du'aa for dressing, I taped a paper with the du'aa written on it by my closet door. Whenever I'd get dressed, I'd read the du'aa out loud and after a short period of time, I had memorized it. Try it! You can also do the same thing for certain actions. For example, to remember to say "Bismillah" before eating, you can tape a paper reminding you on the wall close to the dinner table. It's also important to understand the meanings of the supplications (which you would have to say in Arabic) and this will help you memorize them better. 

A valuable resource that discusses different Sunnahs is More than 1,000 Sunan (Sayings & Acts of The Prophet) Every Day & Night by Shaykh Al-Husaynaan. Another resource is Fortress of the Muslim.  This is especially useful to those who frequently travel because it a tiny book that you can easily fit into your bag or purse. And of course, read the hadith themselves! You can access Sunan Abi Dawud, Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Muslim, and other collections here.