Significance and Status of the Sunnah

From the worst of lies in Allah's sight is that a man ascribes himself to someone who is not his biological father, or that someone else ascribes a man to other than his biological father and that man approves of such ascription. This is indeed a monstrous falsehood. Also from the worst types of lying in Allah's sight is that a person claims that he saw something in a dream which he never really saw. Another grave and severe type of lie in Allah's sight is to ascribe to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) something that he never said: did, or approved of.

- صحيح البخاري، للإمام محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، تحقيق محمد الناصر، دار طوق النجاة. - بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف سليم الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي- الطبعة الأولى1418ه. - نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف د. مصطفى الخِن وغيره، مؤسسة الرسالة-بيروت، الطبعة الرابعة عشرة، 1407هـ. - كنوز رياض الصالحين»، لحمد بن ناصر العمار، دار كنوز إشبيليا- الطبعة الأولى1430ه. - دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، لمحمد علي بن محمد بن علان بن إبراهيم البكري الصديقي الشافعي اعتنى بها: خليل مأمون شيحا، دار المعرفة . - شرح رياض الصالحين؛ للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commands us to convey knowledge from him, from the Qur’an or the Sunnah, even if it is something short, like a verse from the Qur’an or a Hadīth, provided that a person should have knowledge of what he conveys and invites people to it. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) points out that there is no sin in narrating about the Children of Israel and the events that happened to them, in a way that does not run counter to our Shariah. Then, he warns against telling lies about him and states that whoever intentionally lies about him should occupy his dwelling in Hellfire.

1. This hadith encourages us to convey the Shariah of Allah and indicates that a person should pass on what he learns and understands, even if it is something little.
2. It is obligatory to seek knowledge of the Shariah, so that we can worship Allah and convey His religion in a correct way.
3. We are obligated to ascertain the authenticity of any Hadīth before we convey and spread it, lest we fall under this stern warning.
4. We are urged to be truthful and cautious in our speech, lest we fall into telling lies, particularly when it comes to the Shariah of Allah Almighty.

صحيح البخاري (4/ 170) (3461). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (2/ 464). نزهة المتقين، لمصطفى الخن وغيره (2/ 951). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (5/ 429).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that if a person reports a Hadīth from him which he knows, thinks, or deems it highly likely to be false, he has lied about him (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). Sharing in the lying is the one who initially related it to him.

1. It encourages due verification and authentication of the Hadīths reported from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) before narrating them.
2. Lying applies to anyone who invents a lie as well as those who transmit and spread it among the people.
3. It is forbidden to narrate a fabricated Hadīth if one knows it is fabricated or deems it is likely to be fabricated, except if the purpose is to warn against it.

صحيح مسلم (1/ 8).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reports that there will soon come a time in which some type of people will be sitting, with one of them reclining on his couch, and when a Hadīth from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reaches him, he will say: What decides the matters between you and us is the noble Qur’an. It is sufficient for us. What we find therein as lawful, we act upon it, and what we find therein as unlawful, we avoid it. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out that anything he prohibited or forbade in his Sunnah is the same as what Allah prohibited in His Book, for he only conveys from his Lord.

1. The Sunnah should be highly valued and observed like the Qur’an.
2. Obedience to the Messenger is obedience to Allah Almighty and disobeying him is disobedience to Allah.
3. It establishes the authority of the Sunnah and responds to those who reject the Sunnah or deny it.
4. Whoever turns away from the Sunnah and claims that he only adheres to the Qur’an does actually turn away from both of them, and his claim about following the Qur’an is false.
5. This is one of the proofs of the Prophet's prophethood, as he informed about certain things that would happen in the future, and it did happen as he informed.

سنن أبي داود (7/ 13) (4604)، سنن الترمذي (4/ 399) (2664)، سنن ابن ماجه (1/ 9) (12)، نخب الأفكار في تنقيح مباني الأخبار في شرح معاني الآثار (13/ 154).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that whoever deliberately tells a lie about him, by falsely attributing a statement or action to him, will have a seat in Hellfire in the Hereafter as a recompense for lying about him.

1. Telling lies about the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) deliberately and intentionally is a means of entering Hellfire.
2. Telling a lie about the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is not like telling a lie about all other people because the former leads to serious evils in terms of religious and worldly affairs.
3. Warning against spreading Hadīths before verifying them and making sure of their authentic attribution to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

صحيح البخاري (1/ 33) (110)، صحيح مسلم (1/ 10) (3)، إكمال المعلم (1/111)، شرح النووي على مسلم (1/65)، المفهم (1/32)، عمدة القاري شرح صحيح البخاري (2/ 151)، شرح مقدمة سنن ابن ماجه (5/ 8).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) delivered an eloquent sermon that filled the Companions' hearts with fear and filled their eyes with tears. They said: O Messenger of Allah, it seems as if it is an admonition by one who will soon leave us - seeing his earnest effort in doing so. Hence, they asked him to give them advice that they would hold onto after him. He said: I advise you to fear Allah Almighty by carrying out duties and avoiding prohibitions. And to hear and obey, i.e., hear and obey the rulers, even if your ruler or the one who seized authority over you is a slave. In other words, if the most inferior among people became your ruler, you should not disdain to obey him, out of fear of turbulence and strife, for whoever lives from you after me will see a great discord. Then, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that the way out of this discord is by adhering firmly to his Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the rightly guided Caliphs after him, namely Abu Bakr as-Siddīq, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān, and ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with them all), and by biting onto it with the molar teeth, i.e., by strictly observing and holding fast to the Sunnah. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) also warned them against the newly introduced matters in religion, as every religious innovation is a misguidance.

1. The importance of following and adhering to the Sunnah.
2. Attention should be given to admonitions and softening of hearts.
3. The commandment to follow the four rightly guided Caliphs, namely Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all), after the Prophet.
4. The prohibition of introducing new things into the religion, and the fact that all religious innovations are misguidance.
5. Hearing and obeying whoever is in charge of the believers without disobeying Allah.
6. The importance of fearing Allah Almighty at all times and in all situations.
7. Discord will inevitably occur in this Ummah and when it occurs, Muslims must refer and adhere to the Sunnah of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and to that of the rightly guided Caliphs.

الأربعون النووية (ص: 89) (ح28)، سنن أبي داود (7/ 16) (4607)، سنن الترمذي (4/ 408) (2676)، سنن ابن ماجه (1/ 28) (42)، مسند أحمد (28/ 367) (17142)، تحفة الأحوذي (7/ 366)، عون المعبود وحاشية ابن القيم (12/ 235)، شرح الأربعين النووية للعثيمين (ص: 278).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that people would appear in the latter time of his Ummah who would fabricate lies and say things not said by anyone before them, and they would narrate false and fabricated Hadīths. So, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to keep away from them and not to sit with them or listen to their Hadīths, lest the fabricated Hadīths may settle in our souls and we become unable to get rid of them.

1. The Hadīth contains one of the signs proving the trueness of the Prophet's prophethood, as he informed us about what will happen in his Ummah, and it did happen as he prophesied.
2. We should keep away from those who fabricate lies about the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and about the religion of Islam and not listen to their fallacies.
3. It warns against accepting Hadīths or transmitting them before verifying their correctness and authenticity.

صحيح مسلم (1/ 12) (6)، قرة عين المحتاج في شرح مقدمة صحيح مسلم بن الحجاج (2/ 8).

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I used to write down everything I heard from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in order to memorize it by writing, but men from the Quraysh forbade me from doing so, saying: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is a human being who speaks in pleasure and anger and so he is likely to err. Therefore, I stopped writing. I told the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about what they said, and he pointed with his finger to his mouth and said: Write down, for the One in Whose Hand my soul is, nothing comes out of it except the truth, in all conditions and in pleasure and anger. And Allah Almighty says about His Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): {Nor does he speak out of his own desire*. It is but a revelation sent down [to him].} [Surat an-Najm: 3-4]

1. The Hadīth demonstrates the Prophet's infallibility in what he conveyed from his Lord, whether at times of pleasure or anger.
2. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to memorize and convey the Sunnah.
3. It is permissible to swear an oath, even without being asked to swear an oath, for the sake of a certain interest, like putting emphasis on something.
4. Writing down knowledge is one of the main methods for preserving it.

سنن أبي داود (5/ 489) (3646)، شرح سنن أبي داود للعباد (412/ 21).