The status of the Sunnah (This is the Guidance with which the Prophet came. It includes his sayings, actions or his attributes.) of the Prophet Muhammad as a divine source of Islamic law and guidance has been accepted unanimously by the Muslims throughout the centuries. However, during the last century, many non-Muslim Orientalists and their followers have tried to cast doubts in the authority of the Sunnah, and have created a suspicious attitude towards Ahaadeeth.

The Ahaadeeths of our Messenger all of which have been scrupulously studied and verified by specialists in the study of Ahaadeeth. Because of this, it is appropriate to mention a few facts about the authority and reliability of the Sunnah, so that any skepticism and suspicions can be laid to rest.

As for the authority of the Sunnah, then it must be understood that the role of the Prophet Muhammad was not as a mere postman who, after delivering his letter, has no concern with it whatsoever. The Messenger was not sent just to deliver the Book of Allah, but to expound it and demonstrate a practical example of its contents. (Aal-`Imran 3:164.) This function of the Prophet could not be carried out unless his guidance was held to be authoritative and binding upon his followers. Thus Allah made obedience to His Messenger an obligation upon mankind. (Aal-`Imraan 3:132, An-Noor 24:54, etc.)

Today many Muslims do not understand this point, thinking that following and obeying the Prophet`s commands is a matter of choice, and that it is only the commandments in the Qur`ân that they are duty-bound to comply with. This misconception was indeed prophesied by the Messenger who made the correct position and status of the Sunnah explicitly clear. He said,

Indeed I have been given the Qur`ân, and that which is like it along with it; yet the time is coming where a man reclining on his couch will say, "Keep to this Qur`ân: what you find in it to be permissible treat as permissible; and what you find prohibited treat as prohibited." But what Allah`s Messenger has prohibited is like what Allah has prohibited. (Recorded by Ahmad, Abu Daawood, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albaani (Saheeh ul-Jaami` 8186).

Careful consideration of this ahaadeeth will also lead us to deduce that his authority was not confined to his time, as many nowadays purport; it holds good for all times to come. Since the above ahaadeeth is a prophecy, it also shows us that the Sunnah is divine in its origin.

Allah is Al-Aleem (the All-Knowing) and Al-Hakeem (the All-Wise); and He is aware of the past and everything to come in the future. Thus, His divinely revealed Sunnah is applicable to mankind from the time of the Prophet until the Day of Resurrection. Allah is able to do all things; and He has given us a Sunnah that is preserved, perfect and complete and does not need to be changed with the times. Surely removing something from it when it is complete and perfect will only cause imperfection and incompleteness. He has told us (by revealing to the Prophet towards the end of his life):

This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your way of life.(Al-Maaidah 5:3.)

As for the reliability of the Prophet`s Sunnah, first of all, contrary to what many think, compilation of the Prophet`s Sunnah began in his own lifetime. Many Companions of the Messenger documented the sayings and actions of the Prophet and this was something the Prophet himself instructed them to do. He said to one of his Companions

Continue writing [what I say] for by Him in whose Hand is my soul, nothing comes out from my mouth except the Truth. ( Ahmad, Abu Daawood, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albaani (As-Saheehah 1532)

Moreover, writing was not their sole means of preservation. The Arabs before Islam were well accustomed to memorizing thousands of verses of poetry. Thus, it was not hard for the Companions to precisely commit the sayings of the Messenger of Allah to memory, and then convey them to others. At the same time, they understood very well the Prophet`s warning:

Let him who ascribes to me what I did not say come to his abode in Hell Fire. ( Al-Bukhaaree, Muslim, and others.)

Furthermore, they understood that the knowledge conveyed by the Prophet was not merely theoretical, but meant for practical life. Hence, they spared no effort in imbibing his Sunnah into their personal lives, meticulously following his sayings and manners. (We look to the Companions of the Prophet to see which of the actions of the Prophet were meant to be followed, which were part of his own personal preference, and which were prescribed by Allah solely only for him. The Companions were most eager to earn rewards for the Hereafter. If they were not found following an action of the Prophet, we know that this action is not part of his Sunnah that should be followed. Thus we are to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet according to the way and understanding of his Companions )

In these different ways then, everything from the Prophet was carefully preserved. The Companions took tremendous care and responsibility over the enormous trust that was placed upon their shoulders-a trust that was passed on to the scholars of ahaadeeth in each succeeding generation. These noble scholars performed the task of the preservation of ahaadeeth with such diligence, precaution and sense of responsibility that one cannot find its parallel in the history of any other community. Throughout the centuries these scholars have used their expertise to document and check the authenticity of each and every ahaadeeth. They would record and carefully investigate the biography of every single narrator on whose authority the ahaadeeth had been passed down. If it was proven that a narrator had once told a lie, or that his memory was not dependable, or if his trustworthiness and character came into question, the whole ahaadeeth would be declared weak. To these scholars, every ahaadeeth is weak until there is no doubt that it can be proven otherwise. Only then can a ahaadeeth be truly trusted to have been uttered upon the tongue of the Messenger . May Allah reward our scholars and guide us all to what is right. Aameen.