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Sayings (Hadiths) of Prophet Muhammad
Sunna and Hadith
Sunna or Hadith is the second and undoubtedly secondary source from which the teachings of Islam are drawn.
Sunna : literally means a way or rule or manner of acting or mode of life, and hadith, a saying conveyed to man either through hearing or through revelation.1
In its original sense, therefore, Sunna indicates the doings and Hadith the sayings of the holy Prophet; but in effect both cover the same ground and are applicable to his actions, practices, and sayings, Hadith being the narration and record of the Sunna but containing, in addition, various prophetical and historical elements.
There are three kinds of Sunna
It may be a qaul—a saying of the Holy Prophet which has a bearing on a religious question
a fi’l—an action or a practice of his
or a taqrir—his silent approval of the action or practice of another.
We have now to consider to what extent can teachings of Islam, its principles and its laws, be drawn from this source. Any student of the Qur’an will see that the Holy Book generally deals with the broad principles or essentials of religion, going into details in very rare cases. The details were generally supplied by the Holy Prophet himself, either by showing in his practice how an injunction shall be carried out, or by giving an explanation in words.
The Sunna or Hadith of the Holy Prophet was not, as is generally supposed, a thing whereof the need may have been felt after his death, for it was as much needed in his lifetime. The two most important religious institutions of Islam, for instance, are prayer and zakat yet when the injunctions relating the prayer and zakat were delivered, and they are repeatedly met with both in Makka and Madina revelations, no details were supplied.
Aqimu-l-salat (keep up prayer) is the Quranic injunction, and it was the Prophet himself who by his own actions gave the details of the service.
Atu-l-zakata (pay the alms) is again an injunction frequently repeated in the Holy Qur’an, yet it was the Holy Prophet who gave the rules and regulations for its payment and collection. These are but two examples ; but since Islam covered the whole sphere of human activities, hundreds of points had to be explained by the Holy Prophet by his example in action and word, while on the moral side, his was the pattern which every Muslim was required to follow (33: 21). The man, therefore, who embraced Islam stood in need of both the Holy Qur’an and the Sunna.
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