On the Virtue of the Prophetic Sunnah, Its Standing, and Its Preservation

Praise be to Allah

The pure Sunnah of the Prophet is what explains and clarifies the Noble Qur’an and makes its rulings plain. It is revelation from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and a proof that must be followed and acted upon. Among the Qur’anic proofs of this are:

The saying of Allah, Glorified and Exalted: ﴿And We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed by permission of Allah.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:64)

And His saying, Exalted is He: ﴿He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah; but those who turn away - We have not sent you over them as a guardian.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:80)

And His saying, Exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, We have revealed to you the Book in truth so you may judge between the people by that which Allah has shown you. And do not be for the deceitful an advocate.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:105)

And His saying, Exalted is He: ﴿And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:115)

And His saying, Exalted is He: ﴿And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.﴾ (al-Nahl 16:44)

And His saying, Exalted is He: ﴿And We have not revealed to you the Book except for you to make clear to them that wherein they have differed and as guidance and mercy for a people who believe.﴾ (al-Nahl 16:64)

The Obligation to Obey the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said: ﴿But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:65)

Ibn al-Qayyim says in I’lam al-Muwaqqi’in ‘an Rabb al-‘Alamin (1/107): “Then He, Glorified is He, swore by Himself that faith is negated from the servants until they make His Messenger judge in everything that is disputed among them, the minute and the great. And He was not content, for their faith, with this mere act of making him judge, until there is removed from their breasts any discomfort or constriction at his judgment and ruling; nor was He content with that from them until they submit in full submission and yield in full compliance. And the Exalted said: ﴿It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.﴾ (al-Ahzab 33:36) So He, Glorified is He, informed that it is not for a believer to choose after His decision and the decision of His Messenger, and whoever chooses after that has strayed into clear error.

“And the Exalted said: ﴿O you who have believed, do not put [yourselves] before Allah and His Messenger but fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.﴾ (al-Hujurat 49:1) That is, do not speak until he speaks, do not command until he commands, do not give fatwa until he gives fatwa, and do not settle a matter until he is the one who judges it and carries it out. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talha narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas: Do not say anything contrary to the Book and the Sunnah. And al-‘Awfi narrated from him: They were forbidden to speak ahead of his speech. The comprehensive statement on the meaning of the verse is: do not hasten with a word or a deed before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ says or does.

“And the Exalted said: ﴿O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not.﴾ (al-Hujurat 49:2) If raising their voices above his voice is a cause of their deeds becoming worthless, then what of giving precedence to their opinions, intellects, tastes, policies and knowledge over what he brought, and raising them above it? Is this not more deserving of making their deeds worthless?

“And the Exalted said: ﴿The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger and, when they are [meeting] with him for a matter of common interest, do not depart until they have asked his permission.﴾ (al-Nur 24:62) If He made it among the requirements of faith that they do not go off anywhere, when they are with him, except with his permission, then it is all the more a requirement of faith that they do not go to any statement or scholarly position except after his permission. And his permission is known by the indication of what he brought that he permitted it.”

Obeying and Following the Messenger of Allah ﷺ Is the Proof of Love for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ

Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said: ﴿Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” Say, “Obey Allah and the Messenger.” But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers.﴾ (Al ‘Imran 3:31-32)

This noble verse, which the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called the Verse of Testing: al-Tabari said in his Tafsir (5/324) on this verse: “The people of interpretation differed over the occasion on which this verse was revealed. Some of them said: It was revealed concerning a people who said in the time of the Prophet ﷺ: We love our Lord. So Allah, Majestic and Mighty, commanded His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to say to them: If you are truthful in what you say, then follow me, for that is the sign of your truthfulness in what you have said.” So Allah, Majestic and Exalted, joined obedience to Him with obedience to His Messenger ﷺ. And consider how Allah, Glorified and Exalted, closed the noble verse with His saying ﴿But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers﴾.

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (7280): Muhammad ibn Sinan narrated to us: Fulayh narrated to us: Hilal ibn ‘Ali narrated to us, from ‘Ata’ ibn Yasar, from Abu Hurayra, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “All of my Ummah will enter Paradise except whoever refuses.” They said: O Messenger of Allah, and who would refuse? He said: “Whoever obeys me enters Paradise, and whoever disobeys me has refused.”

The Sunnah of the Prophet Is Revelation

The Sunnah of the Prophet is revelation just as the Qur’an is. Allah, Majestic and Exalted, sent it down upon His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as He sent down the Qur’an upon him, preserved it as He preserved the Qur’an, and made it a proof against the servants exactly as the Qur’an is. The fact that the Sunnah is not miraculous in its wording as the Qur’an is, or that its recitation is not an act of worship, does not mean that it is not revelation. For revelation includes that which challenges [mankind] by the inimitability of its wording and whose recitation is an act of worship, namely the Noble Qur’an, and that which is neither inimitable in its wording nor recited as worship, such as the Sunnah of the Prophet.

Consider these proofs from the Qur’an and the Sunnah that the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is revelation just as the Noble Qur’an is.

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, Warned His Servants by the Qur’an and the Sunnah

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says in His decisive revelation:

﴿Say, “I only warn you by revelation.” But the deaf do not hear the call when they are warned.﴾ (al-Anbiya’ 21:45)

So everything with which the Prophet ﷺ warned his Ummah is from revelation, whether it came in the Qur’an or in the Sunnah, and part of it is what he warned of in these two hadiths:

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (6482): Muhammad ibn al-‘Ala’ narrated to us: Abu Usama narrated to us, from Burayd ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Burda, from Abu Burda, from Abu Musa, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The likeness of me and of what Allah has sent me with is that of a man who came to a people and said: I have seen the army with my own eyes, and I am the naked warner, so save yourselves, save yourselves! A group of them obeyed him and set out at nightfall, going at their ease, and were saved; and a group of them disbelieved him, so the army fell upon them in the morning and destroyed them.”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (7274): ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd Allah narrated to us: al-Layth narrated to us, from Sa’id, from his father, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: “There is no prophet among the prophets but that he was given signs the like of which caused people to believe, and what I have been given is only revelation that Allah revealed to me, so I hope that I will have the most followers of them on the Day of Resurrection.”

So what, then, is this revelation that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was given? The answer is in the hadith narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad (17174) with an authentic chain, the wording being his, by Abu Dawud in his Sunan (4604), and by al-Tirmidhi in his Jami’ (2664): Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us, saying: Hariz informed us, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi ‘Awf al-Jurashi, from al-Miqdam ibn Ma’dikarib al-Kindi, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Indeed, I have been given the Book and its like along with it. Indeed, I have been given the Qur’an and its like along with it. Soon a man, full-fed, reclining on his couch, will say: Hold to the Qur’an; whatever you find in it lawful, treat as lawful, and whatever you find in it unlawful, treat as unlawful. Indeed, the flesh of the domestic donkey is not lawful for you, nor any predator with fangs, nor the lost property of one under covenant unless its owner has no need of it. And whoever stays with a people, they must host him; if they do not host him, he may take from them the equivalent of his hospitality.”

So revelation includes the Book and its like along with it. What, then, is this that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was given along with the Qur’an, other than the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?!

The Sunnah Is the Wisdom That Allah, Mighty and Majestic, Mentioned in the Qur’an

The Noble Qur’an repeatedly joins the Wisdom to the Book, and the Wisdom joined to the Book is the Sunnah of the Prophet; it is revelation sent down from Allah the Exalted, as the verses indicate.

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:

﴿Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise.﴾ (al-Baqarah 2:129)

﴿Just as We have sent among you a messenger from yourselves reciting to you Our verses and purifying you and teaching you the Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know.﴾ (al-Baqarah 2:151)

﴿And do not take the verses of Allah in jest. And remember the favor of Allah upon you and what has been revealed to you of the Book and wisdom by which He instructs you. And fear Allah and know that Allah is Knowing of all things.﴾ (al-Baqarah 2:231)

﴿Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error.﴾ (Al ‘Imran 3:164)

﴿And Allah has revealed to you the Book and wisdom and has taught you that which you did not know. And ever has the favor of Allah upon you been great.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:113)

﴿It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before in clear error.﴾ (al-Jumu’ah 62:2)

And it is certainly revelation:

﴿That is from what your Lord has revealed to you, [O Muhammad], of wisdom.﴾ (al-Isra’ 17:39)

And it cannot rightly be said that “the Wisdom” here is “the Book”, as is shown by the saying of the Exalted:

﴿And remember what is recited in your houses of the verses of Allah and wisdom. Indeed, Allah is ever Subtle and Acquainted [with all things].﴾ (al-Ahzab 33:34)

Al-Shafi’i said in al-Risala (p. 32 after the introduction): “Al-Shafi’i said: Everything the Messenger of Allah instituted concerning which there is no Book, and what we have written in this book of ours of mention of what Allah has favoured the servants with of learning the Book and the Wisdom, is proof that the Wisdom is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.”

And he also said (p. 78 after the introduction): “So Allah mentioned the Book, which is the Qur’an, and mentioned the Wisdom, and I heard those whom I approve of among the people of knowledge of the Qur’an say: the Wisdom is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. And this resembles what he said, and Allah knows best, because the Qur’an was mentioned and the Wisdom followed it, and Allah mentioned His favour upon His creation in teaching them the Book and the Wisdom; so it is not permissible, and Allah knows best, to say that the Wisdom here is anything but the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. That is because it is coupled with the Book of Allah, and Allah has made obedience to His Messenger obligatory and has required people to follow his command, so it is not permissible to say of anything that it is an obligation except for the Book of Allah and then the Sunnah of His Messenger, for what we have described of Allah making faith in His Messenger coupled with faith in Him.”

‘Abd al-Razzaq narrated in his Musannaf (21167): “From Ma’mar, from ‘Imran, a companion of his, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘I have not left anything that brings you closer to Paradise and keeps you away from the Fire except that I have made it clear to you. And the Holy Spirit breathed into my heart and informed me that no soul will die until it has received the fullest extent of its provision, even if it is slow in coming to it. So, O people, fear Allah and be moderate in seeking, and let not the slowness of his provision drive any of you to go out to what Allah has forbidden him, for what is with Allah is attained only by obeying Him.’” Al-Bazzar also narrated it in his Musnad (2914) from Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman, and al-Shafi’i in al-Risala (p. 305), who said: “‘Abd al-‘Aziz informed us, from ‘Amr ibn Abi ‘Amr, from al-Muttalib, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: ‘The Trustworthy Spirit has cast into my heart that no soul will die until it has received its provision in full, so be moderate in seeking.’” And he said after it: “So among what was cast into his heart was his Sunnah, and it is the Wisdom that Allah mentioned; and what was sent down to him as Book is the Book of Allah; and all of it came to him as favours from Allah, as Allah willed. And just as favours come to him, the term ‘favour’ gathers them, while they are distinguished in that they concern matters some of which differ from others. And we ask Allah for protection and success.”

The Judgment of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ Is Part of the Sunnah and Is Not Stated in the Text of the Qur’an, and No Believer May Contradict It

Al-Shafi’i said in al-Risala (p. 82 after the introduction): “﴿But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:65) This verse was revealed, according to what has reached us, and Allah knows best, concerning a man who disputed with al-Zubayr over some land, and the Prophet judged it in favour of al-Zubayr. This judgment is a Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah, not a ruling stated in the Qur’an. And the Qur’an indicates, and Allah knows best, what I have described, because had it been a judgment by the Qur’an it would have been a ruling stated in the Book of Allah; and it would be more fitting, if they did not submit to the ruling of the Book of Allah as an unambiguous text, that they are not believers if they reject the ruling of the revelation when they do not submit to it.”

Al-Shatibi says in al-Muwafaqat (4/321): “And He said: ﴿And obey Allah and obey the Messenger and beware.﴾ (al-Ma’idah 5:92), along with all the other places where obedience to the Messenger is coupled with obedience to Allah. This indicates that obedience to Allah is what He commanded and forbade in His Book, and obedience to the Messenger is what he commanded and forbade of what he brought that is not in the Qur’an; for had it been in the Qur’an, it would be part of obedience to Allah. And He said: ﴿So let those beware who dissent from his order, lest fitnah strike them﴾ the verse (al-Nur 24:63). So the Messenger, upon him be blessings and peace, was singled out with something in which he is obeyed, and that is the Sunnah which did not come in the Qur’an. And He said: ﴿He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:80), and He said: ﴿And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from.﴾ (al-Hashr 59:7). The proofs of the Qur’an indicate that everything the Messenger brought, and everything he commanded and forbade, is joined in ruling to what came in the Qur’an; so it must be additional to it.”

Al-Shafi’i said in al-Umm (5/136): “Allah’s command to him is of two kinds: one of them is revelation that He sends down and that is recited to the people, and the second is a message that comes to him from Allah the Exalted, to do such-and-such, so he does it. Perhaps among the proofs of whoever holds this view is that he says: Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said ﴿And Allah has revealed to you the Book and wisdom and has taught you that which you did not know﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:113), and he holds that the Book is what is recited from Allah the Exalted, and the Wisdom is what the message brought from Allah, of what the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made clear. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said to his wives ﷺ ﴿And remember what is recited in your houses of the verses of Allah and wisdom﴾ (al-Ahzab 33:34). And perhaps among his proofs is that he says: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to the father of the one who committed adultery with the wife of the man, who had made a settlement with him for sheep and a servant: ‘By the One in whose hand is my soul, I shall judge between you by the Book of Allah, exalted be His mention: as for the sheep and the servant, they are returned to you; and his wife is to be stoned if she confesses’; and he flogged the man’s son a hundred lashes and banished him for a year. Perhaps he holds that when he awaited revelation in a case and it was not sent down to him, he would likewise await it in every case; and when a case was one about which something was sent down to him, as was sent down concerning the punishment of the adulterer, he judged it according to what was sent down to him; and when something was sent down to him in general terms, in clarification from Allah, he would carry out the meaning of what He intended through knowledge of the recited revelation and the message to him by which his Sunnah comes about, for what arises in that very meaning. (And another said): The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is of two kinds: one is what clarifies what is in the Book of Allah, explaining the meaning of what Allah intended by its general and specific statements; and the other is what Allah inspired him with of wisdom, and the inspiration of the prophets is revelation. Perhaps among the proofs of whoever holds this view is that he says: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said in what He relates of Ibrahim ﴿Indeed, I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think.” He said, “O my father, do as you are commanded.﴾ (al-Saffat 37:102). More than one of the people of exegesis said: the dreams of the prophets are revelation, because of the saying of Ibrahim’s son, whom he was commanded to sacrifice, ﴿O my father, do as you are commanded﴾ (al-Saffat 37:102), and his knowing that his dream was a command he had been given. And Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said to His Prophet ﴿And We did not make the sight which We showed you except as a trial for the people﴾ (al-Isra’ 17:60) up to His saying ﴿in the Qur’an﴾ (al-Isra’ 17:60). (And others said): The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is revelation, and clarification of revelation, and a matter that Allah the Exalted entrusted to him through the wisdom He inspired in him and the prophethood with which He distinguished him; and He made it obligatory on the servants in His Book to follow the command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. (He said): None of the Sunnahs goes beyond one of these meanings I have described, according to the differing views of those of the people of knowledge from whom I have related them; and whichever of them it is, Allah the Exalted has bound His creation and made it obligatory upon them to follow His Messenger in it.”

Prophethood Does Not Require a Book, but It Must Have Revelation

A Book is not a condition of prophethood; revelation is what is required for it. It is agreed upon that the Books and Scriptures were sent down only to some of the prophets and messengers, upon them be peace. As for most of the prophets and messengers, upon them be peace, they had neither Books nor Scriptures; rather, revelation came down to them with whatever Allah, Mighty and Majestic, willed. Had the existence of a Book been a condition for the validity of prophethood or messengership, the prophethood and messengership of many of the messengers and prophets, upon them be peace, would be cancelled, since they had no such thing.

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: ﴿Indeed, We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him. And We revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Descendants, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the book [of Psalms]. And [We sent] messengers about whom We have related [their stories] to you before and messengers about whom We have not related to you. And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech. [We sent] messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:163-165)

And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said of His Messenger Muhammad, the master of the children of Adam ﷺ: ﴿Say, “I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God.”﴾ (al-Kahf 18:110)

Nor Does He Speak from [His Own] Inclination; the Sunnah Is the Explanation of the Qur’an, and Explanation Is Part of the Completeness of the Proof

Consider the saying of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in His decisive revelation: ﴿In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. By the star when it descends, your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.﴾ (al-Najm 53:1-4)

Ibn Hazm said in al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam (1/96): “Chapter Eleven, on the discussion of reports (akhbar), which are the Sunnahs transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; and in some sections of this chapter is mention of the cause of the disagreement that occurred among the imams in the early part of this Ummah. ‘Ali said: Having shown that the Qur’an is the foundation to which one returns in matters of law, we looked into it and found in it the obligation to obey what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us. And we found Him, Mighty and Majestic, saying in it, describing His Messenger ﷺ: ﴿Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.﴾ (al-Najm 53:3-4) From this it became sound to us that revelation from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to His Messenger ﷺ is of two kinds. One of them is recited revelation, composed in a composition of inimitable arrangement, and it is the Qur’an. The second is narrated, transmitted revelation, not composed nor of inimitable arrangement nor recited [as worship], yet it is read; it is the report that has come from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and it is what makes clear from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, what He wants of us. Allah the Exalted said: ﴿[We sent them] with clear proofs and written ordinances. And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.﴾ (al-Nahl 16:44) And we found that He, Exalted is He, made obedience to this second kind obligatory just as He made obligatory obedience to the first kind, which is the Qur’an, without difference, for the Exalted said: ﴿O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:59) So the reports we have mentioned are one of the three foundations whose obedience we have been obliged to in the verse that gathers all the laws from first to last, namely the saying of the Exalted: ﴿O you who have believed, obey Allah﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:59); this is one foundation, and it is the Qur’an. Then the Exalted said: ﴿and obey the Messenger﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:59); this is a second, and it is the report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then the Exalted said: ﴿and those in authority among you﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:59); this is a third, and it is the consensus whose ruling is transmitted back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And it became sound to us by the text of the Qur’an that the reports are one of the two foundations referred to in dispute; the Exalted said: ﴿And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:59). ‘Ali said: The proof that what is meant by this referral is only to the Qur’an and to the report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is that the Ummah is agreed that this address is directed to us and to everyone who is created and whose soul is set in his body until the Day of Resurrection, of jinn and men, just as it was directed to those who were in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and to everyone who came after him, upon him be peace, and before us, without difference. And we know by necessary knowledge that we have no way to reach the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Even if a troublemaker were to stir up the objection that this address is directed only to those who could meet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he could not raise this objection concerning Allah, Mighty and Majestic, since no one has any way to converse with Him, Exalted is He. So this supposition is void, and it is sound that what is meant by the referral mentioned in the verse we have cited is only to the speech of Allah the Exalted, which is the Qur’an, and to the speech of His Prophet ﷺ transmitted to us down the ages, generation after generation. ‘Ali said: Moreover, in the verse mentioned there is no mention at all of meeting or of face-to-face speech, nor any indication of it; there is only the command to refer. And it is known by necessity that this referral is simply making [them] judge, and the commands of Allah the Exalted and the commands of His Messenger ﷺ are present with us, all of it transmitted to us; so they are what the text of the verse came with referring to, without strained interpretation or contradicting the apparent meaning. ‘Ali said: The Qur’an and the authentic report are joined one to the other, and they are one thing in that they are both from Allah the Exalted, and their ruling is a single ruling with respect to the obligation of obeying them, for what we presented just now at the beginning of this chapter. The Exalted said: ﴿O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn from him while you hear [his order]. And do not be like those who say, “We have heard,” while they do not hear.﴾ (al-Anfal 8:20-21) By this verse the Exalted made clear that He did not want from us the acknowledgement of obedience to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ without acting on his commands and avoiding his prohibitions. And this is the description of the blind followers (muqallidun), for they say that obedience to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is obligatory, yet when one of his commands reaches them whose authenticity they acknowledge, turning away from it while they hear is not hard for them. We seek refuge with Allah from that. And the Exalted said: ﴿Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur’an], and indeed, We will be its guardian.﴾ (al-Hijr 15:9) And the Exalted said: ﴿Say, “I only warn you by revelation.” But the deaf do not hear the call when they are warned.﴾ (al-Anbiya’ 21:45) So the Exalted informed, as we presented, that the speech of His Prophet ﷺ is all revelation, and revelation is without doubt dhikr (the message), and the dhikr is preserved by the text of the Qur’an. It is thereby sound that his speech ﷺ is all preserved by the preservation of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, guaranteed to us that nothing of it will be lost, since whatever Allah the Exalted preserves, there is certainly no way for anything of it to be lost; so it is all transmitted to us, and Allah has the proof against us forever. And the Exalted said: ﴿And in anything over which you disagree - its ruling is [to be referred] to Allah. [Say], “That is Allah, my Lord; upon Him I have relied, and to Him I turn back.”﴾ (al-Shura 42:10) So we found that Allah the Exalted refers us to the speech of His Prophet ﷺ, as we presented just now. So it is not open to a Muslim who affirms tawhid to return, in dispute, to other than the Qur’an and the report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, nor to turn away from what he found in them. If he does that after the proof has been established against him, he is a sinner (fasiq); and as for one who does it deeming it lawful to depart from their command and making obligatory obedience to someone other than them, he is a disbeliever; we have no doubt about that. Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi mentioned to us that Ishaq ibn Rahawayh used to say: Whoever receives a report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ whose authenticity he acknowledges, and then rejects it without [the excuse of] taqiyya, is a disbeliever. We did not argue for this by Ishaq; we only cited him lest an ignorant person think that we are alone in this view. Rather, our argument for declaring a disbeliever whoever deems it lawful to contradict what is authentic in his view from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the saying of Allah the Exalted addressing His Prophet ﷺ: ﴿But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:65) ‘Ali said: This suffices for whoever reasons, is wary, believes in Allah and the Last Day, and is certain that this covenant is the covenant of his Lord, Exalted is He, to him, and His injunction, Mighty and Majestic, that has come to him. So let a person search himself: if he finds within himself [discomfort] at what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ judged in any report that he holds authentic of what has reached him, or finds himself not submitting to what has come to him from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ”

The Prophet ﷺ Stating Explicitly: “It Has Been Revealed to Me”

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (922): “From Asma’ bint Abi Bakr, who said: I went in to ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, while the people were praying,” until the Mother of the Believers ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “And it has been revealed to me that you will be tried in the graves with a trial like, or close to, the trial of the False Messiah (al-Masih al-Dajjal),” the hadith.

Muslim narrated in his Sahih (64 - 2865): “And Abu ‘Ammar Husayn ibn Hurayth narrated to me: al-Fadl ibn Musa narrated to us, from al-Husayn, from Matar: Qatada narrated to me, from Mutarrif ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Shikhkhir, from ‘Iyad ibn Himar, the brother of Banu Mujashi’, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood among us one day delivering a sermon and said: Allah has commanded me.’ And he related the hadith like the hadith of Hisham from Qatada, and added in it: ‘And Allah has revealed to me that you should be humble, so that no one boasts over another and no one transgresses against another,’” the hadith.

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (5229): “Ahmad ibn Abi Raja’ narrated to me: al-Nadr narrated to us, from Hisham, who said: My father informed me, from ‘A’isha, that she said: ‘I was not jealous of any wife of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as I was jealous of Khadija, because of how often the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned her and praised her; and it was revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he should give her the glad tidings of a house for her in Paradise made of hollowed pearl.’”

He ﷺ Would Be Asked About a Matter and Would Not Answer Until Revelation Brought Him the Answer

The hadiths on this are more than we can count. Al-Bukhari devoted some of them in his Sahih, in the Book of “Holding Fast to the Sunnah” (9/100): “Chapter: What the Prophet ﷺ was asked about concerning which revelation had not been sent down to him, so he would say ‘I do not know’, or would not answer until revelation was sent down to him; and he did not speak by opinion or by analogy, because of the saying of the Exalted ﴿by that which Allah has shown you﴾ (al-Nisa’ 4:105). And Ibn Mas’ud said: The Prophet ﷺ was asked about the spirit, and he was silent until [the verse] was revealed.”

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (1536): Abu ‘Asim said: Ibn Jurayj informed us: ‘Ata’ informed me that Safwan ibn Ya’la informed him “that Ya’la said to ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: Show me the Prophet ﷺ when revelation is coming to him. He said: While the Prophet ﷺ was at al-Ji’rana with a group of his Companions, a man came to him and said: O Messenger of Allah, what do you think of a man who has entered ihram for ‘umra while drenched in perfume? The Prophet ﷺ was silent for a while; then revelation came to him. ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, beckoned to Ya’la, so Ya’la came, and over the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was a garment with which he was shaded. He put his head in, and there was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, red in the face, breathing heavily; then it was lifted from him, and he said: Where is the one who asked about ‘umra? A man was brought, and he said: Wash off the perfume that is on you three times, take off the cloak, and do in your ‘umra as you do in your hajj.” I said to ‘Ata’: Did he intend thorough cleansing when he commanded him to wash three times? He said: Yes.

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (4795): Zakariyya’ ibn Yahya narrated to me: Abu Usama narrated to us, from Hisham, from his father, from ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: “Sawda went out for her need after the hijab had been prescribed. She was a large woman who could not be concealed from anyone who knew her. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab saw her and said: O Sawda, by Allah, you are not concealed from us, so look how you go out. She said: So she turned back, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in my house, having his supper, with a meat bone in his hand. She came in and said: O Messenger of Allah, I went out for some of my needs, and ‘Umar said such-and-such to me. She said: Then Allah sent revelation to him; then it was lifted from him, and the bone was still in his hand, he had not put it down. And he said: You have been permitted to go out for your needs.”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (1465): Mu’adh ibn Fadala narrated to us: Hisham narrated to us, from Yahya, from Hilal ibn Abi Maymuna: ‘Ata’ ibn Yasar narrated to us that he heard Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, narrate: “The Prophet ﷺ sat one day on the pulpit, and we sat around him, and he said: Among what I fear for you after me is what will be opened to you of the splendour of this world and its adornment. A man said: O Messenger of Allah, can good bring evil? The Prophet ﷺ was silent, and it was said to him: What is the matter with you, that you speak to the Prophet ﷺ and he does not speak to you? Then we saw that [revelation] was being sent down upon him. He said: Then he wiped the sweat from himself and said: Where is the questioner?” the hadith.

And in another narration with al-Bukhari in his Sahih (2842): “The Prophet ﷺ was silent towards him; we said: Revelation is coming to him; and the people fell silent as though birds were on their heads. Then he wiped the sweat from his face.”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (7297): “Muhammad ibn ‘Ubayd ibn Maymun narrated to us: ‘Isa ibn Yunus narrated to us, from al-A’mash, from Ibrahim, from ‘Alqama, from Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: ‘I was with the Prophet ﷺ in a field in Madinah, and he was leaning on a palm stalk. He passed by a group of Jews, and some of them said: Ask him about the spirit; and some of them said: Do not ask him, lest he make you hear what you dislike. Then they stood up to him and said: O Abu al-Qasim, tell us about the spirit. He stood for a while, looking, and I knew that revelation was coming to him, so I moved back from him until the revelation had ascended. Then he said: ﴿And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the soul. Say, “The soul is of the affair of my Lord.”﴾ (al-Isra’ 17:85).’”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (7309): “‘Ali ibn ‘Abd Allah narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, saying: I heard Ibn al-Munkadir say: I heard Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah say: ‘I fell ill, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to visit me, with Abu Bakr, both of them walking. He came to me when I had fainted, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed ablution and then poured his ablution water over me, and I came to. I said: O Messenger of Allah (and perhaps Sufyan said: I said: O Messenger of Allah), how shall I decide concerning my wealth? What shall I do with my wealth? He said: He did not answer me with anything until the verse of inheritance was revealed.’”

And al-Nasa’i narrated in his Sunan (3155): “Muhammad ibn Bashshar informed us, saying: Abu ‘Asim narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn ‘Ajlan narrated to us, from Sa’id al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayra, who said: ‘A man came to the Prophet ﷺ while he was delivering a sermon on the pulpit, and said: Tell me, if I fight in the cause of Allah, patient, seeking reward, advancing and not retreating, will Allah expiate my sins? He said: Yes. Then he was silent for a while, and said: Where is the one who was asking just now? The man said: Here I am. He said: What did you say? He said: Tell me, if I am killed in the cause of Allah, patient, seeking reward, advancing and not retreating, will Allah expiate my sins? He said: Yes, except debt; Jibril told me that in confidence just now.’”

And Muslim narrated in his Sahih (148 - 2630): “Qutayba ibn Sa’id narrated to us: Bakr, that is Ibn Mudar, narrated to us, from Ibn al-Had, that Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad, the freedman of Ibn ‘Ayyash, narrated to him from ‘Irak ibn Malik, [who said]: I heard him narrating to ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, from ‘A’isha, that she said: ‘A poor woman came to me carrying her two daughters, and I fed her three dates. She gave each of them a date and raised a date to her mouth to eat it, but her two daughters asked her for it to eat, so she split the date she had wanted to eat between them. Her action amazed me, and I mentioned what she had done to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said: Allah has made Paradise obligatory for her because of it, or: He has freed her from the Fire because of it.’” Could this making obligatory be anything but by revelation? And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says to His Prophet ﷺ:

﴿Say, “I do not tell you that I have the depositories [containing the provision] of Allah or that I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I only follow what is revealed to me.” Say, “Is the blind equivalent to the seeing? Then will you not give thought?”﴾ (al-An’am 6:50)

﴿Say, “I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe.”﴾ (al-A’raf 7:188)

Everything That Comes in the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the Form of a Command Is Certainly from Revelation

Because no one commands the Messenger of Allah ﷺ except Allah, Mighty and Majestic.

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (25): “‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Musnadi narrated to us, saying: Abu Rawh al-Harami ibn ‘Umara narrated to us, saying: Shu’ba narrated to us, from Waqid ibn Muhammad, who said: I heard my father narrate from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer and give the zakat. If they do that, they have protected their blood and their wealth from me, except by the right of Islam, and their reckoning is with Allah.’”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (812): “Mu’alla ibn Asad narrated to us, saying: Wuhayb narrated to us, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Tawus, from his father, from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones: on the forehead, and he pointed with his hand to his nose, the two hands, the two knees, and the ends of the two feet; and that we not gather up our garments or hair.’”

Likewise Everything That Comes in the Form of a Prohibition

Among it is what Muslim narrated in his Sahih (207 - 479): “Sa’id ibn Mansur, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba and Zuhayr ibn Harb narrated to us, saying: Sufyan ibn ‘Uyayna narrated to us: Sulayman ibn Suhaym informed me, from Ibrahim ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Ma’bad, from his father, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ drew back the curtain, while the people were in rows behind Abu Bakr, and said: O people, nothing remains of the glad tidings of prophethood except the righteous dream that a Muslim sees or that is seen for him. Indeed, I have been forbidden to recite the Qur’an while bowing or prostrating. As for bowing, glorify the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, in it; and as for prostration, strive hard in supplication, for it is fitting that you be answered.’”

Likewise Everything That Comes in the Form of Giving a Choice

Among it is what al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (3904): “Isma’il ibn ‘Abd Allah narrated to us, saying: Malik narrated to me, from Abu al-Nadr, the freedman of ‘Umar ibn ‘Ubayd Allah, from ‘Ubayd, that is Ibn Hunayn, from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sat on the pulpit and said: A servant was given the choice by Allah between His giving him whatever he wished of the splendour of this world, and what is with Him; and he chose what is with Him. Abu Bakr wept and said: We would ransom you with our fathers and our mothers. We were amazed at him, and the people said: Look at this old man! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ tells of a servant whom Allah gave the choice between His giving him of the splendour of this world and what is with Him, and he says: We would ransom you with our fathers and our mothers! Yet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the one given the choice, and Abu Bakr was the most knowledgeable of us about him. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Among the people most generous to me in his companionship and his wealth is Abu Bakr. Were I to take an intimate friend (khalil) from my Ummah, I would take Abu Bakr, but [what remains is] the brotherhood of Islam. Let no small door in the mosque remain except the small door of Abu Bakr.’”

Informing About the Unseen, Past and Future

Among it is what al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (3192): “And ‘Isa narrated from Raqaba, from Qays ibn Muslim, from Tariq ibn Shihab, who said: I heard ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, say: The Prophet ﷺ stood among us [delivering] an address, and informed us about the beginning of creation until the people of Paradise entered their abodes and the people of the Fire entered their abodes. Whoever memorised it memorised it, and whoever forgot it forgot it.”

And Muslim narrated in his Sahih (76 - 2873): “Ishaq ibn ‘Umar ibn Salit al-Hudhali narrated to me: Sulayman ibn al-Mughira narrated to us, from Thabit, who said: Anas said: I was with ‘Umar. (Change of chain) And Shayban ibn Farrukh narrated to us (and the wording is his): Sulayman ibn al-Mughira narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: ‘We were with ‘Umar between Makkah and Madinah, and we looked for the new crescent. I was a man of sharp sight, and I saw it, and no one claimed to have seen it but me. He said: I began saying to ‘Umar: Do you not see it? But he could not see it. He said: ‘Umar was saying: I shall see it while lying on my bed. Then he began telling us about the people of Badr, and said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ showed us, the day before, the places where the people of Badr would fall, saying: This is where so-and-so will fall tomorrow, if Allah wills. He said: ‘Umar said: By the One who sent him with the truth, they did not miss the limits that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ marked out. He said: They were thrown into a well, one upon another. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went until he reached them and said: O so-and-so son of so-and-so, and O so-and-so son of so-and-so, have you found what Allah and His Messenger promised you to be true? For I have found what Allah promised me to be true. ‘Umar said: O Messenger of Allah, how do you speak to bodies that have no souls in them? He said: You do not hear what I say better than they do, except that they cannot reply to me with anything.’”

Scientific Miracles in the Sunnah of the Prophet

We will not expand on this, and will suffice with three hadiths containing scientific miracles established by certain proof; we mention them only as supporting evidence, no more.

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (3208): “Al-Hasan ibn al-Rabi’ narrated to us: Abu al-Ahwas narrated to us, from al-A’mash, from Zayd ibn Wahb: ‘Abd Allah said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ narrated to us, and he is the truthful, the one confirmed as truthful. He said: ‘The creation of each one of you is gathered in his mother’s womb for forty days; then he becomes a clinging clot (‘alaqa) for the like of that; then he becomes a lump of flesh (mudgha) for the like of that. Then Allah sends an angel, who is commanded with four words, and it is said to him: Write his deeds, his provision, his term, and whether he will be wretched or happy. Then the soul is breathed into him. A man among you may do deeds until there is only a forearm’s length between him and Paradise, then what is written for him overtakes him and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire. And he may do deeds until there is only a forearm’s length between him and the Fire, then what is written overtakes him and he does the deeds of the people of Paradise.’”

Muslim narrated in his Sahih (54 - 1007): “Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Hulwani narrated to us: Abu Tawba al-Rabi’ ibn Nafi’ narrated to us: Mu’awiya, that is Ibn Sallam, narrated to us, from Zayd, that he heard Abu Sallam say: ‘Abd Allah ibn Farrukh narrated to me that he heard ‘A’isha say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Every human being among the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints. So whoever declares Allah’s greatness, praises Allah, declares that there is no god but Allah, glorifies Allah, seeks Allah’s forgiveness, removes a stone from people’s path, or a thorn, or a bone from people’s path, enjoins good or forbids evil, to the number of those three hundred and sixty joints, walks that day having distanced himself from the Fire.’ Abu Tawba said: And perhaps he said: ‘reaches the evening.’”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (5782): “Qutayba narrated to us: Isma’il ibn Ja’far narrated to us, from ‘Utba ibn Muslim, the freedman of Banu Taym, from ‘Ubayd ibn Hunayn, the freedman of Banu Zurayq, from Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘If a fly falls into the vessel of one of you, let him dip all of it in, then throw it away; for in one of its wings there is a cure and in the other a disease.’”

The Preservation of the Sunnah of the Prophet Is Entailed by the Preservation of the Qur’an, and Together They Are the Dhikr

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has guaranteed the explanation of the Noble Qur’an, and the preservation of the explanation is entailed by the preservation of the Qur’an. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:

﴿Move not your tongue with it, [O Muhammad], to hasten with recitation of the Qur’an. Indeed, upon Us is its collection [in your heart] and [to make possible] its recitation. So when We have recited it [through Gabriel], then follow its recitation. Then upon Us is its clarification [to you].﴾ (al-Qiyamah 75:16-19)

﴿And We have not revealed to you the Book except for you to make clear to them that wherein they have differed and as guidance and mercy for a people who believe.﴾ (al-Nahl 16:64)

﴿I only follow what is revealed to me.﴾ (al-An’am 6:50)

﴿I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord.﴾ (al-A’raf 7:203)

﴿I only follow what is revealed to me.﴾ (Yunus 10:15)

﴿I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner.﴾ (al-Ahqaf 46:9)

And this explanation is what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, spoke of: ﴿And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.﴾ (al-Nahl 16:44)

And concerning this dhikr (message), Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: ﴿Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur’an], and indeed, We will be its guardian.﴾ (al-Hijr 15:9)

So it is part of the completeness of the preservation of the Noble Qur’an that the Sunnah of the Prophet be preserved with it, for it is part of the dhikr whose preservation Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has guaranteed. It is the explanation of the Noble Qur’an, whose preservation is not complete except by preserving its explanation. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has guaranteed its preservation, and part of the completeness of its preservation was preservation in the breasts and preservation in books.

Preservation in the Breasts

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: ﴿And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand. Otherwise the falsifiers would have had [cause for] doubt. Rather, it [i.e., the Qur’an] is distinct verses [preserved] within the breasts of those who have been given knowledge. And none reject Our verses except the wrongdoers.﴾ (al-‘Ankabut 29:48-49)

This is a great Ummah, known throughout its history for the preservation in the breasts by which it is distinguished. The transmission of the Mu’allaqat of Arabic poetry and its diwans is not far from us, and likewise the transmission of the Sunnah of the Prophet. Consider with me the state of the Muslim lands until recently, where the kuttab (Qur’an schools) were spread everywhere before the spread of schools. The original foundation was direct oral reception, which is the highest degree of receiving [knowledge], in which the student says of his teacher “he narrated to us” (haddathana) and “he informed us” (akhbarana). As for what the falsifiers spread, that books are the highest degree of receiving from teachers, this is not correct. Indeed, many of the people of knowledge consider weak the narration by wijada, which is that the student finds his teacher’s book and narrates it from him without having heard it from him. And you often read in the books of hidden defects (‘ilal): “So-and-so did not hear from so-and-so; it is only a scroll he found.”

Preservation in Books, Including the Writing and Recording of the Sunnah of the Prophet

The writing of the Sunnah began in the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, and many authentic narrations have come about this, among them:

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (113): “‘Ali ibn ‘Abd Allah narrated to us, saying: Sufyan narrated to us, saying: ‘Amr narrated to us, saying: Wahb ibn Munabbih informed me, from his brother, who said: I heard Abu Hurayra say: ‘There is none of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ who has more hadith from him than I, except what was from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, for he used to write and I did not write.’ Ma’mar followed him [in narrating it], from Hammam, from Abu Hurayra.”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (2434): “Yahya ibn Musa narrated to us: al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us: al-Awza’i narrated to us, saying: Yahya ibn Abi Kathir narrated to me, saying: Abu Salama ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to me, saying: Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated to me, saying: ‘When Allah granted His Messenger ﷺ the conquest of Makkah, he stood among the people, praised Allah and extolled Him, and then said: Allah held back the Elephant from Makkah and gave His Messenger and the believers power over it. It was not lawful for anyone before me, it was made lawful for me for an hour of a day, and it will not be lawful for anyone after me. So its game is not to be chased, its thorns are not to be cut, and its fallen objects are not lawful except for one who announces them. And whoever has a relative killed has the choice of the better of two options: either he is paid blood money, or he takes retaliation. Al-‘Abbas said: Except the idhkhir [grass], for we use it for our graves and our houses. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Except the idhkhir. Then Abu Shah, a man from the people of Yemen, stood and said: Write it for me, O Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Write it for Abu Shah.’ I said to al-Awza’i: What does his saying ‘Write it for me, O Messenger of Allah’ mean? He said: This sermon that he heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (114): “Yahya ibn Sulayman narrated to us, saying: Ibn Wahb narrated to me, saying: Yunus informed me, from Ibn Shihab, from ‘Ubayd Allah ibn ‘Abd Allah, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: ‘When the Prophet’s ﷺ pain grew severe, he said: Bring me writing material, so that I may write for you a document after which you will not go astray. ‘Umar said: The Prophet ﷺ is overcome by pain, and we have with us the Book of Allah, which is sufficient for us. They differed, and the clamour grew. He said: Leave me; it is not fitting to dispute in my presence. Ibn ‘Abbas went out saying: The calamity, the whole calamity, is what came between the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his writing.’”

And Ibn Abi Shayba narrated in his Musannaf (28120), and Ahmad in his Musnad (6510) with an authentic chain, the wording being his: “Yahya ibn Sa’id narrated to us, from ‘Ubayd Allah ibn al-Akhnas: al-Walid ibn ‘Abd Allah informed us, from Yusuf ibn Mahak, from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, who said: I used to write everything I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, wanting to preserve it. Quraysh forbade me and said: You write everything you hear from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is a human being who speaks in anger and in contentment. So I stopped writing, and I mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said: ‘Write, for by the One in whose hand is my soul, nothing comes out of me but truth.’”

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (3047): “Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us: Zuhayr narrated to us: Mutarrif narrated to us that ‘Amir narrated to them, from Abu Juhayfa, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: ‘I said to ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him: Do you have anything of revelation other than what is in the Book of Allah? He said: By the One who split the seed and created the soul, I know of nothing except an understanding of the Qur’an that Allah gives a man, and what is in this scroll. I said: And what is in the scroll? He said: Blood money, the freeing of the captive, and that a Muslim is not killed for a disbeliever.’” Note that they used to call the Qur’an, and the Sunnah, part of which was written and recorded in the scroll of the Commander of the Believers ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, revelation.

And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (7300): “‘Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ghiyath narrated to us: my father narrated to us: al-A’mash narrated to us: Ibrahim al-Taymi narrated to me: my father narrated to me, saying: ”Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, addressed us from a pulpit of baked brick, wearing a sword on which a scroll was hanging, and said: By Allah, we have no book that is read except the Book of Allah and what is in this scroll. He unrolled it, and in it were the ages of camels [due in blood money], and in it: Madinah is a sanctuary from ‘Ayr to such-and-such; whoever introduces an innovation in it, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels and all the people; Allah will accept from him neither obligatory nor voluntary deed. And in it: The protection of the Muslims is one, the lowest of them may strive to grant it; whoever breaks the covenant of a Muslim, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels and all the people; Allah will accept from him neither obligatory nor voluntary deed. And in it: Whoever takes as patrons a people without the permission of his patrons, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels and all the people; Allah will accept from him neither obligatory nor voluntary deed.’”

And Abu Dawud narrated in his Sunan (3645), and al-Tirmidhi in his Jami’ (2715), the wording being his: “‘Ali ibn Hujr narrated to us, saying: ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Zinad informed us, from his father, from Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit, from his father Zayd ibn Thabit, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded me to learn for him words from the writing of the Jews. He said: By Allah, I do not trust the Jews with a letter.’ He said: Half a month had not passed before I had learned it for him. He said: When I had learned it, whenever he wrote to the Jews I wrote to them, and whenever they wrote to him I read their letter to him.” And al-Tirmidhi said after it: “This is a hasan sahih hadith. It has been narrated by another route from Zayd ibn Thabit: al-A’mash narrated it from Thabit ibn ‘Ubayd al-Ansari, from Zayd ibn Thabit, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded me to learn Syriac.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to write to kings and princes, he used to have agreements written, and he had scribes of revelation among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them; and this is not the place for an exhaustive list.

There is confusion between writing, recording (tadwin) and compiling (tasnif). The writing of the Sunnah of the Prophet is established in the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ. Recording in its broad sense, which is gathering, that is, setting down what is scattered and dispersed and collecting it in a register or book, began in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. As for compilation, which is arranging what has been recorded into defined sections and distinct chapters, such as was done in the collections of the Sunnah arranged on the chapters of jurisprudence, it did not appear in the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ and appeared after that; and this is natural in the development of the transmission of the sciences.

The Efforts of the Companions and the Successors in Recording the Sunnah

The Companions and the Successors were keen to preserve the Sunnah of the Prophet and to transmit it to later generations, and they made great efforts in this. Among these efforts:

Writing

Some of the Companions wrote down the hadiths of the Prophet that they heard from the Prophet ﷺ and sent them to others among the Companions or the Successors, among them:

Usayd ibn Hudayr al-Ansari, who wrote some hadiths of the Prophet and the judgments of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman and sent them to Marwan ibn al-Hakam¹.

Jabir ibn Samura, who wrote some hadiths of the Messenger of Allah and sent them to ‘Amir ibn Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas².

Zayd ibn Arqam, who wrote some hadiths of the Prophet and sent them to Anas ibn Malik³.

Memorisation

Many of the Companions and the Successors memorised the hadiths of the Prophet by heart and narrated them to those after them.

Teaching

The Companions and the Successors taught the hadiths of the Prophet to their students and urged them to memorise and transmit them. And the Companions urged their students to write down hadith and record it, among them:

Anas ibn Malik, who used to say: “O my sons, bind knowledge by writing.”⁴

‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas, who used to say: “Bind knowledge by writing. Who will buy knowledge from me for a dirham?”⁵

Recording Hadith in Scrolls and Passing Them Between Teachers and Students

Among them:

The scroll of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, containing the obligations of zakat⁶.

The scroll of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib⁷.

The scroll of ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, known as al-Sahifa al-Sadiqa (the Truthful Scroll)⁸.

The Writing of Hadith Compilations in the Second Century AH

Among them: Ibn Jurayj in Makkah, Muhammad ibn Ishaq in Madinah, Ma’mar ibn Rashid in Yemen, and Sa’id ibn Abi ‘Aruba in Basra.

The Imams Presenting Their Books and Compilations to the Scholars of Their Time

Among them:

Imam Malik, who presented his Muwatta’ to seventy of the jurists of Madinah, and all of them agreed with him on it (wata’ahu), so he named it al-Muwatta’⁹.

Imam al-Bukhari, who presented his Sahih to imams including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahya ibn Ma’in; Ibn Hajar mentioned it in the introduction to Fath al-Bari from Abu Ja’far al-‘Uqayli¹⁰.

Imam Muslim, who presented his Sahih to Abu Zur’a al-Razi; everything he indicated had a hidden defect, he left out, and everything he said was authentic and had no defect, he included¹¹.