How Much Of Sunnah Was Preserved Before Prophet (AS)?
We need to go back to what Sunnah is : “ that tradition of Prophet Abraham’s (sws) religion which the Prophet Muhammad (sws) instituted among his followers as religion after reviving and reforming it and after making certain additions to it .” The Quran has directed Muhammad (sws) to obey the religion of Abraham (sws). This tradition is a part of it: ثُمَّ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ أَنِ اتَّبِعْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ (123:16) “Then We revealed to you to follow the religion of Abraham [1], who was truly devoted and was not among the polytheists. (16:123)”. ____________________________ [1] Ie., adopt religion in the same form and shape in which Abraham (sws) had left it . Thus there should not be any semblance of polytheism in their beliefs and deeds nor any trace of religious innovations in them the way they are found among the Jews, Christians and the polytheists of Arabia . They should give currency to the prayer, the fast, the hajj, the zakah and other religious deeds and customs and etiquette after cleansing them from all adulterations so that they are observed the way they were in the times of Abraham (sws). All matters related to what is lawful and what is unlawful should also return to their original form and it should become evident to everyone that they are in fact the real followers of the religion of Abraham (sws) and that their opponents have no relation with him. Here it should be kept in mind that the part of religion which is called Sunnah has been instituted under this directive. Hence it is mandatory to be followed the way other directives of the Quran are. The directives of the Sunnah which have been transferred by the consensus and perpetual concurrence once Muhammad (sws) had revived and reformed some of them and also added certain directives to them are the following: i. The Prayer ii. Zakah and Sadaqah of ‘Id al-Fitr iii. Fasting and I‘tikaf iv. Hajj and ‘Umrah v. Animal Sacrifice and the Takbirs during the days of Tashriq vi. Marriage and Divorce and their relevant details vii. Abstention from coitus during the menstrual and the puerperal period viii. Prohibition of pork, blood, meat of dead animals and animals slaughtered in the name of someone other than Allah ix. Slaughtering in the prescribed manner of tadhkiyah by pronouncing Allah’s name x. Remembering Allah’s name before eating or drinking and using the right hand for eating and drinking xi. Greeting one another with al-Salamu ‘Alaykum (peace be to you) and responding with Wa ‘Alaykum al-Salam (and peace be to you) xii. Saying al-Hamdulillah (praise be to Allah) after sneezing and responding to it by saying Yarhamukallah (may Allah have mercy on you) xiii. Keeping moustaches trimmed xiv. Shaving pubic hair xv. Removing the hairs under the armpits xvi. Paring fingernails xvii. Circumcising the male offspring xviii. Cleaning the nose, the mouth and the teeth xix. Cleaning the body after excretion and urination xx. Bathing after the menstrual and the puerperal periods xxi. Ghusl al-janabah xxii. Bathing the dead before burial xxiii. Enshrouding a dead body and preparing it for burial xxiv. Burying the dead xxv. ‘Id al-Fitr xxvi ‘Id al-Adha (Excerpts from Quranic Exegesis & Meezan: Javed Ahmed Ghamidi) (Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem)