The Sources of Islam
Reflections
Islam is the guidance which the Almighty has sent down for mankind through His Prophets. The Prophet Muhammad (sws) is the last of these Prophets. Consequently, it is now he alone who in this world is the sole source of this religion. It is only through him that man can receive guidance and it is only he who, through his words, deeds or tacit approval, has the authority to regard something as part of Islam until the Day of Judgement. The Qur’an says:
It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from amongst themselves who rehearses upon them His verses and purifies them and for this he instructs them in law and in wisdom. (62:2)
It is this Shari`ah (law) and this Hikmah (wisdom) which is termed as “Islam”. This religion has been given to the Ummah by the Prophet (sws) through the consensus of his companions and through their perpetual practice and perpetual recitation in two forms:
1. The Qur’an
2. The Sunnah
1. The Qur’an
Every Muslim knows that the Qur’an was revealed by Allah to the Prophet (sws) – the last of the Prophets – and which has since then remained with the Ummah with the unanimous verdict from the Ummah itself that it is this very book which was revealed to the Prophet (sws), and which his companions, through their consensus and through their perpetual recitation, delivered to the world without the slightest alteration. Allah says:
Indeed, We have sent down this Reminder and We shall assuredly guard it. (15:9)
2. TheSunnah
By Sunnah is meant that tradition of the Prophet Abraham (sws) to which the Prophet (sws) gave religious sanction among his followers after reviving and reforming it and after making certain additions to. The Qur’an has directed the Prophet (sws) to obey this Abrahamic tradition in the following words:
Then We revealed to you to follow the ways of Abraham, who was true in faith and was not among the polytheists. (16:123)
The following portion of Islam has been given to us through the Sunnah:
1. Remembering Allah’s name and then eating and drinking with the right hand
2. Greeting one another with Assalamu Alaykum and Wa` alaykum al-salam
3. Saying Alhamdu lilah after sneezing and replying it with Yarhamu kallah
4. Saying Adhan in the right ear of a new born baby and saying Iqamah in his left ear
5. Tadhkiah1
6. Nikah2
7. Delivering the Nikah sermon
8. Keeping moustaches trimmed
9. Shaving the hair below the naval
10. Shaving the hairs under the armpits
11. Circumcising the male offspring
12. Cutting nails
13. Cleaning the nose, the mouth and the teeth
14. Cleaning the body after excretion
15. Ghusl-i-janabah3
16. Bathing the dead before burial
17. Shrouding a dead body and preparing it for burial
18. Burying the dead
19. Wudu(ablution)
20. Tayammum
21. Adhan
22. Iqamahbefore the prayers
23. Building and overseeing of mosques for prayers
24. The five obligatory prayers
25. The Jum`ah prayers
26. The Eid Prayers
27. The Janazah Prayers
28. Fasting
29. Ay`tikaf
30. Eid al-fitr
31. Sadqahof Eid al-fitr
32. Zakat
33. Hadi4
34. Tawaf 5
35. Sanctity of Makkah
36. The Sacred Months6
37. Hajjand Umrah
38. Eid al-Adha
39. Sacrificing animals on Eid al-Adha
40. Saying Takbi%rsafter prayers during the days of Tashriq7;
This is all what the Sunnah is and it can be said with certainty that there is no difference between it and the Qur’an as far as their authenticity is concerned. Just as the Qur’an has been received by Ummah through the consensus of the Prophet’s companions and through their perpetual recitation, the Sunnah has been received by it through their consensus and through their perpetual practice. It shall stand validated like the Qur’an in every period of time through the consensus of the Ummah. Consequently, there is no doubt or confusion about it now.
All that is Islam is constituted by these two forms. Nothing besides these two is Islam or can be regarded as its part.
A narrative of the words, deeds or tacit approvals of the Prophet (sws) called Hadith does not add anything to the content of Islam stated in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Ahadith only explain and elucidate what is contained in these two sources and also describe the exemplary way in which the Prophet (sws) followed Islam. This only is the sphere of Hadith which falls within the ambit of Islam.
Notes and Explanations
1. Slaughtering animals by cutting their jugular veins.
2. Marriage.
3. The ceremonial bath performed after an ejaculation discharge or after sexual intercourse.
4. Sacrificial animals brought to theKa`bah.
5. Circumambulating the Ka`bah.
6. The months ofDhu al-qa`dah, Dhu al-hijjah, Muharram andRajab.
7. The tenth, eleventh and twelfth of Dhu al-hijjah.
(Translated and adapted from Ghamidi’s “Mizan”)