What Does “Reviving the Sunna” Mean?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yakti
Question
What does reviving the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) mean, and what are the sunnas that should be revived?
Answer
The term “Sunna” has many meanings in language and terminology, and the meaning of reviving it varies according to the different meanings. Generally, reviving it involves following the methodology of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), which is based on moderation and temperance, and not innovating anything that contradicts his approach. It also involves preserving the Hadiths by memorizing, studying, and taking care of them, as well as maintaining the status of the Sunna in terms of arguing and reasoning with it, similar to the Holy Quran.
Moreover, it involves preserving the non-obligatory acts of worship, such as the regular sunna prayers, voluntary fasting, and almsgiving, as well as maintaining the sunnas and etiquettes related to customs and daily life activities, such as eating, drinking, dressing, sleeping, waking up, personal hygiene, and more.
It also includes inviting people to practice these after learning and teaching them, transferring, spreading them, encouraging adherence to them, and abandoning what contradicts them. And Allah knows best.
Detailed Answer
To understand the meaning of reviving the Sunna and then the Sunnas that should be revived, we must first understand the meaning of the Sunna and what is meant by it. Before that, we are reminded of the obligation to take what the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) brought, to do as he commanded, and to abstain from what he prohibited, as Allah (Most High) commanded us in His statement:
“Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you from, leave it. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment.” [Quran, 59:7]
Sunna Linguistically
Linguistically, the term “sunna” refers to a method or a way of life. It is also used to denote custom, tradition, and law. [Ibn Faris, Maqayis al-Lugha]
The term “sunna” is also used to denote what is opposite to innovation. Shatibi (Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The term ‘Sunna’ is used in opposition to innovation, saying: A person is on the Sunna if he acts in accordance with what the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was upon, being what is explicitly stated in the scripture at first, and it is said: A person is upon innovation if he acts contrary to that.” [Shatibi, al-Muwafaqat]
Based on these linguistic meanings, the Sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is his methodology, approach, and guidance in actions, abstentions, commands, prohibitions, acceptance, and rejection. It is the way of his successors who followed his method in actions, commands, acceptance, and rejection. As Imam al-Haddad Ba‘Alawi stated in his valuable book, “The Sunna and the Innovation.” [Haddad, Kitab al-Sunna wa al-Bid‘a]
Ibn Rajab (Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The Sunna is the trodden path, which includes adhering to what the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and his rightly-guided successors were upon in beliefs, deeds, and sayings. This is the complete Sunna, and thus, the early predecessors did not use the term ‘Sunna’ except for what encompasses all of that, and this was reported by Hasan, Awza‘i, and Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyad.” [Ibn Rajab, Jami‘ al-‘Ulum wa al-Hikam]
Based on these linguistic meanings, the term Sunna mentioned in many noble Hadiths includes:
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Whoever introduces a good practice (sunna hasana) in Islam will have its reward and the reward of those who act upon it thereafter, without their rewards being diminished. And whoever introduces a bad practice (sunna sayyi’a) in Islam will bear its sin and the sin of those who act on it thereafter, without their sins being diminished.” [Muslim]
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Upon you is my Sunna and the Sunna of the rightly-guided caliphs; hold onto it with your molar teeth, and beware of newly invented matters, for every innovation is misguidance.” [Abu Dawud; Ibn Maja; Tirmidhi]
And the Hadith reported by Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): “The best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). The worst affairs are those that are newly invented, and every innovation is misguidance.” [Muslim]
And the Hadith about the three who stayed behind, in which it is said: “Whoever turns away from my Sunna is not from me.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
Sunna in Specific Fields of Islamic Sciences
There are other technical meanings of the Sunna specific to each field of Islamic sciences:
Hadith
According to Hadith scholars, the Sunna is what is narrated from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in terms of sayings, actions, tacit approvals, physical or moral characteristics, or his life story, whether before or after his prophethood, as well as what is attributed to the Companions and the Followers in terms of sayings or actions. [Tahir Dimashqi, Tawjih al-Nazar ila Usul al-Athar; Ibn Hajar, al-Yawaqit wa al-Durar fi Sharh Nukhbat Ahl al-Fikr]
Usul
In the terminology of the jurists of Usul (principles of Islamic jurisprudence), it refers to “what is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) other than the Quran, whether it be a saying, action, or tacit approval, that can serve as evidence for a legal ruling.” [Shatibi, al-Muwafaqat]
Fiqh
As for the Sunna, according to the jurists, it has another meaning: “What the Sacred Law encourages us to do in a non-mandatory manner, such that reward is associated with its performance, and there is no punishment for neglecting it.” This includes practices like the Duha prayer, night vigil prayers, and fasting six days of Shawwal; thus, it contrasts with obligatory and compulsory acts. In brief, it refers to the supererogatory acts. [Ramli, Ghayat al-Bayan Sharh Zubd Ibn Raslan; Kitab al-Fiqh al-Manhaji ‘ala Madhhab al-Imam al-Shafi‘i]
Perhaps this last meaning is what is intended based on the context of the question.
Reviving the Sunna–General
And what is meant by reviving the Sunnas It involves reminding people of what the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to do, what he legislated for his Umma, encouraging them to act upon his Sunnas, knowledge of them, teaching, spreading, urging adherence to them, and warning against contravening them. It is mentioned in Fayd al-Qadir: “Whoever revives a Sunna, i.e., learns it, acts upon it, and spreads it among the people, encourages following it, and warns against contradicting it.” [Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir]
This concept is supported by the Prophetic sunna, as narrated by Ibn Maja and others from the words of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace):
“Whoever revives a sunna from my Sunnas that has died after me will have a reward like that of those who act upon it from the people, without diminishing their rewards in any way. And whoever introduces an innovation displeasing to Allah and His Messenger, upon him is the sin like that of those who act upon it from the people, without reducing their sins in any way.” [Ibn Maja]
This is the general meaning of reviving the Sunna, and there are other specific meanings in reviving the Sunna according to what has been mentioned in its definition in language and technical terms:
- The intended meaning of reviving the Sunna, according to its linguistic meanings (method, law, methodology, Prophetic guidance, and opposing innovation), is to follow and adhere to the Prophet’s methodology (Allah bless him and give him peace) and his guidance based on moderation and balance, avoiding excess and negligence, leniency or extremism, and fanaticism, or innovating anything that contradicts his methodology and way.
- As for revival in the technical sense used by Hadith scholars, it means striving for, caring for, and paying attention to the noble Prophetic Hadiths in terms of preserving them, memorizing, learning, studying, understanding, teaching, transmitting, and spreading them among people.
- And the revival, according to the technical meaning among the scholars of Usul (principles of Islamic jurisprudence), involves preserving them as a fundamental source of legislation alongside the Holy Quran in terms of arguing, acting upon, and using them as evidence, contrary to what is promoted by the skeptics and deniers of the Sunna, who call themselves “Quranists.” The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) mentioned them, clarified about them, and warned us against them as in the Hadith:
“Let not one of you be found reclining on his couch when he hears something from my commands or prohibitions and says, ‘I do not know; we follow whatever we find in the Book of Allah.’” [Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat]
This Hadith has been narrated in many versions and with various wordings that revolve around this meaning, including: “Perhaps a man reclining on his couch will disbelieve in me. A Hadith from me reaches him, and he says, ‘Leave this; give us what we find in the Quran.’” [Abu Dawud; Tirmidhi; Ibn Maja; Ahmad; Abu Ya‘la and Others]
Reviving the Sunna–Specific
And as for reviving the Sunna according to the technical meaning among the jurists—which is the intended meaning from the question here, as Allah knows best—it involves:
1. Preserving the supererogatory acts, etiquettes, sunnas, and recommended acts that are of the same nature as acts of worship, such as the sunnas of purification, using the miswak, the regular sunna prayers, voluntary prayers, voluntary fasting, giving charity, the etiquettes of supplication, reading the Quran, and many others, as mentioned in the Hadith Qudsi:
“Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I have declared war against him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks (something) of Me, I will surely give it to him, and if he seeks protection with Me, I will surely protect him. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about (seizing) the soul of My faithful servant; he hates death, and I hate hurting him.” [Bukhari]
2. Preserving the sunnas and etiquettes related to customs and daily life activities and acting upon them, such as the etiquettes of eating, drinking, dressing, adorning, applying fragrance, sleeping, waking up, walking, greeting, speaking, sitting in gatherings, visiting, and hospitality… And the ten acts of fitra (natural disposition) related to personal hygiene mentioned in the Hadith by ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her):
“Ten are the acts of fitra: trimming the mustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick (miswak), snuffing water in the nose, clipping the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the underarm hair, shaving the pubic hair, and cleaning one’s private parts with water. Zakariyya said: Mus‘ab said: ‘I have forgotten the tenth, except if it were rinsing the mouth.’ Qutaybah added, Waki‘ said: Cleaning one’s private parts with water means istinja’.” [Muslim]
These are the meanings of reviving the Sunna, and Allah (Most High) knows best.
Advice
I invite you to first learn these sunnas, understand their purpose, and how to apply them, then act upon them and work on teaching them, transferring, and spreading them among the people with sincerity and truthfulness in wanting good for the Umma. So we may be among those who revive the Prophet’s Sunna (Allah bless him and give him peace) among his Umma, thereby achieving the status of succession and conveying on his behalf, thus earning his closeness, companionship, and love.
All praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, his Family, and all his Companions.
[Shaykh] Abdul Sami‘ al-Yakti
Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti is a Syrian scholar born in Aleppo in 1977. He obtained his degree in Shari‘a from the Shari‘a Faculty of Damascus University, a Diploma in Educational Qualification from the Faculty of Education at Aleppo University, and a Diploma in Shari‘a and a Master’s in Shari‘a from the Faculty of Sharia, and Law at Omdurman University in Sudan. He is currently writing his doctoral thesis.
He studied under esteemed scholars such as Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri, Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani, and Shaykh Dr. Nur al-Din Itr, among others. Shaykh al-Yakti has worked in teaching and cultural guidance in orphanages and high schools in Aleppo. He served as an Imam, Khatib, and reciter at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and as a certified trainer for Khatibs in Abu Dhabi’s Khatib Qualification Program.
He is involved in developing and teaching a youth education program at Seekers Arabic for Islamic Sciences.
Among Shaykh al-Yaqti’s significant works are “Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni: Bayna Ilm al-Kalam Wa Usul al-Fiqh” and the program “The Messenger of Allah Among Us (Allah bless him and give him peace).”
