Lecture delivered by Alfa Iliyasu Abubakar On Sunday 24th of September 2023, At the Monthly Congress
Organized by the Muslim Corpers Association Of Nigeria (M.C.A.N) Ekiti State.
Topic: Adhering to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W).
بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم
Praise be to Allah; we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness.We seek refuge with Allah from the
evil of our selves and from our bad deeds.Whoever Allah guides, none can lead astray, and whoever He
leads astray, none can guide.I bear witness that there is no true god but Allah, alone, with no
partner,and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger;Allah sent him with guidance
and the religion of truth. He delivered the message, fulfilled the trust, advised the Ummah, and duly
strove for the sake of Allah.May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, his family, his Companions,
and those who follow them rightly until the Day of Judgment. On this day; I am pleased to meet with my
brethen of this noble Organization. I ask Allah Almighty to make this gathering a blessed and beneficial
one, Ameen.
SUNNAH
Definition: Sunnah literally means habitual or customary practice either good or bad. Technically,
according to the scholars of fiqh (Faqih/jurist) it means recommended acts of worship. It can also be
defined as what was transmitted from the messenger of Allah of His words, acts and tacit.
Position and justification of Sunnah as a Source of Law
Sunnah is the second primary source of Islamic law, it position is next after the Qur'an.
A Sunnah of sound and complete chain of narrators can be used as an authoritative source of
Islamic law.
What does the Qur'an say about the Sunnah
1. The Qur'an points out that whatever originated from the messenger of Allah does not come out his
own desire but it is a type of revelation.
"Nor does he speak of (his own) desire".
"It is only an Inspiration that is inspired". An- Najm 3-4.
2. Allah commanded the believers to follow the Sunnah.
An- Nisa (4:59)
3. Obedience to the messenger is obedience to Allah.
An- Nisa (4:80)
4. To follow whatever is brought by the messenger and refrain from whatever is prohibited by him.
Al- Hashr (59:7)
Classification and types of Sunnah.
Sunnah al- Qawliyyah (verbal sunnah or the sunnah by words): This are the sayings of the
messenger of Allah, it is also known as Hadiths. It can be used for or as legislation and legal
rules. A large numbers of the Sunnah is of this type.
Sunnah al- Fi'liyyah (practical or actual Sunnah): It Is the actions of the messenger of Allah
(S.A.W) having legal content such as prayers, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca.
Sunnah al- Taqririyah (Tacit - Silent approval or disapproval): This involves all tacit of the
messenger of Allah or his silent approval towards certain issue. This can also be used in taking
legal opinion in the religion (Islam). E.g the eating of lizard by some companions, also He (S.A.W)
did not object the playing of spear by two boys in the mosque.
Adhering to the Sunnah Of Rasulullah (S.A.W).
Giving the above evidence on the authenticity of the sunnah in our religion, three is no doubt that the
sunnah is something we can not live without as muslims.
The Prophet (S.A.W) made us to understand in his farewell pilgrimage that He has left us with two
things, in which if we hold firmly we can never go astray which are the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Following the Sunnah of the messenger that not apply to any sect or creed but is compulsory upon
anyone who is under the umbrella of Islam (I.e A Muslim).
So I advice myself and my fellow brothers and sisters in Islam to uphold the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet
irrespective of your creed so that our aim and ambition of gaining Jannah can be achieved. Just as the
Holy Prophet (S.A.W) said in a Hadith;
"Whoever follows me will enter paradise" , in another narration he said "Whoever hold unto my Sunnah
will enter Paradise.
Conclusion
There is a known Hadith whereby the Prophet was reported to have said "All my Ummah (people) will
enter paradise except those who refuse" , the companions were astonished, amazed that someone can
refuse to be admitted into paradise, then they asked Ya Rasulullah who will refuse?. The message of
Allah replied "whoever refuse to tour the path of the Qur'an, Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly
guided Califs.
With this we come to the end of today's lecture, and pray to Allah to ease all our affairs, make it easy for
us to follow the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) and make this our service year a fruitful one. May it
be recorded for us as an act of ibadah. Ameen.
Assalamualaykum wa Rahmatul llahi wa barakatuh.
