Sunnah
The Arabic word Sunnah means ‘a way’, and therefore, sunnah of the prophet means the way of the prophet, or what is commonly known as Prophet’s traditions. Terminologically, the word “Sunnah” means the deeds, sayings and approvals of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during his 23 years of prophethood, and this means that whatever he said, did, or approved during his ministry as a prophet and messenger of Allah is considered a sunnah, and Muslims have to follow and practice his traditions.
Sunnah, therefore, is the second source of Islamic law after the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran is considered by Muslims, as the first source of Islamic law, and the only authentic revelation of Allah to humanity. The Holy Quran, which is a word of Allah incorporated in the book called “Mus-haf”, and the Sunnah incorporated in many books, the most important being: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan An-Nasai, Sunan Attirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah, and Sunan Abu Daud, make up a body of Islamic law, and divine directives for Muslims worldwide.
Sunnah, as opposed to Hadith, is the way or deeds of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during his prophethood, while Hadith is a collection of his narrations and approvals during the same period. The two words are interchangeable when referring to the Traditions of the Prophet, but actually there is a difference between the two. Hadiths are classified according their status, in relation to their texts (matn) and their chain of transmitters (isnad). Scholars of Hadiths have studied the Sunnah of the Prophet from their context (matn) as well as from their transmitters (isnad) in order to establish what is true and what is false from these hadiths.
Through making research on the transmitters of Hadith (isnad), scholars of the science of Hadith came up with the system of knowing the different categories of Hadith, and how to evaluate the text (matn) in order to establish if the text is correct, good, weak, or false.
