Did Prophet Muhammad authorise his Sunna?
By: A. Mohamed
By: A. Mohamed
It has been claimed that during the ‘Farewell Sermon’, which prophet Muhammad delivered shortly before his death, he told his people that he left for them two things which if they followed they would never be misguided. The first being the Book of God and the second being his Sunna.
The hadith followers justify the legality of following the hadith mainly on this hadith. They argue that unless they follow the hadith they would not be able to follow the Sunna of Muhammad.
What many people do not know is that there are three versions of this one hadith. The three versions are:
1- First version (upheld by the Shia Muslims):
The Messenger of Allah said, "I left for you what if you hold on to, you will never be misguided, the book of Allah and ‘itrati’ (my family).” (Muslim 44/4, Nu2408; Ibn Hanbal 4/366; darimi 23/1, nu 3319).
2- Second version (upheld by the Sunni Muslims):
The Messenger of Allah said, "I left for you what if you hold on to, you will never be misguided, the book of Allah and my Sunna." (Muwatta, 46/3).
3- Third version (ignored by Sunnis and Shia):
The Messenger of Allah said, "I left for you what if you hold on to, you will never be misguided, the book of Allah." (Muslim 15/19, nu 1218; Ibn Majah 25/84, Abu dawud 11/56).
This third version is the version hated by the Sunni and Shiite Muslims alike. This is the only version which conforms with the Quranic words which state that Muhammad's only duty was to deliver the Quran (5:99). Many Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims do not even know that this version of the sermon exists. In reality, they do not want to know, the truth hurts.
The same people who uphold the hadith are aware of a hadith which they regard as ‘sahih’ (authentic) and which confirms that the third version above is the only truthful version. The hadith says:
The messenger of Allah said, "Do not write anything from me except the Quran. Anyone who wrote anything other than the Quran shall erase it."(Ahmed, Vol. 1, Page 171, and Sahih Muslim, Zuhd, Book 42, Number 7147).
The immediate question that comes to mind after reading the hadith above is:
If the prophet commanded his people not to write his hadith, how would he expect them to follow his Sunna after he is dead? That is, if he did in fact instruct them to follow his Sunna at all.
Historical evidence confirms that the followers of the prophet, headed by the Khalifas who ruled in the period after his death, have abided by those instructions. There was no documentation of hadith for 200 years after the death of the prophet. During that period, it was forbidden to write hadith about the prophet.
Today, the hadith that is accepted are the ones called "The authentic six". These include the hadith collections of Bukhari, Muslim, Nisa'ie and others.
The oldest of these collections is that of Bukhari. Suffice it to know that Imam Al-Bukhari was born in the year 194 after Hijrah. The authors of the other 5 collections were all born after Bukhari.
In effect, the hadith which people read today and call authentic was written more than 200 years after the death of the prophet.
Ultimately, the Quranic evidence is clear and straightforward regarding the issue of the sunna of the prophet:
What is the Sunna which prophet Muhammad followed?
1- We read in the Quran that the Sunna of God is the only Sunna:
Such was the Sunna of God for those who passed away before. You will find that there is no substitute for the Sunna of God. 33:62
2- In all the Quran, there is no reference or mention of a Sunna for Muhammad.
3- The Quran tells us that the Sunna that prophet Muhammad followed was nothing other than the Sunna of God. God commanded Muhammad to follow the Sunna of God:
No blame falls upon the prophet concerning what God has decreed for him; the Sunna of God, as was decreed for those who passed away before. God's command is a pre-ordained decree. 33:38
Related Subjects:
- Why Muslims should follow the Quran alone
- History of hadith
- How authentic is the hadith?