Sunnah vs. Hadith
Question:
What is the difference between sunnat & Hadith?
Plesae explain to me as detailed as possible because I have brought up in a very rigid environment of Ahle-Hadith and its not so simple for me to digest the things so easily.
Answer:
Sunnah in principle can have two meanings: the Sunnah as a Feqhi terminology and the Sunnah as a source of understanding Islam (Usul al-Feqh terminology).
Since you are comparing it with Hadith therefore my understanding is that it is the latter that you are interested in so I focus on this one:
Sunnah, literally meaning a path, method, way, contains those religious practices that are established by the Prophet (pbuh) among his companions and have passed to us by the consensus of generations. These religious practices have mostly originated from the religion of Ibrahim (pbuh) and the Prophet (pbuh) has made revisions to them or some additions where appropriate.
In this website I have chosen to call this “the established Sunnah” to make sure the reader does not confuse it with other definitions of Sunnah.
Hadith on the other hand, literally meaning something new that comes out, a saying, a statement, refers to narrations that are attributed to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) who narrate a statement or a story about the Prophet (pbuh) or related to the Prophet (pbuh). The Hadith has reached us through individual or a few narrators in every generation.
The established Sunnah is as reliable as the Qur’an because it has been transmitted in the same way (i.e. general consensus of generations, i.e. Tawatur). Therefore the Qur’an and the Sunnah remain as our only primary sources of understanding Islam. Hadith is not as reliable as the Qur’an and the established Sunnah therefore it needs to be verified and understood under the light of the Qur’an and the established Sunnah. While the Qur’an and the established Sunnah are the primary sources of understanding Islam, Hadith is a very rich source of understanding the life of the Prophet (pbuh) and his way of living (Sira) and the history of Islam and the Qur’an. Hadith is also a good facilitator to study the Qur’an and the established Sunnah although understanding these two sources is not depending on Hadith.
Please see the following related writings for more details:
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Related Topics:
- Sunnah vs. Hadith (Follow Up 1: Imitating the Prophet - pbuh)
- Sunnah vs. Hadith (Follow Up 2: Criteria for Accepting a Hadith)
- Sunnah vs. Hadith (Follow Up 3: Definition of Established Sunnah)
- Sunnah vs. Hadith (Follow Up 4: Beard)
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February 2013
What is the difference between sunnat & Hadith?
Plesae explain to me as detailed as possible because I have brought up in a very rigid environment of Ahle-Hadith and its not so simple for me to digest the things so easily.
Answer:
Sunnah in principle can have two meanings: the Sunnah as a Feqhi terminology and the Sunnah as a source of understanding Islam (Usul al-Feqh terminology).
Since you are comparing it with Hadith therefore my understanding is that it is the latter that you are interested in so I focus on this one:
Sunnah, literally meaning a path, method, way, contains those religious practices that are established by the Prophet (pbuh) among his companions and have passed to us by the consensus of generations. These religious practices have mostly originated from the religion of Ibrahim (pbuh) and the Prophet (pbuh) has made revisions to them or some additions where appropriate.
In this website I have chosen to call this “the established Sunnah” to make sure the reader does not confuse it with other definitions of Sunnah.
Hadith on the other hand, literally meaning something new that comes out, a saying, a statement, refers to narrations that are attributed to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) who narrate a statement or a story about the Prophet (pbuh) or related to the Prophet (pbuh). The Hadith has reached us through individual or a few narrators in every generation.
The established Sunnah is as reliable as the Qur’an because it has been transmitted in the same way (i.e. general consensus of generations, i.e. Tawatur). Therefore the Qur’an and the Sunnah remain as our only primary sources of understanding Islam. Hadith is not as reliable as the Qur’an and the established Sunnah therefore it needs to be verified and understood under the light of the Qur’an and the established Sunnah. While the Qur’an and the established Sunnah are the primary sources of understanding Islam, Hadith is a very rich source of understanding the life of the Prophet (pbuh) and his way of living (Sira) and the history of Islam and the Qur’an. Hadith is also a good facilitator to study the Qur’an and the established Sunnah although understanding these two sources is not depending on Hadith.
Please see the following related writings for more details:
-----------------------
Related Topics:
- Sunnah vs. Hadith (Follow Up 1: Imitating the Prophet - pbuh)
- Sunnah vs. Hadith (Follow Up 2: Criteria for Accepting a Hadith)
- Sunnah vs. Hadith (Follow Up 3: Definition of Established Sunnah)
- Sunnah vs. Hadith (Follow Up 4: Beard)
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February 2013
