“What land would shelter me, if I narrate a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and say something contrary!” These are the words of Imam Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i, who, in many instances, expressed his firm adherence to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

Sirah and history texts have recorded some of these instances. For example, al-Rabi’ ibn Sulayman narrated that a man came to Imam al-Shafi’i and asked him to narrate a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). When the Imam did so, the man asked him about his opinion on this hadith. Al-Shafi’i was alarmed and replied, “What land would shelter me, if I narrate a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and say something contrary!” He then looked at the people and said, “Bear witness that if a hadith is authentic to me and I do not act upon it, then my mind has gone astray.”

Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Khattabi narrated that he heard al-Humaydi say, “Al-Shafi’i mentioned a hadith, and someone asked him, 'Do you follow this, O Abu Abdullah?' Al-Shafi’i replied, 'Am I in a church, or do you see a belt (zunnar) around my waist?'—indicating the attire of Jews. He then said, 'Yes, I follow it, and whenever I hear a hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him), I act upon it.'”

Al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman also narrated that he heard al-Shafi’i say, “If you find in my book something contrary to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), then follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and leave what I said.”

Al-Fadl ibn Ziyad narrated that he heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal say, “I have never seen anyone more committed to the hadith than al-Shafi’i.” Al-Hasan ibn Sa'id said, “I heard al-Za'farani narrate from al-Shafi’i that he said, 'If you find a Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), then follow it and do not pay attention to anyone's opinion.'” ⁽¹⁾

Adherence to the Sunnah as a Response to Allah’s Command and as a Means to His Love

These statements affirm that Imam al-Shafi’i, one of the luminaries of Islamic civilization, strongly advocated for adherence to the noble Sunnah. But why did Islamic civilization place such importance on adhering to the Sunnah?

Firstly: Obedience to Allah’s Command and Achieving His Love:

Allah commanded in the Qur'an to obey His Messenger (peace be upon him), linking it with obedience to Him, saying: “And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy.” (Aal Imran: 132) He further commanded obedience to His Messenger (peace be upon him), saying: “And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from.” (Al-Hashr: 7) Allah also clarified that obedience to the Messenger is indeed obedience to Allah the Almighty: “He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah.” (An-Nisa’: 80) This emphasizes that adherence to the Sunnah is a response to Allah’s command and a means to His love.

Secondly: Protection from Misguidance:

Al-Hakim narrated in his Al-Mustadrak from Abdullah ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said during his Farewell Hajj sermon, “O people! Indeed, I have left among you, that which if you hold on to it, you shall not go astray: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.” Ibn Abi Asim narrated in his book Al-Sunnah from Al-Irbad ibn Sariyah that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say, “I am leaving you upon a (path of) brightness whose night is like its day. No one will deviate from it but one who is doomed.”

Al-Irbad said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) delivered to us a sermon that caused our hearts to tremble and our eyes to shed tears. We said, 'O Messenger of Allah, it is as if this is a farewell sermon; what do you advise us?' He said, 'I enjoin you to hear and obey, for those of you who live after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs after me. Hold to it and stick fast to it.'” This emphasizes the salvation of those who adhere to the noble Sunnah.

Whoever holds firmly to the Sunnah has committed to the path of uprightness, salvation, and success.

In this regard, Al-Zuhri said: “Those who have passed from among our scholars used to say: Adherence to the Sunnah is salvation.” Ahmad ibn Abi Al-Hawari said: “Whoever performs an action without following the Sunnah, his action is null and void.” ⁽³⁾ It is enough to show the misguidance of the one who abandons the Sunnah, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated: “He who turns away from my Sunnah, he has no relation with Me.” ⁽⁴⁾

Thirdly: Attaining Uprightness:

Those who adhere to the Sunnah have committed themselves to the path of uprightness. Al-Awza’i said, “Be patient with the Sunnah, for faith is not complete without words, words are not complete without actions, and neither faith, words, nor actions are complete without intention and adherence to the Sunnah.” ⁽⁵⁾ Ibn Abdul-Barr said, “The proof in case of dispute is the Sunnah; whoever adheres to it has succeeded, and whoever practices it has been saved.” ⁽⁶⁾

Fourthly: Gaining Reward and Blessings:

Abu Hurairah narrated that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, “All my followers will enter Paradise except those who refuse.” They said, “O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Who will refuse?” He said, “Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses (to enter it).” ⁽⁷⁾ Ibn Abdul-Barr narrated from “Sunan Abi Dawud,” that Abu Dawud was on a ship when he heard someone sneezing on the shore and praising Allah. He hired a boat for a dirham to reach the man and say to him, “May Allah have mercy on you,” and then returned. When asked about this, he said, “Perhaps he is someone whose prayers are answered.” When they slept, they heard a voice saying, “O people of the ship, Abu Dawud has bought Jannah from Allah for a dirham.” ⁽⁸⁾ This demonstrates his dedication and spending money to adhere to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in responding to someone who sneezes.

Fifthly: Illuminating the Heart with the Light of Knowledge:

Ibn Ata said, “Whoever obliges himself to the manners of the Sunnah, Allah will illuminate his heart with the light of knowledge, and there is no status more honorable than following the beloved Prophet in his commands, actions, and character.” ⁽⁹⁾

Sixthly: Wisdom and Attaining Goodness and Blessings:

Al-Nisaburi said, “Whoever follows the Sunnah in word and deed, is wise.” ⁽¹⁰⁾ Al-Junayd said, “All paths are closed to the creation except for those who follow the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), adhere to his Sunnah, and follow his way, for the paths of goodness are all open to him.”  ⁽¹¹⁾ Ibn Abdul-Barr said, “Blessing and all goodness lie in following the manners of the Messenger of Allah and complying to his commands.” ⁽¹²⁾

Commitment to Learning, Acquiring, Venerating, and Practicing the Sunnah

If Islamic civilization was concerned with preparing preachers to adhere to the Sunnah, what were the most important means by which educators instilled the Sunnah into them?

Firstly: Commitment to Learning and Acquiring the Sunnah:

Imam Malik ibn Anas said, “I have heard that Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib said, 'I would travel nights and days in search of a single hadith.'” ⁽¹³⁾ An example of this is also what was narrated by Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi from 'Ata ibn Abi Rabah: Abu Ayyub al-Ansari traveled to 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir to ask him about a hadith he heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Abu Ayyub lived in Madinah, while 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir lived in Egypt. When he arrived at the home of Muslamah ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari, who was the governor of Egypt at the time, Muslamah came out to meet him and embraced him. Muslamah asked, “What brings you here, O Abu Ayyub?” He replied, “A hadith 'Uqbah heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) regarding the concealment of a believer's faults. Direct me to 'Uqbah so I can hear the hadith from him.”

 Muslamah said, “Yes.” He then took him to 'Uqbah. When 'Uqbah saw Abu Ayyub, he said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say, 'Whoever conceals the faults of a believer, in distress, in this world, Allah would conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection.'” This was the single line for which Abu Ayyub traveled from Madinah to Egypt. The narrator of the hadith said, “Then Abu Ayyub left for his camel, mounted it, and returned to Madinah.” He undertook this long journey to learn the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) despite the distance.

Secondly: Venerating the Hadith of the Prophet When Narrating It:

Imam Malik bin Anas, whenever he sat to narrate hadith, would perform ablution, sit on the edge of his bedding, comb his beard, and sit with dignity and reverence, and then he would narrate. He was asked about this, and he replied: “I like to honor the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and never narrate it except while in a state of purity.” ⁽¹⁴⁾ Al-Mutalib ibn Hanzab entered upon Sa'id bin Al-Musayyib during his illness while he was lying down. He asked him about a hadith, and Sa'id said: “Sit me up.” So they sat him up. He said: “I dislike narrating the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while lying down.” ⁽¹⁵⁾

Thirdly: Practicing the Sunnah:

Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih the hadith of An-Nu'man ibn Salim from 'Amr bin Aws from 'Anbasa bin Abi Sufyan, who said: I heard Umm Habiba say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: “Whoever prays twelve (voluntary) Rak'at in a day and a night, a house will be built for him in Paradise due to them (the Rak'at).” Umm Habiba said: I have abandoned performing them since I heard them from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). 'Anbasa said: I have abandoned performing them since I heard them from Umm Habiba. 'Amr bin Aws said: I have I have abandoned performing them since I heard them from 'Anbasa. And Nu'man bin Salim said: I have abandoned performing them since I heard them from 'Amr bin Aws.

In the Sunnah lies salvation, honor, dignity, clarity, and the detailed explanation of what is in the Quran.

This is a chain of individuals who each affirm that they never abandoned practicing the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, since they first heard it. For instance, Abdulrahman ibn Mahdi said: “I heard Sufyan say: 'No hadith reached me from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, except that I acted upon it, even if just once.'” ⁽¹⁶⁾

In Islamic civilization, the preachers observed the people, and if they noticed any deviation from the Sunnah in their actions, they guided them towards the correct practice. An example of this is narrated by Abdulrahman ibn Harmalah: “Said ibn al-Musayyib saw a man who prayed excessively after the call to the morning prayer (Fajr). He forbade him, saying, 'If any of you is unaware, let him ask. There is no prayer after the call to prayer except the two Rak'ahs of Fajr.' The man left and said, 'O Abu Muhammad, do you fear that Allah will punish me for praying too much?' He replied, 'I fear that Allah will punish you for abandoning the Sunnah.'” ⁽¹⁷⁾

What the Islamic nation is witnessing these days in terms of neglecting adherence to the Sunnah and slacken in practicing it, calls for us to review ourselves and lead our Ummah back to the Sunnah of our Prophet, peace be upon him. In it lies salvation, honor, and dignity, as well as the explanation and detail of what is in the Holy Quran. Moreover, it provides the foundation and implementation of Islamic civilization in its highest forms.

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1. Hilyat al-Awliya’ by Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani (9/107), Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn Asakir (51/386).
2. Reported by Abu Dawud (4607), and Ahmad (17185).
3. Miftah al-Jannah fi al-Ihtijaj bil-Sunnah by Al-Suyuti, p. 53.
4. Reported by Al-Bukhari (5063).
5. Hilyat al-Awliya’ (6/143).
6. Al-Tamhid (22/74).
7. Reported by Al-Bukhari (7280).
8. Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar (10/610).
9. Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, p. 182.
10. Nata'ij al-Afkar al-Qudsiyya fi Sharh al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, p. 227.
11. Hilyat al-Awliya’ (10/257).
12. Al-Tamhid (11/439).
13. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra by Ibn Sa'd (2/291).
14. Tartib al-Madarik wa Taqrib al-Masalik by Al-Qadi ‘Iyad (2/15).
15. Hilyat al-Awliya’ (2/169).
16. Siyar A'lam al-Nubala by Al-Dhahabi (6/629).
17. Al-Faqih wal-Mutafaqqih by Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (1/381).

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