The Importance of Sunnah

All throughout their life, the average Muslim hears how important it is to follow the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wassalam. We know the various benefits of doing so and we know following the sunnah is what Allah subhana wa ta'ala has commanded us to do. This past fall, I took part in a class offered by SunniPath that focused on the essentials of Islamic worship: how to pray, how to fast, how to pay zakat, etc. In one of his lectures, the instructor, Sheikh Sohail Hanif, presented the importance of the sunnah in an interesting way. That’s what I would like to share with you today.

Before I begin, I must first ask a question: what is the most important thing in your life? What is the single thing most precious to you? What is the one thing that you could never, ever give up?

If you’re a practicing Muslim I can guess the answer would be your religion, your deen, your iman. In truth, that should be the only answer. With this faith, everything else in life becomes bearable. But without out, nothing in this world would be of any value and in the next life our faith alone is what will guide us to our eternal abodes. A lack of iman in the heart means only one thing: the Hellfire. May Allah protect us all from the Fire and grant us all Paradise!

As with anything of value, there is someone out to steal that faith from us. Shaitan, may Allah curse him, knows there is nothing more valuable than iman. His tricks and whispers are all done in the attempt to separate us from our iman. He wants to remove the iman from our hearts and fill them with disbelief.

Thus, we must protect our iman from the wiles of Shaitan. But how? What can a Muslim do to hold on to their faith?

Allah subhana wa ta'ala in His mercy and kindness gave us a protective sphere of sorts to surround our iman and protect our faith. This protective sphere consists of what Allah has made obligatory for us, such as fasting during Ramadan or praying five times a day. If a Muslim is doing everything which is obligatory, then their faith is much more stable than a Muslim who does not do that which is obligatory. Hence the second most precious thing in the life of a Muslim should be what Allah subhana wa ta'ala has made obligatory upon us.

So what is Shaitan going to do now with this protective sphere? Just as he does with iman, he will try to take the obligatory away as well. He will bombard us with his tricks and whispers. He will do so in the hope of breaking a whole in our fardh, thus granting him access to the iman within.

We find ourselves in the same boat as before. We must protect our fardh from Shaitan. But how can we do that? What can a Muslim do to persevere in the obligatory?

Again, in His infinite wisdom and compassion, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us another shield for our use against the evil of Shaitan. This protective sphere is the sunnah of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wassalam. This is the recommended prayers, the sunnahs of ablution, the sunnahs of fasting, and so on. This is what the Prophet salallahu alayhi wassalam brought to us and taught us. This is what protects the fardh and as a result the iman. Therefore the third most precious thing in the life of a Muslim should be the sunnah.

With the addition of the sunnah, there are now two layers of protection surrounding the faith. When mixed with the adab, or proprieties of the deen, it becomes near impossible for Shaitan to sway us and thus find his way to the iman within. If a Muslim remembers his Lord always, will he forget the sunnah? If he performs the sunnah always, will he forget the obligatory? If he remembers the fardh always, will his iman be in danger?

Therefore, we must keep in mind that nothing the Prophet salallahu alayhi wassalam brought to us was unimportant. Nothing was insignificant. Everything he brought has worth. Everything has guidance in it. Everything has a light. Only those who adhere to it faithfully, seeking Allah’s pleasure, will experience that light.

May Allah protect the Ummah and keep us on the straight path!