Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)
كتاب السنة
Chapter 1: Explanation of the Sunnah
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The Jews were split up into seventy-one or seventy-two sects; and the Christians were split up into seventy one or seventy-two sects; and my community will be split up into seventy-three sects.
Ibn Yahya and `Amr added in their version : “ There will appear among my community people who will be dominated by desires like rabies which penetrates its patient”, `Amr’s version has: “penetrates its patient. There remains no vein and no joint but it penetrates it.”
Chapter 2: Prohibition Of Controversy And Of Following The Allergorical Verses In the Qur'an
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited this verse: “He it is who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental . . . .” Up to “men of understanding”. She said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said: When you see those people who follow that which is allegorical in the Quran, those are the people whom Allah has named (in the Quran). So avoid them.
Chapter 3: Keeping Away From Heretics And Hating Them
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The best of the actions is to love for the sake of Allah and to hate for the sake of Allah.
I heard Ka`b b. Malik - the transmitter Ibn al-Sarh then narrated the story of his remaining behind from the Prophet (ﷺ) during the campaign of Tabuk - say: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade the Muslims to speak to any of us three. When (in this state) abundant time passed on me, I ascended the wall of the garden of Abu Qatadah who was my cousin. I saluted him, but, I swear by Allah, he did not return salute to me. He then narrated the story of the revelation of the Qur’anic verses relating to his repentance.
Chapter 4: The Abandonment Of Saluting The Heretics
I came to my family when my hands had cracks. They dyed me with saffron. I then went to Prophet (ﷺ) and saluted him, but he did not return me salutation. He said: Go and wash it away from you.
The camel of Safiyyah daughter of Huyayy was fatigued, and Zainab had a surplus mount. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to Zainab : Give her the camel. She said: Should I give to that Jewess? Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) became angry and kept away from her during Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram, and a part of Safar.
Chapter 5: Prohibition Of Controversy About The Qur'an
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Controverting about the Qur'an is disbelief.
Chapter 6: Adherence To The Sunnah
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Beware! I have been given the Qur'an and something like it, yet the time is coming when a man replete on his couch will say: Keep to the Qur'an; what you find in it to be permissible treat as permissible, and what you find in it to be prohibited treat as prohibited. Beware! The domestic ass, beasts of prey with fangs, a find belonging to confederate, unless its owner does not want it, are not permissible to you If anyone comes to some people, they must entertain him, but if they do not, he has a right to mulct them to an amount equivalent to his entertainment.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Let me not find one of you reclining on his couch when he hears something regarding me which I have commanded or forbidden and saying: We do not know. What we found in Allah's Book we have followed.
If any one introduces into this affair of ours anything which does not belong to it, it is rejected. Ibn `Isa said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone practices any action in a way other than our practice, it is rejected.
AbdurRahman ibn Amr as-Sulami and Hujr ibn Hujr said: We came to Irbad ibn Sariyah who was among those about whom the following verse was revealed: "Nor (is there blame) on those who come to thee to be provided with mounts, and when thou saidst: "I can find no mounts for you."
We greeted him and said: We have come to see you to give healing and obtain benefit from you.
Al-Irbad said: One day the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led us in prayer, then faced us and gave us a lengthy exhortation at which the eyes shed tears and the hearts were afraid.
A man said: Messenger of Allah! It seems as if it were a farewell exhortation, so what injunction do you give us?
He then said: I enjoin you to fear Allah, and to hear and obey even if it be an Abyssinian slave, 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. Hold to it and stick fast to it. Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.
"Beware! The extremists perished," saying it three times.
Chapter 7: Adherence To The Sunnah
If anyone summons other to follow right guidance, his reward will be equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without their rewards being diminished in any respect on that account; and if anyone summons others to follow error the sin of which sins being diminished in any respect on that account.
The Muslim who offends most against the Muslims is he who enquires about something which has not been forbidden to men, and it is declared forbidden because of his enquiry.
Abu Dawud said: In this tradition Ma’mar on the authority of al-Zuhrl said: The words “wa la yun iyannaka” instead of “wa la yuthniyannaka,” with the same meaning: “it may not distract you” salih b. Kaisan on the authority of al-Zurhrl said in this tradition the words “al-mushtaharat” (well-know things). He also said the word “La yuthniyannaka” as ‘Uqail mentioned. Ibn ishaq, on the authority of al-Zuhri, said: Yes, if you are doubtful about the speech of a scholar until you say: WHAT did he mean by this word?
A man wrote to 'Umar b. 'Abd al-Aziz asking him about Divine decree. He wrote to him: To begin with, I enjoin upon you to fear Allah, to be moderate in (obeying) His Command, to follow the sunnah (practice) of His Prophet (ﷺ) and to abandon the novelties which the innovators introduced after his Sunnah has been established and they were saved from its trouble (i.e. novelty or innovation) ; so stick to Sunnah, for it is for you, if Allah chooses, a protection ; then you should know that any innovation which the people introduced was refuted long before it on the basis of some authority or there was some lesson in it, for the Sunnah was introduced by the people who were conscious of the error, slip, foolishness, and extremism in case of (the sunnah) was opposed. So accept for yourself what the people (in the past) had accepted for themselves, for they had complete knowledge of whatever they were informed, and by penetrating insight they forbade (to do prohibited acts); they had more strength (than us) to disclose the matters (of religion), and they were far better (than us) by virtue of their merits. If right guidance is what you are following, then you outstriped them to it. And if you say whatever the novelty occurred after them was introduced by those who followed the way other then theirs and disliked them. It is they who actually outstripped, and talked about it sufficiently, and gave a satisfactory explanation for it. Below them there is no place for exhaustiveness, and above them there is no place for elaborating things. Some people shortened the matter more than they had done, and thus they turned away (from them), and some people raised the matter more than they had done, and thus they exaggerated. They were on right guidance between that. You have written (to me) asking about confession of Divine decree, you have indeed approached a person who is well informed of it, with the will of Allah. I know what whatever novelty people have brought in, and whatever innovation people have introduced are not more manifest and more established than confession of Divine decree. The ignorant people (i.e. the Arabs before Islam) in pre-Islamic times have mentioned it ; they talked about it in their speeches and in their poetry. They would console themselves for what they lost, and Islam then strengthened it (i.e. belief in Divine decree). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not mention it in one or two traditions, but the Muslims heard it from him, and they talked of it from him, and they talked of it during his lifetime and after his death. They did so out of belief and submission to their Lord and thinking themselves weak. There is nothing which is not surrounded by His knowledge, and not counted by His register and not destined by His decree. Despite that, it has been strongly mentioned in His Book: from it they have derived it, and from it they have and so ? they also read in it what you read, and they knew its interpretation of which you are ignorant. After that they said: All this is by writing and decreeing. Distress has been written down, and what has been destined will occur ; what Allah wills will surely happen, and what He does not will will not happen. We have no power to harm or benefit ourselves. Then after that they showed interest (in good works) and were afraid (of bad deeds).
Ibn ‘Umar had a friend from the people of Syria who used to correspond with him. ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar wrote to him: I have been informed that you have talked something about Divine decree. You should write it to me, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Among my community there will be people who will falsify Divine decree.
I said to al-Hasan: Abu Sa’id, tell me about Adam. Was he created for the heaven or the earth? He said: No, for the earth. I said: It was unavoidable for him. I said: Tell me about the following verse of the Quran: ”can lead (any) into temptation concerning Allah, except such as are (themselves) going to blazing fire.” He said: The devils do not lead anyone astray by their temptation except the one whom Allah destined to go to Hell.