The Importance of the Sunnah Among Muslims.

The Shaykh : On this occasion, I wish to draw your attention to a crucial matter that clarifies what I have stated, namely that the Sunnah is the explanation of the Qur'an, and that turning away from it is a departure from the Qur'an itself. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us in many hadiths that the Muslim community would split into many sects. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): . They asked: "Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: . In another narration, there is what supports and strengthens it; he said: . The hadith of al-'Arba' ibn Sariyah (may Allah be pleased with him) strengthens this other narration. He said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a sermon that made our hearts tremble and our eyes weep. We said: 'Advise us, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: . In the other hadith, there is an addition: . This addition is not in the hadith of al-'Arba' ibn Sariyah. Thus, we find in this hadith the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to hold fast to his Sunnah, and coupled with that is his statement: , just as he said in the previous hadith: . In the two hadiths mentioned, there is strong evidence that Muslims in every time and place are not permitted to sever their scholarly connection with the righteous Salaf, and at their head are the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It is not permissible for Muslims in any time and place to sever their scholarly connection with the righteous Salaf; for they received the message of Allah through the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) directly to them, with no intermediary between them and him (peace and blessings be upon him). They received the Qur'an in its wording and its meaning, not just in its wording. We must remember this fact, for Allah said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Noble Qur'an: . The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is commanded to convey two things: the conveyance of the wording and the conveyance of the meaning. Indeed, the meaning is the primary intent of the wording. Therefore, many of today's Islamic writers overlook this fact and assume that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only conveyed the wording revealed to him by Allah. In reality, he also conveyed the meaning of the verses that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revealed to him, and this is also part of his duty (peace and blessings be upon him), as indicated by the previous verse . Thus, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) explained to the first Salaf both the wording and the meaning. Just as we received the Qur'anic wording from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through his Companions, and they transmitted it to the Tabi'un, and they to their followers, until it reached us, so too must we receive the explanation that he (peace and blessings be upon him) provided for the Qur'an through the same path by which the Noble Qur'an reached us. This is a fact that a Muslim must be aware of and believe in with devotion and faith, so that he does not go astray to the right or the left, and so that he becomes part of the saved sect whose characteristics the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) described as being upon what the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his Companions were upon. Therefore, it is essential here to know the meaning of the verses that the Messenger (peace be upon him) explained to his Companions. That is the science of hadith. There is no way for anyone to know the explanation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of the Qur'an, which contains the explanation of the entire Shari'ah, except through the path of hadith: the path of the science of hadith, the terminology of hadith, the biographies of the narrators of hadith, and the science of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil. That is the only way for a Muslim to know the explanation of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his interpretation of the Qur'an and the rulings he brought and conveyed to his community, if we understand this fact.