We hear from some preachers that some of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are forms and methods. Who was the first to say this, and what is the scientific meaning of that?

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : We hear from some preachers that he describes some of the Sunnahs of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as forms and methods. Who was the first to reveal this distinction and this classification in the Sunnah, and what is the scientific response to that? May Allah reward you with the best reward.

The Shaykh : As for who first coined this term, I have no knowledge of it. All I know is that it is a term unique to the Shafi'is, unlike the followers of the other schools of jurisprudence. As for the response to this term, I am not one of those who rush to discuss a term, whether it is this one or another, until we know its intent and aim. If the intent contradicts a legal reality, then I would be eager to respond to it and expose its flaws and defects. But if it does not contain such a contradiction, then we say here that every group may agree on whatever term they wish. There are many terms that were not known in the early Salafi eras and then appeared. I repeat: there is no dispute over any term that has emerged, as long as it does not contradict the Shari'ah. We know, for example, that all the jurists agreed on dividing the legal rulings into five categories. This term was not known in ancient times. Let us now stop at one of these five categories, which is the Sunnah. The Sunnah in terminology is not the Sunnah in the Shari'ah. And I repeat: there is no dispute over terminology, as long as the intent of the term is not to strike at the legal Sunnah or oppose it or the like, but rather to clarify a legal reality. I say: the Sunnah in the terminology of the jurists is different from it in the terminology of the Shari'ah. In the terminology of the jurists, as you all know, they mean what is not an obligatory duty. Is there a worship in the Shari'ah that is not an obligation? The answer is yes. So there is no harm in such a term if it is intended to mean what is not obligatory. But if it is intended to mean what is established in the Shari'ah as an obligation, and they want to say that it is not an obligation, then here we would correct them in applying this term to what is established in the Shari'ah as an obligation. But if they apply it, and this is the common usage, to what is not obligatory, then there is no dispute over the term. This Sunnah, by the definition agreed upon by the jurists, is called voluntary worship in the language of the Shari'ah. Voluntary worship. And without doubt, if it were up to me and I could change the terms and concepts after these long centuries, I would prefer that we place "voluntary worship" in place of "Sunnah." And that is for two reasons. The first reason is that this term, "voluntary worship," is the one that was known in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is the one he approved when he heard it from a questioner.The questioner : That is the man who asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about what Allah had made obligatory for him, and he said to him: . So, since the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke to people in their language, and among their language was naming what is not obligatory as "voluntary worship," therefore, when thatThe questioner : questioner, to whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that Allah had made obligatory upon him five prayers every day, said: "Is there anything else upon me besides them?" He said: . He did not say to him anything except: "Unless you do voluntary worship." So there is no doubt that the expression of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is better, more appropriate, more correct, and more precise than any other expression. For this reason, and for what will follow, which is the second reason, I said: if I had any say in the matter, I would place the word "voluntary worship" as a substitute for "Sunnah." But changing the term that has become customary among people, and which they know of nothing else, is a war with no benefit. And so we accept this term, i.e., applying "Sunnah" to the worship that is not an obligation. As for the second reason, it is what I pointed out at the beginning of my answer, that the term in the Shari'ah for this word "Sunnah" does not mean voluntary worship, but rather it means the Shari'ah in its entirety, with its obligations, its Sunnahs, its etiquettes, its morals, and its transactions. The entire Shari'ah...