Is everything the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did binding on Muslims?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Is every action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) binding on Muslims to follow?
Answer:
No, actions are not binding. His deeds (peace and blessings be upon him) indicate the recommended practice (sunnah), except for what comes with a command, or what serves as an explanation of an obligation. A command is originally for obligation, or it is an explanation of an obligation, such as explaining the establishment of prayer or the giving of alms (zakah). In that case, it is obligatory because it is an explanation of what Allah has made obligatory.
As for anything else, such as eating with three fingers, or sitting in a contracted position in the final tashahhud, or sitting in a spread-eagle position in the first tashahhud, all of these are recommended. There is no command in them indicating obligation; rather, they fall under the category of recommended acts.
Is every action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) binding on Muslims to follow?
Answer:
No, actions are not binding. His deeds (peace and blessings be upon him) indicate the recommended practice (sunnah), except for what comes with a command, or what serves as an explanation of an obligation. A command is originally for obligation, or it is an explanation of an obligation, such as explaining the establishment of prayer or the giving of alms (zakah). In that case, it is obligatory because it is an explanation of what Allah has made obligatory.
As for anything else, such as eating with three fingers, or sitting in a contracted position in the final tashahhud, or sitting in a spread-eagle position in the first tashahhud, all of these are recommended. There is no command in them indicating obligation; rather, they fall under the category of recommended acts.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.