Sunna:

Just as Quran is the express revelation through the prophet, the Sunna are the implied revelation in the precepts and sayings and actions of the prophet, not written down in his lifetime, but preserved by traditions and handed down by authorised agents. The word Sunna basically means ‘path’.

After demise of Prophet Muhammad, the Muslims were divided into two sects on the issue of a worthy and competent successor; first being Shia Muslims and Second being Sunni Muslims. One believed that the one elected by the people as the Caliph would be the successor of the prophet while other sect believed that only the descendents or relatives of the prophet could be worthy successors.

Sunna is followed by the Shia Muslims in their day to day lives to comprehend answers to questions that they face. Sunna is believed to be the customs and traditions followed by the actions and assertions. According to the Quran, the prophet preached that his traditions and his actions should be followed even after his death and therefore the actions of his daughter and that of the Shia Imams after the prophet are also counted in Sunna.

Sunna is second in priority after the Quran. Therefore, whenever there is a situation where the Holy Quran is silent and the people are unable to make a decision, Sunna i.e. the actions of the prophet are followed.  It means Sunna teaches people what prophet would have done himself if he was in a situation like this. Since people believe that prophets actions are motivated by Allah’s grace and his actions are those of Allah himself, adherence to Sunna became popular. The authority of the Sunna is derived from the text of the Quran. Because the circumstances of each revelation were thought necessary to correct interpretation, it was imperative to gather as many traditions as possible about the actions of the prophet to fully understand the Quran.

The Sunna clarifies the ambiguities of the Quran. The Quranic injunction is sometimes implicit; the Sunna makes it explicit by providing essential ingredients and details. The details of the acts of prayer, fasting, alm-giving and pilgrimage were all illustrated by the Sunna of the prophet. Again, it was established by the Sunna that a killer cannot inherit from the property of his victim. Thus, for answers to many problems to which the Quran offers no solution jurists turn to second source of Islamic law. Thus Sunna is the second most important ancient source of the Muslim law from which decisions are made in the personal matters of Muslims.

Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org

Classification of Sunna:

i) Sunnat-ul-Qual: - All words, counsel and precepts of the prophet

ii) Sunnat-ul-Fail: - All actions, words and daily practice of the prophet

iii) Sunnat-ul-Taqrir: - Silence of the prophet implying a tacit approval of what was done in his presence.

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