How Can We Address and Counter Misconceptions About the Prophetic Sunna?

Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa

Question

How can we address and counter the misconceptions about the Prophetic Sunna?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.

Common Misconceptions About the Sunna

Misconceptions regarding the Prophetic Sunna are propagated by various groups, including Orientalists, modernists, and other detractors of Islam. Some of the most prevalent claims include:

• Doubts about the authenticity of hadiths, claiming they were lost or subject to distortion, and arguing that the Sunna was not documented until a long time after the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) death. This, they claim, undermines its authority as a source of Islamic legislation and renders it unreliable.
• The alleged contradiction between the Sunna and the Quran.
• The claim that the Sunna is not a divine revelation from Allah (Most High), but rather personal efforts and judgments of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
• The argument of sufficiency with the Quran alone (as advocated by the so-called Quraniyyun, or “Quranists”), claiming that Muslims are not obligated to follow the Sunna and that adherence to the Quran alone is sufficient.
• Rejection of solitary (ahad) hadiths, arguing that they lack certainty and cannot serve as evidence, and limiting reliability only to widely transmitted (mutawatir) narrations.
• Casting doubt on the most authentic collections of hadith, such as Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, by questioning the authenticity of their manuscripts.

This is only a partial list of the many doubts cast upon the Sunna, as the list of misconceptions is too extensive to cover in one response.

Steps to Address Misconceptions

We can combat these misconceptions and clarify the truth by following several steps:

Promote Awareness and Education

The first step is spreading correct knowledge about the Sunna through reliable sources.

This includes consulting reliable sources that trace the history of the Prophetic Sunna from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) to the present day. Recommended readings include:

• “Buhuth fi Tarikh al-Sunna al-Musharrafa” (Researches in the History of the Prophetic Sunna) by Akram Ibn Diya’ al-‘Umri.
• “Al-Hadith wa al-Muhaddithun” (The Hadith and Its Scholars) by Muhammad Abu Zuhu
• “Min al-Nabi ila al-Bukhari (From the Prophet to Bukhari) by Ahmad Sanubar
• “Al-Sulta al-Siyasiyya wa Haraka Riwayat al-Hadith wa Naqdihi (Political Authority and the Transmission and Critique of Hadith) by Ahmad Sanubar

Study the Sciences of Hadith

This branch of knowledge, unique to the Muslim community, outlines the principles for determining the acceptance or rejection of the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) sayings. Through these sciences, one can discern authentic narrations from others. Suggested foundational texts include:

• “‘Ulum al-Hadith” by Ibn Salah.
• “Nuzhat al-Nazar Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikr” by Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani.

These works and similar ones highlight the immense efforts of hadith scholars in compiling, purifying, and differentiating authentic hadiths from weak or fabricated ones.

Additionally, studying works on the science of “al-Jarh wa al-Ta‘dil” (critique and accreditation of narrators) is vital. These works provide precise assessments of each narrator’s reliability and integrity, such as:

• “Al-Jarh wa al-Ta‘dil” by Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi.
• “Tahdhib al-Kamal” by Imam Mizzi.

Engage With Works Defending the Sunna

Such books provide scholarly and methodical responses to many misconceptions. Recommended readings include:

• “Al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya fī Muwajahat Shubuhat al-Istishraq (The Prophetic Sunna in Facing the Misconceptions of Orientalism) by Jundī
• “Al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya wa Makanatuha fi al-Tashri‘ al-Islami (The Prophetic Sunna and Its Role in Islamic Legislation) by Siba‘i
• “Al-Difa‘ ‘an al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya: Shubuhat wa Rudud (Defending the Prophetic Sunna: Misconceptions and Responses) by Zariuh

Exercise Caution in Refuting Critics

I advise you not to attempt refuting misconceptions about the Sunna without thoroughly reading the above-mentioned works or studying under qualified scholars in the field.

Weak or ill-prepared responses can embolden critics to intensify their attacks. Moreover, lacking knowledge in the sciences of hadith can expose one to doubts that they may be unable to dispel, endangering one’s faith and conviction in the Prophetic Sunna.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.

May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.

[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa

Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.

He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.

He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.

Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.