The practices and traditions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet of Islam are known as “Sunnah” and his sayings are “Hadiths”. These are guides for Muslims in the understanding of the Quran and the practice of their religion. The Quran itself asserts that God has chosen in the Prophet an example for Muslims to follow. Besides this emulation of the Prophet in all aspects of life and thought, his sayings were assembled by various scholars. Finally they were codified in books of Hadith where the authentic were separated from the spurious.
The Sunnah has always remained, after the Quran, the second source of everything Islamic.
"Those (Prophets and Messengers) are they whom Allaah has guided. So follow their guidance." Qur'aan (An-An’am) 6:90
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad) you have a good example to follow." Qur'aan (Al-Ahzab) 33:21
"Say (O Muhammad to mankind): 'If you (really) love Allaah then follow me (i.e. Qura'an and Sunnah), Allaah will love you...'" Qur'aan (Al-i ‘Imran) 3: 31
"He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad), has indeed obeyed Allaah, but he who turns away, then We have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a watcher over them."Qur'aan (An-Nisaa) 4:80
It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. Qur’aan (Al-Ahzab) 33:36
And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah, legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.(among the sects) beware; lest some Fitnah befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them. Qur’aan (An-Nur) 24:6
"And follow the path of him who turns to Me in repentance and obedience." Qur'aan (Luqman) 31:15)
"Then We have put you (O Muhammad) on a plain way of (Our) commandment (like the one which We commanded Our Messenger before you (i.e. legal ways and Laws of Tawheed). So follow you that (Islamic Monotheism & its Laws), and follow not the desires of those who know not." Qur'aan (Al-Jathiya) 45:18
"So set you (O Muhammad) your face towards the religion of pure Islamic Monotheism (Hanifan): i.e. to worship none but Allaah Alone. This is the Fitrah with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in "Khalqi-illah:, i.e. the religion of Allaah and all that is related to it as explained by Qur'an and Sunnah." Qur'aan (Ar-Ruum) 30:30
"You (true believers in Islamic Monotheism and real followers of the Prophet and his Sunnah) are the best of the peoples ever raised up for mankind." Qur'aan (Al-i ‘Imran) 3: 110
"Has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah-Tawheed) to be affected by Allaah's reminder of the Truth, lest they become as those who received the Scripture (The Torah and The Gospel) before (i.e. Jesus) and the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened? And many of them Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allaah)." Qur'aan (Al-Hadid) 57:16
O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him, and speak (always) the Truth, He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great success. Qur'aan (Al-Ahzab) 33:70-71
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad) you have a good example to follow..." Qur'aan (Al-Ahzab) 33: 21
"And follow the path of him who turns to Me in repentance and obedience." Qur'aan (Luqman) 31:15
"And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error." Qur'aan (Al-Ahzab) 33:36
"And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, then verily, for him is the Fire of Hell, he shall dwell therein forever." Qur'aan (Al-Jinn) 72:23
"And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)! and fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is severe in punishment." Qur'aan (Al-Hasyr) 59:7
{..Neither wealth nor sons will avail, except him who brings to Allaah a clean heart (from Shirk and hypocrisy.} Qur'aan (Ash-Shura) 42:88-89
The Prophet said:
"The best people are the people of my generation, and then those who will follow (come after) them, and then those who come after the latter." (Collected by Al-Bukhaaree in his Saheeh, V.8, hadeeth # 652, Muslim in his Saheeh, V.4, hadeeth # 6150-6159, Ahmad, and at-Tirmithee.)
He also said:
"Keep to my Sunnah and that of al-Khulafaa' ar-Rashidun (rightly-guided Caliphs). Bite on it with your molars. And beware of innovations (in religion), for every invented matter (in religion) is a Bid'ah (An authentic hadeeth related by Abu Daawood, Ahmad, Ibn Maajah, Al-Haakim, and at-Tirmidhee.
Sheikh Nassir-ud-Deen Al-Albaanee further confirmed its authenticity.)-[and every Bid'ah is a Dalalah and every Dalalah is in Hell-Fire.]" (From a hadeeth by Jaabir τ collected by Muslim, An-Nasaa’ee and others.)
The most truthful speech is that of Allaah's Book (The Qur'aan) and that the best of guidance is that of Muhammad ρ. The worst of evils are innovations (foreign to the true teachings of Islaam), and every innovated matter (in religion) is a Bid'ah, and every Bid'ah is a Dalalah (an astray path, misguidance), and every Dalalah is in the Fire of Hell.
It means, “set your face towards Islam and continue on this Deen which Allaah ordained for you as part of the Haneefiyah (The belief in the Oneness and Uniqueness of Allaah) way of Ibraheem (Abraham). In addition, you are holding to your sound Fitrah with which Allaah has created mankind; It is the natural inclination to know about Allaah and to worship Him alone, in addition to other natural associated characteristics.”
The Mother of the Believers, 'Aisha رضي الله عنها , said that the Prophet said:
"Ten are the acts of Fitrah: clipping the mustache, letting the beard grow, using as-Siwaak26, snuffing up water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubes, and cleaning one's private parts with water. The narrator said, 'I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth.'" (Collected by Muslim in his Saheeh, V.1, hadeeth # 502.)
The Prophet ρ said: "And whatsoever I forbade for you abstain (from it)!" (Collected by Muslim in his Saheeh, V.4, hadeeth # 5818-5820, and by Al-Bukhaaree, Saheeh Al- Bukhaaree, V.9, hadeeth # 391.)
"Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me (i.e. not one of
my followers)." (An agreed upon hadeeth collected by Muslim, Saheeh Muslim,V.2, hadeeth # 3236 and Al-Bukhaaree, Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree, V.7, hadeeth # 1, Ahmad and An-Nassaa’ee.)
"He who does an act which our matter (i.e. our religion) is not in
agreement with, will have it rejected." (Collected by Muslim, Saheeh Muslim, V.3, hadeeth # 4266.)
"Whoever follows other than our Sunnah is not of us." (The author said it is a good hadeeth. Also mentioned as a good hadeeth in Saheeh Al-Jaami' under # 5439.)
"Whoever acts according to a Sunnah (way) other than our Sunnah is not from us." (A good hadeeth as refered to by the author. See F.N. # 42)
"Whoever takes the similitude (in manners) of a certain people becomes one of them." (An authentic hadeeth collected by Abu-Dawood, Ahmad, and others.)
Al-Hassan (i.e. Al-Basri) said: "Rarely a man imitates a certain people except that he would follow them (i.e. in this life and in the Hereafter)".
“Whoever takes the simlitude of certain people becomes one of them” (An authentic hadeeth collected by Abee Dawood, Ahmad, and others. See As-Silsilah As-Saheehah V.1, 676)
“O you who believe! Enter perfectly in Islaam and follow not the footsteps of Satan.” Qur’aan (Al-Baqarah) 2:208
Ibn Katheer said in his Tafseer (exegesis) of this Aayah: “Enter in Islaam and obey all of its rules and regulations”. Al-Alloosee, may Allaah’s Mercy be upon him, commented about the same Aayah, saying: “Entirely enter in Islaam and do not let anything of your outward and inward natures except that Islaam contains them leaving no room for anything else.” (Rooh Al-Ma’aanee, V. 1. The Tafseer of Aayah # 208 of Soorat Al-Baqara. Published in 1408/1987 by Daar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon.)
“So when they turned away (from the Path of Allaah), Allaah turned away their hearts (from the right Path).” Qur’aan (As-Saff) 61:5
Sahl bin Sa’d narrated that the Prophet said:
"Beware of the small sins! The simlitude of the small sins is like a group of people who came down to the depth of a valley; one (person amongst them) brought a stick (of wood), and another
(person) brought another stick (etc.), until they collected what was enough to get their bread baked. It is certain that when the small sins take hold of their possessor they destroy him (her).” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad and others. See As-Silsilah As-Saheehah, V. 1, hadeeth # 389.)
“Those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our Paths." Qur’aan (Al-Ankabut) 29:69
