Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahiim.

Linguistically the word, Sunnah means tradition good or bad. In the language of 'Usulists' (theologians) it means the sayings, acts, and statements of Rasullullah (saw), denoting legal rulings. Sunnah therefore indicates the actions, practices, sayings, and approvals of the the Prophet (saw), silent or otherwise.

Literally 'Hadith', means news, Al-Athar and Al-Khabar might well be used for sunnah. But in the view of some contemporaries Hadith is more comprehensive that Sunnah. To their mind Hadith comprises all that is reported of the Prophet's (saw) act (Record of Prophet's sayings, practices and approvals, etc.) regardless of whether they constituted a mode of action or otherwise, while Sunnah is used only to denote acts which entailed established rules of behaviour in the early years of the Prophet's (saw) mission.

As for "Al-Khabar", it is used by contemporaries to denote what is reported of sayings of the Prophet (saw), his companions and his followers. It is regarded by the majority of scholars synonymous with reports.

Al-Quran & As-Sunnah are the main sources for the establishment and clarification of Islamic rulings, to which all other sources are subsidiaries. Al-Quran is the first source and the structure on which the Sunnah is based and does not deviate form it. The Sunnah served to interpret and explain the Quran as in the case of Sholat, Zakat, Pilgrimage, etc, which the dealt with only in general terms, and had to be set out in detail through the Prophet's (saw) tradition, both verbal and practical.

Sunnah, therefore, explains and serves as practical demonstration of the Holy Quran, its basic principles , general rules and objectives.

The companions of the Prophet (saw) after his death are reported to have consulted the Holy Quran when a case was referred to them for advice. They always gave first place to the Holy Quran. In the absence of relevant Quranic ruling they considered Sunnah as a main source to find an answer of the problem. Even if in Sunnah they did not find an answer then they drow their own conclusions.

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