The Sunnah -renew your efforts
Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] predicted about the later times – time such as the age wherein we find ourselves – that holding onto the Deen would be like holding a burning coal in one’s hand. This is what the upholders of the Sunnah – especially those who after realisation turn from the error of modernism towards the Light of the Sunnah – are experiencing today. From all sides they are confronted by the Satanic onslaught of forces aligned against the Sunnah of Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] either due to misunderstanding, inadequate Islamic knowledge, un-Islamic upbringing, inferiority complex or the impact of material sciences with their roots anchored in atheistic theories and doctrines or scepticism.
In such barren grounds, such surrounding of hostility, and unfriendliness towards the beloved and sacred practices of our beloved Nabi [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] it becomes of fundamental importance for us to renew doubly our efforts in the holy endervour to plant the seds of the forgotten, trampled upon and murdered Sunnah practices of Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] so that these noble institutions of piety may once again flourish with strength and glitter in the generations to come. In raising this Torch of the Sunnah, the upholders of the Deen should take reassurance and hope from the declaration of Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam], viz.
‘He who clings to my Sunnah when my Ummah is corrupt, will receive the Reward of a hundred martyrs.’
Today, in these times of religious turmoil and anti-Sunnahism, all lovers of the Sunnah have to don the Mantle of Jihaad against the onslaughts of the irreligious. And, the best and the strongest form of Jihaad, in the struggle to revive and preserve the Sunnah of Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] is to cloak ourselves with the practices of the Sunnah. It devolves upon us to give practical expression to these Sunnahs, no matter how ‘little’ or how ‘insignificant’ they may seem to the man drowned in the deception of this worldly life.
Detestation of the Sunnah, rejection of the Sunnah, mocking at the Sunnah is indeed a heinous crime committed against our beloved Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam]. Ridiculing a practice, a habit, an inclination or a desire of Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] is viewed by the Shari’ah in a most serious light. Such mocking is tantamount to to commission of Kufr regardless of the status or category such a ‘small’ Sunnah may be occupying in Fiqh. Thus if a practice is classified in Fiqh as ‘Mustahabb’, it does not follow that it is insignificant, that it is a ‘small’ practice which could be discarded at whim and fancy. The Imaam of a Mu’min – the love of a Mu’min for Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] demands that he assign that ‘little’ practice – that ‘insignificant’ practice of Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] its due position of honour and reverence.
Laxity in adherence to the Sunnah should be sincerely regretted and du’aa should be made for ‘Tawfeeq’ to practise the beloved Sunnats of Muhammad [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam]. Those who mock at the Sunnah practices should in fact be shuddering at the consequences which are most certainly to ensue in the wake of such blasphemous ridicule. They must fear, for on the day of Qiyaamat they will be deprived of the Shafaat (intercession) of Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam]. May Allah save us from this destructive calamity.
There can be absolutely no Taqwaa – no piety without strict adherence to all aspects of the Sunnah – Sunnah in business, Sunnah in social life, Sunnah in political life, Sunnah in way of dress, Sunnah in way of eating, Sunnah in appearance, Sunnah in all aspects of our daily life, Obedience to the Sunnah is an absolute requisite for the development of Taqwaa. There can never be progressive intelligence in a Mu’min if he shuns the Sunnah, if he ridicules the Sunnah, if he mocks at the Sunnah and gives preference to the etiquettes the Sunnah, if he mocks at the Sunnah and gives preference to the etiquettes and the norms of the Kuffaar. The correct understanding of the meaning of the Sunnah is to be adequately gleaned from the following remark of Sayyiduna Huzayfa [radhiallaahu anhu] – an eminent Sahaaba:
‘Shall I leave the Sunnah of my beloved for these ignoramuses?’
This remark was stated by this great Sahaabi on the occasuion when someone suggested to him to adopt the eating custom (‘the table manners’) of the Christians in order to appease them. This incident occured when a group of Sahaaba were invited by the Christian kind.
But, today, Muslims have shunned the Sunnats of their beloved Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam] in deference to the desires and customs of the Kuffaar.
And, Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam], said, ‘Whoever imitates a people becomes one of them.’
May Allah Ta’ala make us among those who seek to imitate the sacred life and example of Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasalllam], Aameen