How to Distinguish between Sunnah and Arab Culture

Ash-Shaikh Al-Muhaddith Muhammad Nasirud-Deen Al-Albani (d. 1420 AH)

(رحمه اللّه)

Questioner: May Allah bless you.  What is the criterion according to the Islamic legislation for distinguishing between the Sunnah which is considered custom and the Sunnah which is considered worship?

Shaikh Al-Albani: The criterion requires a level of knowledge as relates to the one who wishes to distinguish between a Sunnah that is worship and a Sunnah that is a custom.  It has been mentioned that there are actions of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam), that came from him and he did them seeking to get closer to Allah the Blessed and Exalted; this category is the Sunnah that is worship.  Its opposite is another category that also mentions actions of the prophet, (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam); and the least we can say is that these actions don’t have the ruling of worship, rather they have the ruling of customs or that the issue returns to the persons desires and they have no connection to worship. This category clearly has no connection to worship therefore it is in the category of customs; and between these two categories are doubtful matters.

If we look at these doubtful matters from a particular angle then the person might lean towards connecting an action to worship and from another angle might lean towards connecting them to a Sunnah that is only a custom; according to the student of knowledge (who is investigating these issues). It is sufficient for the student of knowledge to stop at the second category that is opposite the first category.  For example, the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to have sandals that had two straps, so what appears at first glance is that, if the student of knowledge has sandals with one strap then he is opposing the Sunnah as the Sunnah is to have sandals with two straps!! It appears that this has a connection to worship, but it is only a custom of the Arabs, they used to wear this type of sandal and they didn’t wear the type of footwear known today as ‘shoes’ or what resembles them.

What is left as relates to the student of knowledge is the category that can be linked to the first group or the second group, and this requires knowledge to determine which group it is from either worship or sunnah and with this (in mind) we find the Scholars agreeing upon affairs that are from the Sunnah but differing upon the particulars of it i.e. being either from the Sunnah of custom or from the Sunnah of worship.  An example of this is what is related to the Hajj which we shall begin soon.  It has been related that the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) descended at Al Batha, so some of the companions said, and I think it was Aisha, ‘Staying at Al-Mahassab is not the Sunnah.’, only agreeing that he pitched a tent there and rested, but some of the people who arrive believe that resting at Al Batha is from the completeness of Hajj and here there could be a difference of opinion because this affair requires something extremely clear in order to connect it to the first category or the second category.

Now we shall mention some current examples, because many of the youth, and all praises belong to Allah, shorten their garments not allowing them to flow long with the intent of following the Sunnah. So is this a Sunnah that is custom or a Sunnah that is worship?

If we looked at this action (shortening the garment) of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) separately from some of his statements then perhaps we would waver between connecting this action to the Sunnah that is worship or the Sunnah that is custom. But when the traditions containing the statements of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) came such as the narration where he said, ‘The izaar of the believer is to the midway point of the shin and if it is longer then let it go to the ankles and if it is longer then it is in the fire.’ This (narration) puts and end to the wavering between whether this action is a Sunnah of worship or a Sunnah of custom and it is certain that this is a Sunnah of worship because when he described the method of clothing as it relates to the believer he said it is to the middle of the shin and if it is longer then there is no problem if it goes to the ankle but as for what is longer than that then it is in the fire.

Opposite to this is a Sunnah that has been affirmed for the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) which is him having long hair.  Sometimes his hair would reach his earlobes and if it was longer then it would reach the top of his shoulders. Rather, it has been confirmed that when the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) entered Mecca he had his hair in four braids. So is growing the hair long firstly, and then putting it into braids secondly, a Sunnah of worship or a Sunnah of custom?  The answer as I see it, there is nothing here that calls to, justifies, or can be construed to cause any wavering concerning as to whether this is a Sunnah or custom or worship. Why?  Firstly, because the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was not the one who started this Sunnah, rather this was present before the Messenger was born, not to mention before he became a prophet(salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam)!  This was the custom of the Arabs; they used to grow their hair long. And some of the youth to this day, like the youth in the deserts of Syria that we have witnessed, bunch their hair and put it into braids.  Therefore this is a custom that was not started by the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) rather he just continued upon the customs of the Arabs letting his hair grow and when he entered Mecca he put it into four braids.  There is nothing here that would hurt us if we considered this Sunnah a Sunnah of custom, as opposed to a Sunnah of worship.

Another example: The prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to wear white; is this a Sunnah of custom or a Sunnah of worship?  If his statement had not been narrated, “The best clothes for you are white clothes, therefore dress your living in white clothes and bury your dead in white clothes” we would have said this was his preference as the Messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to love white clothes just as he used to love honey for example and he used to hate lizard meat.  But when his statement came, ‘the best clothes for you are white’, and then he ordered with wearing it, and at the least a command shows that it is recommended, saying dress your living in white clothes and bury your dead in white clothes, it left from being a Sunnah of custom and became a Sunnah of worship.

With this standard and criterion it is obligatory for us to weigh the actions of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam). Therefore what he started having nothing in its context making us believe it is a Sunnah of custom then it is a Sunnah of worship.   As for his actions (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) which are consistent with the customs of the Arabs then these actions are from the Arab customs and it is no problem for the one who does them just as it is no problem for the one who leaves them.   Likewise are his actions (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) that dealt with his disposition or his personal taste which also have no connection to the affairs of worship. As for the aforementioned example, the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to love honey, and it’s possible that we will find some people who hate honey but we can’t say they have opposed the Sunnah!! Eating honey is not worship. Therefore if it is not easy for a person to eat honey or if they have no desire to eat honey then we don’t say they have opposed the Sunnah rather they have opposed the disposition of the Prophet which was that he loved honey.  From a different angle, the Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to hate lizard meat and the Arabs found it to be pleasant, and when it was put on the table of the Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and he was told that it was lizard meat he didn’t touch it.

Once in front of him was one of the famous companions, none other than Khalid ibn Walid and he used to eat it with great desire such that it would cause people to look at him; he would eat and the juices would stream down his beard. So when he saw that his prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was not eating he said, “O Messenger of Allah is this (lizard meat) haram?” because he felt a shock inside of himself, he’s eating ravenously and the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) is not reaching his hand towards the food; so he said, ‘is this haram’.  The prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “No, but this was not in the land of my people so I find that I detest it.”  Therefore we don’t say to the person that loves lizard meat, “you have opposed the Sunnah”, because the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to hate lizard meat and we also don’t say this to the one who does not like honey.  And you will find those who don’t like honey, and I have found that one of my sons does not like honey. I love honey and I love all sweets in general, but one of my sons hates honey; but I don’t say to him, ‘You have opposed the Sunnah’, because this has no connection to worship. And like this, it is incumbent upon us to look at the actions of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam).

Many of the people, especially the students of knowledge, during this time period are heedless of these specifics and some of them go to extremes. So you find some of the youth intending to grow their hair long believing that this is the Sunnah of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam). Yes, I say this is from the actions of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) but there is no proof that it is better. Rather the Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) announced as is found in Sahih Muslim, ‘shave it all or leave it all’.  Therefore if the hair is grown long it is not a Sunnah of worship rather it is only a Sunnah of custom. So if a person continues to shave his head his entire life it can not be said that he is opposing the Sunnah of the prophet because the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) grew his hair his entire life; with the exception being during the Hajj and Umrah because he (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to shave his head during this time.

And you know the hadith that appears in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim where the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, ‘O Allah forgive those who shave their heads, O Allah forgive those who shave their heads, O Allah forgive those who shave their heads”, they said and those who cut their hair short O Messenger of Allah, and he said “and those who cut their hair short, but those who only cut their hair short receive a lesser reward, and to shave the head in more virtuous”.

Hence, if the person grows their hair long out of habit or because this is just his natural disposition then there is nothing preventing this, and as for the one who intends by this to get closer to Allah because the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) grew his hair long then we say this is in opposition to the Sunnah of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam).  Here, there is a detail that attention has to be given to, by the one who grows his hair long because the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) grew his hair long, so he believes that he is following the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) by growing his hair long.  I say with all frankness that he is opposing the prophet and his opposition is not apparent rather it is hidde. So from what is apparent is that it seems that he is following the prophet by growing his hair long, so what is the opposition?

The opposition: It is obligatory upon us to pay attention to the statement of our prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) “Verily Actions are (judged) by intentions, so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, his migration is for Allah and His messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is for that which he migrated.”  So the one who goes out with the prophet peace and blessings are upon him, as a mujahid then that which is apparent is what? It is that he is a mujahid in the path of Allah; but in reality he went out for some worldly gain or to marry a woman therefore he opposed the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) in his intention.  So will he be rewarded as a mujahid, when he opposed the best of the mujahids; opposed him in what, in his intention, the answer is no.   Now the one who grows his hair long, emulating his prophet, his example is like the example of the mujahid that went out with the prophet as a mujahid, but his intention was opposed to the intention of the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam). (So the question may be) how is this related to the one who grows his hair long? We say to him: Do you know that when the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam), grew the hair on his head long that his intention with this was to get closer to his Lord? He did not seek to get closer to Allah by loving honey, and he did not seek to get closer to Allah by hating lizard meat, and also he did not seek to get closer to Allah the Mighty and Majestic by growing his hair long!! So you seek to get closer to Allah (by growing your hair long)? Then you have opposed the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam), in the strongest condition from the conditions of worship.

The first condition: The intention must be sincerely for the face of Allah the Blessed and Exalted.  The second condition: It must be in accordance with the action of the prophet. You are in accordance with him in his action, but you opposed him in his intention.

As relates to the Fajr prayer, both the Sunnah for Fajr and the Fajr prayer itself, both are two rakats. So if a man prayed the two Sunnah rakat for Fajr with the intention that they were obligatory, was he in accordance with the Sunnah?  The answer is no.

And from the misguidance of the Qadianis is that they believe the two Sunnah rakats for Fajr are obligatory. So when they pray these two rakats the appearance is as though they are in accordance with the messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam), but their heart and their intention oppose the messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam). So the one who prays the two Sunnah rakats of Fajr with the intention that they are obligatory, this one is like the one who opposed the messenger in his intention but agreed with him in the appearance. The appearance doesn’t have any value because the deeds are by the intentions.  The meaning of the hadith is the righteous deeds are only by righteous intentions.

Therefore, if we don’t know that the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam), sought to get closer to Allah by growing his hair long then it’s not permissible for the Muslim to seek to get closer to Allah by something that the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) did not seek to get closer to Allah with; this is an innovation in the religion and you all know the traditions that strongly warn against innovation in the religion. Whoever invents something into this affair of ours that is not from it will have it rejected. Therefore this is a newly invented matter because the person seeks to get closer to Allah by something that the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) did not seek to get closer to Allah with. This is the nature of the innovator, because they bring actions that the prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) did not seeking to get closer to his Lord with and like that, we distinguish between the Sunnah of worship, that which we emulate the messenger in and between the Sunnah of custom, that which we have a choice to do or to leave because it is only a Sunnah of habit.

This point is that it is incumbent that we separate between this and that; meaning our following the messenger (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) is in the affairs of the religion not in the affairs of the worldly life and in this there are mistakes, severe mistakes from some of the ignorant people, those who do not separate between the Sunnah of habit and the Sunnah of worship.  The Sunnah of worship does not accept anything extra and for this reason the Messenger peace be upon him said, ‘every innovation is misguidance and every misguidance is in the fire’.  The sunnah of custom accepts an increase and it accepts a decrease and it accepts everything, because it’s a custom. I will give you one example from the Sunnah of custom, from the messenger of Allah (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam).

He (the Prophet) entered Mecca opening it the day Allah helped him against the people of Mecca, and he had four braids. This is the sunnah of the Arabs and to this day you find this sunnah with some of the Bedouin youth. I have seen them in the desert; until today this custom is present with them. You are free with regards to this, if you see that it is suitable for you then you do it, and if you want you can leave it, and you have not opposed the Sunnah of the messenger with regards to this. Why, because it is a Sunnah of custom not a Sunnah of worship.

This categorization is from the completeness of comprehension and understanding in the religion where many of those beginners in knowledge are ignorant about this as they are not yet scholars.

Translated by Rasheed Barbee

Found in:

Al-Qawlul Mufeed, December 2007

Al-Qawlul Mufeed, January 2008

Al-Qawlul Mufeed, February 2008

Tags: Al-Albani, Arab Culture, Islam, Sunnah, worship