Britannica logo SPOTLIGHT DEMYSTIFIED QUIZZES GALLERIES LISTS ON THIS DAY BIOGRAPHIES SEARCH BRITANNICA What are you looking for? Search Search Britannica Articles and Images BROWSE POPULAR TOPICS: Pearl Harbor attack American Revolution Reign of Terror Photosynthesis Las Posadas Sunnah ISLAM WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica See Article History Alternative Title: Sunna Sunnah, (Arabic: “habitual practice”)also spelled Sunna, the body of traditional social and legal custom and practice of the Islamic community. Along with the Qurʾān (the holy book of Islam) and Hadith (recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), it is a major source of Sharīʿah, or Islamic law. In pre-Islamic Arabia, the term sunnah referred to precedents established by tribal ancestors, accepted as normative and practiced by the entire community. The early Muslims did not immediately concur on what constituted their Sunnah. Some looked to the people of Medina for an example; others followed the behaviour of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad; whereas the provincial legal schools, current in Iraq, Syria, and the Hejaz (in Arabia) in the 8th century CE, attempted to equate Sunnah with an ideal system—based partly on what was traditional in their respective areas and partly on precedents that they themselves had developed. These varying sources, which created differing community practices, were finally reconciled late in the 8th century by the legal scholar Abū ʿAbd Allāh ash-Shāfiʿī (767–820), who accorded the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad as preserved in eyewitness records of his words, actions, and approbations (the Hadith) normative and legal status second only to that of the Qurʾān. The authoritativeness of the Sunnah was further strengthened when Muslim scholars, in response to the wholesale fabrication of hadiths by supporters of various doctrinal, legal, and political positions, developed ʿilm al-ḥadīth, the science of attesting the authenticity of individual traditions. The Sunnah was then used in tafsīr (Qurʾānic exegesis) to supplement the meaning of the text and in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) as the basis of legal decisions not discussed in the Qurʾān. LEARN MORE in these related articles: World distribution of Islam. Islamic world: The spirit of conquest under ʿUmar I …revelations from God and his Sunnah (precedent-setting example) defined the cultic and personal practices that distinguished Muslims from others: prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, charity, avoidance of pork and intoxicants, membership in one community centred at Mecca, and activism (jihad) on the community’s behalf. READ MORE Abu Darweesh Mosque Islam: Sources of Islamic doctrinal and social views Sunnah (“a well-trodden path”) was used by pre-Islamic Arabs to denote their tribal or common law. In Islam it came to mean the example of the Prophet—i.e., his words and deeds as recorded in compilations known as Hadith (in Arabic, Ḥadīth: literally, “report”; a collection… READ MORE Sharīʿah: Development of different schools of law …by the Qurʾān or Sunnah. READ MORE Sharīʿah: Reform of Sharīʿah law …the Qurʾān and the Sunnah, has been held no longer to have a paramount and exclusive authority. Contemporary jurisprudence has claimed the right to renounce those interpretations and to interpret for itself, independently and afresh in the light of modern social circumstances, the original texts of divine revelation: in… READ MORE Cairo Qurʾān, Maghribi script, 18th century. Qurʾān Qurʾān, (Arabic: “Recitation”) the sacred scripture of Islam. According to conventional Islamic belief, the Qurʾān was revealed by the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad in the West Arabian towns Mecca and Medina beginning in 610 and ending with Muhammad’s death in 632 ce. The word READ MORE MORE ABOUT Sunnah 9 REFERENCES FOUND IN BRITANNICA ARTICLES Assorted References advocacy by Rashidun caliphs In Rashidun basis of Hadith In Hadith: Nature and origins foundations of Islam In Islam: Sources of Islamic doctrinal and social views role of imam In imam significance in Islamic law In Sharīʿah: Development of different schools of law In Sharīʿah: Reform of Sharīʿah law Islamic world development In Islamic world: The spirit of conquest under ʿUmar I In Islamic world: The fourth fitnah study of Muhammad’s life In Muhammad: Status in the Qurʾān and in post-Qurʾānic Islam ARTICLE HISTORY ARTICLE CONTRIBUTORS FEEDBACK Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. RELATED TOPICS fiqh Hadith Ibn Taymiyyah Islam Khārijite Qurʾān Sharīʿah Sunnite theology uṣūl al-fiqh SIMILAR TOPICS ikhtilāf shirk ijtihād qiyas jāhilīyah istiḥsān Muʿtazilah kalām Qurʾān istiṣlāḥ Britannica Kids LEARN MORE KEEP EXPLORING BRITANNICA Ravana, the 10-headed demon king, detail from a Guler painting of the Ramayana, c. 1720. Hinduism Hinduism, major world religion originating on the Indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied... READ THIS ARTICLE Abu Darweesh Mosque Islam Islam, major world religion promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century ce. The... READ THIS ARTICLE Reclining Buddha, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. Buddhism Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened... READ THIS ARTICLE VIEW MORE STAY CONNECTED About Us About Our Ads Partner Program Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use ©2017 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 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Sunnah
ISLAM
Alternative Title: Sunna
Sunnah, (Arabic: “habitual practice”)also spelled Sunna, the body of traditional social and legal custom and practice of the Islamic community. Along with the Qurʾān (the holy book of Islam) and Hadith (recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), it is a major source of Sharīʿah, or Islamic law.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, the term sunnah referred to precedents established by tribal ancestors, accepted as normative and practiced by the entire community. The early Muslims did not immediately concur on what constituted their Sunnah. Some looked to the people of Medina for an example; others followed the behaviour of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad; whereas the provincial legal schools, current in Iraq, Syria, and the Hejaz (in Arabia) in the 8th century CE, attempted to equate Sunnah with an ideal system—based partly on what was traditional in their respective areas and partly on precedents that they themselves had developed. These varying sources, which created differing community practices, were finally reconciled late in the 8th century by the legal scholar Abū ʿAbd Allāh ash-Shāfiʿī (767–820), who accorded the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad as preserved in eyewitness records of his words, actions, and approbations (the Hadith) normative and legal status second only to that of the Qurʾān.
The authoritativeness of the Sunnah was further strengthened when Muslim scholars, in response to the wholesale fabrication of hadiths by supporters of various doctrinal, legal, and political positions, developed ʿilm al-ḥadīth, the science of attesting the authenticity of individual traditions. The Sunnah was then used in tafsīr (Qurʾānic exegesis) to supplement the meaning of the text and in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) as the basis of legal decisions not discussed in the Qurʾān.
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Islam, major world religion promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century ce. The...
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Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened...
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