History of the Sunnah -I: At the time of the Prophet

Muslims were, early on, aware of the significance of the Sunnah and
its authority. They, one generation after the other, were keen to
preserve the Sunnah because they saw that as a part of the preserving
of the last revelations man is ever to receive. Their efforts were
unabated, and the remarkable job they did is unparalleled in the
experience of any other religion or civilization.
At the time of the Prophet:
One of the main reasons behind this is the fact that the
Prophetclearly taught the Companionsthe importance of his Sunnah, its
place in Islam and their role in saving it, teaching and conveying it
to others around them and to those who would come after them. In so
doing, hefollowed an effective methodology, which will be briefly
outlined below:
1. Heemphasized the importance of seeking knowledge and teaching
it to others. Hesaid:"Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every
Muslim )male and female(." ]Ibn Maajah[ Also, hesaid: "Whosoever
pursues a path to seek knowledge therein, Allaah will thereby make
easy for him a path toParadise. No people gather together in one of
the houses of Allaah )mosques(, reciting the Book of Allaah and
studying it among themselves, without tranquility descending upon
them, mercy enveloping them and angles surrounding them, and Allaah
making mention of them to those )angels( who are with Him."]Muslim[
2. Healways had a center for teaching. Most of the time, it was the mosque.
3. Hewas soft in his dealings and always facilitated things and
made them easy for others. Hewas merciful and humble and made himself
readily available.
4. Henever pushed people into anything. Instead, hegradually
taught them and led them to change. Healways motivated them to follow
his example and be their best.
5. Hewould not continuously teach or work with them, but he would
give them enough breaks to avoid overstressing or boring them.
6. Hespoke plainly and clearly and hetalked to people at their
level of understanding and intellectual ability. Whenever appropriate,
hespoke to people in their own dialect for the Arabs had different
dialects.
7. Heused the method of repetition. Hewould repeat whatever he
wanted to stress for three times to insure that all heard him properly
and clearly understood what hewas saying.
8. When questioned, hewould give more than what is expected as an
answer and use the occasion to further clarify things for all, and
teach about other things.
9. Whenever the Prophethad to choose between two ways, hechose
the easier way, which had facility and mercy if there was nothing
forbidden in that, and hekept away from the difficult and harsh ways.
10. Heattached special attention to teaching the women and provided
them special times for questions. Heencouraged them to ask and learn.
11. Heused to do his best in everything, and heperfected whatever he
did, thus setting an example for others.
The era of the Companions and their Followers
The Companionsdid their utmost to convey Islam to the generations
succeeding them in the best and most accurate way possible. They
sincerely loved it, honestly lived according to it and faithfully
preserved it and kept any impurity or irregularity out of it.
Their role in the preservation of Islam was one of utmost importance
to its continuation, but they were highly prepared for it by the best
teacher and trainer, the Prophet. Thus the studying of this era,
especially with respect to the history and authority of the Sunnah, is
necessary to all Students of Knowledge.
And since this article will not provide enough details to properly
cover the subject, it is recommended that the readers consult the
following list of books on the subject:
Studies of Early Hadeeth Literature by M. M. Azami, Sunnah Qabla
at-Tadween )the Sunnah before Writing( by Ajaj Al-Khateeb, The Sunnah
and its Place in Islam by Mustafa As-Siba'ee, Manhajj an-Naqd fi Uloom
Al-Hadeeth )The Methodology of Critique in the Sciences of Hadeeth( by
Noor-ud-deen Etr, Al-Hadeeth wal Muhaddithoon )Hadeeth and Hadeeth
Narrators( by Muhammad M. Abu Zahou, and Hujjiatus Sunnah )The
Authority of the Sunnah( by Houcine Chouat.
Methodology of the Companions in Preserving the Sunnah
Before discussing the Companions' ways of learning, practicing,
preserving and conveying of the Sunnah, it is worthwhile to shed some
light on the main points one needs to understand about the
Companionsand their methodology:
1. The Companionswere fully aware of the responsibility they
shoulder after the death of the Prophet.
2. The Companionsare all trustworthy. Theynever doubted one
another in the matters of this religion and the narration of Hadeeth.
3. The Companionshave developed a methodology for scrutinizing
Hadeeths and narrators, and by doing that have established the rules
of ascertaining narrations for those who came after them.
4. The ability of different Companionsto understand the Sunnah,
memorize it and convey it varied from one Companion to another.
5. The Companionsleft Makkah and Madeenah to many places around
the Muslim world, at the time, for the purpose of delivering the
message and teaching Islam to those who accepted it thus spreading the
Sunnah throughout the land.
It is interesting to note that about 750 Companionsnarrated Hadeeths,
seven of whom narrated a high number of Hadeeths, and about twenty
narrated an average number, the rest narrated a small number.
The seven who narrated a large number of Hadeeths are: Abu Hurayrah
who narrated 5374 Hadeeths, 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Umar narrated 2630, Anas
Ibn Maalik narrated 2286, 'Aa'ishah narrated 2210 Hadeeths, 'Abdullaah
Ibn 'Abbaas narrated 1660, Jaabir Ibn 'Abdullaah narrated 1540, and
Abu Sa'eed AI-Khudri narrated 1100 Hadeeths. They understood their
role and were aware of the significance of their ability in narrating
the Hadeeths and did their best to deliver them diligently and
accurately. Muslims of all times are indebted to them.