Al Minah Al `Aliyyah (4)

Before moving to our target

Respected reader, before beginning our topic and presenting the Sunnan that I have compiled, I shall point out to you the following:

Firstly, I cannot pretend that I have collected all the Sunnan, but, it is sufficient for me that I - at least - made some ijtihad. I have collected in the following pages some of the daily Sunnan. I have intentionally left some Sunnan out, as I am not 100% sure of their authenticity, or because there is a kind of disagreement regarding quoting them or using them as proofs.  I am very eager to present the authentic Sunnah only – may peace and blessings be upon its founder Muhammad.

Secondly, there are Sunnan that fit certain cases, places and times, thus, some people may consider them as a matter of daily routine, while others may not.  I also did not mention them because they might not be relevant to all people. For example, a person who lives near the Holy Mosque in Makkah or al-Madinah can visit the Holy Mosque every day and therefore, should pray there and as a result have their reward doubled. Moreover, there are some Sunnan that are particular to Imams and Muezzins only and so on.

That is why there are some Sunnan that are not applicable to all people. There are also some Sunnan that could differ according to the case itself, such as visiting a Muslim for the sake of Allah, pondering over the universe, thanking Allah, visiting the sick, sending peace and blessings upon Prophet Muhammad r, visiting the graves, being kind to your family and relatives, seeking knowledge, giving charity and the Sunnan of ritual bathing, all which I have intentionally not included since I am not confident that they are daily Sunnan for everyone. Nevertheless, the person can practice them as much as he wishes, but my focus here is to refer to the ones that a person commonly repeats.

Thirdly, know my respected and beloved reader that following the Sunnah of the Prophet includes following his manners, his way of dealing with people, his conduct with His Lord and his way of informing people about his Sunnah. Therefore, never, blessed reader, ignore this great request. Manners are an important cornerstone on which our very existence depends. We ask Allah, the Almighty, to guide us to having the best of manners and to keep us away from possessing bad manners.

Be aware that drawing closer to Allah by performing the obligatory acts is greater rewarded and is foremost and prior to drawing closer to Him through the nawafil acts. Allah – Exalted be He – says in His Qudsi hadith

“…and the most beloved things with which My slave draws nearer to me, is that which I have enjoined upon him.”

Fourthly, with these Sunnan I am addressing my neglectful soul as well, and indeed Allah knows that my aim behind presenting these Sunnan is to be able to benefit from them and also see whether I am neglectful so I can hasten to apply them. Besides, another aim is to follow the teachings of the Prophet r and to benefit my brothers and sisters in Islam and motivate you to follow in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad r. Hence, respected reader, we should exert greater effort in order to bring ourselves closer to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad r.

By doing so, we would also make our days blessed through the worship of our Lord, revive our hearts and gain Allah the Almighty’s love and the fruits of the Sunnan.

Lastly, I advise you, dear reader, while dealing with the Sunnah, two pieces of advice that Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned:

Firstly, never leave any type of the Sunnan when you have learned of a part of it even once. An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Know that whoever hears anything about virtuous acts should at least do some of which, even if once, just to be part of the people of righteousness. He should never leave it as the Prophet said,

 ‘If I order you to do something, do as much as you can of it.’”^{[1]  [2]}

Secondly, if Allah favors you with a type of worship that you perform most of the time, but you miss it one day, then do try to make it up if you can. Furthermore, if the worshipper gets used to neglecting certain religious duties, he/she will spoil the whole deed. An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy upon him) also said,

“As for the virtue of making up dhikr, he who performs dhikr whether in the day or night after finishing the prayers or in any case but missed it, he should make it up or substitute it with something of equal value. He should not neglect adhkar because if he gets used to it, he would not leave it. Yet, if he tolerated making it up, it would be easy for him to neglect it all.” ^[3]

I ask Allah to make me and you of those who follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad in every aspect, our intentions and deeds, follow in his footsteps and be gathered with him on the Day of Judgment. Indeed, Allah is fully able to grant us that, May He send His peace and blessings upon Prophet Muhammad, his family and his Companions until the Day of Judgment.