Implementing the Sunnah in Daily Life

Nahida Islam

Introduction

With the name of Allah ﷻ, The Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate. And salutations and blessings on the best of His creation, Muhammad ﷺ and his family.

This article will attempt to outline the virtues of implementing the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to perfect our daily life. With the will of Allah, we will firstly begin this article with the foundation of our belief – The first pillar of Islam - Shahadah (Declaration of faith):

“I testify that there is none worthy of worship besides Allah and I testify that Muhammad ﷺ is His last and final Messenger.”

As a Muslim, it is our duty to believe in, worship, and obey the commands of Allah ﷻ. Hence, we must pray our five daily salah, fast during Ramadan, give our zakat, and perform Hajj, etc.

The second part of our Kalimah is to have firm belief that Muhammad ﷺ is our Messenger. So, how can we achieve this?

In the Qur’an, Allah ﷻ says:

“And indeed, you are of a great moral character.” [Surah Al-Qalam 68:4]“Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah, you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah often.” [Surah Al-Ahzab 33:21]

It outlines that Muhammad ﷺ was a man who possessed the highest moral excellence and that Allah ﷻ made Rasulullah ﷺ an example for Muslims to follow.

Allah’s ﷻ most beloved and best creation is Rasulullah ﷺ. Therefore, to become closer to Allah ﷻ, attain the pleasure of Allah, and reap the rewards of Jannah, we should strive to act accordingly towards the Sunnah and implement it in our daily life.

“And whoever obeys Allah, and the Messenger will be in the company of those blessed by Allah: the Prophets, the people of truth, the martyrs, and the righteous—what honourable company!” [Surah Al-Nisa 4:69]

Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ knew and understood the Qur’an completely because Allah ﷻ trusted him to explain it to his followers. Allah ﷻ informed Muhammad ﷺ (and all Prophets) of the divine revelation and gave direct orders through revelations, appointing him to convey it, explain it, and live it as an example to mankind.

If Allah ﷻ had willed, He would have only sent a book to guide mankind and not sent it through a Messenger. But as a mercy to humankind, Allah ﷻ sent down both the Holy Qur’an and Muhammad ﷺ to the earth as an example of how to live according to the Holy Qur’an.

“Verily, we have revealed the Reminder (Qur’an to you, O Muhammad) so that you may explain to people what has been revealed to them.” [Surah Al-Nahl 16:64]

Showing Love and Respect Through Our Actions

Naturally, we see in this dunya full of fitnah young people looking up to celebrities (singers, actors, etc.) as role models, copying their style of attire, imitating their phrases, and supporting them in their movement as an act of love and support.

As a Muslim, we should have such a love and desire to be like our Rasulullah ﷺ and strive to live like him, walk like him, talk like him, dress like him, and follow his actions.

“Whoever revives my Sunnah then he has loved me. And whoever loved me, he shall be with me in Paradise.” [Jami’ Al-Tirmidhi 2678]

Simplicity

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ emphasised living a simple life, and he ﷺ himself led a very simple life too. It is our responsibility to detach ourselves from the fitnah of this dunya so we don’t divert our attention away from our worship.

Sayidunna Abu Umamah (RA) reported:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Verily, simple living is part of faith, simple living is part of faith.’” [Sunan Abu Dawood 4161]

Currently, we see extravagant weddings taking place and people neglecting the Sunnah and the way our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us to celebrate. Sadly, people spend on unnecessary materialistic things like expensive cars that bring no contentment in the heart or blessings in the marriage.

Even during the blessed Eid, people take this as an opportunity to listen to music and indulge in forbidden and disliked acts in Islam. Therefore, we should follow the simple life of the Prophet ﷺ, which helps us become closer to Allah ﷻ and be content with what we have.

We see with our own eyes that celebrities who live a “luxurious” life with lots of money, big houses, and cars do not have true happiness in the heart. Most of these celebrities face depression, and some even resort to suicide because they do not have the blessings and barakah in their lives.

Sayidunna Aisha (RA) reported:

She said to ‘Urwah, “O my nephew, we used to sight three crescent moons in two months without having any fire to cook in the house of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.” ‘Urwah said, “How did you live?” Aisha said, “With the two dark things, dates, and water, except that the Messenger of Allah had neighbours among the Ansar who had some milking animals. They would give the Messenger of Allah some milk from their animals, and he would give it to us to drink.” [Sahih Bukhari 6459]

Worshipping Like Rasulullah ﷺ

Our beloved Rasulullah ﷺ used to worship in the most perfect manner. Rasulullah ﷺ would always engage in i’badah, and he would never grow tired of his servitude towards Allah ﷻ.

He went to the extent of climbing the steps of Cave Hira in the scorching heat to refrain from the fitnah of the society; he would meditate and contemplate his life and the world around him.

Taking the name of Allah ﷻ

Every day we sleep, bathe, and eat, among other actions. We should yearn to complete these actions according to the Sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ and make them a form of i’badah.

For example, when we begin to eat, we should follow the actions of our Prophet ﷺ by sitting down, taking the name of Allah ﷻ, and commencing with the right hand. By doing so, we transform the simple act of eating into a form of worship.

Wudhu

How can we implement the Sunnah whilst performing wudhu? Completing the four fard acts is sufficient; however, to gain the full reward, it is important to take care in completing the Sunnah acts.

For example, reciting the du’a before and after wudhu and washing each part of the body thrice will maximise our reward.

Sayidunna Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA) narrated:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Whoever performs wudu’ and does it well, then says: “I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger,” eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him, and he may enter through whichever one he wishes.’” [Sunan Al-Nasa’i 148]

Praying Like Rasulullah ﷺ

It is sad to observe that many people leave the masjid straight after the fard prayers, neglecting the Sunnah and nafl prayers due to being engrossed in this world. During the time of Rasulullah ﷺ, his companions (RA) would spend the entire night standing in i’badah. Yet today, even two rakats can feel burdensome for us due to laziness.

Concerning the virtues of Sunnah prayers, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“Whoever prays twelve rak’ahs during the night and day, a house will be built for him in Paradise: four before Dhuhr, two after, two rak’ahs after Maghrib, two rak’ahs after ‘Isha, and two rak’ahs before Fajr prayer.” [Jami’ Al-Tirmidhi 414]

We should focus and have full khushoo (contentment and tranquillity) when we stand to pray to Allah ﷻ. We must pray with full love, care, and utmost respect for Allah ﷻ, just as Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did, ensuring not to miss any Sunnah salah.

Mannerism

Rasulullah ﷺ taught us to be wary of our speech and to only speak when necessary. We know how words can deeply affect others and stay with them for life. Therefore, we should refrain from unnecessary talk and instead keep our tongues moist in zikr (remembrance of Allah ﷻ).

“Say [O Muhammad], ‘If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.’” [Surah Al-Imran 3:31]

Due to the respect and utmost love we possess for Muhammad ﷺ, we should follow his Sunnah and strive to live our lives like him. If we follow it and remain steadfast, we will stay on the straight path.

A Final Prayer

May Allah ﷻ enable us to act according to the Sunnah and let our hearts remember our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in every action we carry out.

O Allah! Send Your Mercy on Muhammad ﷺ and on the family of Muhammad ﷺ, as You sent Your Mercy on Ibrahim and on the family of Ibrahim, for You are the Most Praiseworthy, the Most Glorious. Ameen.

Sayidunna Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed the people on the Farewell Hajj and said: ‘O People! I am leaving among you such a thing that if you strongly adhere to it, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet.’” [Muwatta Malik Book 46 – The Book of Qadr, Hadith 3]

May Allah ﷻ guide us to hold firmly onto the Qur’an and the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ in all aspects of our lives.

Nahida Islam

Alimiyyah Student, Primary School Teacher,,

Student of Shaykh Faizulhaq Abdulaziz حفظه الله