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Philosophy and Fundamentals of Sharī’ah for Islamic Finance
SHA0011
a. Classification of Sunnah According to its Nature

i. Practical Sunnah or Sunnah by action (Sunnah Fi’liyyah)

This type of Sunnah refers to the conducts of the Prophet SAW
from which legal rulings are derived or have been relied upon.
An example of this kind of Sunnah is ṣalāh. Prophet SAW has
asked that the Muslims pray as he did. However, the physical
movements in ṣalāh could only be observed through watching
the Prophet’s movements. The same goes to the taking of
ablution (wuḍū’) before performing ṣalāh. Some other examples
include also pilgrimage (ḥajj).

ii. Sunnah by tacit approval / agreement (Sunnah Taqrīriyyah)

It refers to the sanction of Prophet SAW (or he did not
prohibit as the case may be) on the saying or actions of his
companion(s). For example, after the call to prayer (adhān)
is made for Maghrib, some companions used to perform
additional prayer (commendable); of two raka’āt before the
obligatory Maghrib prayer. The Prophet SAW himself was not
doing the same, but has never stopped the companions from
such prayer. This is known as Sunnah Taqrīriyyah.

iii. Sunnah by words (Sunnah Qawliyyah)

Sunnah Qawliyyah refers to the words of Prophet SAW or
the messages he conveyed verbally. For example, when
Prophet SAW explicitly said, “Pray as you see me pray”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhāri)

b. Classification of Sunnah According to its Method of Transmission

Sunnah in this regard is referring to Ḥadīth, in which the method of
which Sunnah is transmitted to us. It is broadly divided into two:

i. Continuous Chain: A Sunnah whose chain of narrator or
transmitter is continuous. It is further divided into two
(according to majority of scholars)
• Consecutive: Refers to Ḥadīth which is reported in
such a number of narrators, make it that impossible for
them to agree upon a lie. It is the highest category
and its authenticity is ranked next to the Qur’ān.

• Solitary: Refers to Ḥadīth which is narrated by one
or number of narrators who do not reach the level of
consecutive Ḥadīth.

ii. Broken Chain: A Sunnah whose chain of narrators is not
continuous but missing or broken. This Ḥadīth is considered as
weak Ḥadīth and is not very reliable and its application, if any, is
subjected to a strict condition.