Difference between fard and sunnah
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
My question to all
the people of knowledge is that if something is not farz, then whether it is
sunnah moqadah or ghair moqadah then it does not entitle a perosn to perform it
whatsoever may be the case.
Farz is Farz and a
sunnah is sunnah. After all it is not farz... then why do people stress and
keep telling us things to do which are not farz even.. and they say you will be
given gunnah for things which are not categorically stated to be farz and are
stresses by rasool Allah (peace be upon him) kindly update me on this important
issue of mine.
When something is
not farz and even if it is stressed, howcome it will carry
gunnah for
it.
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Difference between
fard and sunnah
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and
ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and
whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness
that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
One should make a clear distinction between the ‘fard’ and
‘sunnah’ in the acts of worship; and
‘fard’ and ‘sunnah’ in all the other aspects of one’s life.
Ref: ‘Fard’ and
‘Sunnah’ in acts of worship;
prayers, fasting, etc.
In all the acts of worship, Allah and His Messenger (saws) have clearly distinguished between
the fard (obligatory) and the nafl (voluntary) ibaadah. All the nafl (voluntary) ibaadah done by
the Prophet (saws), is known to us as
his Sunnah.
The five obligatory prayers are fard; the fasting of the full month of Ramadan are
fard; the paying of the zakat is
fard; and the making of the Hajj
pilgrimage once in one’s lifetime is fard for those who can afford it. If one does over and above any of the above
fard acts of worship, they will be
considered voluntary acts of worship,
and the person will earn extra reward from Allah Subhanah.
If one performs the fard (obligatory) acts of
worship, he will earn a huge reward
from Allah Subhanah. If one
intentionally and without a valid reason leaves any of the fard acts of
worship, he will be committing a
heinous sin in the sight of Allah Subhanah.
All acts of worship
other than the ones listed above will be considered ‘nafl’ or voluntary. The ‘nafl’ ibaadah done by the Messenger of
Allah (saws) is what is called the Sunnah.
If one does extra voluntary (Sunnah or Nafl) prayers, or fasts, or sadaqa,
or extra Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages;
he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah. If one does not do any of the extra
voluntary (Sunnah or Nafl) acts of worship,
there will be no sin upon him.
The above distinction of Fard and Sunnah is only for the
acts of worship.
Your Statement: then why do people stress and keep telling
us things to do which are not farz even.. and they say you will be given gunnah
for things which are not categorically stated to be farz and are stresses by
rasool Allah (peace be upon him). When
something is not farz and even if it is stressed, howcome it will carry gunnah
for it.
In all the other aspect of ones
normal life, it is an obligatory (fard)
duty of the believer, who sincerely
fears Allah and the Last Day, to follow
the example or Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21:There is indeed the best example for you to follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for every such
person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 79-80:We have sent you (O
Mohamed) as a Messenger to mankind, and
Allah’s witness suffices for this. Whoever
obeys the Messenger, in fact obeys Allah, and whoever turns away from him, he will be accountable for his
deeds. Anyhow, we have not sent you (O Mohamed) to be a
guardian over them.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale
Imran verse 31-32:O Prophet, tell
the people, “If you sincerely love Allah,
follow me. Then Allah
will love you and forgive you your sins,
for He is All Forgiving, All
Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey
Allah and His Messenger.” And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love those, who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.
There are literally
millions of examples where it is ‘fard’ (obligatory) to follow the example or
Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) in one’s normal day to day life. If one follows the Sunnah of the Messenger
of Allah (saws), he will be doing right
and will thus earn his due reward from Allah Subhanah; but if one does not follow the example or
Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws),
he will be doing wrong and will thus be considered being in sin.
A few simple examples where it is obligatory to follow the
Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws):
- Eating
and drinking with the right hand.
- Washing
of the private parts after relieving oneself and keeping oneself pure.
- The
growing of the beard.
- Replying
the salaams and salutations of the believers.
Etc. etc.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.215 Narrated by Ibn Abbas
Once the Prophet (saws), while passing
through one of the graveyards of Medina or Mecca heard the voices of two
persons who were being tortured in their graves. The Prophet (saws) said,
"These two persons are being tortured not for a major sin." The Prophet (saws) then added, "One of
them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine, while the other used to go about with
calumnies (to make enmity between friends).”
Whatever written of
Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever
of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows
Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,
Burhan
Wister