What is important to know is in the Qur'an

[Mubashir]

Peace!

5;101 You who believe, do not ask about matters which, if made known to you, might make things difficult for you- if you ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they will be made known to you- for God has kept silent about them: God is most forgiving and forbearing.

Is this not a blessing from Allah SWT that He has made our Deen easy for us by asking us to avoid asking questions about unnecessry details? Does this not show that if important, will be made available for us in the Qur'an?

Why do we then, need to run after "details" outside the Qur'an and then are asked to observe the following through "Sunnah":

Reported Sunnahs of Our Beloved Prophet Muhammad [Sallaho alaihe wassallam ]

Sunnahs of Eating:
x Sit and eat on the floor.
x Spread out a cloth on the floor first before eating.
x Wash both hands up to the wrists.
x Recite "Bismillah wa'la barakatillah' aloud. (It is also noted by one great scholar Maulana Saeed Ahmad Khan Saheb Rahmatullah alaihe that we never say Bismillah before taking tea). Drinking should also be by right hand at all cost.
 x Eat with the right hand.
x Eat from the side that is in front of you.
x If a morsel of food falls down, pick it up, clean it and eat it.
x Do not lean and eat.
x Do not find fault with the food.
x Remove your shoes before eating.
x When eating, sit with either both knees on the ground or one knee raised or both knees raised.
 x Clean the plate and other utensils thoroughly after eating.
x By doing this, the utensils make dua for one's forgiveness.
x Recite dua after eating.
x First remove the food then get up
x After meals wash both the hands.
x Thereafter gargle the mouth.
x Whilst eating one should not remain completely silent.
x Eat with three fingers if possible..
x One should not eat very hot food.
x Do not blow on the food.
x After eating one should lick his fingers.

Sunnahs of drinking:
x A Muslim should drink with the right hand.
x Shaytaan Drinks with the left hand.
x Sit and drink.
x Recite "Bismillah" before drinking.
x After drinking say " Alhamdullilah".
x Drink in 3 breaths removing the utensil from the mouth after each sip.
x Do not drink directly from the jug or bottle.
x One should pour the contents into a glass first and then drink.

Sunnahs of Sleeping:
x Discuss with one's family members matters pertaining to Deen before going to sleep (whether it is in the form of reading some Islamic Books or narrating some incidents of Sahabah etc.)..
 x To sleep in the state of Wuzu.
x To make the bed yourself.
x Dust the bed thrice before retiring to bed.
x One should change into some other clothes (e.g.pyjamas) before going to sleep.
 x It is Sunnah to sleep immediately after Isha Salaah.
x To apply surmah in both the eyes.
x To brush the teeth with a miswaak.
x To sleep on the right hand side.
x To sleep with the right palm under the right cheek.
x To keep the knees slightly bent when sleeping.
x To refrain from sleeping on ones stomach.
x To sleep on a bed or to sleep on the floor are both sunnah.
x To face Qiblah.
x To recite Surah Mulk, before sleeping.
x To recite Ayatul Kursi.
x To recite Surah Ikhlaas, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas before sleeping 3 times and thereafter blow over the entire body thrice.
x Recite Tasbeeh-e-Fathima before sleeping.( i.e. 33 X Subhan Allah 33 X Alhamdulillah and 34 X Allahu Akbar).
x To recite the dua before sleeping.
x To wake up for Tahajjud Salaah.

Sunnahs on Awakening:
x On awakening rub the face and the eyes with the palms of the hands in order to remove the effects of sleep.
 x When the eyes open in the morning say " Alhamdullilah" thrice and then recite Kalima Tayyibah.
 x Thereafter recite the dua on awakening.
x On awakening cleanse the mouth with a miswaak

[chadiga]

Peace!

5;101 You who believe, do not ask about matters which, if made known to you, might make things difficult for you- if you ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they will be made known to you- for God has kept silent about them: God is most forgiving and forbearing.

Is this not a blessing from Allah SWT that He has made our Deen easy for us by asking us to avoid asking questions about unnecessry details? Does this not show that if important, will be made available for us in the Qur'an?

Why do we then, need to run after "details" outside the Qur'an and then are asked to observe the following through "Sunnah":

Reported Sunnahs of Our Beloved Prophet Muhammad [Sallaho alaihe wassallam ]

Sunnahs of Eating:
x Sit and eat on the floor.  arabic tradition 
x Spread out a cloth on the floor first before eating. 
x Wash both hands up to the wrists.
x Recite "Bismillah wa'la barakatillah' aloud. (It is also noted by one great scholar Maulana Saeed Ahmad Khan Saheb Rahmatullah alaihe that we never say Bismillah before taking tea). Drinking should also be by right hand at all cost. why?
 x Eat with the right hand. 
x Eat from the side that is in front of you. 
x If a morsel of food falls down, pick it up, clean it and eat it. 
x Do not lean and eat. 
x Do not find fault with the food. 
x Remove your shoes before eating.
x When eating, sit with either both knees on the ground or one knee raised or both knees raised. arabic tradition, has anything very nice: you;re unable to eat too much
 x Clean the plate and other utensils thoroughly after eating. 
x By doing this, the utensils make dua for one's forgiveness. 
x Recite dua after eating. 
x First remove the food then get up  (for all the arabic mens who stand up and don;t remove anything...
x After meals wash both the hands. (!! )
x Thereafter gargle the mouth. 
x Whilst eating one should not remain completely silent. 
x Eat with three fingers if possible.. 
x One should not eat very hot food. 
x Do not blow on the food. 
x After eating one should lick his fingers. 

Sunnahs of drinking:
x A Muslim should drink with the right hand. 
x Shaytaan Drinks with the left hand.
x Sit and drink.  another one say stand an drink...
x Recite "Bismillah" before drinking. 
x After drinking say " Alhamdullilah". 
x Drink in 3 breaths removing the utensil from the mouth after each sip.
x Do not drink directly from the jug or bottle. 
x One should pour the contents into a glass first and then drink. 

It seems as if the Prophet did not sent as a religious messenger, but to teach us the etiquette of eating? In German there is a book from the 19th J.h.  written and pointed out the proper table manners, whether the authors have probably copied from the prophet ...?

Sunnahs of Sleeping:
x Discuss with one's family members matters pertaining to Deen before going to sleep (whether it is in the form of reading some Islamic Books or narrating some incidents of Sahabah etc.).. ( good night story...)
 x To sleep in the state of Wuzu. 
x To make the bed yourself. 
x Dust the bed thrice before retiring to bed. (look for the snakes in the bed...)
x One should change into some other clothes (e.g.pyjamas) before going to sleep.
 x It is Sunnah to sleep immediately after Isha Salaah.  (very good point i like)
x To apply surmah in both the eyes.
x To brush the teeth with a miswaak. (brush your theeth...)
x To sleep on the right hand side. 
x To sleep with the right palm under the right cheek. 
x To keep the knees slightly bent when sleeping.
x To refrain from sleeping on ones stomach.
x To sleep on a bed or to sleep on the floor are both sunnah.
x To face Qiblah. 
x To recite Surah Mulk, before sleeping.(to think about sura al Mulk would be better...)
x To recite Ayatul Kursi.  see up
x To recite Surah Ikhlaas, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas before sleeping 3 times and thereafter blow over the entire body thrice. (magic!!)
x Recite Tasbeeh-e-Fathima before sleeping.( i.e. 33 X Subhan Allah 33 X Alhamdulillah and 34 X Allahu Akbar).
x To recite the dua before sleeping. 
x To wake up for Tahajjud Salaah. 

Sunnahs on Awakening: (

salam brother mubashir

much of the advices are not so bad .(I used the emotions not for ridicule anything,no only to point out  my opinion, which tradition i like and where i see problems..) However this have nothing to do with DEEN but with rules of conduct and etiquette. But  there are also clear indications of superstition and magic and this make it problematic  ...
And a little bit it seems like in kidsgarden: "so, and then you get up and brush the teeth and wash your hands and you should not sleep in the dresses ..".
And the Arab society suffers  precisely at this point that everything is "spoon-fed: to them from childhood, and  so thev are  deprived from cogitation and their critical intellect. They are made ​​to young children and also be treated so  ...
salamu aleikum

[Sardar Miyan]

Assalam Bro. Mubashir Thanks for presenting a very good Aya for our guidance & I also request JAI to Pl write on this. Thanks

[Joseph Islam]

Dear All,

Salamun Alaikum.

ASSESSING TRADITIONS

Any tradition in itself is not 'bad'. Traditions naturally develop as part of a living practice of a people that attempt to inculcate 'best practices' into their daily lives. The problem ensues when these traditions take a 'religious' interpretation (i.e. that they seem to be understood as ordained by God as 'part' of religion).

Then these traditions take a completely different meaning:

• They become a source of religion which God did not ordain.
• Followers lose the capacity to 'choose', they lose the capacity to critically evaluate the purpose and effectiveness of the tradition.
• Followers become dependant on the sources in which these traditions are found and ultimately they deem it as part of their God ordained 'deen'

For example, in 57:27, we note that some Christians 'invented' monasticism out of a desire for God's goodly acceptance. But this was never prescribed for them, they imposed it on themselves. However, albeit many transgressed, not all of them were automatically condemned.

Muhammad Asad captures the essence of the Arabic quite well as follows:

057:027
And thereupon We caused [other of] Our apostles to follow in their footsteps; and [in the course of time] We caused them to be followed by Jesus, the son of Mary, upon whom We bestowed the Gospel; and in the hearts of those who [truly] followed him We engendered compassion and mercy. But as for monastic asceticism - We did not enjoin it upon them: they invented it themselves out of a desire for God's goodly acceptance. But then, they did not [always] observe it as it ought to have been observed: and so We granted their recompense unto such of them as had [truly] attained to faith, whereas many of them became iniquitous.

This is a very important verse. All matters will be judged by God alone and good intentions will be judged regardless of the particular tradition.

In so far as the list of 'sunnah's quoted in the above post, I would tend to agree with sister Chadiga, some of them are good practices. However, none of them are part of deen instituted by God in scripture. If Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was born in America, he would have most likely eaten with a knife and fork at a table and he would have most likely travelled by a motorised vehicle. These would have constituted his 'sunnah'.

A timeless scripture (i.e. The Quran) was applied by the Prophet to a particular time period in a particular locale (7th century Arabia). What developed was a time specific sunna. Today, we need to apply the same timeless scripture (Quran) to our particular time period in our particular locale. What will naturally result is a particular time specific Sunna. The fundamentals of 'deen' remain the same on which the sunna is founded. The scripture prescribes 'fundamentals' not a particular sunna of a particular people. However, there is no harm in taking the best of the past as an 'individual choice', but as 'best practice' and not 'ordained deen'.

Whether, these traditions have been captured faithfully by later compilers is also a legitimate point of contention. Regardless, only the fundamentals from scripture are binding on a believer. The rest is academic commentary.

I hope that helps, God willing.

Regards,
Joseph.

[Mubashir]

Thanks Brother for your response. Sometimes, imams preaching Khutbas highlight these practices and issue threats of hell over people ignoring them. Reason being, they say, this is from examples from the Apostle's life therefore binding!!