Sunni Islam


Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Muslim community, being appointed at the meeting of Saqifa. This contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. Nevertheless, Sunnis revere Ali, along with Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman as 'rightly-guided caliphs'.
The term means those who observe the, the practices of Muhammad. The Quran, together with hadith and , form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. Sharia legal rulings are derived from these basic sources, in conjunction with consideration of public welfare and juristic discretion, using the principles of jurisprudence developed by the four legal schools: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi'i.
In matters of creed, the Sunni tradition upholds the six pillars of and comprises the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools of as well as the textualist Athari school. Sunnis regard the first four caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali as and revere the,, and as the .

Terminology

Sunna

The Arabic term, which Sunnis are named after, dates back to pre-Islamic language. It was used for "the right path that has always been followed". The term gained greater political significance after the murder of the third caliph, Uthman. It is said Malik al-Ashtar, a famous follower of Ali, provided encouragement during the Battle of Siffin with the expression "Ali's political rival Mu'awiya kills the '". After the battle, it was agreed that "the righteous ', the unifying, not the divisive" should be consulted to resolve the conflict. The time when the term sunna became the short form for "Sunnah of the Prophet" is still unknown. During the Umayyad Caliphate, several political movements, including the Shia and the Kharijites rebelled against the formation of the state. They led their battles in the name of "the book of God and the Sunnah of his Prophet". During the second Civil War the Sunna term received connotations critical of Shi'i doctrines. It is recorded by Masrūq ibn al-Adschdaʿ, who was a Mufti in Kufa, a need to love the first two caliphs Abū Bakr and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and acknowledge their priority. A disciple of Masrūq, the scholar ash-Shaʿbī, who first sided with the Shia in Kufa during Civil War, but turned away in disgust by their fanaticism and finally decided to join the Umayyad Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik, popularized the concept of Sunnah. It is also passed down by ash-Shaʿbī that he took offense at the hatred on ʿĀʾiša bint Abī Bakr and considered it a violation of the Sunnah.
The term Sunna instead of the longer expression ahl as-sunna or ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah as a group-name for Sunnis is a relatively young phenomenon. It was probably Ibn Taymiyyah, who used the short-term for the first time. It was later popularized by pan-Islamic scholars such as Muhammad Rashid Rida in his treatise as-Sunna wa-š-šiʿa au al-Wahhābīya wa-r-Rāfiḍa: Ḥaqāʾiq dīnīya taʾrīḫīya iǧtimaʿīya iṣlaḥīya published in 1928–29. The term Sunnah is usually used in Arabic discourse as designation for Sunni Muslims, when they are intended to be contrasted with Shias. The word pair Sunnah–Shia is also used on Western research literature to denote the Sunni–Shia contrast.

Ahl as-Sunna

One of the earliest supporting documents for ahl as-sunna derives from the Basric scholar Muhammad Ibn Siri. His is mentioned in the Sahih of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, and quoted having said: "Formerly one did not ask about the Isnad. But when the fitna started, one said: 'Name us your informants'. One would then respond to them: If they were Sunnah people, you accept their hadith. But if they are people of the Innovations, the hadith was rejected." G.H.A. Juynboll assumed, the term fitna in this statement is not related to the first Civil War after murder of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, but the second Civil War in which the Islamic community was split into four parties. The term ahl as-sunna designated in this situation whose, who stayed away from heretic teachings of the different warring parties.
The term ahl as-sunna was always a laudatory designation. Abu Hanifa, who sympathized with Murdshia, insisted that this were "righteous people and people of the Sunnah". According to Josef van Ess this term did not mean more than "honorable and righteous believing people". Among Hanafits the designation ahl as-sunna and ahl al-ʿadl remained interchangeable for a long time. Thus the Hanafite Abū l-Qāsim as-Samarqandī, who composed a catechism for the Samanides, used sometimes one expression and sometimes another for his own group.
Singular to ahl as-sunna was ṣāḥib sunna. This expression was used for example by ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak for a person, who distances himself from the teachings of Shia, Kharijites, Qadarites and Murjites. In addition, the Nisba adjective sunnī was also used for the individual person. Thus it has been recorded, the Kufic scholar of the Quran Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh was asked, how he was a "sunni". He responded the following: "The one who, when the heresies are mentioned, doesn't get excited about any of them." The Andalusiaian scholar Ibn Hazm taught later that those who confess Islam can be divided into four groups: ahl as-sunna, Mutazilites, Murjites, Shites, Kharijites. The Muʿtazilites replaced the Qadarites here.
In the 9th century, one started to extent the term ahl as-sunna with further positive additions. Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari used for his own group expressions like ahl as-sunna wa-l-istiqāma, ahl as-sunna wa-l-ḥadīṯ or ahl al-ḥaqq wa-s-sunna.

Ahl as-Sunna wa l-Jamāʻah

The first appearances of the expression 'ahl as-sunna wa l-jama'ah are entirely clear. In his Mihna edict, the Abbasite Caliph Al-Ma'mūn criticized a group of people who related themselves to the sunnah and claimed they are the "people of truth, religion and community". Sunna and jamāʿah are already connected here. As a pair, these terms already appear in the 9th century. It is recorded that the disciple of Ahmad ibn Hanbal Harb ibn Ismail as-Sirjdshani created a writing with the title as-Sunna wa l-Jamāʿah, to which the Mutazilite Abu al-Qasim al-Balchi wrote a refutation later. Al-Jubba'i tells in his Kitāb al-Maqālāt, that Ahmad ibn Hanbal attributed to his students the predicate sunnī jamāʿah. This indicates that the Hanbalis were the first to use the phrase ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah as a self-designation.
Karramiyya theology, founded by Muhammad ibn Karram referred to the sunnah and community. In praise of their school founder, they passed down a hadith, according to which Muhammad predicted that at the end of times a man named Muhammad ibn Karram will appear, who will restore the sunna and the community and take Hidraj from Chorasan to Jerusalem, just how Muhammad himself took a Hidraj from Mecca to Medina. According to the testimony of the Transoxianian scholar Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi, the Kullabites referred to themselves as also being among the ahl as-sunna wa l-jama.
Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari used the expression ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah rarely, and preferred another combination. Later Asharites like al-Isfaranini and Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi also used the expression ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah and used them in their works to designate the teachings of their own school. According to al-Bazdawi, all Asharites in his time said they belong to the ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah. During this time, the term was used as a self-designation by the Hanafite Maturidites in Transoxiania, used frequently by Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi, Abu Schakur as-Salimi and al-Bazdawi himself. They used the term as a contrast to their enemies, among them Hanafites in the West, who have been followers of the Mutazilites. Al-Bazdawī also contrasted the Ahl as-Sunnah wa l-Jamāʻah with Ahl al-Ḥadīth, "because they would adhere to teachings contrary to the Quran".
According to Schams ad-Dīn al-Maqdisī was the expression ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah a laudatory term during his time, similar to ahl al-ʿadl wa-t-tawḥīd, which was used for Mutazilites or generally designations like Mu'minūn or aṣḥāb al-hudā for Muslims, who have been seen as righteous believers. Since the expression ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah was used with a demand for righteous belief, it has been translated as in academic research.
There are different opinions regarding what the term jama in the phrase ahl as-sunna wa l-jama actually means, among Muslim scholars. In the Sunni Creed by at-Tahawi, the term jama contrasts several times with the Arabic term furqa. Thus at-Tahāwī explains that jama is considered true or right and furqa as aberration and punishment. Ibn Taymiyyah argues that jama, as opposed to furqa, has the inherent meaning of iǧtimāʿ. Furthermore, he connects it with the principle of Ijma, a third juridical source after the Book, and the Sunnah. The Ottoman scholar Muslih ad-Din al-Qastallani held the opinion that jama means 'path of the Sahaba'. The modern Indonesian theologian Nurcholish Madjid interpreted jama as an inclusive concept: it means a society open for pluralism and dialogue, though it does not particularly emphasize it.
In the Meeting of the Aqidah Expert Panel of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia held on 28 December 2010 at the Malaysian Islamic Training Institute, Bangi, Selangor, the panel decided that the definition of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah is:
“A group who understands and adheres to the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW through the Companions, the Tabi‘in, and the Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in, who remained steadfast with them in the principles of creed, law, and ethics.”
Explanation of the definition:
  • a) They are a group who understands and adheres to the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW according to the methodology and approach of the salaf and khalaf.
  • b) They are a group with a balanced understanding — neither extreme nor overly lax. This excludes the Khawarij, Shi‘ah Rafidah, Qadariyyah, Jabariyyah, Mu‘tazilah, anti-hadith groups, liberal Islam, religious pluralism, and the like.
  • c) They are a group who prioritizes Islamic unity and brotherhood over enmity, peace over conflict, and uphold the principle of not idolizing leaders, not being fanatical to the extent of declaring other Muslims as disbelievers or deviants.