Beyond that which is an obligation is
something that is recommended, but it's not an obligation.
And sometimes there are things that are permissible, and if you were to do them,
you would be rewarded, but it's not an obligation.
These are some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
In nearly every act of worship,
there are certain things that are made compulsory by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And then there are other things within
the similar grouping of acts of worship that may not be absolutely compulsory,
but Allah is giving you an opportunity to develop in your relationship with Him
in a manner that you would actually achieve so much.
We call it the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
When we use the term sunnah, it refers to several things.
I'd like to start off by making mention
of this one where it's an act of worship or something that the Prophet has taught,
he's done, he's recommended, but it's not compulsory.
For example, if you were to look at the five daily prayers,
certain units or what we call Raka'at are compulsory.
For Fajr, there are two units.
Zuhr, four. Asr, four. Maghrib, three units.
And Isha, four units.
These are compulsory.
When you're traveling, yes,
there is a discount in the sense that Allah says to you that because
of your journey, you may cut the units of prayer.
However, beyond that which is Farad, once you're done with it, don't leave.
Or sometimes before you do that farad or
that which is compulsory, Allah wants you to engage in something.
It's voluntary or it's recommended.
If you were to leave it, you may not be sinful.
But if you are to do it, you will actually achieve so much.
In this month of Ramadan, the reward of those types of voluntary
acts of worship is actually multiplied so much that it makes it more meaningful
to participate in and engage in these types of worship.
So for us to get up a little bit early for Fajr,
for example, and make sure that we don't just fulfill
the two units that are Farad, but rather we start off with two that are Sunnah.
Sunnah means the Prophet, peace be upon him, did it, he taught it.
One would not be sinful to leave it out, but one would achieve such a great reward
to fulfill that particular sunnah of Fajr that the Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him, says, The two units of voluntary prayer,
the sunnah prayer that you offer before Salat Al Fajr
as part of the Fajr is better for you than the whole world and whatever it holds.
So that's an amazing reward.
Now, if we were to take a look at Dhuhr as well,
once you're done with your prayer, don't just disperse.
Rather, if you'd like to go home,
if you're in the masjid, yes, it is recommended to fulfill all your
prayers besides that which is compulsory at home.
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, has said that it is best to fulfill your
prayers besides that which is compulsory at home.
He also says, don't make your homes graves
because a home where the remembrance of Allah is not fulfilled
or is not engaged in and Salah is not fulfilled, which is the prayer,
and Quran is not recited is actually a home that is dead.
It's more like a grave.
So therefore, if you know that you are not
going to be lazy, then you go home and you fulfill the sunnah.
Get used to it.
The same applies to Salat Al Maghrib,
for example, Salat Al Isha, for example, and so many other units of prayer that are
not compulsory, but you will get a reward for them.
That's as far as the prayer goes.
Thereafter, you have many other acts
that are the sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
I give you a quick example.
When we remember Allah and that remembrance of Allah
in terms of your dhikr after every prayer is a sunnah, but the reward is so huge.
So try to get this fitted into your lives, especially during the month of Ramadan,
with the idea to continue even outside Ramadan.
And this is the whole aim of the month
of Ramadan, to develop a relationship with Allah
on a level that is higher than what it actually was.
So Allah Almighty wants us to engage
in these acts of worship, and Allah Almighty wants us to develop.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, his entire life,
every movement of his recorded, every statement of his recorded,
every action of his recorded, the nodding of his head recorded,
and the lessons learned from all of this, something amazing.
We believe that we should try our best to eat the way he ate,
to look at some of the foodstuffs that he ate, and study them,
and try and eat in a similar fashion in order for us not just to earn a great
reward, but to benefit holistically from these beautiful things
that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught and did, and he acted upon.
When the way he drank his water, for example, and the way he speaks about
drinking it in three sips and not gulping so much in, that is so beneficial in terms
of the medicinal value of the method of drinking the water.
Imagine the reward you would achieve if
the intention was to follow the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
This is why we always say, don't take for granted something
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, taught or did,
or something that he recommended, or something that he was used to.
Many times we would find ourselves taking
similar teachings from others and not realizing this was actually a teaching
of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, 1,400 years back.
We look at the intermittent fasting that people speak about now.
The sunnah fasting is actually a Monday and a Thursday.
It's very similar to the intermittent fasting.
People speak of the health benefits.
We as Muslims look at it from a religious perspective to begin with.
Everything that follows,
including the health benefits, all of that is a bonus. a bonus for a believer.
My brothers and sisters,
that is an example of fasting, the example of drinking water.
Similarly, when it comes to relieving oneself,
we need to understand that the Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him, has taught us a method of doing things.
He's taught us how to protect ourselves
from splashes, for example, how to protect ourselves, how to wash ourselves.
Similarly, he has also taught us how to wear our clothing and what type
of clothing to wear, Subhanallah, how to wear the clothing.
So to start off with the right and then the left,
this issue of right and left is something that is given so much of importance
in the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, to the degree that when
we're eating, we're supposed to be eating with the right hand.
He says, Don't eat with the left
for indeed the devil or Satan eats with the left.
How does Satan eat with the left?
I don't know, but I believe in the hadith
of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
So you make sure you try and do all good things with your right hand.
He used to love using the right to do the good things.
Prophet loved to use the right when it came to certain things.
Now, I've been asked a question by those
who sometimes are left handed, that is it prohibited to use the left?
It may not be prohibited, especially when you're not defying
a sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and you happen to be left handed.
It's okay to be able to write with both hands.
I can't say that it was a sunnah to write
with this or that because the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not write.
However, what I am saying is it is sunnah
to do these good things with the right hand where possible, where applicable.
There might be people who are struggling
with their right hand and they may not be able to do much with it.
In that particular case, you're excuse d.
These are some of the sunnah teachings
of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, that we must not take for granted.
We need to understand when he has told us
something, when he has explained verses of the Quran, that explanation comes first.
When he has expressed something and given
us instruction, those instructions are to be taken seriously.
There are people who sit back and relax and say, You know what?
I believe in the Quran,
but I don't believe in the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
What we need to realize, my brothers and sisters,
the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was given the Quran to give to us.
Allah chose the most trustworthy.
If we can trust Him regarding the Quran,
which is the revelation of Allah that He gave us, how can we not trust Him
regarding his own life and his other statements that he has said?
If we didn't believe these, how can we actually believe the others?
My brothers and sisters,
those who say that we won't take any hadith, need to reconsider their stance.
The reason is you can only be a Muslim when you declare,
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship besides Allah,
and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the messenger of Allah.
A messenger comes with a message.
The Quran leads you to the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Again, some people come in and say, Well,
those verses were revealed regarding something else altogether, and so on.
If you look at the reasons of revelation,
indeed, they are important to consider and to look into.
But remember, the meanings of the terms
used, they need to be understood in the proper sense.
When Allah Almighty tells you,
Take what the Prophet gave you, understand his instruction, and so on,
Allah Almighty expects you to follow what he is saying.
The explanation of so many acts of worship happens to be only from the sunnah
teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
If we did not take from the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him, we would not be able to fulfill what the Quran has brought.
So that too is part of the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Similarly, when engaging in acts
of worship, make sure that those acts of worship were taught by Muhammad (pbuh)
so that they fall under the broader term sunnah.
It is not something that is an innovation,
but rather it's something that was taught and it's something that was given
by Prophet Muhammad, peace and love be upon him.
May Allah Almighty bless all of us and grant us the acceptance to follow
the beautiful sunnah in all of its different aspects.