Title: Follow-up questions on Hadith and Sunnah Question/Comments: Dear brother, thank you for your reply and It definitely has helped me in increasing my understanding on the subject. However, I have some follow-up questions. I Would appreciate if you would answer them. You write, Contrary to the Qur'an, which was written under the supervision of the Prophet (pbuh) and, later on, under the auspices of the Muslim state, the elements of Sunnah were not put to writing by either the Prophet (pbuh) or by the Caliphate, which followed the Prophet (pbuh). My question: How is the Sunnah protected? The practical perpetuation (Correct me if I am wrong) means, as per the English dictionary, maintenance, continuation, keeping, upholding. If the Sunnah is not written down, is it not possible that things over the period of time would have got distorted. Secondly, in your answer to one of the questions differentiating between Hadith and Sunnah , you have given a list of things, which are practically perpetuated and they even include Hajj/Umrah and also the five obligatory prayers. Are these part of the Sunnah or are they Fard . Maybe my understanding is wrong, please bear with me and explain to me what is the exact meaning of Sunnah and how is it different from Fardh . Regards Shakeel Abdul Answer: The Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) has been protected through the practical perpetuation of the Muslim community on these actions as well as through the consensus of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as that of all Muslim scholars. Each Muslim generation subsequent to the generation of the companions has adhered to these actions and has upheld them as a part of the religious teachings of Muhammad (pbuh). Thus, it is, in fact, the practical perpetuation of the whole of the Muslim community, which has safeguarded the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) from distortions. Even if there were any elements of the Sunnah , which, over the centuries, lost practical perpetuation of the whole Muslim community, the historical record of the consensus of the companions and that of the Muslim scholar, regarding the status of that action as a Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) [1] . Keeping the foregoing explanation in perspective, it should become clear that distortions in the corpus of the Sunnah were, in fact, as improbable as distortions in the Qur'an. Distortions, obviously, could only have been through additions in or deletions from the corpus of the Sunnah . However, we know that the rapid expansion of the Muslim empire at the hands of the generation of the companions, which brought a large part of the populated world under the Muslim flag had made it almost impossible, in the later years and generations, to either introduce an action as a Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) and subsequently achieve a complete consensus of the vast population of Muslims on that action or to remove some action from the Muslim population, which had already attained the general acceptance and reverence of the whole Muslim community. Furthermore, to allow such distortions to qualify as a Sunnah , it would also have been necessary to complete distort the historical record of the times of the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions. In view of the stated factors, I find the chances of success for any conscious or unconscious efforts of distorting the corpus of the Sunnah to be extremely minimal. As for your second question, it has only arisen due to a mix-up between two separate uses of the term "Sunnah" in the Muslim literature. The term 'Sunnah' has generally been used by Muslims in two separate connotations: Firstly, the term has been used to designate the status of a particular action. In this connotation, the word Sunnah is relative to Fard , Waajib , or naf'l . Secondly, the term has been used to designate the source of a particular directive or action included in the Shari`ah . In this connotation, the term is used relative to the Qur'an. In my referred response [2] , I have used the term "Sunnah" in the second connotation. Thus, in my referred response, "Sunnah" refers to the source of the stated directives and actions, not to their status (as Fard or Naf'l ) in the corpus of the Shari`ah . Hajj , Sala'h etc. are indeed Fard, but the source of these directives is the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad January 1, 2002 [1] A practical example of such a Sunnah is the fact that the Friday congregation is to be organized by the Muslim state and the Friday address to be delivered by the Head of the Muslim state or, in his absence, his representative. [2] Reference is to the response titled: " Difference between Hadith and Sunnah ".