The significance and purpose of the Sunnah and Hadith
The SunnahThe Prophet Muhammad鈥檚 customary practice in his day-to-day living, recorded in six major collections and regarded as a model of Muslim behaviour. refers to the sayings and practices of the Prophet MuhammadThe Arab prophet who founded the religion of Islam. and is the second source of knowledge for Muslims.
Muhammad is considered to be a perfect model. This can be seen at prayer time or SalatPrescribed communication with, and worship of, Allah. It is performed under specific conditions in the manner taught by the Prophet Muhammad and recited in Arabic. Muslims believe that Allah has fixed the five times within the day that Salat needs to be performed. - whilst the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍The sacred book in Islam, it is believed that it contains the word of God, dictated by Angel Jibril and written in Arabic. explains when and how one should pray, Muslims use the example of Muhammad to know what words and movements to use during prayer.
There are two types of HadithThe sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, as remembered and recounted by those close to him.:
The sacred - these are sacred sayings in which Muhammad quotes words from Allah which are not included in the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍.
The prophetic - these are wise sayings which the Prophet himself gave.
They do not have the same authority as the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 as they are not direct revelation from Allah, but are inspired sayings.