Sunna means the living example: The Sunna is the practical model set by the infallible authorities. It has three parts: Qawl (words — what they said and taught), Fi'l (actions — how they prayed, fasted, traded, and lived), and Taqrir (tacit approval — what they saw and did not forbid, which means they approved it).
The Prophet (SAW) and the Imams (as): In Shia Usul, the Sunna covers both the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the Twelve Imams (as), from Imam Ali (as) to Imam al-Mahdi (ajtf). The Imams (as) are Ma'sum (infallible) and the inheritors of the Prophet's (SAW) knowledge, so their teaching carries the same authority. Together this gives us 260 years of guidance.
Kept in the Four Books: The Sunna is preserved mainly in the Four Books (Al-Kutub al-Arba'a): Al-Kafi, Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih, Tahdhib al-Ahkam, and Al-Istibsar. But not every narration is equally strong — scholars grade Hadith as Sahih (sound), Hasan (good), Muwaththaq (reliable), or Da'if (weak). That is why Ilm al-Rijal, the science of the narrators, is so important.
Example
A child learns how to pray by watching his father pray, not only by hearing him describe it. In the same way, the Sunna shows us Islam in action — the Prophet (SAW) prayed, and the Imams (as) prayed, so we know exactly how prayer is done.
Key Terms
- Sunna (سنہ) — the words, actions, and approvals of the Prophet (SAW) and the Imams (as)
- Qawl (قول) — words; what the Prophet (SAW) or an Imam (as) said
- Taqrir (تقریر) — tacit approval; what they saw and did not forbid
- Al-Kutub al-Arba'a (الکتب الاربعہ) — the Four Books of Shia Hadith
Quran or Hadith
Hadith al-Thaqalayn — the Prophet (SAW) said: "I leave among you the Two Weighty Things — the Book of Allah and my progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt (as). Whoever holds fast to both will never go astray." — to be checked. This is why the Sunna of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) stands beside the Quran as a source of law.
Fresh diagram to be drawn: Three boxes side by side — "Qawl — words", "Fi'l — actions", "Taqrir — silent approval" — all flowing into one box labelled "The Sunna".
- The Sunna has three parts: words (Qawl), actions (Fi'l), and silent approval (Taqrir).
- In Shia Usul it covers the Prophet (SAW) and the Twelve Imams (as) — 260 years of guidance.
- The Sunna is preserved mainly in the Four Books.
- Not every narration is equally strong; scholars grade Hadith as Sahih, Hasan, Muwaththaq, or Da'if.