Selected Quotations

Sunnah and Shariah

Prophet mentioned in his tradition the aliens and said they would revive his Sunnah after being obliterated. By propagandizing this revival of Sunnah, they become aliens amongst their kinsfolk. This is due to the fact that propagandizing revival of Sunnah is associated with exoticism in contrast to the statue quo with which the people are familiar. They are the aliens of truth amidst people, among whom truth becomes alienated, due to their familiarity with falsehood that they mistook it for truth, and due to their neglectfulness of truth.
People are used to the notion that Prophet’s Sunnah is defined to be Prophet’s saying, admissibility and deed. Truly, this is incorrect, as Prophet’s saying and admissibility are not Sunnah but rather Shariah. It is his own deed that constitutes Sunnah. Of course, some of his sayings that reveal his heart divinely knowledge of Allah can be adjoined to Sunnah. However, his sayings aimed at educating the nation on its religious affairs are considered to be Shariah. The difference between Sunnah and Shariah represents the difference between the Message and Prophecy, or the difference between the level of awareness of the nation, from bottom to top, and that of the Prophet, which is a substantial difference.
Sunnah is considered to be the own deeds of Prophet, whilst Shariah represents his condescension, from his level, to the level of his nation, with a view to educate and charge them with obligations at a level tolerable by them. Hence, Sunnah is his Prophecy, whilst Shariah is his Message. It is within the framework of his Message that he said, “ We Prophets, are commanded to address the people at their level of understanding”.

Mahmoud Muhammad Taha
The Second Message of Islam
Translated by Saad Abunoura