What is and Isn’t Sunnah

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa RaḥmatuLlāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu BiLlāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. BismiLlāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi RasūliLlāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Sheikh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Sheikh Muḥammad Nāẓim al- Ḥaqqānī. Madad. Ṭarīqatunā aṣ-Suḥbah wa l-Khayru fi l-Jam‘iyyah.

Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says:

“Whoever revives my Sunnah in the time of corruption of my Ummah, Allāh ﷻ will reward him with the reward of one hundred martyrs.” Aw kama qāl. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says, “For the one who revives my Sunnah when my Ummah has gone astray, there is the reward of a hundred martyrs for each Sunnah.” The Sunnah of our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam means the things he ﷺ did. We must not forget them.

The people of ṭarīqah try to follow those Sunnahs as much as they can. But there are some people who don’t like the Sunnah. They say, “We are Muslims,” but they say about our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, “The Prophet is a human being like us, there is no need to follow his ﷺ Sunnahs.” Looking at their clothing, you might think they are Muslim; but their behavior has nothing to do with Muslim appearance. They present things that are not Sunnah as Sunnah. Everyone imitates them, thinking it is Sunnah, and strive to do the same as them.

The most obvious example of this is: when these people stand for prayer, they spread their feet excessively - saying they should touch the feet of those next to them. This has nothing to do with Sunnah. In prayer, the Sunnah is to touch the shoulders together, not the feet. According to the Hanafi madhhab, the distance between the feet should be at most five to ten centimeters. In the Shafi’i madhhab, it can be slightly more, but it should never be completely open - may Allāh ﷻ forbid - as if it one wants to relieve himself (invalidate ablution). That’s not Sunnah; it has nothing to do with Sunnah. This is the most prominent characteristic of people who dislike the Sunnah. Presenting this as Sunnah and showing it to people as such is a sin. Because our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam did not do this, nor did he ﷺ command it. What he ﷺ commanded is, when praying in congregation, the shoulders should touch each other in the row. Outside of congregational prayer, that is, in Sunnah prayers, this is not necessary; in Sunnah prayers, everyone can stand in separate places. But when standing for Fard prayer, it is about

forming a closed row by touching the shoulders together, not the feet. They call it Sunnah, but they are deceiving people.

The Sunnah is to keep the head covered. Women must wear a headscarf anyway; but men should also wear a skullcap; they should cover their heads. That is a Sunnah. A more advanced Sunnah is the turban, but such people would never ever wear a turban in their lives. If they were to wear anything, some throw a cloth over their heads like women, and make others wear it as if it were Sunnah. Sunnah is to wear a skullcap. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam called it “Qulunsuwa,” which means skullcap. To wrap or tie a turban on it is a Sunnah with more rewards.

A person who follows the Sunnah does these things. But to spread the feet as far as possible in the name of the Sunnah, offering a strange sight in the process, is certainly not a Sunnah. Head uncovered, beard a handspan long, no mustache, trousers knee-length. This is not Sunnah; Sunnah is not like that. Sunnah is the most beautiful way be bour Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam showed. Those who follow it don’t need anything else anyways. To portray what is ḥalāl as ḥarām is also a great sin.

We sometimes observe that even some of our brothers spread their feet in this way. They went to Umrah or ḥajj, saw it there and thought to themselves, “So, that’s Islām, you have to spread your feet like this.” That’s not how it is, absolutely not! Pay attention. Look at what is and isn’t Sunnah. This is especially followed by those who don’t like the Sunnah, those who don’t show respect to our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. It’s their way. Don’t follow them, stay away from them. Don’t imitate them. Resemble our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says, “He who imitates any people is one of them.” May Allāh ﷻ protect us from the evils. The shayṭān’s evil is big; he makes the good appear bad and the bad appear good. May Allāh ﷻ protect us and grant us all vigilance.

Wa min Allāhi t-Tawfīq. Al-Fātiḥa.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 05 August 2026/ 22 Safar 1448 Fajr Prayer – Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul