Words of the Prophet Muhammad : 200 Authentic Ahadith

Sunnah (pl. sunan) literally means way or practice. In Islamic terminology, it refers to any act performed, verbally encouraged or, to a lesser degree, sanctioned by the Messenger of Allah Ta’ala by being performed in his presence or knowledge and not meeting with his disapproval. Of equal if not greater importance are the characteristics that made up the personality of Muhammad PBUH, the concerns that impassioned him and the ideals that he strove for. The wisdom of the Messenger of Allah has, since the dawn of his mission, served to inspire, guide, enlighten and heal millions through the journey of life. And how could it not have been of him whose Maker has praised him thus: “And truly you stand on an exalted standard of character. ” (68:4) Today, amongst the chaos and confusion of increasingly hectic lives, living in a world that replaces meaning with material value and purpose with temporal progress, far removed as we are from the time the blessed Messenger walked upon the earth, we need perhaps more than ever before to stop along the way and enrich ourselves with the teachings of truth and meaning of the Messenger of God, teachings in essence as timeless and as old as mankind itself: “Say: I am no new thing among messengers...” (46:9) The book in your hands is an anthology of some two hundred ahadith mostly of the second type of Sunnah referred to earlier, words of advice and teachings related to man and his relationship with his Maker, fellow human beings, and himself. Words of wisdom to mankind from one who was, after all his greatness and exalted stature, himself a man.