This study examines the status and significance of the Prophetic Sunnah in Islamic Sharia, considering it the second source of Islamic legislation after the Holy Qur’an. The Sunnah explains Qur’anic rulings, details what is stated generally, specifies general texts, and restricts unrestricted rulings. The study aims to clarify the concept of the Prophetic Sunnah and Islamic Sharia, explain the complementary relationship between the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah, and highlight the authority of the Sunnah through evidence from the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the consensus of the Muslim Ummah, and reason. It also explores the impact of the Sunnah on regulating Muslims’ lives in the fields of creed, worship, transactions, and ethics. The study adopts the descriptive analytical method by referring to authentic sources in Hadith sciences and principles of Islamic jurisprudence and by analyzing the relevant legal texts. The study concludes that the Prophetic Sunnah represents a fundamental pillar in the structure of Islamic legislation and that adhering to it is a religious obligation without which the correct understanding and application of Islam cannot be achieved. It also confirms that the Sunnah is a form of divine revelation and that the efforts of Muslim scholars in collecting, verifying, and critically examining its chains of transmission and texts contributed to preserving it from distortion and fabrication. The study further concludes that adherence to the Prophetic Sunnah is a means of reforming both the individual and society, and that questioning its authority leads to a flawed understanding and application of Islamic Sharia. The study recommends increasing attention to the teaching of the Prophetic Sunnah and its sciences in educational institutions, promoting authentic Hadiths, responding scientifically to contemporary doubts regarding the authority of the Sunnah, and employing modern means to connect Muslims with the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in word, action, and methodology.
Saadia Tamim Jamaa Ibrahim (Wed,) studied this question.