Sunnah Muakkad Means Practices that Prophet Muhammad Always Performed, Here's the Explanation and Examples

Dream – Sunnah muakkad means the recommended practices that every Muslim should perform. As one of the laws in Islam, some acts of worship and practices have the status of sunnah muakkad.

The Islamic law is very comprehensive in regulating the acts of worship and practices performed by Muslims. In addition to obligatory and forbidden acts, there are also levels of sunnah in Islamic law, which are acts of worship that are rewarded but not sinful when abandoned.

This division of sunnah law is divided into two types, namely sunnah muakkad and sunnah ghairu muakkad. Sunnah muakkad means acts of worship that are recommended to be performed because they can perfect obligatory acts.

Humans, with all their shortcomings, are often negligent in fulfilling their obligations to perform a number of obligatory acts. It is hoped that the practice of sunnah muakkad can complement these shortcomings.

Below, Dream will discuss sunnah muakkad and its meaning, as well as examples, as summarized from various sources.

Various Levels of Islamic Law

Islam recognizes various types of legal attributes. In the implementation of certain acts of worship and practices, there are accompanying legal attributes. The highest level of law is obligatory. Acts that have the status of obligatory law must be performed. The sanction for violating this law is sin and punishment from Allah SWT.

Before discussing in more detail the meaning of sunnah muakkad, it is better for us to first understand more clearly about the various types of Islamic law as follows:

1. Fardh or Obligatory

Fardh or obligatory is an act that must be performed, and if it is abandoned, it will incur sin. This obligatory law is further divided based on the time of performance, the person performing it, the degree of performance, and the obligation of the command.

Based on the time of performance, obligatory law is divided into absolute obligatory and strongly recommended obligatory. An absolute example is qadha Ramadan fasting, where this fasting can be done anytime outside the month of Ramadan and the forbidden fasting days.

Meanwhile, the implementation of muakkad obligation is determined by a specific time and becomes invalid if implemented outside the designated time. For example, the five daily prayers.

Meanwhile, based on the person who performs it, the obligatory law is divided into two, namely fardhu ain and fardhu kifayah. Fardhu ain is personally obligatory and cannot be delegated, such as fasting and praying. Meanwhile, fardhu kifayah can be done together or in groups. If no one performs it, then everyone is sinful. Meanwhile, if several people have performed it, then the obligation for everyone is lifted. An example of this is the funeral prayer.

2. Sunnah

The level of law below the obligatory level is sunnah. Sunnah is an act of worship that, if performed, is rewarded, and if abandoned, is not sinful. Sunnah is also divided into several parts, namely sunnah muakkad, sunnah ghairu muakkad, sunnah hajat, and sunnah ab'ad.

3. Mubah

Mubah is a law in Islam where if it is done or left undone, it does not receive any reward or sin. The nature of this mubah law is either permanent or non-permanent, and there are no prohibitions that are either permanent or non-permanent. Examples of mubah law are eating and drinking, choosing the color of clothing, and so on.

4. Makruh

Makruh is an act that, if performed, is not sinful, but if abandoned, is rewarded. The makruh law indicates a prohibition that is not permanent. An example of makruh law is when performing ablution, prioritizing the left side over the right side. It is better to avoid this because Allah does not like it.

5. Haram

After makruh, the lowest level of law is haram. This law applies to actions that, if performed, will incur sin. If these actions are abandoned, they will be rewarded. Actions that are considered haram include murder, adultery, theft, eating pork or dog meat, and drinking alcohol.

Understanding the Meaning of Sunnah

After understanding the various levels of Islamic law, let us discuss sunnah. Sunnah muakkad means it is important for every Muslim to understand. In Islam, there are several types of sunnah law. In terms of language, sunnah means a path, both the path of goodness and the path of evil.

In the terminology of hadith, sunnah is defined as the words, actions, decisions, and good qualities before and after becoming a prophet. Based on this terminology of hadith, it can be said that sunnah is a hadith.

However, it is different from the terminology of fiqh, which refers to sunnah as a legal attribute of an act that, if performed, will be rewarded, while if abandoned, will not be sinful. In this terminology of fiqh, sunnah is divided into two, namely sunnah muakkad and sunnah ghairu muakkad.

What Does Sunnah Muakkad Mean?

So what does sunnah muakkad mean? Sunnah muakkad means a recommended law with strong emphasis.

The level of sunnah muakkad is almost close to obligatory. In fiqh, sunnah muakkad means sunnah that is performed with the aim of complementing and perfecting religious obligations, such as congregational obligatory prayers, the call to prayer, and the call to commence prayer.

This is why sunnah muakkad means a highly recommended sunnah that is almost close to obligatory. The acts that are classified as sunnah muakkad are often the acts that Prophet Muhammad SAW always performed. In fact, he rarely neglected them.

Some of the acts that are classified as sunnah muakkad include rawatib prayers, prayers on the day of Eid al-Fitr, prayers on the day of Eid al-Adha, witr prayer, tarawih prayer, tahajud prayer, eclipse prayer, and prayer for rain.

What is Sunnah Ghairu Muakkad?

The second type of sunnah is sunnah ghairu muakkad. This sunnah is defined as a non-emphasized sunnah. This understanding is based on the behavior of Prophet Muhammad SAW in performing non-emphasized sunnah acts.

He sometimes performed them, and sometimes he did not. Because Prophet Muhammad did not perform them regularly, these sunnah acts are not emphasized or close to obligatory.

Acts of worship that are classified as sunnah ghairu muakkad include sunnah rawatib prayers, dhuha prayers, repentance prayers, tasbih prayers, prayers after ablution, and prayer of need.

Sunnah Rawatib Prayers

One of the acts of worship that is classified as sunnah muakkad is rawatib prayers. These prayers are voluntary prayers that accompany obligatory prayers. Sunnah rawatib prayers are performed to perfect the obligatory prayers. Prophet Muhammad SAW almost never neglected the sunnah rawatib prayers during his lifetime.

Here are the implementation of sunnah rawatib prayers that accompany obligatory prayers:

• Two units of prayer before performing the Fajr prayer (qabliyah).
• Two units of prayer before performing the Dhuhr prayer (qabliyah).
• Two units of prayer after performing the Dhuhr prayer (ba'diyah).
• Two units of prayer after performing the Maghrib prayer (ba'diyah).
• Two units of prayer after performing the Isha prayer (ba'diyah).

That is the explanation of sunnah muakkad, which means a highly recommended sunnah. By knowing the law of sunnah muakkad and its examples mentioned above, it will expand the knowledge of Sahabat Dream regarding which practices are classified as sunnah muakkad. So that you can perform them as a complement to obligatory acts of worship.