The leaders of the Shī‘ah have enjoined their followers to cling to the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣ) alongside the Qur’an, commending both the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣ). Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a) says:
الله كتاب من شاهدًا له فوجدتم حديث عليكم ورد "إذا
به." أولىٰ به جاءكم فالّذي إلاّ و (ص) الله رسول قول من أو
If you are introduced to a narration which conforms with the Book of Allah or the words of the Messenger of Allah (ṣ), accept it; otherwise, that narration is more worthy for its transmitter.[1]
Similarly, Imām al-Bāqir (‘a) considers holding fast to the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣ) as a basic characteristic of an extremely well qualified jurist, and says:
الدّنيا، في الزّاهد الفقيه حقّ الفقيه إنّ”
“. (ص) النّبيّ بسنّة المتمسّك الآخرة، في الرّاغب
“A true jurist is he who renounces what is in this world, desires for what is in the hereafter and clings to the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣ).”[2]
Great leaders of the Shī‘ah have such a good mastery over the Sunnah that they reject whatever opposes the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣ), and consider it as kufr [denial of faith]. Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a), who stresses this idea, says:
“.كفر فقد (ص) محمّد سنّة و الله كتاب خالف من”
“Anyone who opposes the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Muḥammad (ṣ) is an infidel.”[3]
This shows clearly that the Shī‘ah observe the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (ṣ) more than any other Muslim groups, and testify to the groundlessness of the statement of those who accuse the Shī‘ah of being alien to the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣ).
