Why is there a difference between Sunnah and Wajib?

If someone forgets to mention the name of Allah, misses a supplication, misses an act of worship or misses to say something or do something, what is the ruling  for that? Mistakes and mishaps have no measure. They are not of the same level.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) sometimes asked the person to repeat the prayer, sometimes he corrected them, while at other times he taught them how to perform the prostration of forgetfulness. Every mistake does not nullify the Salah because they are all not of the same level. The Scholars have kept a lot of things in front of them and made the difference between Fardh, Wajib, Makrooh etc.

When a Scholar is given the responsibility of guiding the Ummah or is given the status of a judge in the Islamic court, they are faced with such problems every day.

 This is the reason why they have made such distinctions. In these, the ones that can be used by the common man in everyday life are five: Fardh, Wajib, Makrooh, Mustahab and Mubaah. It doesn't mean that we only follow the Fardh and the Wajib, and leave everything else. This cannot be the way of a Muslim, nor is it a way to attain piety.

Is There A Difference Between Wajib And Sunnah On Every Instance?

It is important for every Muslim to follow the way of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in every walk of life without any objections. There is an absolute order in the Quran and Sunnah to follow the way of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), and it is the principle to follow the Prophet (Peace be upon him). This is the requirement of ‘faith in prophethood’. This is a higher level of faith. The Companions and Scholars have always tried to follow the way of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to the best of their ability.

Imam Ibn Rajab writes in Jami’ Al Uloom Wal Hikam: “Whoever really loves the Prophet (Peace be upon him), will love the things beloved to the Prophet (Peace be upon him). This also means that to fulfil the requirements of love towards the Prophet (Peace be upon him) one has to act according to it, and hate the things that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) hated. 

Doing the things that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) disliked while having the power to abstain from them is a clear sign of weakness of love. In such a state, repentance is necessary to fulfil the lack of proper love. Ibn Rajab while quoting Umar bin Abdul Aziz and other reformers has said that whenever there was a compromise with the Sunnah and people started new things in the religion, new rules had to be formed according to them. 

If Muslims were united in their faith and actions, then there would be no disagreement, no division, there would be no sects and there would be no animosity.

Following the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to the best of our ability is our duty. When the leader of an association, school, office, company or country gives an order everybody follows it without questioning it. They do not sit around talking about whether it is obligatory or recommended or just a delegation.

If children start questioning their parents' orders, and students their school’s authority, players their captains, and wives start to rethink their husbands' wants; if everybody was to question their elders and authority according to the above  classification of the the rulings, then the entire system would be disturbed and none of the collective work would reach its desired end.

Sheikh Abdus Salam al-Madani 

Founder,

Aspire College of Excellence in Chennai and Bangalore.