For clarity, the use of the word sunnah in this article is referring to the sayings, teachings, actions, appearances, habits and silent approvals of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) as understood in classical Sunni tradition and not to be confused with the 'sunnat-Allah' mentioned in the Qur'an.
The Qur'an refers to "...a good example set for you by Ibrahim and those with him..." (60:4) as something for the believers to follow. The example being referenced is Ibrahim and the group of believers who were with him and their steadfastness to strict monotheism in a culture of idol worship, when they responded to the idolaters with "...we are innocent from you and what you serve besides Allah..." (60:4).
When the Qur’an goes on to declare "indeed, in the messenger of Allah a good example has been set for you for he who seeks Allah and the last day and thinks constantly about Allah" (33:21), we should understand this in exactly the same way as we understand "...a good example set for you by Ibrahim and those with him..." (60:4).
Many things people call sunnah today, such as how to eat or how to sleep, were simply Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) personal habits as a human being. The Qur'an repeatedly separates Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) human side from his role as a messenger. He is instructed to say "...I am but a mortal like you..." (18:110) and "...I am no more than a mortal like you..." (41:6). The Qur'an goes on to instruct Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to tell his people that he was nothing special before the Qur'an as "...I have been residing among you for nearly a lifetime before this..." (10:16).
There is no blame on anyone copying Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) outward habits and appearance. A believer may choose to dress as he dressed, groom as he groomed, or follow Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) daily routines out of love, and the Qur'an never forbids this. But these outward acts cannot replace the methods for achieving success.
The Qur'an warns that outward religious appearances can be used to deceive. It describes the hypocrites (those who showed Islam outwardly) who "...when you see them, you are impressed by their physical stature; and when they speak, you listen to their eloquence..." (63:4) but really they are nothing except "...like blocks of wood propped-up..." (63:4) on the inside. It describes others "...from among the people are those whose words you admire in this worldly life..." (2:204) yet these people are "...the worst in opposition" (2:204).
Imitation of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) often focuses on outward practices that are simple requiring very little effort, while neglecting the real sunnah which requires genuine sacrifice.
Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) mission was to change the souls of people, not to freeze a culture in time. His role was to follow Ibrahim in strict adherence to monotheism by following and upholding the Qur'an. The believers' are instructed to follow Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) in exactly the same way.
Good example (uswat-al-hasanat)
The Qur'an refers to "...a good example set for you by Ibrahim and those with him..." (60:4) as something for the believers to follow. The example being referenced is Ibrahim and the group of believers who were with him and their steadfastness to strict monotheism in a culture of idol worship, when they responded to the idolaters with "...we are innocent from you and what you serve besides Allah..." (60:4).
Ibrahim and his people are also "... a good example has been set by them for those who seek
Allah and the last day..." (60:6). Again, this is a continuation of the previous verse of referencing Ibrahim and the believers with him who worshipped Allah alone and believed in the day of judgement.
Allah instructs Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to declare "...my Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright
system, the creed of Ibrahim the monotheist; he was not of the
polytheists" (6:161) and Allah inspired Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to say to the Jews "...you shall follow the creed of Ibrahim,
monotheism, and he was not of the polytheists" (16:123). Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) is instructed to say to the Jews and Christians "...rather the creed of Ibrahim, monotheism; for
he was not of the polytheists" (2:135). Similar messages are repeated about Ibrahim who "... was neither a Jew nor a Nazarene, but he was a monotheist who submitted; he was not of the polytheists" (3:67), "...follow the creed of Ibrahim, monotheism,
and he was not of the polytheists" (3:95) and "...he follows the creed of
Ibrahim in monotheism..." (4:125)
Despite the constant commands from Allah to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to instruct people to follow Ibrahim and his people as the example, Allah does not give details of their personal conduct, their appearance nor their routines. This is because the Qur'an defines Ibrahim and his people's example as being that of devotion to monotheism.
When the Qur’an goes on to declare "indeed, in the messenger of Allah a good example has been set for you for he who seeks Allah and the last day and thinks constantly about Allah" (33:21), we should understand this in exactly the same way as we understand "...a good example set for you by Ibrahim and those with him..." (60:4).
Identical to Ibrahim, Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) example is defined by strict adherence to monotheism in a sea of idolatry and not through the outward details of 7th‑century Arabian life. In both cases, the description of 'good example' is referring to monotheism and single belief in Allah, and not external imitation of how they slept, ate or dressed.
'Follow me'
When Allah instructed Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to say "...if you love Allah then follow me so Allah will love you and
forgive your sins..." (3:31), some people have interpreted this to mean copying his clothing, beard, or cultural habits.
The Qur'an give us a clear definition of what it means to follow Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). It states "those who follow the messenger, the gentile prophet..." (7:157) are the people "...who believe in him, and
support him, and help him persevere..." (7:157), and the key attribute of those who follow Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) are those who "...follow the light that
was sent down with him..." (7:157). The light mentioned here is the the Qur'an itself and not about copying Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) personal habits.
The Qur'an repeatedly commands Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to "follow what is inspired to you from your Lord; there is no god
except He, and turn away from the polytheists" (6:106), "follow what was sent down to you from your Lord, and do not
follow besides Him any supporters..." (7:3), "...I only follow what is inspired to me from
my Lord..." (7:203), "...I
merely follow what is inspired to me..." (10:15),"...follow what is being inspired to you..." (10:109), "...follow what is being inspired to you by your Lord..." (33:2) and "...I only follow what is inspired
to me..." (46:9). Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) fulfilled these commands by only following the Qur'an.
We see the concept of 'following' in other parts of the Qur'an. Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) is told that he "...can only warn him who follows the reminder..." (36:11), meaning not the man but the Qur'an. When Musa invited pharaoh to Allah, Musa offers peace to "...those who follow the guidance" (20:47). When the people of the book wished to debate, Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) is advised to say "I have submitted myself to
Allah, as well as those who follow me..." (3:20). Submission here means to the revelations of Allah as indicated in the next verse.
This is reinforced by the Qur'an's own warning about misplaced priorities. On the day of judgement, Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) will not complain to Allah about people failing to copy him, but rather he will say "...my Lord, my people have deserted this
Qur'an" (25:30). Therefore, the best way to obey the Prophet Mohammed's statement in the Qur'an of "...if you love Allah then follow me so Allah will love you and forgive your sins..." (3:31) is to "...follow the light that was sent down with him..." (7:157).
Personal habits
Many things people call sunnah today, such as how to eat or how to sleep, were simply Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) personal habits as a human being. The Qur'an repeatedly separates Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) human side from his role as a messenger. He is instructed to say "...I am but a mortal like you..." (18:110) and "...I am no more than a mortal like you..." (41:6). The Qur'an goes on to instruct Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to tell his people that he was nothing special before the Qur'an as "...I have been residing among you for nearly a lifetime before this..." (10:16).
Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) personal habits and his appearances were always his own preferences and this remained unchanged throughout his life. He did not suddenly adopt different habits and preferences as soon as the Qur'an was revealed. Therefore, we cannot assign divinity to such actions as Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) "...did not know what was the Book, nor what was faith..." (42:52) before he received the Qur'an.
This is important to understand because the Qur'an also says Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) does not "...speak from personal desire" (53:3), interpreted by some to mean that all his speech, both inside and outside of the Qur'an as revelation. However, this is clearly a misunderstanding when the Qur'an describes this speech as "it is a divine inspiration" (53:4). This is specifically referring to the Qur'an, as prior to the revelation Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) "...did not know what was the Book, nor what was faith..." (42:52).
Distraction of the Qur'an
There is no blame on anyone copying Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) outward habits and appearance. A believer may choose to dress as he dressed, groom as he groomed, or follow Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) daily routines out of love, and the Qur'an never forbids this. But these outward acts cannot replace the methods for achieving success.
The successful ones are the people "... who calls towards
righteousness, and advocate for good and prohibit vice..." (3:104), those who "...follow the light that
was sent down..." (7:157), those who "...have strived
with their money and their lives..." (9:88), "those who, in their salat, have humility" (23:2), those who "...stand with justice as witnesses to Allah, even if
against yourselves, or the parents or the relatives..." (4:135) and many other praiseworthy actions mentioned elsewhere in the Qur'an.
Copying Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) personal habits is permissible as personal affection, but becomes a distortion when it is treated as divine obligation or a measure of righteousness.
Deception of 'holy look'
The Qur'an warns that outward religious appearances can be used to deceive. It describes the hypocrites (those who showed Islam outwardly) who "...when you see them, you are impressed by their physical stature; and when they speak, you listen to their eloquence..." (63:4) but really they are nothing except "...like blocks of wood propped-up..." (63:4) on the inside. It describes others "...from among the people are those whose words you admire in this worldly life..." (2:204) yet these people are "...the worst in opposition" (2:204).
The Qur'an condemns those who in "...their salat they are absent minded" (107:5) simply because in their salat "they only want to be seen" (107:6) and this is mentioned again when Allah says "...they attend to the salat, they do so lazily, only to
show the people..." (4:142).
These warnings remain relevant today. Many people involved in some of the worst crimes like terrorism, fraud, or drug dealing, adopt the outward 'sunnah' appearance and often are seen on the first lines of the salat. Yet the Qur'an condemns the very crimes they go on to commit. If they were attached to the Qur'an and not so much to the outwardly sunnah instead, they would not be involved in such criminal activities in the first instance.
The Qur'an's message is clear that appearance is not piety. Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was told to "...lower your wing for any who follow you of the believers" (26:215), to be humble and approachable. He dressed like the people of his time because he knew that "... the garment of righteousness is the
best..." (7:26), and not a 'holy look' which would give a distinction of superiority like the Jews and Christians.
Easy sunnah
Imitation of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) often focuses on outward practices that are simple requiring very little effort, while neglecting the real sunnah which requires genuine sacrifice.
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was commanded to "...stand the night..." (73:2) in voluntary salat. Yet those who are most vocal about following his sunnah rarely attempt to emulate this aspect of his devotion.
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) lived a simple life, but the Qur'an does not ask us to copy his relative poverty. This is because he had no concern for the material things, as his only concern was to deliver the Qur'an to the world in addition to following it himself. We do not have to shoulder this burden, and instead the Qur'an tells us to"...not forget your share in this world..." (28:77) and it teaches us to supplicate "...our Lord, give us good in this world, and good in the hereafter, and spare us from the retribution of the fire" (2:201). Having and enjoying the good things in life from Allah's bounty with gratefulness is encouraged by the Qur'an.
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) lived a simple life, but the Qur'an does not ask us to copy his relative poverty. This is because he had no concern for the material things, as his only concern was to deliver the Qur'an to the world in addition to following it himself. We do not have to shoulder this burden, and instead the Qur'an tells us to"...not forget your share in this world..." (28:77) and it teaches us to supplicate "...our Lord, give us good in this world, and good in the hereafter, and spare us from the retribution of the fire" (2:201). Having and enjoying the good things in life from Allah's bounty with gratefulness is encouraged by the Qur'an.
Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) diet was extremely modest. This was not because such a diet is virtuous or nutritious, but because he was detached from worldly indulgence. Attempting to copy this diet today could lead to nutritional deficiencies and health issues. Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) simplicity was a reflection of his priorities and not a dietary prescription for the believers.
It is noticeable that many people who are the most strict about the outward sunnah: the clothing, the beard, the turban, do not follow Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) actual lifestyle of simplicity, moderation, honesty and self‑discipline. Rather, they stick to what is easy. It's always easier to grow a beard than to stop backbiting. It's easier to wear a long flowing robe than to control anger. In fact, those most focused on the external sunnah are often the least committed to the real sunnah. Today, it is common to see large stomachs beneath 'sunnah clothing' and expensive cars driven by those of limited resources.
Conclusion
Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) mission was to change the souls of people, not to freeze a culture in time. His role was to follow Ibrahim in strict adherence to monotheism by following and upholding the Qur'an. The believers' are instructed to follow Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) in exactly the same way.
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was not sent "...except as a mercy to the worlds" (21:107). For his example to function for all people in all times, it must consist of universal values which do not expire when the technology or fashion changes. The religion of Allah is Islam and it cannot be restricted to a single culture from 7th century Arabia.
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was the walking Qur'an. Whoever wishes to follow his sunnah should begin where he began: with the Qur'an.