al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fiqhiha - al-Ibadat fi al-Islam

al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fiqhiha - al-Ibadat fi al-Islam (The Foundation in the Sunna and Its Jurisprudence: Worship in Islam) is an extensive work on Islamic ritual law and prophetic traditions by Syrian author and preacher Said Hawwa (1354–1409 AH / 1935–1989 CE) Takmilat Mujam al-Muallif…+1. It serves as a comprehensive manual of Islamic worship (ʿibādāt), deducing legal regulations, moral objectives, and spiritual virtues directly from the corpuses of Hadith al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi…+1.

Context and Series Placement

The work forms the third division within the Hadith compendium al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fiqhiha, which itself is the second major branch of Hawwa’s broader programmatic series Silsilat al-Asas fi al-Manhaj (alongside al-Asas fi al-Tafsir and al-Asas fi Qawa'id al-Ma'rifa wa Dawabit al-Fahm lil-Nusus) Takmilat Mujam al-Muallif…+1.

In Hawwa’s systematic scheme, al-Ibadat fi al-Islam was arranged directly after the division on Islamic theology (al-Aqa'id al-Islamiyya) and prior to the concluding divisions devoted to life methodologies, social manners, and ethics (al-Hayatiyyat wal-Akhlaqiyyat wal-Sulukiyyat) al-Asas fi al-Sunnah wa F…+1. Hawwa explained that correct doctrine is the essential foundation for valid worship, while adherence to life systems is sustained through established worship and firm belief, all preceded by the prophetic biography (al-Sira al-Nabawiyya) in the first section to acquaint readers with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who conveyed these teachings al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi….

Content and Structure

The book is devoted to explaining the fundamental acts of ritual worship and their practical and spiritual dimensions al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi…+1:

• Prayer (al-Salah): Hawwa allocates significant space to ritual purification and the various categories of daily, weekly, and seasonal prayers, emphasizing prayer as the central pillar of religious obligation and personal refinement al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi…+1. He integrates communal Tarawih prayers and the two Eid prayers within this section so that the reader receives a unified treatment of prayer in a single part al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi….
• Obligatory and Voluntary Charity (al-Zakat wal-Sadaqat): Covers the regulations of mandatory almsgiving (zakat), supererogatory charity, religious endowments (awqaf), and moral teachings concerning financial contentment (qana'a) and restraint from begging, while placing the charity of Eid al-Fitr (zakat al-fitr) under the section on fasting due to its close connection to Ramadan al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi….
• Fasting (al-Sawm) and Pilgrimage (al-Hajj): Detailed treatments of the rulings, conditions, timings, and spiritual wisdom underlying the fast of Ramadan and the rites of Hajj and Umrah al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi…+1.

Methodology and Sources

The compendium is constructed on the primary classical sources of prophetic Hadith al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi…. Hawwa drew his material from Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, the Sunan collections of Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and al-Darimi, the Muwatta Malik, the Musnads of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, and al-Bazzar, the Sahihs of Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban, the three Mu'jam dictionaries of al-Tabarani, and the al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn of al-Hakim, along with other authentic and sound narrations al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi….

Hawwa's method focuses on compiling relevant narrations, clarifying their linguistic and jurisprudential meanings, and presenting them in a structured form aimed at addressing contemporary educational and devotional needs while defending the foundational authority of the prophetic Sunna al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fi….