"THERE IS FOR YOU IN THE MESSENGER

         OF ALLAH AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE (Uswa).." (33:21)

This ayat/verse forms the basis of the very first Muslims setting their hearts on finding out about the behavior of the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam. They made efforts to find out from him or those close to him, to acquaint themselves with even the minutest details of his tastes, his preferences, and his way of reacting in any given circumstance.

Deprived of the physical presence of the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, the succeeding generations of Muslims down to our time today, did everything possible to conserve the memory of his Sunnah, his custom, by collecting together the Hadiths. These are testimonies going as far back as the first generation of Muslims, which rescued the sayings and actions of the Prophet or of his companions, and they were gathered into a vast corpus of which six books are reputed to be canonical. These are :--

Sahih Bukhari, compiled by Muhammad ibn Isma'il Al-Bukhari (d. 870)

Sahih Muslim, compiled by Muslim ibn al-Hajj (d. 875)

Sunan Abu Dawud, compiled by Abu Dawud al-Sijjistani (d. 889)

Ibn Majah (d. 887)

Sunan al-Tirmidhi, compiled by Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi (d. 892) and

Al-Nisa'i, compiled by Ahmad Ibn Shu'ayb al-Nisa'i (d. 915)

Subject and issues covered in the above 6 authenticated books of hadith included actual rituals (the Ibaadat), social behavior (the mu'amalat), and every actions - - eating, drinking, sleeping etc

This way, the Prophetic Sunnah is preserved for Muslims to observe it today in accordance with the above quoted ayat (33:21) and in compliance with ayat 31 in Surat Al-i-Imran:--

   "Say:If you love Allah, follow me (ittabi'uni), Allah will love you" (3:31)...

as following the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam is the only means of access to the highest spiritual realization.