SUICIDE

Arabic Qatlu nafsi-hi ( قتل نفسه‎ ). Suicide is not once referred to in the Qurʾān, but it is forbidden in the Traditions, where Muḥammad is related to have said: “Whosoever shall kill himself shall suffer in the fire of hell” ( al-Buk͟hārī , Arabic ed., p. 984); and “shall be excluded from heaven for ever” ( ibid . p. 182). It is also related that the Prophet refused the funeral rites to a suicide ( Abū Dāʾūd , Arabic ed., vol. ii. p. 98), but it is usual in Muḥammadan countries to perform the funeral service, although forbidden by the custom of the Prophet himself. SUKR ( سكر‎ ). [ DRUNKENNESS .] SULAIM ( سليم‎ ). Banū Sulaim . One of the powerful tribes of ancient Arabia, descended from the Banū ʿAdwān. SULAIMĀN ( سليمان‎ ). [ SOLOMON .] ṢULḤ ( صلح‎ ). “Concord; reconciliation; peace.” It occurs in the Qurʾān, as follows:— Sūrah iv. 127 : “And if a woman fears from her husband perversene or aversion, it is no crime in them both that they should be reconciled to each other, for reconciliation is best.” S̤ULS̤ ( ثلث‎ ). “Three-quarters” of a Sīpārah of the Qurʾān, or of the Qurʾān itself. [ QURʾAN .] SULT̤ĀN ( سلطان‎ ). A word in modern times used for a ruler or king, as the Sult̤ān of Turkey. Its literal meaning is “strength” or “might,” and in this sense it occurs in the Qurʾān:— Sūrah xvii. 35 : “We have given his next of kin authority .” Sūrah lxix. 29 : “My authority has perished from me.” Sūrah li. 38 : “We sent him (Moses) to Pharaoh with a manifest power ( miracle , or authority ).” SUNNAH ( سنة‎ ). Lit . “A path or way; a manner of life.” A term used in the religion of the Muslim to expre the custom or manner of life. Hence the tradition which records either the sayings or doings of Muḥammad. Consequently all traditional law is divided into (1) Sunnatu ʾl-Fiʿl , or what Muḥammad did; (2) Sunnatu ʾl-Qaul , or what Muḥammad enjoined; (3) Sunnatu ʾt-Taqrīr , or that which was done or said in the presence of Muḥammad, and which was not forbidden by him . Those things which the Prophet emphatically enjoined on his followers are called Sunnatu ʾl-Hudā , “Sunna of Guidance,” or as-Sunnatu ʾl-Muʾakkadah : as, for example, the sounding of the aẕān before prayers. Those things which have not been emphatically enjoined, are called as-Sunnatu ʾl-Zāʾidah , or “ Supererogatory Sunnah.” The Honourable Syed Ahmed Khan, C.S.I., says in his E ay on the Traditions, that “upon examining the sayings (or the Aḥādīs̤ ), and the deeds (or the Sunnah ) of the Prophet, we find (1) some of them relating to religion, (2) others connected with the peculiar circumstances of his life, (3) some bearing upon society in general, and (4) others concerning the art of Government.” When Muḥammad spoke on the subject of religion, he is held to have been inspired, and also when he performed a religious act he is believed to have been guided by inspiration; but with regard to other matters, the degree to which he was inspired is held to be a subject for investigation as well as for discrimination. In support of this view, the following tradition is related by Rāfiʿ ibn K͟hadīj: “The Prophet came to al-Madīnah when the people were grafting the male bud of a date tree into the female in order to produce greater abundance of fruit, and he said, ‘Why do you do this?’ They replied, ‘It is an ancient custom.’ The Prophet said, ‘Perhaps it would be better if you did not do it.’ And then they left off the custom, and the trees yielded but little fruit. The people complained to the Prophet, and he said, ‘I am no more than a man. When I order anything respecting religion, receive it; but when I order you about the affairs of the world, then I speak only as a man.’ ” ( Mishkāt , book i. ch. vi. pt. 1.) ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Masʿūd says: “The Prophet drew a straight line for us, and said, ‘This is the path of God.’ Then he drew several other lines on the right and left of it, and said, ‘ There are the paths of those who follow the devil. Verily my path ( sunnah ) is straight and you must follow it.’ ” It is upon the sayings and customs of Muḥammad that that traditional law is founded which is handed down in the Ḥadīs̤, and which is treated of under the article TRADITION . SUNNĪ ( سنى‎ ). Lit . “One of the path.” A Traditionist. A term generally applied to the large sect of Muslims who acknowledge the first four K͟halīfahs to have been the rightful succe ors of Muḥammad, and who receive the Kutubu ʿs-Sittah , or “six authentic” books of tradition, and who belong to one of the four schools of jurisprudence founded by Imām Abū Ḥanīfah , Imām ash-Shāfiʿī, Imām Mālik, or Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥambal. The word Sunnī is really a Persian form, with its plural Sunnīyān , and stands for that which is expre ed by the Arabic Ahlu ʾs-Sunnah , “the People of the Path.” The word sunnah meaning a “path,” but being applied to the example of Muḥammad. A Sunnī is held to be a traditionist, not that any section of Islām rejects the traditions, but merely that the Sunnīs have arrogated to themselves this title, and the rest of the Muslim world has acquiesced in the a umption; hence it comes to pa that although the Shīʿahs, even to a greater degree than the Sunnīs, rest their claims upon traditional evidence, they have allowed their opponents to claim the title of traditionists, and consequently Mr. Sale and many European writers have stated that the Shīʿahs reject the traditions. The Sunnīs embrace by far the greater portion of the Muḥammadan world. According to Mr. Wilfrid Blunt’s census, they are 145 millions, whilst the Shīʿahs are but some 15 millions. The principal differences between the Sunnīs and the Shīʿahs are treated of in the article SHIʿAH .