dear planten,i like u because u r liberal muslim.but ur informations about ahle hadiths are incorrect.like all muslim they also obey quran 1st.&after quran they believe only shahih hadith(the pure 6)with reidhus salehin etc.anyway i really don’t know the difference between hadith&sunnah!aren’t they same?i know sunnah means hadith.atleast my family&relatives taught me that.anyway sister amy also ahle hadith,she told me in another thread.
You are right. That is what the Ahle Hadith say. They say that Sunnah and Hadith is the same. But it is not. Hadith is to be found in the six books. They are the description of the sayings and doings of the prophet.
But there is another thing which even though not written down, is available from the very first day, that is the practice of the prophet, i.e. the way he did everything and the people saw and copied that, all of them in big numbers.
The Hadith were collected very late and Hadith were known only to some people who related them and passed them on untill they were collected and compiled and written down in books. That was done after 200 years.
But even without those Hadith or books of Hadith, every one knew how to pray or fast or perform Hajj. It was known by observance of the prophets actions.
Anyhow, it a deep subject. The Ahle Hadith, when they find losing ground, they say that Hadith and Sunnah is the same. It is not.
Even if it could be called on and same thing then it can still be divided into two parts.
One concerns the practice of the prophet i.e. Sunnah. The other concerns the spoken words of the prophet.i.e Hadith. So which one will take precedence? It will be the Sunnah.
The Ahle Sunnah do not neglect the Hadith. They only give it a third place in importance. That is all.
well said algebra.