Sunnah as a Source of Law

1 What does Sunnah primarily refer to in Islamic legal theory?
(a) The writings of later historians alone (b) Local customs in every society
(c) The normative example of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (d) None of these

2 Which source is the primary textual foundation of Islam, alongside which the Sunnah provides guidance?
(a) The Quran (b) Fiqh manuals
(c) Historical chronicles (d) None of these

3 Which of the following may form part of the Sunnah?
(a) Only the Prophet’s military campaigns (b) Only the Prophet’s personal possessions
(c) Only the sayings of later jurists (d) None of these

4 The Prophet’s statements, actions, and approvals are commonly used to describe:
(a) Ijma (b) Sunnah
(c) Qiyas (d) None of these

5 Which term commonly refers to a transmitted report about the Prophet’s words, actions, or approvals?
(a) Hadith (b) Fatwa
(c) Madhhab (d) None of these

6 Which statement best describes the relationship between Hadith and Sunnah?
(a) Both always mean exactly the same thing in every scholarly context (b) Hadith reports transmit information about the Prophet, while Sunnah commonly refers to his normative example
(c) Hadith refers only to the Quran (d) None of these

7 What is one major function of the Sunnah in Islamic law?
(a) To make the Quran irrelevant (b) To eliminate all obligations
(c) To explain and demonstrate how Quranic guidance is applied (d) None of these

8 Which example best illustrates a Prophetic action relevant to Islamic worship?
(a) A later ruler’s administrative order (b) A local custom unrelated to worship
(c) A historian’s personal opinion (d) None of these

9 Which term refers to the chain of narrators of a Hadith?
(a) Isnad (b) Matn
(c) Fiqh (d) None of these

10 What is the Matn of a Hadith?
(a) The chain of narrators (b) The text or wording of the report
(c) The legal school of a narrator (d) None of these

11 Which discipline evaluates the reliability of Hadith narrators and reports?
(a) Ilm al-fara’id (b) Ilm al-arud
(c) Ilm al-Hadith (d) None of these

12 Which of the following is a major Sunni Hadith collection?
(a) Al-Muwatta only as a Quranic commentary (b) Kitab al-Kharaj as a Quranic chapter
(c) Diwan al-Hamasah as a Hadith collection (d) None of these

13 Which scholar compiled Sahih al-Bukhari?
(a) Imam Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari (b) Imam Malik ibn Anas
(c) Imam Abu Hanifah (d) None of these

14 Which scholar compiled Sahih Muslim?
(a) Imam al-Tirmidhi (b) Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
(c) Imam al-Nasa’i (d) None of these

15 Which statement about authentic Sunnah is most accurate in Islamic legal theory?
(a) It is irrelevant to legal interpretation (b) It can never explain Quranic commands
(c) It is an important source for understanding Islamic obligations and practice (d) None of these

16 Which of the following best illustrates a Prophetic approval, as discussed in Hadith methodology?
(a) An event with no connection to the Prophet (b) A later scholar’s private preference
(c) An unsupported story (d) None of these

17 What is a Hadith classified as Sahih generally understood to be?
(a) Authentic according to the relevant Hadith criteria (b) Fabricated by definition
(c) A report with no chain of transmission in every case (d) None of these

18 What does Hasan generally mean when used as a Hadith classification?
(a) Fabricated (b) Good or acceptable under the relevant Hadith criteria
(c) A Quranic chapter (d) None of these

19 What does Da’if mean in Hadith classification?
(a) Mutawatir in every case (b) A Quranic verse
(c) Weak according to the relevant Hadith criteria (d) None of these

20 Which statement about a weak Hadith is most accurate?
(a) Every weak report is necessarily fabricated (b) Every weak report is automatically authentic
(c) Weakness has no relevance to scholarly evaluation (d) None of these

21 Which term refers to a report transmitted through so many independent routes that collusion on a falsehood is ordinarily considered inconceivable under the relevant criteria?
(a) Mutawatir (b) Mawdu’
(c) Mursal (d) None of these

22 Which term commonly refers to a fabricated Hadith?
(a) Sahih (b) Mawdu’
(c) Hasan (d) None of these

23 Which of the following is an important criterion in evaluating a Hadith chain?
(a) The narrator’s wealth alone (b) The narrator’s political position alone
(c) Reliability and continuity of transmission (d) None of these

24 Which term refers to a narrator who reports directly from the Prophet without naming the Companion, in the conventional definition of a Mursal report?
(a) A narrator who appears in every chain twice (b) A report with no text
(c) A Quranic verse with a legal ruling (d) None of these

25 Which statement about Sunnah and legal rulings is correct?
(a) Jurists examine the authenticity, meaning, and legal relevance of Hadith reports (b) Every report is accepted without evaluation
(c) Hadith criticism is unrelated to Islamic law (d) None of these

26 Which Hadith collection is commonly known as Jami’ al-Tirmidhi?
(a) A collection compiled by Imam Malik (b) A Hadith collection compiled by Imam al-Tirmidhi
(c) A Quranic chapter (d) None of these

27 Which collection is associated with Abu Dawud al-Sijistani?
(a) Sahih Muslim (b) Al-Muwatta
(c) Sunan Abi Dawud (d) None of these

28 Which of the following is one of the six major Sunni Hadith collections commonly called al-Kutub al-Sittah?
(a) Nahj al-Balaghah as a Quranic chapter (b) Diwan al-Hamasah
(c) Kitab al-Aghani (d) None of these

29 Which statement about the Sunnah’s legal authority reflects conventional Sunni legal theory?
(a) The Sunnah is recognized as a source of guidance and law, subject to scholarly assessment of reports and interpretation
(b) The Sunnah has no relationship to Islamic law
(c) Every statement attributed to any narrator is automatically binding (d) None of these

30 Which is an example of the Sunnah explaining a Quranic command?
(a) Replacing the Quran with a local custom (b) Demonstrating the practical performance of prayer
(c) Rejecting all forms of worship (d) None of these

31 Which term refers to a report attributed to the Prophet in Hadith terminology?
(a) Mawquf (b) Maqtu’
(c) Marfu’ (d) None of these

32 A report attributed to a Companion rather than directly to the Prophet is commonly termed:
(a) Marfu’ (b) Sahih in every case
(c) Mutawatir in every case (d) None of these

33 Which term is commonly used for a report attributed to a Successor (Tabi’i) or a later generation, rather than directly to the Prophet?
(a) Maqtu’ (b) Marfu’
(c) Qiyas (d) None of these

34 Which statement about the six major Sunni Hadith collections is accurate?
(a) All were compiled by the same scholar (b) They were compiled by different scholars and have different arrangements and contents
(c) They are six chapters of the Quran (d) None of these

35 Which collection is associated with Imam Malik ibn Anas?
(a) Sahih al-Bukhari (b) Sunan Ibn Majah
(c) Al-Muwatta (d) None of these

36 Which of the following is a major reason scholars study Hadith transmission?
(a) To determine the age of every historical building (b) To classify Arabic poetry
(c) To replace all Quranic study (d) None of these

37 Which statement best reflects the use of Sunnah in Islamic jurisprudence?
(a) It may provide details on worship, transactions, ethics, and other areas of conduct
(b) It deals only with ancient history
(c) It is relevant only to the Arabic language (d) None of these

38 Which term refers to a Hadith report’s chain of transmission?
(a) Matn (b) Isnad
(c) Tafsir (d) None of these

39 Which term refers to the text of a Hadith rather than its chain?
(a) Isnad (b) Ijma
(c) Matn (d) None of these

40 Which statement about the authenticity of Hadith is correct?
(a) Every report found in any historical book is automatically Sahih (b) Authenticity can be determined solely by whether a report is popular
(c) The chain of transmission never matters (d) None of these

41 Which term describes a Hadith transmitted by a narrator who omits one or more links in the chain, depending on the specific form of omission?
(a) Munqati’ (b) Mutawatir in every case
(c) Quranic verse (d) None of these

42 Which statement about Hadith collections is most accurate?
(a) All collections contain only reports of one identical classification (b) Compilers used different criteria and organizational approaches
(c) Every collection is arranged as a Quranic surah (d) None of these

43 Which of the following is a key legal function of the Sunnah?
(a) Making all Quranic commands optional (b) Replacing all ethical duties
(c) Providing authoritative explanation and practical examples of Prophetic guidance (d) None of these

44 Which statement about the Sunnah and personal habits is most accurate?
(a) Every personal habit of the Prophet has the same legal status in all circumstances
(b) Personal habits never have any relevance to scholarship
(c) Jurists and scholars distinguish between different types of Prophetic actions when assessing their legal significance (d) None of these

45 Which Hadith scholar is associated with compiling Sunan al-Nasa’i?
(a) Ahmad ibn Shu’ayb al-Nasa’i (b) Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari
(c) Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d) None of these

46 Which Hadith scholar is associated with Sunan Ibn Majah?
(a) Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (b) Muhammad ibn Yazid Ibn Majah
(c) Malik ibn Anas (d) None of these

47 Which statement about using Hadith as legal evidence is most appropriate?
(a) Context is always irrelevant (b) Narrator reliability never matters
(c) A report should be considered without reference to any other evidence (d) None of these

48 Which source is particularly important for understanding the Prophet’s practical explanation of how to perform Salah?
(a) Authentic reports of his practice and teaching (b) Modern political speeches alone
(c) Unverified folklore alone (d) None of these

49 Which term refers to the science concerned with evaluating narrators and their reliability?
(a) Ilm al-fara’id (b) Ilm al-falak
(c) Al-Jarh wa al-Ta’dil (d) None of these

50 Which statement best summarizes the Sunnah’s role as a source of Islamic law?
(a) It is only a historical record with no normative role (b) It is a recognized source of Prophetic guidance, interpreted through scholarly methods and Hadith evaluation
(c) It consists only of the opinions of later rulers (d) None of these

Answer Key

1 (c) The normative example of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
2 (a) The Quran
3 (d) None of these
4 (b) Sunnah
5 (a) Hadith
6 (b) Hadith reports transmit information about the Prophet, while Sunnah commonly refers to his normative example
7 (c) To explain and demonstrate how Quranic guidance is applied
8 (d) None of these
9 (a) Isnad
10 (b) The text or wording of the report
11 (c) Ilm al-Hadith
12 (d) None of these
13 (a) Imam Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari
14 (b) Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
15 (c) It is an important source for understanding Islamic obligations and practice
16 (d) None of these
17 (a) Authentic according to the relevant Hadith criteria
18 (b) Good or acceptable under the relevant Hadith criteria
19 (c) Weak according to the relevant Hadith criteria
20 (d) None of these
21 (a) Mutawatir
22 (b) Mawdu’
23 (c) Reliability and continuity of transmission
24 (d) None of these
25 (a) Jurists examine the authenticity, meaning, and legal relevance of Hadith reports
26 (b) A Hadith collection compiled by Imam al-Tirmidhi
27 (c) Sunan Abi Dawud
28 (d) None of these
29 (a) The Sunnah is recognized as a source of guidance and law, subject to scholarly assessment of reports and interpretation
30 (b) Demonstrating the practical performance of prayer
31 (c) Marfu’
32 (d) None of these
33 (a) Maqtu’
34 (b) They were compiled by different scholars and have different arrangements and contents
35 (c) Al-Muwatta
36 (d) None of these
37 (a) It may provide details on worship, transactions, ethics, and other areas of conduct
38 (b) Isnad
39 (c) Matn
40 (d) None of these
41 (a) Munqati’
42 (b) Compilers used different criteria and organizational approaches
43 (c) Providing authoritative explanation and practical examples of Prophetic guidance
44 (c) Jurists and scholars distinguish between different types of Prophetic actions when assessing their legal significance
45 (a) Ahmad ibn Shu’ayb al-Nasa’i
46 (b) Muhammad ibn Yazid Ibn Majah
47 (d) None of these
48 (a) Authentic reports of his practice and teaching
49 (c) Al-Jarh wa al-Ta’dil
50 (b) It is a recognized source of Prophetic guidance, interpreted through scholarly methods and Hadith evaluation