What does Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'a mean?

Islam > Glossary > Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'a

Discover the meaning of the term Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'a (أهل السنة والجماعة) in Islamic vocabulary.

Definition Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'a

The Muslims who follow the Sunna and the community.

Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'a according to Dustur al-'Ulama (Al-Ahmadnagari)

Know that Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, may Allah have mercy on him, when he abandoned the school of his master Abu 'Ali al-Juba'i, devoted himself, together with those who followed him, to refuting the view of the Mu'tazila and establishing what the Sunna reported and what the community followed; they therefore named themselves the People of the Sunna and the Community, and their way is the way of the People of the Sunna, Allah, the Most High, willing.

Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'a according to At-Ta'rifat al-Fiqhiyya (Al-Barkati)

They are those who held to the way of the Sunna on which the Companions were (may Allah be pleased with them), before the appearance of innovations, such as ittizal (Mu'tazilism), Shi'ism, rafd and the like.