A ma'anar harshe, Sunnah tana nufin hanya. Amma a fagen Shari'ah, tana nufin nafilar da aka ruwaito daga Annabi ﷺ, kamar raka'o'in Sunnah masu kwadaitarwa (raka'at as-Sunnah), waɗanda suka bambanta da fard (wajibi). Bai kamata a fahimci cewa ana kiran aikin Sunnah ne saboda yana fitowa daga Annabi ﷺ, kuma cewa fard yana fitowa daga Allah (SWT) ba. Sunnah da fard duka daga Allah (SWT) suke; Manzon Allah ﷺ kuwa mai isarwa ne kawai daga Allah (SWT), domin Manzon Allah ﷺ ba ya magana bisa son rai, sai dai abin da aka yi masa wahayi daga Allah (SWT), watau wahayi. Saboda haka, ko da yake an ruwaito Sunnah daga Annabi ﷺ, an ruwaito ta ne a matsayin aiki mai kwadaitarwa, watau nafilah, shi ya sa ake kiranta sunnah; kamar yadda aka ruwaito fard a matsayin aiki na wajibi. Don haka, raka'o'in wajibi guda biyu na sallar asuba an ruwaito su daga Annabi ﷺ ta hanyar hadisai tabbatattu, da ake kira tawatur, a matsayin fard; kuma raka'o'in kwadaitarwa guda biyu na sallar asuba su ma an ruwaito su ta hanyar hadisai tabbatattu (tawatur) a matsayin Sunnah (nafilah); dukansu daga Allah (SWT) suke, ba daga Manzon Allah ﷺ da kansa ba. Saboda haka umarni (amr) a ayyukan ibada ko dai fard ne ko nafilah, kuma a sauran ayyuka ko dai fard ne, mandoob ko mubah. A wata ma'ana, nafilah daidai take da mandoob, amma ana kiranta nafilah, kuma ana kiranta da Sunnah.

Linguistically Sunnah means the method. However, in terms of the Shari’ah it designates the nafilah that has been narrated from the Prophet (saw) such as the recommended rakaat (rakaat as-Sunnah) which are distinct from fard (compulsory). It should not be understood that the action is called Sunnah because it is from the Prophet and that the fard is from Allah (swt). The Sunnah and the fard are both from Allah (swt); and Rasool Allah (saw) is but a conveyor from Allah (swt), because the Rasool Allah (saw) uttered not out of whims but only that which was revealed to him from Allah (swt) i.e. wahy. Thus, although Sunnah is narrated from the Prophet (saw), nevertheless it is narrated as a recommended action i.e. nafilah that is why it is called sunnah; in the same way that the fard has been narrated as a compulsory action. Hence, the two compulsory raka'at of the dawn (fajr) prayer have been narrated from the Prophet (saw) through decisive reports, known as tawatur, as being fard; and the two recommended raka'at of the fajr prayer have also been narrated through decisive reports (tawatur) as being Sunnah (nafilah); and both are from Allah (swt) and not from Rasool Allah (saw) himself. Thus the command (amr) is either fard or nafilah in actions of worship (‘ibadat), and fard , mandoob or mubaH in other actions. In other words, nafilah is the same as mandoob, but it is called nafilah, and called as Sunnah.

Sunnah kuma yana nufin dukkan hujjojin shari'a da suka fito daga Manzon Allah ﷺ banda Alkur'ani. Wannan ya haɗa da maganarsa, aikinsa, da amincewarsa (shirunsa game da ayyukan da aka yi a gabansa).

The Sunnah also means all the shar’ai evidences which came from Rasool Allah (saw) other than the Qur'an. This includes his speech, actions and consent (his silence upon actions performed before him).