Njia ya pili ya kuhifadhi inaitwa "kanuni ya utendaji." Hii ndiyo mfumo wenye nguvu zaidi wa kuhifadhi aḥādīth, na ni wa kipekee na usio na mfano katika historia. Mtu asiye Muislamu hangeweza hata kuwazia jinsi matendo ya Maswahaba yalivyolea kila Sunna ya Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ. Kwa kweli, hata Waislamu wengi wa leo hawawezi kuelewa mapenzi ya Maswahaba kwa Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ, kufuata kwao tabia zake binafsi, wala uhusiano wa pekee kati yao na Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ. Katika historia ya binadamu hajawahi kuonekana mfano mkubwa kama wa Maswahaba. ‘Urwa ibn Mas‘ūd Thaqafī alikuwa bado hajasilimu. Katika mkataba wa Hudaybiya alichunguza kwa makini Maswahaba, na mwishowe akasema:

The second method of preservation is called the “principle of practice.” This is the most powerful system of preservation of aúódõth, and it is both unprecedented and unrivaled in the annals of history. A non- Muslim could never even imagine how the practices of the Sahaba nurtured each and every Sunna of the Blessed Prophet (PBUH). In fact, even most of the Muslims of today cannot understand the love of the Sahaba for the Blessed Prophet (PBUH), their adherence to his personal habits or the unique relationship between them and the Blessed Prophet (PBUH). Never in history has mankind seen an example as great as the Sahaba. ‘Urwa ibn Masud Thaqafi had not yet embraced Islam. In the treaty of Hudaibiya he closely observed the Sahaba and finally said:

Enyi watu! Nimewahi kutembelea majumba ya wafalme mara nyingi. Nimekutana uso kwa uso na kaisari wa Roma, mfalme wa Uajemi na Najashi wa Habeshi, lakini kwa Allah (SWT) sijawahi kuona watu wakimheshimu mfalme wao kama nilivyowaona Maswahaba wa Muhammad ﷺ wakimheshimu. Kwa Allah (SWT), akitema mate, yanapakwa mikononi, usoni na mwilini mwa mmoja wa Maswahaba kabla hayajafika chini. Hakuamuru lolote ila wao hukimbia kulitekeleza. Anapotawadha, Maswahaba hushindana kuchukua maji yanayodondoka. Anapozungumza, huzipunguza sauti zao. Hawawezi kumtazama kikamilifu kwa sababu ya heshima kubwa waliyo nayo kwake.29

Oh people! I have visited the courts of kings on many occasions. I have come face to face with the emperor of Rome, the king of Persia and Negus of Abyssinia, but by Allah (SWTH) I have not seen a people revere their king the way I saw the Companions of Muúammad (PBUH) revere him. By Allah (SWTH), if he as much as spits, it is rubbed on the hands, face and body of one of the Companions before it hits the ground. He does not order but they run to fulfill it. He performs ablution and the Companions compete with each other to take the dripping water. When he talks, they quell their voices. They cannot look at him fully out of awe for him.29

Anas anasimulia, "Nilimwona Mtume ﷺ akitafuta vipande vya boga kwenye bakuli la mchuzi. Tangu siku hiyo, nilianza kupenda boga."30

Anas relates, “I saw the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) searching for pieces of squash in a bowl of curry. From that day on, I loved squash.”30

Anas alikuwa Sahaba wa Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ; upendo wake kwa Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ ulimlazimisha kupenda pia boga. Kama asingependa boga baada ya kujua kwamba Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ alilipenda, basi tofauti fulani ingebaki kati ya Sahaba na Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ. Lakini kwa Masahaba hakukuwa na swali la kupenda au kutopenda kwao wenyewe mara tu Sunna ilipoanzishwa katika jambo lolote.

Anas was a Sahabi of the Blessed Prophet (PBUH); his love for the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) compelled him to also love squash. If he did not love squash after knowing that the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) liked it, then some difference would remain between the Sahabi and the Blessed Prophet (PBUH). But there was no question for the Companions, of their own likes or dislikes once a Sunna was established in any matter.

Kwa sababu ya mapenzi yao makubwa kwa Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ, Maswahaba walihifadhi kila kipengele cha maisha ya Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ; ibada yake, jinsi alivyokula, alivyolala, alivyofanya kazi, n.k. Wakati wa Maswahaba, hakukuwa na njia nyingine ya kufanya chochote isipokuwa kwa njia ya Sunna. Mifano elfu za kujitolea kwa Maswahaba kwa Sunna ya Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ zimesimuliwa katika Hadithi. Kwa kweli, Hadithi zote ni dhihirisho la mapenzi ya Maswahaba kwa Mtume aliyebarikiwa ﷺ.

Because of their deep love for the Blessed Prophet (PBUH), the Sahaba preserved every aspect of the Blessed Prophet’s () life; his worship, the way he ate, slept, worked, etc. In the time of the Sahaba, there was no other way of doing anything except the way of the Sunna. Thousands of such examples of the devotion of the Sahaba for the Sunna of the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) are narrated in Ahadith. In fact, all Ahadith are a manifestation of the love of the Sahaba for the Blessed Prophet (PBUH).