Knowledge
Hadith 28 of 42
Title
Adhere to the sunnah
Arabic
فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِسُنَّتِي وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ، تَمَسَّكُوا بِهَا وَعَضُّوا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ، وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحْدَثَاتِ الْأُمُورِ، فَإِنَّ كُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ.
Translation
Hold fast to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly guided successors — hold onto it with your molars. Beware of newly invented matters, for every innovation is misguidance.
Narrator
al-ʿIrbāḍ ibn Sāriyah
Source
Abū Dāwud 4607 · Tirmidhī 2676
Commentary
Nawawī pairs the Prophet's ﷺ sunnah with that of the first four caliphs — the living tradition in action. 'With your molars' is a Bedouin image for gripping something so hard it cannot be pulled loose.