Question
At what point does a Sunnah become forgotten?
Answer
A Sunnah is considered to be forgotten when people forget acting upon it due to feeling too comfortable, becoming heedless as a result of it due to ignorance or laziness. Allah said: ‘Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot [i.e., disregarded] them.’ [20:128]
In explaining how these people forgot Allah’s Deen, Allah said: ‘But You provided comforts for them and their fathers until they forgot the message.’ [25:18]
A Sunnah is also considered as forgotten when people start taking their Deen as amusement and play and as a result forget Allah’s commandments. Allah said: ‘Those who took their Deen as amusement and play, and were deceived by the life of this world. Today We will forget them just as they forgot their meeting of this Day and because they used to reject Our Verses.’ [7:21]
A Sunnah is also considered as forgotten when the scholars pass away, so no people of knowledge remain to inform the people about the commandments found in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Indeed Allah does not take away knowledge by removing it from the people, but He takes away knowledge by taking the scholars, until there remains no scholar and the people begin to ask the ignorant leaders, so they give their verdict without knowledge. They will go astray and lead the people astray.’ [Tirmidhi 2652; Sahih]