A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to sit down and
spoke about various aspects of Islam with a well- known ulamak
in Malaysia. One particular topic of our conversation would
always replay itself in my head. I asked him of his opinion on
the practice by some Muslims in Malaysia who brush their teeth
using a piece of wood which was apparently used by the Prophet
(peace be upon him) to clean his teeth. The Malays call this
wood “kayu sugi.” He smiled and asked me, “What is important to
you, usage of the wood or the cleanliness of your teeth?”
Without waiting for a reply from me, he continued, “if the usage
of the wood is important to you, you use the wood and if the
cleanliness of your teeth is important, you use Coldgate, as do
I.” He smiled. It got me thinking. Have the Muslims
misunderstood the sunnah (the Prophet’s acts and sayings – the
sayings are known as “hadiths” -, all of which are otherwise
known as the “tradition”)? If for example, we have a sunnah that
the Prophet loved to ride horses and