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[quote]the following precede the Qur’a#n:
i. Innate Guidance
ii. The Sunan of Abraham (sws)
iii. The Scriptures of the Prophets

The first of the above mentioned things relate to the basics of faith and morality. In the terminology of the Qur’a#n, a major portion of this is called ma‘ru#f and munkar. The former refers to things which are regarded to be good by human nature and the latter refers to things which are regarded to be evil by it and which it evades. The Qur’a#n does not give a comprehensive list of these things; on other hand, it says that a person is innately aware of these and is able to fully distinguish the two on this basis. It thus demands that a person accept ma‘ru#f and shun munkar:

وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُھُمْ اَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ يَاْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْھَوْنَ عَنِ
المُنْكَر (71:9)
And true believers, both men and women, are friends to one another. They urge one another to what is good and forbid what is evil. (9:71)

If there arises a difference of opinion in determining the ma‘ru#f or the munkar, then the inclination of the progeny of Abraham (sws) shall be regarded as decisive in that particular matter. The reason for this is that for the past many centuries, prophets were sent to them and it is as if their inclination of the ma‘ru#f and the munkar has been ratified by the prophets.
The second of the above mentioned things is called by the Qur’a#n as millat-i ibra#hi#mi#. The prayer, the fast, the h@ajj and the zaka#h are all directives of this millat-i ibra#hi#mi#. The addressees of the Qur’a#n were fully aware of them and to a great extent practiced them the way they were. In the narrative which depicts Abu# Dharr’s (rta) acceptance of faith, he explicitly says that he would diligently offer the prayer even before Muh@ammad (sws) had declared his Prophethood.  It is known that the Friday prayer was not unknown to the addressees of the Qur’a#n.  They would offer the funeral prayer  and would fast in the very manner we would fast today.  Zaka#h too was known to them as a specific share in their wealth the way it is now.  Regarding the worship rituals of h@ajj and ‘umrah, every knowledgeable person knows that though the Quraysh had added some religious innovations to them, the rites of these worship rituals which they offered were virtually the same as they are today. In fact, it is evident from certain narratives that people were even aware of these innovations. Consequently, there is a narrative in Bukha#ri# that the h@ajj offered by Muh@ammad (sws) before his prophethood was offered without these innovations of the Quraysh in the very manner it was offered ever since the time of Abraham (sws). 
Same is the case with animal sacrifice, i‘tika#f, circumcision besides some other customs and etiquette of Islam. All these things were already known and specified and the Arabs were aware of them as age old traditions transferred by one generation to another. Thus there was no need for the Qur’a#n to give their details. They fully knew what the Arabic words which referred to them meant. If the Qur’a#n asked them to pray and to fast and to offer the h@ajj and to pay zaka#h, they fully knew what these terms meant. The Qur’a#n never gave them the first directive about these. It only reformed and revived them and explained some aspect – and that too to the extent of what was essential. All this tradition of the religion of Abraham (sws), which in religious parlance is called Sunnah, is regarded by the Qur’a#n as the religion of God, and it asks of its followers to fully adopt it:

ثُمَّ اَوْحَيْنَا اِلَيْكَ اَنِ اتَّبِعْ مِلَّۃَ اِبْرَاھِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ (123:16)
Then We revealed to you to follow the ways of Abraham, who was true in faith and was not among the polytheists. (16:123)

By Ghamidhi in book mezaan

Edited by: ibrahim on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 7:09 AM[/quote]

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