Etymology
Sunnī (Classical Arabic: سُنِّي /ˈsunniː/) is a broad term derived from sunnah (سُنَّة /ˈsunna/, pl. سُنَن sunan /ˈsunæn/), means "habit" or "usual practice". The Muslim usage of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of Muhammad. In its full form, this branch of Islam is referred to as "Ahl al-Sunnah wa Jama'ah" (literally, "People of the Sunah and the Community"). People claiming to follow the Sunnah who can demonstrate that they have no action or belief against the prophetic Sunnah can consider themselves to be Sunni Muslims.
Read more about this topic: Sunni Islam
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)