أسوة حسنة
Uswah Ḥasanah
The good and normative example of the Prophet (peace be upon him), whose conduct makes up the sunnah
What it means
Uswah ḥasanah means a good example. The Quran says: “In the Messenger of Allah you have a good example for whoever hopes for Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah often” (33:21). The same expression is used of Abraham and his followers (60:4). Muslims understand the conduct of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the model for belief, worship and character, and they learn it from hadith and from his biography. The Quran praises him as “of great moral character” (68:4). His example is that of a human being, and it forms the sunnah, the second source of law after the Quran.
Often misunderstood as
That following the Prophet means treating him as divine, when the Quran presents him as a human being who sets an example.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 23, listed as USWAH ḤASANAH. The definition is restated here.