السنة التقريرية
al-Sunna al-Taqrīriyya
The sunna of approval: reports that the Prophet approved or disapproved of conduct done in his presence or brought to his notice.
What it means
Al-sunna al-taqrīriyya is the third kind of prophetic example, after his words and his deeds. The word taqrīr means confirming or approving. It covers occasions when a Companion did or said something in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), or when it was reported to him, and he either approved it or disapproved. Faruqi describes it as the hadith reports in which the Prophet approved or disapproved, praised or condemned, certain kinds of conduct. His silence in front of an act that he could have forbidden was taken as approval, since a prophet does not leave wrongdoing unchallenged.
Often misunderstood as
Silence is sometimes assumed to mean indifference, but in this category the Prophet’s silence is read as approval of the act because of his duty to correct what is wrong.
What the sources say
Scholars note that this sunna applies only when the act was done with the Prophet’s knowledge and he was able to object. They also hold that it shows what is permitted and does not make an act obligatory, unless other evidence says so.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 52, listed as AL SUNNAH AL TAQRĪRIYYAH. The definition is restated here.