AHL AL-SUNNAH - اهل السنة
Ahl Al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamâ’ah - اهل السنة والجماعة
Literally: Ahl is a man's family. A household. A kindred. Friends. People. A nation. A man's family and descendants. A wife. The people of a place, condition, profession, religion or quality. A person or thing closely related to some particular thing mentioned.
Literally: Sunnah is a way. A Habit. A practice. A rule of action.
The practices of Muhammad (asm) including his ‘ibâdah which comes from the Sharî’ah and are contained in the Qur'an. Any word, teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions or disapprovals of Muhammad (asm) other than what is contained in the Qur'an and adopted as a rule of Islam.
Jamâ’ah: An assembly. A company. A party. A group; especially, a congregation assembled for ‘ibâdah.
Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamâ’ah: Those who strictly and minutely adhere to the Sunnah in matters of aqâid or matters of actions, which are subject to the rulings of Sharî’ah, and those who unite upon those matters. Hence, they are called Ahl al-Sunnah because they adhere to the Sunnah; they are called Ahl al-Jamâ’ah because they are united upon following the Sunnah.
“He decreed with a certain sahîh narration through saying سَتَفْتَرِقُ اُمَّتِى ثَلاَثًا وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً اَلنَّاجِيَةُ وَاحِدَةٌ مِنْهَا. قِيلَ مَنْهُمْ؟ قَالَ مَا اَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَ اَصْحَابِى, he reported that his ummah will be divided into seventy-three groups, and among them, Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah will be the perfect group who attain salvation.” The Nineteenth Letter - Sixth Subtle Sign
“And so, O ahl al-haqq and ahl al-hidâyah! The way to be saved from the above-mentioned wiles of shaytans among jinn and men is this: make your headquarters the madhab of ahl al-haqq which is Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah; enter the fortress of the muhkamât of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition; and take the Sunnah as-Saniyyah as your guide, and find salâmât!” The Flashes ( 112 )