The Sunnah of the Prophet, its authority, and the response to the Quranists who deny the Sunnah
Introduction
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds - and may God’s prayers and peace be upon the mercy of God upon the worlds, and upon his brothers, family, companions and followers.
Now then;
God Almighty sent Muhammad, peace be upon him, after a period of messengers, and revealed the Holy Quran to him. God Almighty concluded the messengers with him, and concluded the messages with his message, and concluded the books with his book, and made it confirming what came before it of them and a guardian over them.
The Glorious Quran came to include the entire religion, some of it is detailed and much of it is general. God Almighty entrusted the clarification of the Glorious Book and its details to His Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him. Then, the Sunnah of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, came to clarify what was ambiguous and detail what was general. Allah the Almighty says: {And We have sent down to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they may give thought.} (An-Nahl: 44)
Since the Glorious Book needed the Sunnah to explain and elaborate it, the Sunnah was from the revelation of Allah the Almighty to His Prophet (peace be upon him) so that the one who explains and the one being explained would be from one source and on one level. Allah the Almighty forbids that He would send down the Book by revelation and then leave the explanation of what is in it to a human being far from the revelation. The one who explains has the same importance as the one being explained in terms of being a means of benefiting from it and a way of acting in accordance with it. Therefore, the Glorious Qur’an and the pure Prophetic Sunnah come from one lamp, the lamp of the infallible Divine revelation. Allah the Almighty says about His Messenger (peace be upon him): {Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.} (An-Najm: 3-4)
Since the final message came, the enemies of Allah have been lying in wait for it. Enmity towards Allah, His Messenger, and His religion has taken on different forms and has taken on many shapes. We can summarise these images and forms into two types. The first are enemies of Islam who have clearly declared their hostility and openly denounced Muslims, such as the Crusaders, Communists, secularists and all kinds of atheists in general, who have declared their atheism. Their harm is minimal and their danger is well-known, because their hostility is declared and their disbelief is blatant. Muslims are wary of them and are on guard and apprehensive of their plots and deceits. As for the second type, they are the hypocrites who show something other than what they conceal. They cover themselves with the cloak of Islam and pretend to be keen on it, call to it and work for the unity of the Ummah. While they declare this, they seek to achieve their malicious goals of eliminating Islam by casting doubt on its sources inspired by Allah - the Almighty - especially the pure Prophetic Sunnah . This is done by raising doubts about the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - and claiming that it is not part of the religion and has no connection to Islamic legislation. They claim that the Qur’an is the only source of Islamic law.
This claim is old, and hostility to the Messenger of God -peace be upon him- and his Sunnah is inherited. But what is new is this group of enemies of God, His Messenger, and the Muslims, the deniers of…The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah -peace be upon him- which began in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries AD in India, then moved to Pakistan after its independence from India, and it still continues. The strangest thing about these people is that they are attributed to the Glorious Qur’an, as they like to call themselves “Qur’anists” in reference to the Qur’an, the Glorious Book of Allah, unjustly and falsely. They chose this attribution to delude people into thinking that they are committed to the Book of Allah, the Qur’an. This is on the one hand, and on the other hand, they are hinting in a hidden way that other Muslims who believe in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah -peace be upon him- and act upon it are not Qur’anists, and that they have engaged in the Sunnah and abandoned the Qur’an, -also- so that they can avoid being held accountable, and cut off the paths of objection to them, because who would object to a sect that has announced that it is affiliated with the Qur’an and adheres to it?
It is not surprising that such a group exists, as the enemies of Islam are many, and those who deny the Sunnah have passed through generations, generation after generation, and the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - informed us about them. On the authority of Muqaddam bin Ma'dikarib, that the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - said: "I have been given the Qur'an and something similar to it with it. Isn't it likely that a man, full on his couch, will say: Stick to this Qur'an, so whatever you find in it that is permissible, then make it permissible, and whatever you find in it that is forbidden, then forbid it? Indeed, what the Messenger of Allah has forbidden is like what Allah has forbidden." ( ) But what is strange about these people are the doubts they have raised against the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - which they claim are evidence that the Sunnah is not part of the religion, and that religion is not part of it, and they have filled their books - most of which are in Urdu - and their seminars and debates with others. We had a share of those debates over the course of three sessions between us and the "Parvizis" in the city of Karachi in the year 1983 AD. This was during my work as a professor at the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan..
Their alleged doubts are the subject of this brief research that we held to discuss and respond to these doubts.
We ask Allah - the Most High - for success, guidance, assistance and reward, for He - the Most High - is the Guardian of that and is able to do it.
The first section: Defining the Prophetic Sunnah
First: Sunnah in language is: the method, and it is the conduct, whether it is praiseworthy or not. From this is the saying of the Messenger - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him -: "Whoever establishes a good practice will have its reward and the reward of whoever acts upon it until the Day of Resurrection, and whoever establishes a bad practice will bear its burden and the burden of whoever acts upon it until the Day of Resurrection" ( ).. And the Sunnah of Allah - the Most High - in His creation: His wisdom - the Most High - in His creation, and what He has accustomed them to ( ). This is like their saying: The Sunnah of Allah in His creation is to give the sinner respite so that he may repent and return.
Second: The Sunnah in terminology: The meaning of the Sunnah in terminology differs according to the specialization of the terminologists, their goals and interests. There are the hadith scholars, the usuli scholars, and the jurists.
As for the hadith scholars or hadith scholars, they only research the Sunnah.On the authority of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - the guiding Imam, the Prophet, the Messenger, whom our Lord - Glory be to Him - informed us that he is our example and role model, and therefore they transmitted everything related to him - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - of sayings, actions and approvals, whether it was proven as a legal ruling or not. They also transmitted from him - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - his news, characteristics, stories and attributes of creation and character. This is what the books of hadith agreed upon and the efforts of the hadith scholars produced. From here they defined the Sunnah as: "Everything transmitted from the Prophet - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - of sayings, actions, approvals, or physical or moral attributes, whether that was before the mission or after it."
As for the scholars of Usul, they only search in the Sunnah for the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - the legislator who sets the rules, clarifies the path for those who strive after him, and shows people the constitution of life. They were interested in the sayings , actions, and approvals of the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - from which rulings are derived on the actions of the servants in terms of obligation, prohibition, permissibility, and other things. Therefore, they defined the Sunnah as: “What was transmitted from the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - of a saying, action, or approval.” An example of a statement is his saying - may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “Actions are only by intentions.” ( ). An example of an action is what was transmitted to us from his actions - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - regarding prayers, their times, their form, the rituals of Hajj, and other things. An example of an approval is his approval - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - of the ijtihad of the Companions regarding the matter of the ‘Asr prayer in the Battle of Banu Qurayzah, where he said to them: “None of you should pray ‘Asr except in Banu Qurayzah.” ( ), so some of them understood the prohibition at face value and delayed the prayer and did not pray it until it was too late. At that time, some of them understood that the intention was to urge the companions to hurry, so they prayed it on time before reaching Banu Qurayzah. The Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - was informed of what the two groups had done, so he approved of them both ( ).
As for the scholars of jurisprudence, they search in the Sunnah of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - whose words and actions do not go beyond indicating a ruling from the rulings of the Shariah. Hence, the Sunnah according to them is: “What the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - commanded with a non-decisive command.” Or “What was proven from the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - without assumption or obligation.” Or “What is rewarded for doing, and blame and reproach for leaving it, not punishment.” It is the opposite of the obligatory and other five rulings according to the jurists. The Sunnah may also be used by them to mean what is the opposite of innovation, so it is said: So-and-so is following the Sunnah if he acts in accordance with what the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - was upon, and it is said: So-and-so is following an innovation if he acts contrary to that. The term Sunnah is also used by them to refer to what the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did, whether it was found in the Holy Quran or not, because it was following a Sunnah that was established among them and was not transmitted to us, or a consensus of theirs or their successors. According to the saying of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “You must adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs who came after me. Cling to it firmly.” ( ) ( ).
These are the meanings of the Sunnah, or its definitions and what is meant by it in the terminology of scholars. It has become clear to us that scholars of every art or science have an interest in and work on the Sunnah.It is consistent with their interests and achieves what they aim for in their sciences, without these sciences conflicting. The truth is that they are all in the service of the Prophetic Sunnah and facilitating its recognition and implementation. One of the most honorable goals of those in charge of these sciences is to collect the Prophetic Sunnah , scrutinize it, and purify it from what may be foreign to it, then defend it against those who trouble it, oppose it, and seek to put it aside and limit Islamic legislation to one source, which is the Noble Qur’an.
Although we have referred to a number of scholars’ definitions of the Noble Prophetic Sunnah, the definition that is consistent with our research is the definition of the fundamentalists specifically, because they are the ones who are primarily concerned with clarifying the authority of the Sunnah, its position in legislation, and presenting evidence for that. Although the hadith scholars and jurists did not deprive themselves of the reward for research in these aspects, nor did they fall short in making an effort for their sake.
The second section :
The position of the Prophetic Sunnah in legislation and evidence of its authority.
First: The position of the Noble Prophetic Sunnah in legislation
. The Noble Prophetic Sunnah is the second source of Islamic legislation. This is a fact that no one would oppose or trouble against except a wretched person who is hostile to God, His Messenger, and the believers, and who contradicts what the nation has agreed upon, past and present, until the Day of Judgment - God willing.
This is because it is established among the Muslim Ummah that the revelation sent down to the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - by God - the Most High - is of two types: The first: is the Great Qur’an, the speech of God the Most High - sent down to His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - in its wording and meaning, uncreated, whose recitation is an act of worship, a miracle for creation, a challenge to the shortest Surah of it, preserved by God - the Most High - from being distorted, collected between the two covers of the Noble Qur’an. As for the second type of revelation: it is the pure Prophetic Sunnah with its verbal, practical and declarative divisions, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - is from the revelation of God - the Almighty - to His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - by agreement of the Muslim Ummah, and this is because of the evidence from the Book of God - the Most High - on this in many verses, then because the Prophetic Sunnah stated it explicitly, then because the Companions, the Followers and those who followed them until the Day of Judgment agreed upon it - by the will of God the Most High.
If those who cause trouble against the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) claim that they adhere to the Glorious Qur’an and are satisfied with it instead of the Sunnah, then let us mention some of the clear verses in the Noble Qur’an that testify and state clearly that the Sunnah is a revelation from Allah (Glory be to Him) to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Then there are the verses that state clearly the obligation to obey him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the obligation to love him, the obligation to follow him, the obligation to refer to him and submit to him in everything he rules, whether the ruling is ours or against us, and so on.
Among the Qur’anic verses that indicate that the Sunnah is a revelation is the statement of Allah (Glory be to Him): “Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.” (An-Najm: 3-4) This verse is a conclusive text that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) does not come with anything from himself, and that everything he says in the field of legislation is a revelation from Allah (Glory be to Him), whether it is a revelation of the first type, which is the Qur’an, or of the second type, which is the Prophetic Sunnah.
And from that - also - is His saying - the Blessed and Most High - ] God has certainly conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before in clear error [ (Al Imran: 164). This noble verse is perhaps a response from God - the Most High - to the supplication that Abraham and Ishmael - peace and blessings be upon our Prophet and them - directed to Him - the Most High - when they were raising the foundations of the House.
This supplication was mentioned by Allah in the Holy Quran in His saying - Glory be to Him: ]And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House, [saying], “Our Lord, accept from us. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing. Our Lord, and make us Muslims [in submission] to You and from our descendants a Muslim nation [in submission] to You. And show us our rites and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Accepter of repentance, the Most Merciful. Our Lord, and send among them a Messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” [Al-Baqarah: 127-129]. This supplication from Abraham and Ishmael - peace and blessings be upon our Prophet and them - was accepted by Allah - Glory be to Him - and it was from His destiny - Glory be to Him - that He made from their descendants that Muslim nation which is the best nation produced for mankind, then He sent among them a Messenger from among themselves who will recite to them His verses, purify them, and teach them the Book and wisdom.
Scholars and investigators have concluded that what is meant by wisdom is the Prophetic Sunnah. Allah, the Most High, has bestowed His blessings upon the believers by sending the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who made the head of his message to teach his believing nation two things: the Book and wisdom. It is not permissible for wisdom to be the Book, for it is conjoined to it, and conjoining requires difference. It is not permissible for it to be something other than the Sunnah, for it is conjoined to the Book, and so it is of the same type in source and purpose. Allah, the Most High, has bestowed them upon the believers, and Allah, the Most High, does not bestow blessings except with what is true and honest. So wisdom is true, just as the Qur’an is true. This verse clearly indicates that the Sunnah is from the revelation of Allah, the Most High, to His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Al-Shafi’i - may God have mercy on him - said: “God mentioned the Book, which is the Qur’an, and mentioned wisdom. I heard one of the people of knowledge of the Qur’an whom I am pleased with say: Wisdom is the Sunnah of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and this is similar to what he said - and God knows best - because the Qur’an was mentioned, and wisdom followed it, and God mentioned His favor upon creation by teaching them the Book and wisdom. So it is not permissible - and God knows best - to say wisdom here except the Sunnah of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and that is because it is coupled with the Book, and God has made obedience to His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - obligatory and made it obligatory for people to follow his command. So it is not permissible to say that a statement is obligatory except for the Book of God - the Most High - and the Sunnah of His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace...” ( ).
Among the verses that prove that the Sunnah is a revelation from God Almighty and that the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, does not speak in matters related to legislation except what God Almighty reveals to him, is His statement, glory be to Him, regarding His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace: “And if he had invented against Us some sayings, We would have seized him by the right hand, then We would have cut from him the aorta, and there is not one of you who could prevent Us from it” (Al-Haqqah: 44-47).
These verses clearly indicate that the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - does not say anything - in connection with religion - except what God - the Most High - reveals to him - and likewise he does not act, for saying is more general than doing, and its evidence is - if the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - had said something in religion that God - the Most High - had not revealed to him, God - the Most High - would have destroyed him - and no one is able to prevent God - the Most High - from destroying him at that time, and this is a threat from God - the Most High - and a promise, a threat to His Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - that he should not attribute to him what was not revealed to him - and God forbid that he - may God bless him and grant him peace - would do that - and a promise to the believers that He - the Most High - will protect His religion from anything that is not from it entering or mixing with it on the tongue of His Prophet, and these verses are - at the same time - a command from God - the Most High - decisively to His nation to believe, be certain, and submit to everything that the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - brings them - since God - the Almighty - has guaranteed them that His Prophet will not attribute to them, and that everything that The Prophet does not utter it in words or does it in deeds. Rather, it is from the revelation of Allah - the Most High - to him. The scholars say: Allah - the Almighty - has informed us that if His Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - were to say something about the religion that Allah - the Most High - did not reveal to him, Allah - the Most High - would destroy him. And since Allah - the Most High - did not destroy His Prophet, nor did He take him by the right hand, nor did He cut off his aorta - the heart's cord - rather He supported him and aided him, supported him and helped him, and made him and his companions who believed in him and followed him victorious over his enemies, then this is conclusive evidence that the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - did not say, do, or approve of anything except by revelation from Allah - the Most High - ( ).
Among the verses that indicate that the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - does not say or do anything in religion except by revelation from God - the Almighty - is the statement of God - the Most High - informing about His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace -:]Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel. He enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the bad and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. { (Al-A`raf: 157)
The verse attributed the command to do good and forbid evil, and to make lawful what is lawful and to make unlawful what is unlawful to him - may God bless him and grant him peace - directly, without restricting that to being the Qur’an or the Sunnah. The general release here includes everything that he - may God bless him and grant him peace - makes lawful and unlawful, whether it is by the Qur’an or the Sunnah. It is clear from this that what the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - makes lawful and what is unlawful by his Sunnah is like what is unlawful by the Qur’an of God - the Most High - both of them are revelation from God - the Most High.
Among the verses that indicate that the Sunnah is a revelation from God - Glory be to Him - and stipulate that what the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - forbade in his Sunnah is like what he forbade in the Glorious Book, both of which are from God - the Most High - is the saying of God - the Almighty - : ] Fight those who do not believe in God or in the Last Day and do not consider unlawful what God and His Messenger have forbidden and do not adopt the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture - until they pay the jizyah with willing submission while they are subdued [ (At-Tawbah: 29). This noble verse mentioned two types of prohibitions: what Allah the Almighty has prohibited and what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has prohibited. It combined the two matters in one sentence, linking what the Messenger of Allah has prohibited to what Allah has prohibited. This clearly indicates two matters: First, that what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has prohibited is like what Allah has prohibited, and that the two matters are on the same level in terms of the authority and ruling of legislation, and that what Allah the Almighty has legislated in His Book is like what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has legislated in his Sunnah. Second, that what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has prohibited in his Sunnah is a revelation from Allah the Almighty, just as what Allah the Almighty has prohibited in His Book. Both legislations are a revelation from Allah the Almighty.
Perhaps what we have mentioned is sufficient to explain what we intended by using the verses of the Glorious Qur’an as evidence that the Sunnah is a revelation from Allah the Almighty, just as the Qur’an is a revelation, and that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) does not speak from his own desires. Then we move on to what follows from the fact that the Sunnah is a revelation from Allah - the Most High - we mean the Qur’anic verses that require and command obedience to the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and make obedience to him - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - in what he commands and forbids the criterion between faith and disbelief, salvation and destruction. We have said that this is based on what was previously explained in the previous paragraph that the Sunnah is a revelation from Allah - the Most High - because if it were not so, and the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - spoke from his own desires - God forbid - then Allah - the Most High - would not have commanded us to follow him and obey him in everything he commands and forbids, as will be shown to us from the verses indicating this - by the will of Allah - the Most High. And whoever looks into the Glorious Book of Allah will see that it has commanded obedience to the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - in many verses and in many diverse forms.
Among these verses commanding obedience to the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - is what is a general rule for all of Allah's Messengers, and the last of them is Muhammad - may Allah's prayers be upon our Prophet and them - and that is the saying of Allah - the Almighty - {And We did not send any Messenger except to be obeyed by Allah's permission} (An-Nisa': 64).
The fruit of sending the Messengers - may Allah's prayers be upon them all - is limited to them being obeyed, and their obedience is only by Allah's permission and command. So the one who rebels against them, abandons their Sunnah, rejects their commands and prohibitions, is fighting Allah - the Almighty - and contradicts His permission, and is disobedient to His command.
Among that is what is a rule for our Messenger - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - that includes everything he takes and leaves, what he commands and what he forbids.
That is the saying of Allah - the Almighty - {And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is severe in penalty} (Al-Hashr: 7).
This verse commands the believers to take from the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - everything he brings to them, whether it is the Qur’an or the Sunnah, and also to refrain from everything he forbade them from, then it threatens those who disobey the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - with severe punishment.
Among the verses that command obedience to the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - are those that command obedience to the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - coupled with obedience to Allah - the Most High - with the repetition of the verb "obey". Among these are the words of Allah - the Almighty: ]O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds. [ (Muhammad: 33).
Among these are those that command obedience to the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - coupled with obedience to Allah - the Most High - without repeating the verb "obey", which clearly indicates that obedience to the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - is part of obedience to Allah - the Most High - and that it is not permissible to differentiate between obedience to Allah - the Most High - and obedience to His Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Among these are the words of Allah - the Almighty: ]Say, "Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers. [ (Al Imran: 32). It is clear from the noble text that the one who turns away from obeying the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - is one of the disbelievers.
Among the verses that command obedience to the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - is what came in it commanding obedience to the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - from the beginning, without being preceded by the command to obey Allah - the Most High - and this shows that obedience to the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - is at the same time obedience to Allah - the Most High - and that obedience to the Messenger alone is the measure of obedience to Allah - the Almighty and Majestic - and from that is the saying of Allah - the Blessed and Most High - {And establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger that you may receive mercy} (An-Nur: 56).
Among the signs of obeying and following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is taking from him, referring to him for judgment, and making him the arbitrator in all the affairs of life that arise for us, then being satisfied with what he judges, and submitting and surrendering to him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Allah (Glory be to Him) has made this a sign of faith, and He has made denying it and not being characterized by it a sign of being devoid of faith, i.e. a sign of disbelief. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: “But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission” (An-Nisa’: 65).
And because referring to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for judgment, and being satisfied, submitting, and surrendering to him in everything he commands or forbids are signs of faith, rejecting that and turning away from it are signs of hypocrisy and disbelief, no matter what those who turn away say or claim that they are believers. Allah (Glory be to Him) says, narrating about some of these people: “And they say, ‘We believe in Allah and the Messenger, and we obey.’ But after that a party of them turns away. And those are not believers.” And when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, at once a party of them turn away. But if the truth is on their side, they come to it in submission. Is there disease in their hearts, or do they doubt, or do they fear that Allah and His Messenger will deal unjustly with them? Rather, it is those who are the wrongdoers. The only statement of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, is to say, "We hear and we obey." And it is those who will be the successful. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him - it is those who are the successful. (An-Nur: 47-52) These noble verses speak about the position of the hypocrites regarding resorting to God and His Messenger, and reveal the falsehood of what they claim of believing in God and His Messenger, and that this is hypocrisy and disbelief, and explain the evidence for that, which is turning away from resorting to God’s Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and being satisfied with his judgment, then they reveal the innermost thoughts of their souls of not believing in God and not being reassured by the judgment of His Messenger, then they explain - in contrast - the position of the believers, which is hearing and obeying God and His Messenger, then they conclude the matter by saying that success and salvation are only for those who obey God and His Messenger.
From all of the verses of the Qur’an that we have mentioned, which state in a decisive manner that the Messenger - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - does not speak except upon revelation from God - the Most High - and does not say anything about religion except what God - the Most High - inspires him with. And that obedience to the Messenger of God - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - is obligatory upon every believer, and that whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed God, and that referring to the Messenger of God - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - and being satisfied and submitting to him, and taking from him the sign of faith, we say: From all of this, the status of the Prophetic Sunnah in Islamic legislation becomes clear, and its authority becomes clear, and that in terms of authority it is in the same position as the Glorious Qur’an. It should not be understood from this that we make the Sunnah in the same position as the Qur’an in status and honor, as this is something that no Muslim would say, and there is no doubt that the Qur’an is superior to the Sunnah in matters that the Ummah has agreed upon, and we will point out the most important of them - briefly: -
1- The Noble Qur’an is inspired by God - the Almighty - in its wording and meaning, as it is the word of God - the Most High - while the Sunnah is the word of the Messenger - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - and his actions and approval.
2- The Glorious Qur’an is guaranteed by Allah the Almighty to preserve it, and this is not for the Sunnah.
3- The Great Qur’an is an act of worship by reciting it, and this is not for the Sunnah.
4- The Great Qur’an is a miracle for mankind, and as a result Allah the Almighty challenged mankind, and even the jinn, to produce something like the shortest Surah of it, and this is not the case for the Sunnah.
5- It is not permissible to narrate it by meaning, and this is permissible in the Sunnah with its restrictions.
6- It is not permissible for anyone except the purified to touch it, and this is not for the Sunnah.
7- The Qur’an is the collection between the two covers of the Noble Qur’an, and the Sunnah is distributed in books and collections.
These are matters in which the Qur’an is superior to the Sunnah, and therefore it is more honorable and of a higher status and holiness. However, our discussion is in the area of citing the Sunnah in matters of religion and legislative issues, and there is no doubt that in this it is in a position with the Qur’an. Just as it is said: Prayer is obligatory by the words of Allah the Almighty: ]And establish prayer[ (An-Nur: 56). Likewise it is said that the Fajr prayer is two rak’ahs, the Dhuhr and Asr prayers are four, the Maghrib prayer is three, and the Isha’ prayer is four. The evidence is the action of the Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him). The example here shows that both pieces of evidence are on the same level in providing knowledge and requiring action. For this reason, most scholars have equated the Book of Allah (the Most High) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in terms of the authority on rulings. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi titled this topic in his book “Al-Kifaya” by saying: (What was said about the equality between the ruling of the Book of Allah (the Most High) and the ruling of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). With this title, he indicates that the Qur’an and the Sunnah are equal in the same level in terms of the authority in proving the rulings of Islamic law. Dr. Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Khaliq said in his book “The Authority of the Sunnah” that the Sunnah and the Book are on the same level in terms of consideration and argumentation with them for the legal rulings. To explain this, we say: It is known that there is no dispute that the Book is distinguished from the Sunnah and is preferred over it in that its wording is revealed from God - Glory be to Him - and its recitation is an act of worship, and it is impossible for humans to produce something like it, unlike it, which is later than it in virtue from these aspects. However, that does not necessitate preference between them in authority, such that the Sunnah’s rank is later than the Book, and it alone is acted upon. Rather, the matter was thus - that is, the Sunnah is similar to the Book in the rank of authority - because the authority of the Book only came from its being a revelation from God - Glory be to Him - and the Sunnah is equal to the Qur’an from this aspect, so it is like it.
From the above discussion of the authority of the Sunnah and its position in legislation, the following matters become clear to us:
First: The revelation from Allah - the Most High - to His Messenger - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - is of two types; one is the Glorious Qur'an, and the other is the Noble Prophetic Sunnah. We have mentioned the evidence for this from the clear verses of the Qur'an, and we have also explained the differences between the two revelations, that is, between the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Second: The pure Prophetic Sunnah comes in second place after the Noble Qur'an in the source of legislation, as it is the second source after the Noble Qur'an. As for its authority, it is in the same position as the Qur'an. This means that the evidence of legislation from the Sunnah is equal to the evidence of legislation from the Qur'an, as both are useful for knowledge and require action in accordance with it, regardless of the type of the five rulings.
Third: Whoever rejects the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or rebels against it, or rejects the command or prohibition of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), or refuses to refer to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in what he is presented with or does not accept his ruling, everyone who does that or any part of it is considered a sinner who has left the religion and is not a believer, because Allah (the Most High) has made all of that a sign of faith, and rejecting that or any part of it a sign of disbelief and hypocrisy, and that is in His clear verses.
Fourth: In explaining what we have presented, we have relied on the Book of Allah, the Glorious Qur’an, alone, and we have not spoken about the pure Sunnah or the narrations of the Companions and the consensus of the Ummah, because those whom we are addressing in this research claim that they are “Quranists” who only take from the Qur’an, so we preferred to address them with the Noble Qur’an. However, by the will of Allah (the Most High), we will do justice to the subject through the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the narrations of the Companions and the consensus of the Ummah, when responding to their doubts, by the will of Allah (the Most High).
The doubts of the Quranists and the response to them
This group that called itself "the Quranists" has fallacies and ignorance, which they claimed are doubts against the pure Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - and they claim that these doubts are at the same time conclusive evidence of the necessity of abandoning the pure Prophetic Sunnah, neglecting it and turning away from it, and not considering it a source of legislation, and limiting oneself to the Glorious Quran as the sole source of Islamic legislation. We will undertake - God willing - to mention their doubts as they mentioned them, then we will refute them, respond to them, and show their invalidity.
The first doubt:
Their saying; that the Holy Quran is sufficient in explaining the issues of religion and the rulings of the Sharia, and that the Quran includes the entire religion, in its entirety and in detail, in its generalities and particulars, and that it contains all the legislative rulings in their details, leaving nothing out or neglecting anything. For this reason, the Quran was sufficient, and there was no need for a second source of legislation. There is no need for the Sunnah, nor is there any place for it. They have provided evidence for their doubt from what they claim are evidences from the Glorious Qur’an. Among these is His statement, the Most High: “We have neglected nothing in the Book” (Al-An’am: 38). They also provided evidence from the statement of Allah, the Most High, describing the Noble Qur’an: “It is not a fabricated statement, but a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of all things and a guidance and mercy for a people who believe” (Yusuf: 111). They also provided evidence from the verses in which Allah, the Most High, described the Qur’an as “clear,” such as His statement, the Most High: “It is only a reminder and a clear Qur’an” (Yasin: 69).
As for the reasoning behind their use of these verses, the first verse shows that Allah, the Most High, mentioned everything in the Holy Quran, and did not neglect anything in the Book, meaning that He, the Most High, did not leave out anything small or big, and did not leave out any matter of religion, or any ruling of the Sharia that people need in beliefs, worship, or dealings, except that He mentioned it in the Quran. If this is the case, then what need do we have for another source other than the Quran? Adding another source to the Quran, which did not leave out anything, and in which Allah did not neglect anything, only means that we add to Allah’s law what is not from it, and that we mix the law of Allah with which He sent down His book with a law from other than Allah, the Most High. This is false and corrupt, and its corruption only comes from relying in religion on other than the Book of Allah, which explained everything and encompassed everything. The
fact that the Quran includes details of everything is clear from the conclusion of Surah Yusuf, peace be upon him, in which Allah described the Quran as “the details of everything.” If the Quran explained everything, then what need do we have for the Sunnah? And what will we benefit from it? .. Likewise, the verses that describe the Qur’an as “clear” and describe its verses as “clear verses” block the path of those who say that the Sunnah clarifies and explains the Qur’an. This is the Qur’an speaking about itself in its decisive verses, that it includes everything, explains everything, and clarifies everything. Thus, it becomes clear that the Sunnah has no place in legislation, and there is no need for it to explain, explain, or clarify.
Refuting the doubt and responding to it:
To say this doubt indicates ignorance of the Glorious Qur’an and lack of understanding of its verses. Rather, it indicates bad intentions on the part of those who say it. The Ummah is unanimously agreed that the Noble Qur’an includes the religion in general terms in many of its aspects and rulings, and in detail in other aspects. The pure Prophetic Sunnah came to clarify and explain the general terms. The Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, while clarifying and explaining, is only carrying out the command of Allah, the Most High, and fulfilling what Allah, the Most High, has entrusted him with of explaining the Qur’an revealed to creation, in application and response to the command of Allah, the Almighty, in His saying: “And We have sent down to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.” (An-Nahl: 44)
The Glorious Qur’an includes religious issues and the fundamentals of Islamic rulings. As for the details and particulars of the Shari’ah, it has separated some of them and summarized most of them. Rather, the general in the Qur’an came based on the wisdom of Allah - the Almighty - which required that His Messenger - may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him - undertake to detail and explain that general. This is what the reality of Islam was based on, and upon which his nation agreed. Therefore, there is no weight for anyone who says otherwise or opposes it, because opposing it is a clear fallacy and a great slander. If the proponents of this doubt claim that the Glorious Qur’an has separated everything and explained every small and large thing in religion, then let us and them refer to the pillar of religion, prayer. Where in the Noble Qur’an is the number of prayers, the time of each prayer beginning and ending, the number of rak’ahs of each prayer, the prostrations in each rak’ah, its forms, its pillars, what is recited in it, its obligations, its Sunnahs, its nullifiers, and other rulings without which prayer cannot be established? The same can be said about the rulings on all acts of worship. The Noble Qur’an contains the command to pray, give zakat, fast, and perform Hajj. So where do we find the types of zakat to be paid from, and the amount of each type? Where do we find the rulings on fasting? Where do we find the rituals of Hajj? Allah, the Almighty, has entrusted the explanation of that to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who does not speak from his own desires. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came and
said: “Pray as you have seen me pray,” and he did not say: “As you find in the Qur’an,” because the Qur’an is devoid of detailing and explaining the rulings.
Perhaps part of the wisdom of Allah, the Almighty, in leaving the details and explanation to His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is that detailing the rulings, explaining their particulars, and clarifying their subtleties is more appropriate and beneficial in a practical way. If the rulings were explained in theoretical terms, they would not be sufficient without a practical, realistic explanation.
Perhaps the wisdom behind this is also to show the lofty status of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, which no one else shares with him, and the high and lofty position that no one else can reach, and that is by God Almighty attributing the details of the rulings and their explanation to him, may God bless him and grant him peace. If everything were detailed and explained, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, would be like other people, applying what is actually established. However, God Almighty singled him out, may God bless him and grant him peace, with the details of the rulings and the explanation of the general meaning of the Qur’an, in honor of his status and to elevate his status. This is not something that stands on its own, but rather it is based on the wisdom that we have previously explained.
As for those who raised this doubt, they committed a number of mistakes. The first of these mistakes is that they did not try to understand the subject within the framework of the entire Holy Quran, but rather they took one or more verses and focused their words on them, and built their corrupt doctrine on them, and left the entire Holy Quran with its clear verses that are directly related to the subject. Hence, they loaded the verses they chose with what they could not bear, and directed their meaning in the wrong directions that they wanted, and not those that the verses express. It is self-evident that the general public knows - let alone scholars - that the Quran interprets parts of itself, and that some of its verses are only understood within the framework of others, and that interpreting some verses away from the rest of the Holy Quran may be a mistake that leads to two serious prohibitions: the first: not understanding the meaning of the verses correctly. The second: That the Qur’an contradicts itself, and that some of its verses contradict others. This is a great crime, which only a sinful criminal would commit. These people have relied on a verse or a few verses from the Qur’an, then isolated them from the rest of the clear verses in the Qur’an on the same subject, then loaded them with meanings that they cannot bear, out of bad intention and arbitrariness. Perhaps refuting their doubt requires us - in addition to what we have mentioned - to clarify the meanings of the verses that they have used as evidence, so that their doubt is completely invalidated and collapses from its foundation.
Their main argument for what they have gone to is the statement of Allah - the Almighty: ]We have neglected nothing in the Book[ (Al-An`am: 38), claiming that this verse means that the Noble Book has included the details of every small and big thing and its explanation, and therefore there is no need for the Sunnah to explain and detail it. The majority of commentators have gone to the view that what is meant by the Book in the Noble Verse is the Preserved Tablet, not the Noble Qur’an, and the context of the entire verse supports this, as the entire Noble Verse is: ]There is no creature on earth or bird that flies with its wings except that they are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book. Then to their Lord they will be gathered[ (Al-An`am: 38). The verse speaks of the great knowledge of Allah - the Almighty - and His encompassing of everything in existence, from animals and birds and others. Allah’s knowledge - the Almighty - has encompassed everything, and has determined what will happen to each of them, then to Him they will be gathered. This is like His - the Most High - saying: “No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being. Indeed, that, for Allah, is easy” (Al-Hadid: 22). The book that contains everything that was, is, or will be is the Preserved Tablet - and according to the interpretation of the book as being the Holy Qur’an, the commentators have said that the meaning of the verse is that Allah - the Most High - has included in the Holy Qur’an everything that those who are accountable need of commands and prohibitions, beliefs and laws, good tidings and warnings, etc. This does not mean that he does not need the Sunnah to explain it, for it is revelation, and the Sunnah is revelation, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, does not speak from his own desires, and his Lord - the Most High - said about him: “Nor does he speak from his own desire. It is not but a revelation revealed” (An-Najm: 3-4). God - Glory be to Him - who included in the Noble Qur’an the issues of religion and the principles of rulings in a general manner, is the One - Glory be to Him - who directed people and showed them the path from which they can obtain the details and explanation of that general matter. The guidance came in the Qur’an itself, as God - the Almighty - said: “O you who have believed, obey God and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds” (Muhammad: 33), and He - the Blessed and Exalted - said: “And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from” (Al-Hashr: 7). There are many other verses that command the believers to obey the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and to take from him. Thus, the meaning of the noble verse becomes clear: “We have neglected nothing in the Book.” If the Book is interpreted as the Qur’an, then God Almighty has included in it everything that the accountable person needs. Whatever detail there is in it is sufficient, and whatever generality there is in it, the Qur’an has directed the believers to the path in which they will find the details of that generality, which is the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace. Thus, the Glorious Qur’an has included everything, and God Almighty has spoken the truth when He says: “We have neglected nothing in the Book.”
The second doubt:
This doubt is based on their claim that the Sunnah of the Prophet is not a revelation from Allah - the Most High - to His Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - but rather it is an effort and action of the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - according to his humanity, and he - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - in this regard is right and wrong, so the Sunnah is not a revelation, and therefore it is not free from error, because only revelation is free from error, and there is no revelation except the Glorious Qur’an. If the sayings and actions of the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - are not revelation, then we are not obligated to follow them, nor are they a source of legislation. They mention matters that they claim are evidence that the Sunnah is not revelation, but rather the ijtihad of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - in his capacity as a human being...
Among their alleged evidence for that are: First: the issue of pollinating the palm trees, where the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - ordered his companions to leave the palm trees and not pollinate them - so they obeyed his order and the palm trees were spoiled, and the people lost the fruits of their palm trees... Second: the issue of the Muslim army descending in the Battle of Badr, where the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - had them stay in a place - then the error of this place became apparent, so the army moved to another place based on the opinion of one of his companions - may God be pleased with them -... Third: the issue of the prisoners of Badr, where the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - took them as captives and did not kill them, and took ransom from them, and the Qur’an was revealed explaining the error of that ijtihad and the correctness of Umar’s ijtihad and opinion on the matter. Fourth: The Companions - may God be pleased with them - considered that the Sunnah is not revelation, and their practical acknowledgement of that, when they disobeyed the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, when he slaughtered and shaved his head, while they themselves rejected that, considering it an effort from the Prophet, and not revelation, and if they had considered it revelation they would not have disobeyed ( ).
The response to this doubt and its refutation:
This doubt that these people have brought up was preceded by some groups of deniers of the Sunnah of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and we have mentioned what they claimed as evidence for what they have gone to, and this doubt, along with what they claimed as evidence for it, should not have been issued by a Muslim, or by someone who claims to be a Muslim, because the Muslim nation has agreed, past and present, and until the Day of Resurrection, that the pure Prophetic Sunnah is a revelation from God - the Most High - to His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and that the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - does not speak from his own desires, and the consensus of the Muslim nation on this is not issued from a vacuum or from desires, but it is the truth that is not opposed by anyone except a clear misguidance.
The evidence that the Sunnah is a revelation from God - the Most High - to His Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - is many and numerous, and we have previously mentioned it in the discussion of the authority of the Sunnah, but there is no harm in pointing out the most important of them here:
First: Allah the Almighty informed us of this in clear texts in verses of the Glorious Qur’an to which these people claim to belong. Among these is His statement, the Almighty, about the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.” (An-Najm: 3-4). Among these is His statement, the Almighty, about His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “And if he had fabricated against Us some sayings, We would have seized him by the right hand, then We would have cut from him the aorta, and there is not one of you who could have prevented Us from it.” (Al-Haqqah: 44-47). These verses do not inform us that the Messenger only speaks by revelation, but rather they inform us that if he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had fabricated something about Allah the Almighty that Allah had not revealed to him, Allah would have killed him and put an end to him. Since Allah the Almighty did not seize His Messenger by the right hand, nor did He cut from him the aorta, that is, He did not put an end to him, then the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, only spoke what Allah the Almighty revealed to him.
Second: The decisive texts from the Glorious Book of Allah in which Allah - the Almighty - commands the believers to follow the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - in everything he takes and leaves, what he commands and what he forbids, including the saying of Allah - the Blessed and Most High:] And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from [(Al-Hashr: 7). And the saying of Allah - the Most High -:] O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds [(Muhammad: 33).
Third: Allah - the Almighty - made faith dependent on obeying His Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and being satisfied with his judgment, and submitting to his commands and prohibitions in everything he sees and rules, and that is in the saying of Allah - the Almighty -:] But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission [(An-Nisa’: 65). And from that, Allah the Almighty described the believers as saying that their affair with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is to say, “We hear and we obey,” in His saying, the Most High: “The only statement of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, is to say, ‘We hear and we obey.’ And those are the successful.” (An-Nur: 51)
Fourth: The consensus of all the imams is that the Sunnah is a revelation from Allah the Almighty to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), especially the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), may Allah be pleased with them all, as they used to memorize his sayings (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and discuss them among themselves during his honorable life, and they used to strive to follow his example (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in everything he did and left, in what was not specific to him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), responding to the guidance of Allah the Almighty in His saying to the Muslim nation: “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah much.” (Al-Ahzab: 21). And those among them who knew how to write would write for themselves only. There were a number of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who wrote for themselves during his blessed life. Then after his life (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the issue would be presented to the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and they would search in the Qur’an. If they did not find a ruling on it, they would search in the Sunnah and rule on it according to what was mentioned in the Sunnah. Their questioner would ask his companions and brothers, saying: I ask you by Allah, has any of you heard anything from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the issue? If the ruling of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to them through his companions or some of them, they would hasten to apply it and take it.
This is a reminder of the conclusive evidence that the Sunnah is revelation from Allah (the Most High). We have previously explained this in detail in a previous discussion on the authority of the Sunnah, which makes it unnecessary to repeat it here.
As for the fallacies they have raised, claiming that they are evidence that the pure prophetic Sunnah is not revelation, this is clearly false talk. We respond to it - despite its obvious falsehood - to refute their claims.
1- The first of their false claims is the issue of pollination - fertilization - of palm trees. This is an issue that goes back to experience and expertise and has no relation to revelation, near or far. It is known that the matters upon which people’s livelihoods and ordinary lives are based have no relation to revelation except in what is related to it of permissibility, prohibition and permission. As for how to practice and carry it out, that is left to experience and expertise, and they practice it according to what they are accustomed to and used to. The Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - had no previous experience with pollinating palm trees, and when he saw them doing that, he said to them, “If you left it, it would be fine,” either in the form of a question or as a suggestion based on lack of experience. This had no relation to legislation, neither as a command nor a prohibition. Therefore, when they abandoned pollinating the palm trees and it did not work, and they told the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - about that, he said to them: (You are more knowledgeable about your worldly affairs.)
2- As for what they raised about the position of the Muslim army in the Battle of Badr; This was based on an opinion that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw, and it was not based on revelation. This is clear and obvious. When one of his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked him, saying: “Is this a place where Allah has sent you, O Messenger of Allah, or is it opinion, war and plotting?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Rather, it is opinion, war and plotting.” When his companion suggested a better place, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) moved to it. So the fact that this was not based on revelation is clear. It is not correct to cite it as evidence in the context of denying revelation in what is revelation.
3- As for the issue of the prisoners of Badr, it combined opinion and revelation. Opinion came first, then revelation followed it. The issue of the prisoners of Badr clarifies for us an important matter that may not be available in many other legislative issues. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took the prisoners of Badr based on opinion, so he consulted his companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and each one gave his opinion, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) leaned towards it. - To the opinion that says that they should be kept alive and ransoms should be taken from them, and this was the opinion of Abu Bakr - may God be pleased with him - and the opinion of Omar - may God be pleased with him - was to kill all the prisoners - and after the matter was settled on that, the revelation came down to the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - explaining what should have been done in the matter of the prisoners, and explaining the correctness of the case. God - the Most High - says regarding the Messenger's action with the prisoners of Badr: ] It is not for a prophet to have captives until he has made slaughter in the land. You desire the goods of this world, but God desires the Hereafter. And God is Exalted in Might and Wise. Had it not been for a previous decree from God, a great punishment would have afflicted you for what you took. So eat of that which you have taken [as spoils], lawful and good, and fear God. Indeed, God is Forgiving and Merciful. [ (Al-Anfal: 67-69)
The issue of the prisoners of war began with opinion and ended with revelation. This issue as a whole is evidence that the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, does not say or do anything related to religion except by revelation from God Almighty, and that God Almighty does not leave His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, wrong, even if he acts according to his opinion and his own efforts. This is the important matter that we have previously noted, and its summary is that the words and actions of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, in matters of religion are revelation, even if he speaks according to his opinion. Because if he says or acts according to his opinion and it is correct and in accordance with God’s command, God Almighty confirms it for him. And the approval of Allah - the Most High - for him is evidence that his work is in accordance with the will of Allah - the Most High - and thus it is revelation. And if the effort of the Messenger - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - is not correct and in accordance with the will of Allah - the Most High - then Allah - the Most High - does not approve of what he said or did based on his effort, but rather approves and corrects it. This is as happened in the case of the prisoners of Badr, where the Qur'an was revealed correcting it; and as happened in the beginning of Surat "Abasa" where the Qur'an was revealed admonishing... Thus it becomes clear that the incident of the prisoners of Badr is evidence that the Sunnah is a revelation from Allah - the Most High - and that Allah - the Most High - surrounds the sayings and actions of His Messenger with revelation even if he exerted his own opinion.
And the decisive factor in the three issues that they raised is one of their doubts, thinking that it is evidence that the Prophetic Sunnah is not revelation; What the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) does is of two types: One type he does based on his humanity (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), without any revelation being sent to him about it. This type has no connection to legislation, and that is in most of his daily affairs, none of which are related to religion, whether permissible or forbidden, including his opinion on pollinating palm trees. Another type he does based on his being a human messenger, and his action is based on revelation from Allah (the Most High). The first two matters: pollinating palm trees and the camp of the army at Badr, are of the first type, which the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did based on his opinion. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) exerted his own effort in the third matter, based on his opinion and the opinions of the Companions he consulted with (may Allah be pleased with them), so the revelation came down correcting and clarifying the correct ruling.
This doubt is based on their claim that the Sunnah of the Prophet is not a revelation from Allah - the Most High - to His Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - but rather it is an effort and action of the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - according to his humanity, and he - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - in this regard is right and wrong, so the Sunnah is not a revelation, and therefore it is not free from error, because only revelation is free from error, and there is no revelation except the Glorious Qur’an. If the sayings and actions of the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - are not revelation, then we are not obligated to follow them, nor are they a source of legislation. They mention matters that they claim are evidence that the Sunnah is not revelation, but rather the ijtihad of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - in his capacity as a human being...
Among their alleged evidence for that are: First: the issue of pollinating the palm trees, where the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - ordered his companions to leave the palm trees and not pollinate them - so they obeyed his order and the palm trees were spoiled, and the people lost the fruits of their palm trees... Second: the issue of the Muslim army descending in the Battle of Badr, where the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - had them stay in a place - then the error of this place became apparent, so the army moved to another place based on the opinion of one of his companions - may God be pleased with them -... Third: the issue of the prisoners of Badr, where the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - took them as captives and did not kill them, and took ransom from them, and the Qur’an was revealed explaining the error of that ijtihad and the correctness of Umar’s ijtihad and opinion on the matter. Fourth: The Companions - may God be pleased with them - considered that the Sunnah is not revelation, and their practical acknowledgement of that, when they disobeyed the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, when he slaughtered and shaved his head, while they themselves rejected that, considering it an effort from the Prophet, and not revelation, and if they had considered it revelation they would not have disobeyed ( ).
The response to this doubt and its refutation:
This doubt that these people have brought up was preceded by some groups of deniers of the Sunnah of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and we have mentioned what they claimed as evidence for what they have gone to, and this doubt, along with what they claimed as evidence for it, should not have been issued by a Muslim, or by someone who claims to be a Muslim, because the Muslim nation has agreed, past and present, and until the Day of Resurrection, that the pure Prophetic Sunnah is a revelation from God - the Most High - to His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and that the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - does not speak from his own desires, and the consensus of the Muslim nation on this is not issued from a vacuum or from desires, but it is the truth that is not opposed by anyone except a clear misguidance.
The evidence that the Sunnah is a revelation from God - the Most High - to His Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - is many and numerous, and we have previously mentioned it in the discussion of the authority of the Sunnah, but there is no harm in pointing out the most important of them here:
First: Allah the Almighty informed us of this in clear texts in verses of the Glorious Qur’an to which these people claim to belong. Among these is His statement, the Almighty, about the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.” (An-Najm: 3-4). Among these is His statement, the Almighty, about His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “And if he had fabricated against Us some sayings, We would have seized him by the right hand, then We would have cut from him the aorta, and there is not one of you who could have prevented Us from it.” (Al-Haqqah: 44-47). These verses do not inform us that the Messenger only speaks by revelation, but rather they inform us that if he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had fabricated something about Allah the Almighty that Allah had not revealed to him, Allah would have killed him and put an end to him. Since Allah the Almighty did not seize His Messenger by the right hand, nor did He cut from him the aorta, that is, He did not put an end to him, then the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, only spoke what Allah the Almighty revealed to him.
Second: The decisive texts from the Glorious Book of Allah in which Allah - the Almighty - commands the believers to follow the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - in everything he takes and leaves, what he commands and what he forbids, including the saying of Allah - the Blessed and Most High:] And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from [(Al-Hashr: 7). And the saying of Allah - the Most High -:] O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds [(Muhammad: 33).
Third: Allah - the Almighty - made faith dependent on obeying His Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and being satisfied with his judgment, and submitting to his commands and prohibitions in everything he sees and rules, and that is in the saying of Allah - the Almighty -:] But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission [(An-Nisa’: 65). And from that, Allah the Almighty described the believers as saying that their affair with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is to say, “We hear and we obey,” in His saying, the Most High: “The only statement of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, is to say, ‘We hear and we obey.’ And those are the successful.” (An-Nur: 51)
Fourth: The consensus of all the imams is that the Sunnah is a revelation from Allah the Almighty to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), especially the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), may Allah be pleased with them all, as they used to memorize his sayings (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and discuss them among themselves during his honorable life, and they used to strive to follow his example (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in everything he did and left, in what was not specific to him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), responding to the guidance of Allah the Almighty in His saying to the Muslim nation: “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah much.” (Al-Ahzab: 21). And those among them who knew how to write would write for themselves only. There were a number of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who wrote for themselves during his blessed life. Then after his life (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the issue would be presented to the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and they would search in the Qur’an. If they did not find a ruling on it, they would search in the Sunnah and rule on it according to what was mentioned in the Sunnah. Their questioner would ask his companions and brothers, saying: I ask you by Allah, has any of you heard anything from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the issue? If the ruling of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to them through his companions or some of them, they would hasten to apply it and take it.
This is a reminder of the conclusive evidence that the Sunnah is revelation from Allah (the Most High). We have previously explained this in detail in a previous discussion on the authority of the Sunnah, which makes it unnecessary to repeat it here.
As for the fallacies they have raised, claiming that they are evidence that the pure prophetic Sunnah is not revelation, this is clearly false talk. We respond to it - despite its obvious falsehood - to refute their claims.
1- The first of their false claims is the issue of pollination - fertilization - of palm trees. This is an issue that goes back to experience and expertise and has no relation to revelation, near or far. It is known that the matters upon which people’s livelihoods and ordinary lives are based have no relation to revelation except in what is related to it of permissibility, prohibition and permission. As for how to practice and carry it out, that is left to experience and expertise, and they practice it according to what they are accustomed to and used to. The Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - had no previous experience with pollinating palm trees, and when he saw them doing that, he said to them, “If you left it, it would be fine,” either in the form of a question or as a suggestion based on lack of experience. This had no relation to legislation, neither as a command nor a prohibition. Therefore, when they abandoned pollinating the palm trees and it did not work, and they told the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - about that, he said to them: (You are more knowledgeable about your worldly affairs.)
2- As for what they raised about the position of the Muslim army in the Battle of Badr; This was based on an opinion that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw, and it was not based on revelation. This is clear and obvious. When one of his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked him, saying: “Is this a place where Allah has sent you, O Messenger of Allah, or is it opinion, war and plotting?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Rather, it is opinion, war and plotting.” When his companion suggested a better place, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) moved to it. So the fact that this was not based on revelation is clear. It is not correct to cite it as evidence in the context of denying revelation in what is revelation.
3- As for the issue of the prisoners of Badr, it combined opinion and revelation. Opinion came first, then revelation followed it. The issue of the prisoners of Badr clarifies for us an important matter that may not be available in many other legislative issues. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took the prisoners of Badr based on opinion, so he consulted his companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and each one gave his opinion, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) leaned towards it. - To the opinion that says that they should be kept alive and ransoms should be taken from them, and this was the opinion of Abu Bakr - may God be pleased with him - and the opinion of Omar - may God be pleased with him - was to kill all the prisoners - and after the matter was settled on that, the revelation came down to the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - explaining what should have been done in the matter of the prisoners, and explaining the correctness of the case. God - the Most High - says regarding the Messenger's action with the prisoners of Badr: ] It is not for a prophet to have captives until he has made slaughter in the land. You desire the goods of this world, but God desires the Hereafter. And God is Exalted in Might and Wise. Had it not been for a previous decree from God, a great punishment would have afflicted you for what you took. So eat of that which you have taken [as spoils], lawful and good, and fear God. Indeed, God is Forgiving and Merciful. [ (Al-Anfal: 67-69)
The issue of the prisoners of war began with opinion and ended with revelation. This issue as a whole is evidence that the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, does not say or do anything related to religion except by revelation from God Almighty, and that God Almighty does not leave His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, wrong, even if he acts according to his opinion and his own efforts. This is the important matter that we have previously noted, and its summary is that the words and actions of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, in matters of religion are revelation, even if he speaks according to his opinion. Because if he says or acts according to his opinion and it is correct and in accordance with God’s command, God Almighty confirms it for him. And the approval of Allah - the Most High - for him is evidence that his work is in accordance with the will of Allah - the Most High - and thus it is revelation. And if the effort of the Messenger - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - is not correct and in accordance with the will of Allah - the Most High - then Allah - the Most High - does not approve of what he said or did based on his effort, but rather approves and corrects it. This is as happened in the case of the prisoners of Badr, where the Qur'an was revealed correcting it; and as happened in the beginning of Surat "Abasa" where the Qur'an was revealed admonishing... Thus it becomes clear that the incident of the prisoners of Badr is evidence that the Sunnah is a revelation from Allah - the Most High - and that Allah - the Most High - surrounds the sayings and actions of His Messenger with revelation even if he exerted his own opinion.
And the decisive factor in the three issues that they raised is one of their doubts, thinking that it is evidence that the Prophetic Sunnah is not revelation; What the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) does is of two types: One type he does based on his humanity (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), without any revelation being sent to him about it. This type has no connection to legislation, and that is in most of his daily affairs, none of which are related to religion, whether permissible or forbidden, including his opinion on pollinating palm trees. Another type he does based on his being a human messenger, and his action is based on revelation from Allah (the Most High). The first two matters: pollinating palm trees and the camp of the army at Badr, are of the first type, which the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did based on his opinion. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) exerted his own effort in the third matter, based on his opinion and the opinions of the Companions he consulted with (may Allah be pleased with them), so the revelation came down correcting and clarifying the correct ruling.
The third doubt:
The gist of this doubt is their saying: The Sunnah was not a law for the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - did not intend for his Sunnah to be a legislative source for the religion, and he did not say or do anything with the intention of legislation, and the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - did not intend during his life for there to be a legislative source other than the Glorious Qur’an. Rather, the source of legislation for the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - was the Qur’an alone, and this is how the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - understood it. Then came the era of the Followers, in which the temptation of saying that the Sunnah was a source of legislation began, and that was the backbreaker for the religion, as that which was not from it entered into it, and mixed with the pure, correct revelation which is the Qur’an, that which is not from the revelation but rather the speech of humans, we mean by that the Sunnah of the Prophet.
They claim that they have evidence for that. Among them:
1- That the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - ordered his companions to write the Holy Quran, and urged them to do so, and forbade his companions from writing anything from the Sunnah, whether it was a word or an action, and that is his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace - (Do not write from me, and whoever writes from me other than the Quran, let him erase it) ( ).
2- That the companions - may God be pleased with them - knew from the Prophet e that the Sunnah is not Sharia, so they neglected writing it and memorizing it, despite their great interest in writing the Glorious Quran on everything that could be written on.
3- That the senior companions - may God be pleased with them - including the Rightly-Guided Caliphs - hated narrating hadiths, and warned against it, and Omar - may God be pleased with him - threatened and warned the narrators of hadiths, and Omar bin Al-Khattab imprisoned a number of companions because of their narration of hadiths, in implementation of his threat and warning them not to narrate hadiths.
Responding to and refuting the doubt:
This is their doubt, and that is their evidence for it, and the doubt is invalid, and its evidence is more invalid and fabricated. The Muslim Ummah, past and present, and until the Day of Judgment - God willing - has agreed that the Sunnah of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - is the second source of Islamic legislation. We have established sufficient evidence - thanks to God - that the Sunnah is a revelation from God - the Most High - to His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and the fact that the Sunnah is a revelation from God - the Most High - is conclusive and sufficient in itself that it is God's law - the Most High - to the people, and it is the second source of legislation without a doubt. However, we will make the matter clearer and respond to what they have claimed with evidence for their doubt.
1- As for their saying that the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - forbade writing the Hadith, while he urged writing and memorizing the Qur’an, and that he - may God bless him and grant him peace - had scribes for the Qur’an; this is an exaggerated statement, and is based on deception and stating some of the truth and concealing some. There is no doubt that the Glorious Qur’an received more care in writing and memorizing it than the Prophetic Sunnah. It is the primary source of religion, and it is higher in status and sanctity than the Sunnah, and it is more deserving of care and attention in writing and memorizing it. Therefore, the Qur’an received more care than the Sunnah, especially its recording and writing. The reasons that made the Companions care more about writing the Qur’an than they did about writing the Sunnah are many. Among them: The Holy Quran is limited to what Gabriel revealed to the heart of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace -, so writing it and comprehending it is easier, and they are more capable of that. As for the Prophetic Sunnah of the sayings and actions of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - they are many and varied, including his sayings - may God bless him and grant him peace - and his daily actions, and over the course of twenty-three years that he - may God bless him and grant him peace - lived among them, and this is something that is difficult to write and document, especially if we take into consideration the scarcity or fewness of writers among the Companions - may God be pleased with them. Among them: Writing the Quran is a necessity imposed and necessitated by the fact that the Great Quran is the revelation of God - the Most High - to the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - in its wording and meaning, and it is not permissible to narrate it by meaning, while the Sunnah is permissible to narrate it by meaning, and it is permissible in the Sunnah for the speaker to say: "or as he said" and what is similar to it, but that is not permissible in the Quran. Among them: The writers among the Companions - may God be pleased with them - were few, and they were not able to write the Sunnah and the Qur’an together. If there was a choice between which of the two the Companions who knew how to write should write, then what was written should be the Qur’an, so that they could hand it over to those after them, written, precise and complete, with not a single letter added to it or omitted from it.
As for their argument that the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - forbade writing anything other than the Qur’an, and anything other than the Qur’an is the Sunnah, this argument is invalid for several reasons. First: This hadith, which Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, is the saying of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace -: “Do not write from me, and whoever writes from me anything other than the Qur’an, let him erase it.” This hadith is defective. “The Commander of the Faithful, Abu Abdullah al-Bukhari and others declared it weak in the hadith, because it stopped at Abu Saeed.” If we ignore this, then the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, forbade writing, and it was reported from him, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he permitted it, and even ordered it in other hadiths. Therefore, we said that their evidence is a deception, as they mentioned the hadith of prohibition, and did not refer to the hadiths of permission, which are many. Among them: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, gave a sermon on the day of the conquest, saying, “God has prevented the killing of Mecca - or the elephant, according to al-Bukhari - and has given power over them to the Messenger of God and the believers...” When he finished his sermon, a man from Yemen came and said, “Write for me, O Messenger of God.” The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Write for Abu Shah” ( ). Among them: What was narrated from Abu Hurayrah, may God be pleased with him, that he said, “No one was more knowledgeable about the hadith of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, than me except Abdullah bin Amr, for he used to write and I did not.” ( ). Among these is what was narrated on the authority of Abdullah bin Amr - may God be pleased with them both - that some of the Companions told him and said: You write down everything that the Messenger of God says, and the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - is a human being who gets angry and says what is not permissible in the Sharia. So Abdullah returned to the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and told him what was said to him, and the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - said to him: (Write, for by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, nothing comes out of my mouth except the truth) ( ). These narrations are in Sahih, and there are others that are weak and they are many. If we compare the narrations of prohibition with the narrations of permission, “we find Abu Bakr al-Khatib - may God have mercy on him - (d. 463 AH) collected the narrations of prohibition and only the hadith of Abu Saeed al-Khudri - may God be pleased with him - mentioned above was authentic, and we have shown that Imam Abu Abdullah al-Bukhari declared it weak due to stopping at Abu Saeed, and so did others” ( ). While the hadiths of permission are many. There are many authentic hadiths, some of which we have narrated, including: In addition to what was mentioned above, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said during his death illness: “Bring me a book so that I may write for you a book after which you will not go astray” ( ).
Scholars have made an effort to reconcile the hadiths of permission and the hadiths of prohibition, and this has resulted in opinions, the most important of which are:
A - That this is one of the abrogated hadiths of the Sunnah. That is, the prohibition came first, then it was abrogated by the permission to write after that. The majority of scholars have agreed with this, including Ibn Qutaybah in interpreting the various hadiths, and they have said that the prohibition came first for fear of confusing the Qur’an with the Sunnah, and when the confusion was avoided, permission came.
B - That the prohibition was not absolute, but rather it was about writing the hadith and the Qur’an on one page. As for writing on two pages, it is permitted.
C - That the permission came to some of the Companions who used to write for themselves, and it was safe for them to mix up the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
There are other opinions, but what is clear from the hadiths of prohibition and permission is that the permission came last, and if it was abrogated, then it is the one that abrogated the prohibition. This is what the majority narrated ( ).
Thus, their argument with the hadith of prohibition narrated by Muslim on the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri - may God be pleased with him - falls away. This hadith which they consider the cornerstone of their argument for the lack of legislation or authority of the Sunnah, and they frequently insist on it in writing and debate ( ).
2- As for their saying that the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - understood from the Prophet - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - that the Sunnah is not a Sharia, so they turned away from it and did not care to write it down or adhere to it; this is a lie and stubbornness. Whoever looks at the records in the books of Sunnah, the history of sciences, and what the scholars have written about the positions of the Muslim Ummah regarding the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - and especially the position of the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - regarding the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - will be certain of the lies of these people and will be amazed at the extent of their arrogance and fabrication of the truth, to the point of reversing the situation and reversing things. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - were the most keen of creation to observe the sayings and actions of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - and to memorize them and act upon them. In fact, their keenness to follow every small and big thing, memorize it, understand it and act upon it reached the point that they would take turns staying with the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - as Umar ibn al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him - was narrated by al-Bukhari with his chain of transmission connected to him. He says: “I had a neighbor from the Ansar, Banu Umayyah ibn Zayd - from the upper reaches of Medina - and we used to take turns staying with the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace -. He would stay one day and I would stay the next. When I stayed, I would bring him news of that day, and when he stayed, he would do the same.”( ) This was only because of their great eagerness to know the Sunnah of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and to follow and adhere to it...
The Companions would travel long distances to ask the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - about God’s ruling on some of the things that happened to them. Al-Bukhari narrates on the authority of Uqbah ibn al-Harith - may God be pleased with him - “that a woman told him that she had breastfed him and his wife, so he immediately rode from Mecca to the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - in Medina. When the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - heard of this, he asked him about God’s ruling on someone who marries a woman without knowing that she was his foster sister, and then she told him who had breastfed them both? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him, “How can it be when it has been said?” So he immediately left his wife and married someone else.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to ask the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) about his conduct and his Sunnah in his home. Women would go to the houses of the wives of the Prophet (
peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) and ask them about anything that happened to them. This is well-known and famous, and does not need to be mentioned as an example or witness. In fact, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were so keen to adhere to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that they would adhere to what he did and leave what he left without knowing the wisdom behind it, and without asking about it, out of their confidence that his actions (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) were inspired. Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took a ring of gold, and the people took rings of gold. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) threw it away and said, ‘I will never wear it again,’ and the people threw away their rings.”
Judge Iyad narrated in his book “Al-Shifa” on the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri - may God be pleased with him - who said: “While the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - was praying with his companions, he took off his shoes and placed them on his left. When the people saw that, they threw their shoes away. When he finished his prayer, he said: ‘What made you throw your shoes away?’ They said: ‘O Messenger of God, we saw you throw your shoes away.’ He said: ‘Gabriel informed me that there was filth in them.’”
Ibn Abd al-Barr mentioned in “Jami’ Bayan al-Ilm wa Fadluhu” on the authority of Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came on Friday while the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was delivering the sermon, and he heard him say: “Sit down.” So he sat at the door of the mosque - that is, where he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say that - and the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw him and said: “Come, Abdullah ibn Mas’ud.” ( ). The Companions’ (may Allah be pleased with them) eagerness to know the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in all his situations, and to adhere to it, and to respond to his commands and prohibitions immediately reached this level - as Abdullah ibn Mas’ud did - without realizing the wisdom behind the action - as in their throwing off their sandals during prayer, and their discarding their gold rings - and that was nothing but a response to Allah the Most High in His command to obey His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and to follow his example, as in His statement - the Almighty and Majestic - : “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah much” (Al-Ahzab: 21). Then in response to his Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - in his command to the nation to follow his Sunnah and adhere to it, as in his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace -: (Take your rituals from me) ( ). And his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace -: (Pray as you have seen me pray) ( ). And his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace -: (All of my nation will enter Paradise except for those who refuse) They said: O Messenger of God, and who will refuse? He said: (Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys me has refused) ( ). And his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace - (I advise you to fear God and to listen and obey, even if it is an Ethiopian slave, for whoever among you lives will see much difference, so adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly-guided caliphs, hold fast to it and cling to it with your molars, and beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance) ( ).
This is a little of much that shows the position of the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - regarding the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - a position characterized by extreme keenness and great interest in knowing the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and preserving and adhering to it, and even conveying it to those who hear it in response to the saying of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace -: (May Allah make fruitful the man who hears my words and understands them and conveys them as he heard them, for there may be a conveyor who understands them more than the listener) ( ).
From this, the extent of the lies of the enemies of the Sunnah and the enemies of Allah and His Messenger becomes clear in their claim that was mentioned above.
3- As for their claim that the senior Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - hated narrating hadith, and that Omar - may Allah be pleased with him - ( ) threatened the narrators of the Sunnah, and that he carried out his threat by imprisoning three of the Companions because of their excessive narration of the Sunnah; this is a lie that is added to what was mentioned above of their false claims, and it contains an aspect of deception that is not free from their speech.
As for the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - hating to narrate hadith, this is false. The truth is that they feared narrating it and were afraid of it, due to the great responsibility and the threat of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - against those who lie about him. In his saying - peace be upon him - (Whoever lies about me intentionally, let him take his seat in the Fire) ( ). The Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - were between two matters, each of which they were keen on; the first: conveying the religion of Allah to those who come after them from the Ummah, and the second: verifying and strictly investigating everything they convey from the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace -. Therefore, one of them would turn pale and be seized with fear when narrating from the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - .. So the truth - then - is that the Companions feared narrating hadith due to their intense fear of lying about the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - or making a mistake in what they narrated. And it is not as these people claim, that this was because they saw the Sunnah as not legitimate, or that it was not a source of legislation.
As for the claim that Omar - may God be pleased with him - imprisoned three of his companions: Abdullah bin Masoud, Abu Dharr, and Abu Darda - may God be pleased with them -; This is a fabricated and false narration that has been on the tongues, and some have mentioned it as it is on the tongues and recorded in books of topics of hadiths and events. Not everything that is on the tongues or included in some books is true. Imam Ibn Hazm – may God have mercy on him – took on the task of examining this false claim in his book: “Al-Ahkam” and said: ((It was narrated on the authority of Omar that he imprisoned Ibn Masoud, Abu Al-Darda’, and Abu Dharr because of the hadith from the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and after Ibn Hazm challenged the narration with interruption, he examined it legally and said: “The report in itself is clearly a lie and fabrication, because it is not free from: either Omar accused the Companions, and this is what is in it. Or he forbade the hadith itself and the transmission of the Sunnah and obliged them to conceal it and not transmit it, and this is a departure from Islam, and God has protected the Commander of the Faithful from all of that, and this is a statement that no Muslim would say, and if he imprisoned them while they were not accused, then he has wronged them, so let the one who argues for his corrupt doctrine choose with the like of These narrations, which of the two evil paths he willed ( ).
Thus the falsehood of their claim and the corruption of what they built on this claim become clear.
The gist of this doubt is their saying: The Sunnah was not a law for the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - did not intend for his Sunnah to be a legislative source for the religion, and he did not say or do anything with the intention of legislation, and the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - did not intend during his life for there to be a legislative source other than the Glorious Qur’an. Rather, the source of legislation for the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - was the Qur’an alone, and this is how the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - understood it. Then came the era of the Followers, in which the temptation of saying that the Sunnah was a source of legislation began, and that was the backbreaker for the religion, as that which was not from it entered into it, and mixed with the pure, correct revelation which is the Qur’an, that which is not from the revelation but rather the speech of humans, we mean by that the Sunnah of the Prophet.
They claim that they have evidence for that. Among them:
1- That the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - ordered his companions to write the Holy Quran, and urged them to do so, and forbade his companions from writing anything from the Sunnah, whether it was a word or an action, and that is his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace - (Do not write from me, and whoever writes from me other than the Quran, let him erase it) ( ).
2- That the companions - may God be pleased with them - knew from the Prophet e that the Sunnah is not Sharia, so they neglected writing it and memorizing it, despite their great interest in writing the Glorious Quran on everything that could be written on.
3- That the senior companions - may God be pleased with them - including the Rightly-Guided Caliphs - hated narrating hadiths, and warned against it, and Omar - may God be pleased with him - threatened and warned the narrators of hadiths, and Omar bin Al-Khattab imprisoned a number of companions because of their narration of hadiths, in implementation of his threat and warning them not to narrate hadiths.
Responding to and refuting the doubt:
This is their doubt, and that is their evidence for it, and the doubt is invalid, and its evidence is more invalid and fabricated. The Muslim Ummah, past and present, and until the Day of Judgment - God willing - has agreed that the Sunnah of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - is the second source of Islamic legislation. We have established sufficient evidence - thanks to God - that the Sunnah is a revelation from God - the Most High - to His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and the fact that the Sunnah is a revelation from God - the Most High - is conclusive and sufficient in itself that it is God's law - the Most High - to the people, and it is the second source of legislation without a doubt. However, we will make the matter clearer and respond to what they have claimed with evidence for their doubt.
1- As for their saying that the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - forbade writing the Hadith, while he urged writing and memorizing the Qur’an, and that he - may God bless him and grant him peace - had scribes for the Qur’an; this is an exaggerated statement, and is based on deception and stating some of the truth and concealing some. There is no doubt that the Glorious Qur’an received more care in writing and memorizing it than the Prophetic Sunnah. It is the primary source of religion, and it is higher in status and sanctity than the Sunnah, and it is more deserving of care and attention in writing and memorizing it. Therefore, the Qur’an received more care than the Sunnah, especially its recording and writing. The reasons that made the Companions care more about writing the Qur’an than they did about writing the Sunnah are many. Among them: The Holy Quran is limited to what Gabriel revealed to the heart of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace -, so writing it and comprehending it is easier, and they are more capable of that. As for the Prophetic Sunnah of the sayings and actions of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - they are many and varied, including his sayings - may God bless him and grant him peace - and his daily actions, and over the course of twenty-three years that he - may God bless him and grant him peace - lived among them, and this is something that is difficult to write and document, especially if we take into consideration the scarcity or fewness of writers among the Companions - may God be pleased with them. Among them: Writing the Quran is a necessity imposed and necessitated by the fact that the Great Quran is the revelation of God - the Most High - to the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - in its wording and meaning, and it is not permissible to narrate it by meaning, while the Sunnah is permissible to narrate it by meaning, and it is permissible in the Sunnah for the speaker to say: "or as he said" and what is similar to it, but that is not permissible in the Quran. Among them: The writers among the Companions - may God be pleased with them - were few, and they were not able to write the Sunnah and the Qur’an together. If there was a choice between which of the two the Companions who knew how to write should write, then what was written should be the Qur’an, so that they could hand it over to those after them, written, precise and complete, with not a single letter added to it or omitted from it.
As for their argument that the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - forbade writing anything other than the Qur’an, and anything other than the Qur’an is the Sunnah, this argument is invalid for several reasons. First: This hadith, which Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, is the saying of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace -: “Do not write from me, and whoever writes from me anything other than the Qur’an, let him erase it.” This hadith is defective. “The Commander of the Faithful, Abu Abdullah al-Bukhari and others declared it weak in the hadith, because it stopped at Abu Saeed.” If we ignore this, then the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, forbade writing, and it was reported from him, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he permitted it, and even ordered it in other hadiths. Therefore, we said that their evidence is a deception, as they mentioned the hadith of prohibition, and did not refer to the hadiths of permission, which are many. Among them: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, gave a sermon on the day of the conquest, saying, “God has prevented the killing of Mecca - or the elephant, according to al-Bukhari - and has given power over them to the Messenger of God and the believers...” When he finished his sermon, a man from Yemen came and said, “Write for me, O Messenger of God.” The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Write for Abu Shah” ( ). Among them: What was narrated from Abu Hurayrah, may God be pleased with him, that he said, “No one was more knowledgeable about the hadith of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, than me except Abdullah bin Amr, for he used to write and I did not.” ( ). Among these is what was narrated on the authority of Abdullah bin Amr - may God be pleased with them both - that some of the Companions told him and said: You write down everything that the Messenger of God says, and the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - is a human being who gets angry and says what is not permissible in the Sharia. So Abdullah returned to the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and told him what was said to him, and the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - said to him: (Write, for by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, nothing comes out of my mouth except the truth) ( ). These narrations are in Sahih, and there are others that are weak and they are many. If we compare the narrations of prohibition with the narrations of permission, “we find Abu Bakr al-Khatib - may God have mercy on him - (d. 463 AH) collected the narrations of prohibition and only the hadith of Abu Saeed al-Khudri - may God be pleased with him - mentioned above was authentic, and we have shown that Imam Abu Abdullah al-Bukhari declared it weak due to stopping at Abu Saeed, and so did others” ( ). While the hadiths of permission are many. There are many authentic hadiths, some of which we have narrated, including: In addition to what was mentioned above, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said during his death illness: “Bring me a book so that I may write for you a book after which you will not go astray” ( ).
Scholars have made an effort to reconcile the hadiths of permission and the hadiths of prohibition, and this has resulted in opinions, the most important of which are:
A - That this is one of the abrogated hadiths of the Sunnah. That is, the prohibition came first, then it was abrogated by the permission to write after that. The majority of scholars have agreed with this, including Ibn Qutaybah in interpreting the various hadiths, and they have said that the prohibition came first for fear of confusing the Qur’an with the Sunnah, and when the confusion was avoided, permission came.
B - That the prohibition was not absolute, but rather it was about writing the hadith and the Qur’an on one page. As for writing on two pages, it is permitted.
C - That the permission came to some of the Companions who used to write for themselves, and it was safe for them to mix up the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
There are other opinions, but what is clear from the hadiths of prohibition and permission is that the permission came last, and if it was abrogated, then it is the one that abrogated the prohibition. This is what the majority narrated ( ).
Thus, their argument with the hadith of prohibition narrated by Muslim on the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri - may God be pleased with him - falls away. This hadith which they consider the cornerstone of their argument for the lack of legislation or authority of the Sunnah, and they frequently insist on it in writing and debate ( ).
2- As for their saying that the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - understood from the Prophet - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - that the Sunnah is not a Sharia, so they turned away from it and did not care to write it down or adhere to it; this is a lie and stubbornness. Whoever looks at the records in the books of Sunnah, the history of sciences, and what the scholars have written about the positions of the Muslim Ummah regarding the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - and especially the position of the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - regarding the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - will be certain of the lies of these people and will be amazed at the extent of their arrogance and fabrication of the truth, to the point of reversing the situation and reversing things. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - were the most keen of creation to observe the sayings and actions of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - and to memorize them and act upon them. In fact, their keenness to follow every small and big thing, memorize it, understand it and act upon it reached the point that they would take turns staying with the Messenger of Allah - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - as Umar ibn al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him - was narrated by al-Bukhari with his chain of transmission connected to him. He says: “I had a neighbor from the Ansar, Banu Umayyah ibn Zayd - from the upper reaches of Medina - and we used to take turns staying with the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace -. He would stay one day and I would stay the next. When I stayed, I would bring him news of that day, and when he stayed, he would do the same.”( ) This was only because of their great eagerness to know the Sunnah of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and to follow and adhere to it...
The Companions would travel long distances to ask the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - about God’s ruling on some of the things that happened to them. Al-Bukhari narrates on the authority of Uqbah ibn al-Harith - may God be pleased with him - “that a woman told him that she had breastfed him and his wife, so he immediately rode from Mecca to the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - in Medina. When the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - heard of this, he asked him about God’s ruling on someone who marries a woman without knowing that she was his foster sister, and then she told him who had breastfed them both? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him, “How can it be when it has been said?” So he immediately left his wife and married someone else.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to ask the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) about his conduct and his Sunnah in his home. Women would go to the houses of the wives of the Prophet (
peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) and ask them about anything that happened to them. This is well-known and famous, and does not need to be mentioned as an example or witness. In fact, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were so keen to adhere to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that they would adhere to what he did and leave what he left without knowing the wisdom behind it, and without asking about it, out of their confidence that his actions (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) were inspired. Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took a ring of gold, and the people took rings of gold. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) threw it away and said, ‘I will never wear it again,’ and the people threw away their rings.”
Judge Iyad narrated in his book “Al-Shifa” on the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri - may God be pleased with him - who said: “While the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - was praying with his companions, he took off his shoes and placed them on his left. When the people saw that, they threw their shoes away. When he finished his prayer, he said: ‘What made you throw your shoes away?’ They said: ‘O Messenger of God, we saw you throw your shoes away.’ He said: ‘Gabriel informed me that there was filth in them.’”
Ibn Abd al-Barr mentioned in “Jami’ Bayan al-Ilm wa Fadluhu” on the authority of Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came on Friday while the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was delivering the sermon, and he heard him say: “Sit down.” So he sat at the door of the mosque - that is, where he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say that - and the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw him and said: “Come, Abdullah ibn Mas’ud.” ( ). The Companions’ (may Allah be pleased with them) eagerness to know the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in all his situations, and to adhere to it, and to respond to his commands and prohibitions immediately reached this level - as Abdullah ibn Mas’ud did - without realizing the wisdom behind the action - as in their throwing off their sandals during prayer, and their discarding their gold rings - and that was nothing but a response to Allah the Most High in His command to obey His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and to follow his example, as in His statement - the Almighty and Majestic - : “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah much” (Al-Ahzab: 21). Then in response to his Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - in his command to the nation to follow his Sunnah and adhere to it, as in his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace -: (Take your rituals from me) ( ). And his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace -: (Pray as you have seen me pray) ( ). And his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace -: (All of my nation will enter Paradise except for those who refuse) They said: O Messenger of God, and who will refuse? He said: (Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys me has refused) ( ). And his saying - may God bless him and grant him peace - (I advise you to fear God and to listen and obey, even if it is an Ethiopian slave, for whoever among you lives will see much difference, so adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly-guided caliphs, hold fast to it and cling to it with your molars, and beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance) ( ).
This is a little of much that shows the position of the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - regarding the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - a position characterized by extreme keenness and great interest in knowing the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and preserving and adhering to it, and even conveying it to those who hear it in response to the saying of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace -: (May Allah make fruitful the man who hears my words and understands them and conveys them as he heard them, for there may be a conveyor who understands them more than the listener) ( ).
From this, the extent of the lies of the enemies of the Sunnah and the enemies of Allah and His Messenger becomes clear in their claim that was mentioned above.
3- As for their claim that the senior Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - hated narrating hadith, and that Omar - may Allah be pleased with him - ( ) threatened the narrators of the Sunnah, and that he carried out his threat by imprisoning three of the Companions because of their excessive narration of the Sunnah; this is a lie that is added to what was mentioned above of their false claims, and it contains an aspect of deception that is not free from their speech.
As for the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - hating to narrate hadith, this is false. The truth is that they feared narrating it and were afraid of it, due to the great responsibility and the threat of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - against those who lie about him. In his saying - peace be upon him - (Whoever lies about me intentionally, let him take his seat in the Fire) ( ). The Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - were between two matters, each of which they were keen on; the first: conveying the religion of Allah to those who come after them from the Ummah, and the second: verifying and strictly investigating everything they convey from the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace -. Therefore, one of them would turn pale and be seized with fear when narrating from the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - .. So the truth - then - is that the Companions feared narrating hadith due to their intense fear of lying about the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - or making a mistake in what they narrated. And it is not as these people claim, that this was because they saw the Sunnah as not legitimate, or that it was not a source of legislation.
As for the claim that Omar - may God be pleased with him - imprisoned three of his companions: Abdullah bin Masoud, Abu Dharr, and Abu Darda - may God be pleased with them -; This is a fabricated and false narration that has been on the tongues, and some have mentioned it as it is on the tongues and recorded in books of topics of hadiths and events. Not everything that is on the tongues or included in some books is true. Imam Ibn Hazm – may God have mercy on him – took on the task of examining this false claim in his book: “Al-Ahkam” and said: ((It was narrated on the authority of Omar that he imprisoned Ibn Masoud, Abu Al-Darda’, and Abu Dharr because of the hadith from the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and after Ibn Hazm challenged the narration with interruption, he examined it legally and said: “The report in itself is clearly a lie and fabrication, because it is not free from: either Omar accused the Companions, and this is what is in it. Or he forbade the hadith itself and the transmission of the Sunnah and obliged them to conceal it and not transmit it, and this is a departure from Islam, and God has protected the Commander of the Faithful from all of that, and this is a statement that no Muslim would say, and if he imprisoned them while they were not accused, then he has wronged them, so let the one who argues for his corrupt doctrine choose with the like of These narrations, which of the two evil paths he willed ( ).
Thus the falsehood of their claim and the corruption of what they built on this claim become clear.
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The fourth doubt:
The gist of their doubt is that Islam came calling for one nation under the banner of the Book of Allah, the Qur’an. Allah the Almighty says: “Indeed, this nation of yours is one nation, and I am your Lord, so worship Me.” (Al-Anbiya: 92). The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, struggled throughout his honorable life to achieve this goal, until he succeeded in doing so thanks to his reliance on the Qur’an alone, and left the nation on that. The nation remained one as long as it was under the banner of the Qur’an alone. Until the conspiracy carried out by the codifiers of the books of the Sunnah came. They caused the codification of the Sunnah, the call to it, and the people’s preoccupation with it to divide the nation. The jurists came and built upon the Sunnah, so the nation became more divided. If the nation had abandoned the Sunnah and returned to the Qur’an alone, it would have emerged from its division, and its unity and glory would have returned to it, and it would have taken its place among the advanced nations.
And because the Sunnah is the reason for the division of the nation and the cracking of its unity; Not a single Arab did it, and not a single Arab became famous for writing it down. Rather, all those who were engaged in the Sunnah were from Persia, especially the six books. Those who wrote them down and occupied the people with them were Persians who hated Islam. They wrote their books to plot against Islam and to undermine the unity of the Muslim nation. Writing down the books of the Sunnah, then, was a Persian conspiracy in which the Muslim nation fell. Abdullah Jakraluwi says, “The division and dispersion will not be lifted from the Muslims, and no banner will unite them nor will one thought unite them, as long as they adhere to the narrations of Zayd and Amr.” Hashmat Ali says: “The unity of Muslims will not be achieved unless they abandon their books that were written in obedience to the Messenger of Allah” ( ), and Parviz says: “The sanctification of these books - the books of the Sunnah - has surpassed all human imaginations, even though they are part of a foreign conspiracy that aimed to undermine Islam and its people.” Then he explains that conspiracy and shows those who carried it out, saying: “The authors of the six Sahihs are only part of that conspiracy, so we find them all Iranians, with no inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula among them” ( ).
The response to the doubt and its refutation:
This doubt reminds us of the proverb: “She threw her disease at me and slipped away.” Or what psychologists say about the disease of “projection,” which is a psychological disease that afflicts some people who are afflicted with certain shortcomings, so in order to exonerate themselves from them, they hasten to project them onto others and accuse them of them. These are the enemies of the Sunnah, the enemies of religion, and the enemies of the Muslim nation. They are the ones who went against the consensus of the nation, and before that they went against the Glorious Qur’an, the Book of Allah, to which they attribute themselves. Unjustly and falsely, they went against the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - so they are the enemies of Allah, His Messenger and the believers, and the enemies of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. These are the ones who cracked the unity of Islam and the Ummah, divided its word, and went against its community. These people come and accuse the people of the Sunnah, the people of Islam, the community of Muslims, of being the ones who divided the Ummah. And those who went against the community of Muslims by rejecting the Prophetic Sunnah, accuse the Muslim Ummah of going against them and dividing the Muslims by adhering to the pure Prophetic Sunnah. Is there any boasting and pretense, and stubbornness, and reversing the situation, and accusing the innocent of what they have of diseases, like what the deniers of the Sunnah have done in this doubt of theirs? ] Glory be to You! This is a great slander. [ (An-Nur: 16)
Then those who accuse the Muslims who adhere to the Sunnah of being divided because of their adherence to the Sunnah and not limiting themselves to the Qur’an alone, and they claim that they are limiting themselves to the Qur’an alone in order to achieve unity of the Ummah; we say: Did these people succeed in being one group? After they abandoned the Sunnah in order to achieve unity - as they falsely claim - they turned among themselves into sects and groups, and each group tries to spread at the expense of the other and attract the followers of the other. Why did they not unite into one group if their goal was unity?
When we heard about them in Islamabad, Pakistan, we thought they were one group, and that remained our assumption until we met some of them in Karachi. After the meeting ended and we were preparing to travel to the city of Haripur to meet Pir Abdul Dayem, the leader of the Barelvis there, to look into the beliefs of these people, we were surprised by our host saying: There is another group, you can meet with some of its leaders if you wait until tomorrow.. So we knew that they are groups. Then they criticize the Muslim nation for the schools of jurisprudence, and they call that division and dispersion. Have they succeeded in being one school of jurisprudence? Let us take prayer as an example of the tangible reality among them. Some say that it should be performed five times, another four times, a third three times, and a fourth twice a day and night. Each of these people has an opinion that claims that it is the prayer of the Qur’an. As for their differences in its details in terms of the number of rak’ahs and the form, then talk about it and there is no harm in that.
As for the claim that all those who wrote down, compiled and distinguished the Sunnah were non-Arabs who conspired against the Muslim Ummah, this is a blatant lie and a clear fabrication in both its aspects: in the claim that all the codifiers of the Sunnah were non-Arabs, and in the claim that the codification was a conspiracy.
As for the first aspect, it is contradicted by reality, as the first to write down and compile the Sunnah were pure Arabs. Imam Malik bin Anas, the Imam of Dar al-Hijrah - may Allah have mercy on him - began with his Muwatta. After him came al-Hamidi al-Qurashi in his Musnad, and the rest of the righteous predecessors in his era came Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal in his Musnad, and so the codification continued, and all of these first ones were pure Arabs. As for the six books, their claim that their authors were non-Arabs is a lie and fabrication. Imam Muslim, Imam al-Tirmidhi and Imam Abu Dawud were all Arabs, so how can it be said that they were non-Arabs? And that they committed a conspiracy against the Muslims by doing so?
These people are turning things upside down, reversing matters, and accusing innocent people of their misfortune. Who are those who are conspiring against Islam and Muslims? Who are those who have left the group and divided the nation? Are these Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah? These are the eminent Imams through whom Allah preserved His religion, by preserving and protecting the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). These are the ones through whom Allah preserved His religion, and through whom Allah the Most High protected the nation from division and dispersion. One is amazed at how boasting and slander can reach a level where a sane person - even if he is not a Muslim - accuses an Imam like Bukhari or Muslim of dividing the nation and conspiring against Islam ( ).
The tangible reality shows that these disbelievers in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who have gone beyond the obedience of Allah the Most High and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), are the ones who are conspiring against Islam, dividing the Muslim nation, apostates from the religion, and deviants from the group.
The fifth suspicion:
This doubt is not their creation, but it was said by some of the previous deniers of the Sunnah, especially those who used Mu'tazila as a cover to hide their heresy, then attacked Islam, such as al-Nizam, Bishr al-Marisi and others.
This doubt is based on their claim that resorting to the Sunnah and adhering to it leads to polytheism and disbelief. Islam is based on the fact that the ruler is Allah alone, and that judgment belongs to Him alone - Glory be to Him. Allah the Almighty says: ]Judgment belongs only to Allah[ (Al-An'am: 57, Yusuf: 40, 67). And He the Almighty says: ]Unquestionably, His is the judgment, and He is the swiftest of reckoners[ (Al-An'am: 62). If Islam is based on the fact that judgment belongs only to Allah - Glory be to Him - then resorting to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - involves associating the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - with Allah - Glory be to Him - in judgment, and that is disbelief and polytheism. There is no escape from this polytheism and disbelief except by resorting to the Book of Allah, the Qur'an, alone, and rejecting the Sunnah and not considering it.
Responding to and refuting the doubt:
This doubt is based on two matters that we have already discussed:
The first matter: The Sunnah is not a revelation from Allah - the Most High - and therefore it is not a law that people refer to.
The second matter: Obeying the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - is not from obeying Allah - the Most High - rather there is a contradiction and conflict between obeying the Messenger and obeying Allah, such that obeying the Messenger is a contradiction to obeying Allah - the Most High - and thus it is proven that it is, in their view, polytheism with Allah.
We have already discussed these two matters fully. We have proven that the Prophetic Sunnah is a revelation from Allah - the Most High - to the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and that the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - does not speak except by the revelation of Allah - the Most High - and it is sufficient here to mention the words of Allah - the Almighty - regarding His Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - : ]Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed [ (An-Najm: 3-4). Likewise, we have shown that the Sunnah is the law of Allah, the Most High, just as the Qur’an is the law of Allah, the Almighty. We have shown previously that the Sunnah is in the same position as the Qur’an in terms of the authority and source of legislation. It is also sufficient to mention here the words of Allah, the Almighty, addressing His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.” (An-Nisa’: 65). And Allah, the Almighty, says: “The only statement of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, is to say, ‘We hear and we obey.’ And those are the successful.” (An-Nur: 51).
These verses are definitive Qur’anic texts that the Sunnah of the Prophet is a revelation from Allah, the Most High, and that everything the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says or does in matters of religion is the truth from Allah. The verses also indicate the obligation to refer to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), to be satisfied with what he rules, and to submit and obey that. Whoever does not refer to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and is not satisfied with his ruling, is outside the faith and has no share in Islam.
As for the fact that obedience to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is obligatory upon the Muslim, and that it is part of obedience to Allah, the Most High, we have already discussed it. It is sufficient to mention the words of Allah, the Almighty: “Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah. But whoever turns away - then We have not sent you over them as a guardian.” (An-Nisa’: 80)
These are conclusive verses that resorting to the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and obeying him is resorting to God Almighty - and obeying Him - glory be to Him - and God Almighty said: “Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed God.” These people turn the Qur’anic verse upside down and claim that “Whoever obeys the Messenger has associated partners with God” - God forbid. There is no more misguidance than this.
This doubt is represented in their claim that the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - of sayings and actions does not have the characteristic of generality in time and place, as they are rulings issued by the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - in his time according to the circumstances of his companions who were with him, and the circumstances of his companions were related to them and to their time, place and circumstances specific to them. That time has passed with its people, circumstances and conditions, and the time and circumstances have changed, and therefore those sayings and actions specific to that time are no longer valid for our time or our circumstances. It follows from that that obedience to the Messenger - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - which was obligatory upon his companions in his time, is no longer obligatory upon us, and his Sunnah, which was binding upon them, is no longer binding upon us.
Response to and Refutation of the Doubt:
The statement of this doubt is based on the claim that the Sunnah is not revelation, and is not Sharia, and we have previously responded to that. However, this doubt raises another issue in addition to what was mentioned above. This is the issue of the legal rulings that were revealed for specific reasons, and these in the Holy Quran are called “reasons for revelation.” A large part of the rulings mentioned in the Holy Quran were mentioned in this manner, that is, they were revealed for specific reasons, as in the rulings on zihar at the beginning of Surat al-Mujadilah. However, the scholars did not go so far as to say that these rulings were specific to the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and their time and are no longer valid for our time. Rather, they established the famous fundamental principle known to most Muslims, which states, “The meaning is based on the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the reason.” The implication of this is that the ruling is revealed in a specific incident, then it is applied to everything similar to it until the end of time.
Similar to what was said about the rulings of the Holy Quran, the scholars said about the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They did not differentiate between the Quran and the Sunnah in this regard because they are both the revelation of Allah (the Most High) to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Quran is the revelation of Allah, and the Sunnah is the revelation of Allah. We have previously explained this in detail.
The statement that the Sunnah is limited to the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) necessarily leads to the statement of the same in the Glorious Qur’an, because there is a connection between the Qur’an and the Sunnah in terms of legislation and authority, and in terms of them both being addressed to the creation of the jinn and mankind in every time and place. Otherwise, what do we say about the Qur’anic verses that came commanding the Muslim nation to obey the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), such as the statement of Allah the Most High: “And establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger that you may receive mercy.” (An-Nur: 56) This matter is either valid for all times and places, and its validity is established until people rise up for the Lord of the Worlds, so the Sunnah in which the Messenger is commanded to be obeyed is established and continuous, and their words are invalid. But if the Sunnah - as they claim - is not valid after the death of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - then the command to follow it and obey its author is also not valid after the death of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and the matter will end with them saying about the Qur’an what they said about the Sunnah, so all the verses commanding obedience to the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - despite their abundance and the variety of their wordings, as well as the verses that urge people to resort to him and make that a sign of faith, as well as the verses that make him - may God bless him and grant him peace - a role model and example, all of that will be empty of meaning, and the era of its validity has passed with the end of the era of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and his companions. This is something that no rational person would say. Nor do they say it, not because they are rational and understanding, but because they attribute themselves to the Qur’an, and describe the Qur’an as being - alone - valid for all times and places. They do not know that the tool they have used to destroy the Sunnah is in itself used to destroy the Qur’an, which they falsely and unjustly claim. But Allah, the Most High, has preserved His religion by preserving His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger, even if the disbelievers hate it.
The seventh doubt:
Their doubt is based on the fact that Allah, the Most High, has undertaken to preserve His Book, the Qur’an. This is in His saying, the Most High: “Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian.” (Al-Hijr: 9). Therefore, the Qur’an has remained the only truth in the religion of Allah, Islam. It has not been distorted or changed, and no word has entered it or left it, and it has not been narrated with other words or meanings. As for the Sunnah, Allah, the Most High, has not undertaken to preserve it, and therefore purely fabricated hadiths have entered it on the one hand - that is, had the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, not said them, neither in their words nor in their meanings - and on the other hand, their words have been lost and they have been narrated with their meanings, even if it is true that the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said them. The loss of its words was a reason for not knowing the meaning that the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - intended, so that it is correct to say that the entire Sunnah became fabricated against the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - what was fabricated in its wording and meaning, and what was fabricated in meaning due to the loss of its words and their narration of it in meaning. Parvez says: “Know that God - the Most High - did not undertake to preserve anything except the Qur’an, and therefore God did not collect the hadiths, nor did He command their collection, nor did He undertake to preserve them” ( ). Abdullah Jakraluwi says: “Hundreds of years after the death of the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - some people invented these farces from themselves and attributed them to Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - and he is innocent of them” ( ). Maqbool Ahmad says: “Refining the hadiths from the raging sea of lies is like purifying poisoned food, except that caution and care require not eating that food” ( ).
They also say: Allah’s guarantee of preserving His Book, the Qur’an, while not guaranteeing the preservation of the Sunnah, is clear evidence that religion does not need the Sunnah. And that it is not part of religion, nor is it necessary for it. If it were part of religion and necessary for it, Allah would have preserved it as He preserved the Qur’an. ( )
The response to and refutation of the doubt:
Allah, the Almighty, revealed the Noble Qur’an with its wording and meaning. The Qur’an is the speech of Allah, the Most High, and therefore it was worthy of Allah, the Most High, preserving it and protecting it from being distorted or changed. Because the Qur’an is like this, it is not permissible to narrate it by meaning.
As for the Sunnah, it is the revelation of Allah, the Most High, to His Messenger, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him. Allah, the Most High, revealed the rulings and legislations contained in it to His Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, and then the Prophet formulated them with his words. Because the Sunnah is not the word of Allah, the Most High, the scholars have permitted narrating it by meaning. The scholars did not issue this ruling without controls or limits, rather they set controls and conditions for the narrator of the hadith by meaning, such that it is not permissible for him to narrate the hadith by meaning unless he meets these controls and conditions. The
most important of these conditions is that he should be knowledgeable in Arabic, knowledgeable of its words and the meanings of those words, and aware of the relationships between words, such as synonyms, similarities, differences, and so on. If the narrator has this knowledge, it is permissible for him to narrate the hadith by meaning, because his knowledge of the matters we have mentioned protects him from making mistakes in the meanings of the hadiths he narrates. If these conditions are not met, it is not permissible for him to narrate it by meaning.
As for the claim that Allah, the Most High, did not preserve the Sunnah of His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, if what is meant is that He, the Most High, did not preserve it by its words, then this is accepted. We have explained that the Sunnah does not need the words themselves, rather it needs its precise meanings, even if it is narrated by other words that do not affect the meaning. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrated that the Mother of the Believers, Aisha, may God be pleased with her, said to Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, “It has reached me that you write the hadith from me, then you go back and write it down.” He said to her, “I hear it from you in one way, then I go back and hear it in another way.” She said, “Do you hear a difference in meaning?” He said, “No.” She said, “There is nothing wrong with that.” ( ) So if the meaning is the same wording or is controlled by similar wording, then there is nothing wrong with it.
However, if what is meant is that God Almighty did not preserve the Sunnah at all, neither in its wording nor in its meanings, and that it was lost, then that is a lie and slander against God Almighty, His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the Muslim Ummah, and a denial and rejection of the great and distinguished efforts made by the scholars of the Sunnah throughout the history of Islam.
The truth is that Allah, the Almighty, has undertaken to preserve His Book, and through preserving His Book, Allah, the Almighty, has implicitly undertaken to preserve the Sunnah of His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is because the Book is in need of the Sunnah that explains it, as He, the Almighty, said: “And We have sent down to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.” (An-Nahl: 44). The Sunnah is necessary for the Book, and along with the Book, it is necessary for the religion. So whoever Allah, the Almighty, preserves His Book must preserve the Sunnah that explains and explains it, because the Qur’an is in need of it. And whoever Allah, the Almighty, preserves His religion so that the creation whom Allah has charged with it may know it and hold them accountable for it, must preserve His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, because the religion is in need of them. Therefore, it was by the decree of Allah, the Almighty, that He prepared for the Sunnah of His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, these scholars who devoted themselves to preserving the Sunnah in a way that the history of sciences and cultures has never known before or after. And this would not have been possible for them except with the success, guidance, and support of Allah, the Almighty. They invented a system to preserve the Sunnah and to know its authenticity according to its degrees, from its weakness according to its degrees, from its fabrication. They invented cognitive means and scientific methods that are miraculous in their field, all of that without any previous example, neither among the Arabs nor among non-Arabs who had cultures and philosophies, and had religions, and were most in need of scrutinizing their religious writings and books, but they did not reach what the scholars of Islam reached or even close to it. All nations have witnessed that the scholars of the Sunnah have come in the field of collecting and classifying it, distinguishing it, and knowing the authentic from the weak from the fabricated. What the nations did not know before. The question is: Could this have been accomplished without the success of Allah - Glory be to Him - and guidance, assistance and instruction? It is the success of Allah - the Most High - to preserve His Sunnah, which is from preserving His Book, because the Book needs the Sunnah in its explanation and detail, and the religion of Allah, Islam, needs the Book and the Sunnah together.
As for their claim that the Sunnah has become a mixture from which the authentic from the fabricated cannot be known; This is a lie and slander, rather, it is arrogance and stubbornness. For the least intelligent person with knowledge of the Sunnah, a single visit to one of the Hadith libraries that contains books on the Sunnah or some of them is enough for him to realize - after browsing the titles of these blogs and some of what is in them - that Allah - the Most High - preserved the Sunnah of His Prophet, and that the Sahih and Sunnah books are available for Muslims to draw from them beneficial provisions for them in this world and in the hereafter. Despite the noses of these infidels - deniers of the Sunnah - enemies of Allah, enemies of His Messenger and enemies of Muslims.
Conclusion:
These are the sum of the doubts that the group of deniers of the Sunnah, the "Quranists", say. This group began its movement in India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries AD, then moved with most of its activities and institutions to Pakistan after its independence from India and continues to carry out its destructive movement under the name of "the Parvizis". We have limited our research to the doubts that these people said initially, or that they took from others who came before them and then distorted them and added to them.
We have mentioned each suspicion and followed it with a response and refutation of it. We have sought to base our responses to them primarily on the Glorious Qur’an, to which they falsely and unjustly attribute themselves. This is to oblige them through what they claim to be attributed to and to limit themselves to, and so that they do not claim that we are obligating them to what they are not obligated to.
Through our research, a number of facts about this sect have become clear to us, which we summarize as follows:
First: This sect was initially established by the British who were colonizing India. It is a creation of the infidels, the enemies of Allah, His Messenger, and the believers. It is one of the many movements that the British carried out in this region to destroy Islam and divide the Muslims, such as the Qadianis, Barelvis, and others.
Second: We proved when we talked about the leaders of this movement that they were in constant and strong contact with the British, and the British were behind their movements, and provided them with material and moral support. In fact, some of them were in contact with the missionary movement in India.
Third: This movement, with all its sects, is outside of Islam and corrupt from the religion, even if it claims to be Muslim and claims to belong to the Qur’an. Its claim to belong to the Qur’an is invalid, because it disbelieved in the Qur’an at the same moment that it disbelieved in the Sunnah, for there is no distinction between the Qur’an and the Sunnah, for they both come from one lamp, which is the lamp of the infallible divine revelation.
Fourth: It is clear from all of the above that the goal of these people and the aim they seek to achieve is to eliminate Islam and divide the Muslim Ummah. And that their affiliation with the Qur’an is only a cover behind which they hide in order to carry out their destructive activities and subversive movements under its banner.
We hope that through this research we have been able to clarify these facts with the utmost clarity.
And Allah is behind the intention, and He is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.
Prepared by:
Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Muhammad Mazrou’a
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