Can Muslims Follow Only the Quran

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Question:

Can someone be a good Muslim by only reading and applying the Quran? - An examination of whether a Muslim can practice Islam solely by following the Quran without hadith or scholarly traditions. :::

Answer:

The Qur’ân says: “Whoever obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah”.

Allah says: “No, by your Lord, they do not believe until they submit to your adjudication in all disputes between them, then they do not find themselves oppressed with your decisions and they completely submit.” Qur’ân (4:65)

Again, Allah says: “When a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, it does not behoove a believer, man or woman, to have choice in their matter. One who disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.” Qur’ân (33:36)

Furthermore, Allah says: “What the Messenger teaches you, take it; and what he forbids you, avoid doing it.” Qur’ân (59:7)

THE DEVIATION OF QURANITES - I

[by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir-Ud-Deen al-Albaanee]

Today, a sect exists, called “Qur’ânites” who comment according to their whims and fancies; without seeking the explanation of the authentic Sunnah. They only accept and follow the Sunnah which suit their desires, the rest they throw behind. Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu`alaihiwasallam) is reported to have said that:“None of you reclines on his bed, the order comes to him on an affair which I am commanded to do or not to do, he says: ‘I do not know, what is found in the Book of Allah, we follow.” (Tirmidhi).

This true Ahaadeeth gives positive evidence that the divine law of Islam – As-Sharee’ah – is not mere Qur’ân, But Qur’ân and Sunnah. Therefore, whoever hold fast ton one source for reference to the exclusion of the other, he held fast to none of them, since both complement each other.

In connection with this verse, I am marveled by what is corroborated by Ibn Masoud (Allah be pleased with him) that is, A woman came to him and told him: “You who says: May Allah’s curse be on Al-Namisat [a woman who plucks hers or others eye-brows – to be a thin line – to seek beauty. Such an act is forbidden. It is a mean to change the form of Allah’s creation] and Al-Motanamisat [a woman who asks others to do it for her] and those who tattoo.” He said: “Yes.” She said, “I read the Book of Allah (Al-Qur’ân) from its beginning to its end, I did not find what you have said.” He told her: “If you have read it, you would have found it. As for your reading what the Messenger teaches you, take it, and what he forbids you, avoid doing it.” She said: “Certainly”. He said: “I have heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu`alaihiwasallam) says: “May Allah’s curse be on Al-Namisat.” (Bukhaaree & Muslim)

THE DEVIATION OF QURANITES - II

[Dr. Uthmaan bin Mu’allim Mahmood Bin Shaikh Ali (of The Qur’an Printing Complex, Madinah al-Munawwarah)]

The Necessity of Depending Upon the Sunnah For the Correct understanding of the Qur’aan

Allaah revealed the Qur’aan as an exposition (tibyaan) “every single thing from the affairs of the religion, either by way of textually stating it, or by way of conveying something that necessitates knowledge, such as the explanation of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), or the Ijmaa (consensus) of the Muslims”.

This is how Ibn al- Jawzee [in Zaad ul-Mayseer 4/482] explained the saying of the Most High, “And We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) as an exposition of everything” (Nahl 16:89), and he also ascribed this (explanation) to the scholars (in general), by way of its meaning.

And the Most High said, “And we have not neglected anything in the Book ” (An’aam 6:38). What is meant by “the Book” here is the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al- Mahfooz) as occurs in the saying of Ibn ‘Abbaas, who said, “We have not left anything, except that We have written it in the Umm ul-Kitaab (the Mother of the Book, i.e. the Preserved Tablet) . And Qataadah and Ibn Zaid followed him in this.

It has also been explained to be in reference to the Qur’aan in the second of the sayings of Ibn ‘Abbaas, who said, “We have not left anything except that We have explained it to you”. Ibn al- Jawzee said, “Based upon this, it (i.e. this aayah) is from the ‘aamm (general) by which the khaass (specific) is desired or intended, hence the meaning becomes: We have not left anything that you are in need of (knowing) except that We have explained it in the Book, either explicitly stating it (nassan), or in general terms (mujmalan), or by way of indication (dalaalatan).” [Zaad ul-Mayseer 4/482].

And al-Qurtubee said, “We have not left anything of the affairs of the religion except that we have indicated it in the Qur’aan, either by way of a clearly explained statement, or by way of a general statement whose explanation is derived from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), or by way of Ijmaa’ (consensus), or by way of a qiyaas (analogy) that is established by a text from the Qur’aan. Allaah, the Most High said, “And We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) as an exposition of everything” (Nahl 16:89). And He also said, “And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad) the reminder and the advice (the Qur’ân), that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them ” (Nahl 16:44). And He also said, “And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)” (Hashr 59:7). Hence, He made a generalised statement in this verse and also in the verse in an-Nahl (to cover) what He did not textually state amongst those things He did not (specifically) mention. Hence, the report of Allaah is true, in that He did not leave anything out of the Book, except that He mentioned it, either explicitly, in detail, or by way of its foundation (i.e. in principle). And He said, “This day have I perfected for you, your religion” (Maa’idah 5:3)”. [Al-Jaami’ Li Ahkaam il-Qur’aan 6/420).

Also, after my abundant referral to the books of tafseer in order to uncover the meaning of these two verses (an-Nahl 16:89, An’aam 6:38), I did not see anyone from them who understood that the Qur’aan does not require the explanation of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam). And whoever opposes what the Mufassiroon have united upon, then his deviation and heresy is apparently clear.

And the Companions used to be the Chiefs and Masters of the Arabic Language, its eloquence, and of intuition, and they were not in need of the various sciences required by the later people (to help them understand), and despite that they depended upon the tafseer, explanation of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam).

Hence, he explained that:

“…the dhulm, oppression that is mentioned in His saying, “…and who do not mix, confuse their Imaan with dhulm…” (6:82) that it is Shirk. Also that “al-Hisaab al- Yaseer (the Easy Reckoning)” (Inshiqaaq 84:8) that this actually refers to being examined and questioned (on the Day of Judgement), and that the “the white and black thread” is actually in reference to the whiteness of the day and the darkness of the night, and that the one whom he (the Messenger, sallallahu alaihi wasallam) saw for the second time at Sidrat ul-Muntahaa, was actually Jibreel. Also he explained the saying of Allaah, “…or (the day) when some of the signs of Allaah come…” that it is the rising of the sun from the West (i.e. not tawbah is accepted after that), and he also explained the saying of Allaah, “And the example of a good tree…” to be the date-palm tree, and he also explained the saying of Allaah, “Allaah will make firm those who believe with an established and firm saying in the life of this world and the Hereafter…” that this is in reference to when a person is asked who is his Lord and what is his religion, whilst in the grave. And also he explained ar-Ra’d, as occurs in Surah Ra’d, to be in reference to the Angel who is entrusted with the clouds, and he explained the taking of the People of their Book, their priests and rabbis as Lords besides Allaah to be their treating as halaal whatever they made halaal for them (from those things that were haraam) and their treating as haraam whatever they made haraam for them (from those things that were halaal). And he also explained the saying of Allaah, “Whoever does an evil, will be recompensed for it…” that it is what befalls the servant (of Allaah) in the life of this world of worry, anxiety, fear, distress and hardship. And he explained “ziyaadah” in the saying of Allaah, the Most High, “For those who have done good is the best(reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more…”, that it refers to looking at the Noble Face of Allaah” [Ibn al-Qayyim in I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een 2/315].

And all of these things, as you have seen, are meanings that cannot be arrived at merely with deep knowledge and precision of the Arabic language. If the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) had not explained them, we would be in ignorance with respect to them.

The Sunnah therefore, explains the generalities of the Qur’aan. Allaah the Most High said, “And establish the prayer and give the zakaah”, and He, free is He from all imperfection, said, “Fasting has been prescribed to you”, and the Majestic said, “And to Allaah upon the people is the pilgrimage to the House, for the one who can find his way (i.e. has the means).” So the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) explained with his sayings and actions that the obligatory prayers are five in a day and night and he explained the number of the rak’aat, the conditions and pillars of these prayers, then he said, “Pray as you have seen me praying”, and he also explained that the woman in her menses does not have to pray during her menses and nor does she have to make the missed prayers up afterwards.

Similarly with Zakaah, he explained is nature and reality and upon whom it is obligatory and he also explained the shares of it that are due, and that it is also taken for gold and silver, and for camels, sheep, cows (livestock) once in every year, and he also made it obligatory on some of the types of produce that come out from the earth. [As-Sunnah of al- Marwazi p.36].

“And he also explained that fasting is holding back, with firm intention and resoluteness in refraining from that which refraining has been commanded, from the break of dawn until the night enters.” [As-Sunnah of al-Marwazi p.37].

And he also made it obligatory upon those who reach the age of puberty from those who are free and those who are slaves, both the male and the female, except the women in their menses, who make up the missed fasts in other days (after Ramadaan).

And the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) also explained that Hajj is only obligatory once in a lifetime, and he also explained what the is to be worn by the Muhrim (on that has entered into the Hajj rituals) and what is not to be worn by him and he also defined and specified the times for Hajj and Umrah and explained the number of times tawaaf is to be made and how it is to be made. And the explanation of all of this is not to be found in the Qur’aan.

And Allaah, free is He from all imperfection, also made obligatory the cutting of the hand of the thief, so He said, “And the male and female thief, cut off their hands…” and the Sunnah explains that the hand is not to be cut except for the theft of a quarter dinar or more, and that the hand is to be cut from the wrist.

And if we were to be left alone with our intellects, we would not have known these rulings. Hence, it becomes clear that we cannot do without the Sunnah in understanding the Qur’aan, and the Companions used to know this only too well. For they used to give the Sunnah its due worth and estimation. Jaabir bin Abdullaah said while he was narrating the description of the Prophet’s Hajj, “…and the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) was amongst us, the Qur’aan would be revealed upon him and he would know its explanation, and then whatever he acted upon from it, we acted upon it likewise”. [Saheeh Muslim no.1218].

And from Ibn ‘Umar who said that Allaah’s Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, “Grant permission to the women for going to the Masjid at night (for the prayers)”, so one of his sons, who was called Waaqid, said, “But then they will use it as a pretence (for entering upon corruption)”. So he struck him on the chest and said, “I narrate to you from Allaah’s Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) and you say, “No”!”. [Saheeh Muslim 422].

And it is reported from Imraan bin Hussain (radiallaahu anhu) that he mentioned Shafaa’ah (Intercession) and so a man from amongst the people said to him, “O Abaa Nujayd, you narrate to us hadeeth for which we do not find any basis in the Qur’aan”. So Imraan became angry and said to the man, “Have you read the Qur’aan?” He said, “Yes”. He said, “And did you find in it that the Isha prayer has four rakaa’aat, Maghrib has three, the morning prayer has two, Dhuhr has four and Asr has four?”. The man said, “No”. So he said, “From whom then have you acquired this? Have you not taken it from us and we took it from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam)? Have you found in the Qur’aan that one in every forty sheep is for zakaah, and likewise one in every such and such camel, and similarly for every such and such dirham, such and such amount?” The man replied, “No”. So he said, “From whom have you taken this? Did you not take it from us, and we took it from the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam)… Have you not heard Allaah, He said in in His Book, “And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)”?!! For we have taken matters from the Messenger of Allaah which you have no knowledge from.” [Reported by Ibn Battah in al-Ibaanah, Kitaab ul-Imaan (pp.234-235), Al-Aajurree in ash-Sharee’ah (1/417), al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (1/109), Ibn Abdul-Barr in Jaami’ Bayaan ul-Ilm (2/1192), and the Muhaqqiq of al-Ibaanah said, “There is no harm problem in its isnaad” and the Muhaqqiq of Jaami’ Bayaan ul-Ilm declared it strong”].

And from Ayyoob as- Sakhtiyaanee that a man said to Mutarraf bin Abdullaah bin ash- Shikhkheer, “Do not narrate to us except with the Qur’aan”. So Mutarraf said to him, “By Allaah, we do not seek a replacement for the Qur’aan, but we seek one who is more knowledgeable of the Qur’aan than us”. [Ibn Abdul-Barr in Jaami’ Bayaan ul-Ilm (2/1193) and its Muhaqqiq authenticated its isnaad].

Therefore, by the Salaf let us guide us ourselves, and let the Sunan be venerated in our hearts, and let us nurture our generations upon respect for them and acting upon them. So whatever was not considered to be deen (religion) then it will never be considered deen today, so where then do the Qur’aaniyyoon take their religion from?! And who exactly is their Imaam in this bid’ah of their’s? Let them repent to Allaah and let them return to their deen before the day comes when there will be no ransom and nor intimate friendship.

Presented to you are some of what has been said by the People of Knowledge concerning the Rejecters of the Sunnah.

Muhammad bin Nasr al-Marwazi said concerning the wiping of the socks, “Whoever rejected that, then rejection of all of what we have mentioned from the Sunan is binding upon him, and also other than that from what we have not mentioned. And this constitutes exiting from the main body of the people of Islaam”. [As- Sunnah, p.104].

And al-Aajurree said, “The ruling concerning all of the obligatory duties that Allaah has made incumbent in His Book is not known except by way of the Sunan of Allaah’s Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam). This is the saying of the Scholars of the Muslims, and whoever says other than this has left the fold of Islaam and entered into the religion of the (apostate) heretics.” [Ash-Sharee’ah 1/412].

Ibn Hazm said, “If a man was to say, ‘We do not take except what we find in the Qur’aan’, then he would be a Kaafir (disbeliever) by unanimous agreement of the Muslims, and there would not be binding upon him (as a result of this saying of his) except a single rak’ah (of prayer) between the rising of the sun until the night time, since this is the least of what can actually be given the label of salaah (prayer), and there is no definition for what is greater than that (i.e. that one rak’ah is sufficient for it to be considered salaah). And the one who says this a Kaafir (disbeliever), Mushrik (pagan), whose blood is lawful to be shed, and whose wealth is lawful to be taken. Indeed, some of the extremist Raafidah – upon whose kufr (disbelief) the whole Ummah is agreed upon – have tended towards this view.” [Al-Ihkaam Fee Usool il-Ahkaam 2/80].

And Shaikh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) was sent to the two worlds, the men amongst them and the jinn amongst them. Whoever believes that it is permissible for anyone to exit from his Sharee’ah and from his obedience, then he is a kaafir, it is obligatory to kill him”. [al-Wasiyyat ul-Kubraa Dimn Majmoo’at ar-Rasaa’il al-Kubraa 1/315].

Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid commented upon the revilement of some of the deviants of the hadeeth of the fly, “Indeed this (hadeeth) and its likes, from what which has come the authentic hadeeths, if the one who speaks against them intends to nullify them, after having belief that the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) did speak with them, then is an open kaafir (disbeliever). And if he intends to nullify their ascription to the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) on account of a reason that returns back to the text of the hadeet, then he is not a kaafir, though he is one who falsifies the authenticity of the hadeeth.” [ Sharh ul-Ilmaam 2/177-178].

As-Suyootee said, “Whoever rejects that the hadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) – whether it is related to speech or action – on account of the well known conditions in the Usool (sciences related to this subject), is considered a proof, has disbelieved, and has left the fold of Islaam, and he will be raised alongside the Jews and Christians, or alongside whomever Allaah wills amongst the sects of disbelievers.” [Miftaah ul-Jannah Fil-Ihtijaaj Bis-Sunnah p.14]

Al-Mu’allimee said, “The one who rejects the obligation of acting upon the hadeeth in absolute terms (i.e. in principle), the proof is to be established upon him, and if he persists, then he is a kaafir (disbeliever). And the rejecter of the obligation to act upon some of the ahaadeeth, then if he has an excuse amongst the well-known excuses amongst the people of knowledge and what approximates to them, then he is excused. But otherwise, he is disobedient to Allaah and His Messenger, and the disobedient one is a sinner, a faasiq.” [Anwaar ul-Kaashifah p.81-82].

And the Allaamah, ‘Abdul-Azeez bin Baaz (rahimahullaah) said: “What Rasheed Khalifah has expressed of rejection of the Sunnah, by claiming the lack of need and dependency upon it is kufr and apostasy from Islaam. This is because whoever rejects the Sunnah has in fact rejected the Book, and whoever rejects them both or just one of them is a kaafir by unanimous concensus, and it is not permissible to interact with him and his likes. Rather, it is obligatory to boycott him and to warn against his fitnah and to explain his kufr and misguidance at ever opportunity until he repents to Allaah from all of that, with an openly proclaimed repentance, in the various newspapers (and otherwise) – due to the saying of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic:

“Verily, those who conceal the clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which We have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book, they are the ones cursed by Allâh and cursed by the cursers. Except those who repent and do righteous deeds, and openly declare (the truth which they concealed). These, I will accept their repentance. And I am the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful” (Baqarah 2:159-160).” [Majmoo’ Fataawaa Wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah 2/403].

And he also said, “It is known to all the people of knowledge that the Sunnah is the second foundation of the foundations of Islam and that its position in Islaam is that it comes after the Book of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic. Hence, it is a foundation that is depended upon after the Book of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, by the unanimous consensus of the people of knowledge, without exception. And it is also an independent proof and authority over all of the Ummah. Whoever denied or rejected it, or claimed that it is permissible to turn away from it and to suffice with the Qur’aan only, then he has gone far astray, and he has disbelieved with the major kufr and has apostatised from Islaam with this saying of his. For by this saying and by this belief he has belied Allaah and His Messenger, and has rejected what Allaah and His Messenger have commanded, and he has rejected a mighty foundation that Allaah has made it obligatory to refer back to, depend upon, and take from. And he has also rejected the unanimous consensus of the people of knowledge that is binding upon him and has denied it…

…And a new band has emerged, and this saying has not ceased to be repeated at one time or another, and this new band has been labelled “al-Qur’aaniyyah” (the Qur’aaniyyoon) and they have claimed that they are the people of the Qur’aan and that they seek proof in the Qur’aan only and that the Sunnah is not to be sought for proof (as an authority), since it was written a long time after the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) and that a person can forget and make mistakes, and that mistakes and errors can also creep into books – and other such deviations, mocking deceptions, and corrupt viewpoints. And they claimed that by all of this they are actually safeguarding their religion by not taking from anything but the Qur’aan alone. And they have indeed strayed far from the path, and they belied and disbelieved on account of all of this with the major kufr, that is open and clear. For indeed, Allaah the Mighty and Majestic ordered with obedience to the Messenger (alaihis- salaatu was-salaam) and with Ittibaa’ (following) of what he came with, and He also called his speech “wahiy” (revelation), as occurs in His, the Most High’s, saying:

“By the star when it goes down, (or vanishes). Your companion (Muhammad) has neither gone astray nor has erred. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is only an Inspiration that is inspired.” (Najm 53:1-4).

And if His Messenger was not to be followed or obeyed then there would have been no benefit or worth in His commands and prohibitions. And he (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) ordered that his Sunnah be conveyed, and hence, when he gave a sermon he ordered that his Sunnah be conveyed and transmitted. And this shows that his Sunnah is obligatory to be followed and that obeying him is obligatory upon the whole Ummah… and whoever reflects upon the Mighty Qur’aan will find this abundantly clear…” [Majmoo’ Fataawaa WaMaqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah 9/176-178].

The First Doubt: The Sunnah Is Not From The Religion And No Guidelines For Its Preservation Are Found

Perweiz says, “If the Sunnah was actually a part of the religion, the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) would have set up a methodology [of preservation] for it, just like the methodology of the Qur’aan, such as writing down, memorisation, and rehearsal [of memorisation]… this is because the station of Prophethood requires that he presents the religion to his Ummah in a preserved manner, however he (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) took caution in adopting all possible avenues for [the preservation] of the Book of Allaah, but he did not do anything for his Sunnah. Rather, he forbade its writing down by his saying, “Do not write anything from me except the Qur’aan, and whoever writes from me other than the Qur’aan then let him erase it”.” [Maqaame Hadeeth p.7]

Refutation Of This Doubt:

We say: What exactly is this manhaj (methodology) with respect to the Qur’aan? And if it is not even textually stated [as to what it is] in the Qur’aan – and it is not stated at all – then from where have your learned of the existence of this manhaj (methodology)? The while you have actually rejected the Sunnah, and you have declared it invented, fabricated? How then can you seek to use a Sunnah that is fabricated and invented – in your claim – as evidence for the greatest of your objectives, which is [the claim] that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) devised a particular methodology for the writing down, memorisation and rehearsal [in memorisation] for the Qur’aan, and that he did not do this for the Sunnah.

This is a bare discrepancy and a blinding contradiction which Allaah has prescribed upon the persistent and wilful opposers of the truth – those devoid of evidences and who contend with the religion – that they should become entangled in it (i.e. the discrepancy and contradiction).

As for the Sunnah, then the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) encouraged the Ummah to memorise it, so he said, “May Allaah make pleasant and illuminated (the face) of a man who heard something from me, then he conveyed it as he heard it, for perhaps the one who it is conveyed to has more understanding than the one who heard it (directly).” [Tirmidhi 2647, and it is his wording, Ibn Maajah 232, from Ibn Mas’ood and it is a Mutawaatir hadeeth].

This hadeeth contains the great incitement to preserve the Sunnah and to rehearse and revise it by way of the various means of memorisation, and the ways and means (to a thing) have the same ruling as the objective and goal.

And the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, “Let the one who is present inform the one who is absent” [Bukhaaree 67, and Muslim 1679], and this also contains an encouragement for memorisation, since it is not possible to convey and transmit that which has not been memorised, either by way of the wording itself or the actual meaning. And this is sufficient for the preservation of the Sunnah, alongside the knowledge of the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) that the Sunnah is actually from the Remembrance (adh-Dhikr) that Allaah has promised that He will safeguard, and also his knowledge of the great eagerness and zeal of the Companions for hadeeth, and that some of them were more eager than others.

Abu Hurairah (radiallaahu anhu) asked the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), “Who is the happiest (i.e. luckiest) of people in receiving your intercession on the Day of Judgement?” He (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, “The happiest of people in receiving my intercession on the Day of Judgement is the one who said “Laa ilaaha illallaaha” sincerely and truthfully from his heart” [Bukhaaree 99, in the Book of Knowledge].

As for the hadeeth that the Qur’anites have sought to use as evidence, it has been reported by Muslim from the route of Hammaam from Zaid bin Aslam from ‘Ataa bin Yaasir from Abu Sa’eed, raised (marfoo, i.e. attributed to the Messenger) with the wording, “Do no write from me, and whoever writes anything from me other than the Qur’aan, let him erase it.” [Muslim 3004, in the Book of Zuhd and Raqaa’iq].

And this is actually the only authentic hadeeth – according to my knowledge – that forbids the writing down of the Prophetic Ahaadeeth, and at the same time there are numerous authentic hadeeths which command with the writing down of Prophetic Ahaadeeth and the permissibility in this regard.

The people of knowledge have trodden a number of different paths in repelling the apparent contradiction that seems to exist between this one hadeeth and numerous other ahaadeeth:

The First: The route of giving preference and strength to the ahaadeeth which grant persmission (to write) over the hadeeth which prohibits.

And Imaam al- Bukhaaree [Fath ul-Baaree 1/208] and Imaam Abu Dawud [Tuhfat ul- Ashraaf 3/408] have both presented this hadeeth as not actually being traced back to the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) but have held it to be the saying of Abu Sa’eed al- Khudree, and that there is no contradiction between a hadeeth that is mawqoof (i.e. ends at a Companion) and between ahaadeeth that are actually traced back to the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) [i.e. since only one originates from the Messenger].

The Second: The route of abrogation (naskh).

And this is the saying that the ahaadeeth of the permissibility of writing hadeeth are from a later time than the hadeeth which prohibits, and abrogate it. Ibn Shaaheen [Naasikh ul- Hadeeth wa Mansookhihi] and others have tended to this view.

The Third: The route of reconciling them both and this has numerous ways:

Al-Bayhaqee said, “Perhaps, if Allaah wills, he granted permission to write for the one for whom he feared forgetfulness, and prohibited it for the one in whose memorisation he had trust. Or he prohibited writing for the one upon whom he feared confusion (in memory and recall) and ordered to write the one whom he trusted.” [Al- Madkhal Ilaa as- Sunan al- Kubraa 2/223]

And az-Zarkashi mentioned numerous angles of reconciliation between them, so he said, “The first: That the prohibition of writing is restricted only to the duration of the lifetime of the Chief of Mankind, the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), since abrogation occurs in every time, and hence what abrogates overrides what is abrogated. And what gives evidence to this is the hadeeth of Abu Shaah when he was granted permission to write down the khutbah (sermon) which the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) delivered… The second: That the reason for the prohibition is so that the scribe does not depend on what he has written alone, without memorising, as a result of which memorisation might decrease… The third: So that there is not another book besides the Qur’aan which might resemble it.” [an-Nukat alaa Ibn as-Salaah 3/559-560, with some abridgement].

This difference (about writing down) used to exist in the very first time, and then the Ummah was united upon the permissibility of the writing down of hadeeth and knowledge, and the affair became settled and established upon that.

And there is nothing in any of these ways of reconciliation which the people of knowledge have adopted that provides any evidence for the straying of this sect (the Qur’aaniyyoon), their separation from the Ummah and their dissent from the Main Body (Suwaad al-A’dham), “And they were pursued by a curse in this world and (so they will be) on the Day of Resurrection.” (Hud 11:60).

Hence, Islam = Quran + Sunnah + Understanding of the Salafs (pious predecessors)

Anyone who rejects the Sunnah is a Kaafir by the consensus of all great scholars of Islam.

One who claims to follow only the Quran (and reject the hadith) or the Quranists in fact dont follow both, because it is mentioned in the Quran that:

With clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers). And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad SAW) the reminder and the advice (the Qur’ân), that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought. (An-Nahl 16:44)

So if Quran states that the prophet saws was sent to explain to mankind the revelation then how can anyone claim to understand the revelation without this explanation ?