Hadith-Rejecter Arguments Answered

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم

وعلى اهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين المظلومين

والعاقبة للمتقين

The fitna of modernism has given birth to a number of reformist sects and movements such as the Hadith-rejecters, otherwise known as the Quraniyun or Quranists. They loudly proclaim that since the text of the holy Quran is complete and fully detailed, there is no room for the Sunna or Hadith in Islam. The Quran-only movement has no historical existence during the initial generations of Muslims. Instead its origins are in the recent past century – in modern times. What draws those unfortunate Muslims toward Quran-onlyism is not any conviction that taking the Sunna and the Hadith of the Prophet (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) is genuinely wrong, but rather a desire to be free from the strictures of the Shari’a. I have previously challenged the Quranists on this blog to produce a single verse of the holy Quran which explicitly states that the Quran is the only divine revelation to the Prophet (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam). To date, no Quranist has been able to answer this challenge, and by Allah Most High, they shall not be able to do so until Judgment Day.

The Quranic verses presented by the Quranists do not in fact mention the word Quran. For example:

تِلْكَ آيَاتُ اللَّـهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَ اللَّـهِ وَآيَاتِهِ يُؤْمِنُونَ

These are the Signs of Allah We recite upon you in truth. Then in what statement after Allah and His Signs will they believe?

(Sura 45:6)

According to the Quran-only argument, this Ayah of the Quran clearly states that Believers are only to believe in the verses (called Aayaat) of the Quran and not in any Hadith, such as the compilations of Bukhari, Muslim, etc.

The truth is, however, that this verse is being quoted out of context for the purpose of their false argument. The previous verse makes perfectly clear what Allah Most High means by “His Signs”:

وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّـهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِن رِّزْقٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ آيَاتٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

And [in] the alternation of night and day and [in] what Allah sends down from the sky of provision and gives life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and [in His] directing of the winds are signs for a people who reason.

(Sura 45:5)

So the “Signs” of Allah are referring to the divine signs we see in nature; the rotation of the Earth on its axis through which we have the cycle of night and day, the sending down of rain from the clouds through which our provision sprouts, etc. The context proves that Allah Most High is not speaking of the Scripture, but of belief in His Person and those Signs which point to His existence.

Recently, in a conversation with a Hadith-rejecter, my challenge was taken up and the latter presented several verses of the Quran apart from what has preceded (45:6). In this entry, I shall examine each and every one of them and we shall determine if they truly fulfil the challenge:

أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّـهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلً

“Is it other than Allah I should seek as judge and it is He Who sent down to you the Book explained in detail?”

(Sura 6:114)

The verse is clearly stating that we should not take anyone other than Allah as our ultimate judge, and cites as a proof for this the fact that it is Allah Who revealed the Scripture to us. The verse is not stating that the Quran is the exclusive revelation from Allah to His Prophet (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam), nor is it stating that apart from the Quran there is no other thing that has divine authority. The Hadith-rejecters clamour over the fact that the Quran describes itself as mufassal, meaning detailed. But logically this is not an argument to prove that it is only the Quran that bears divine authority and that no other source may be followed in religious matters. Being detailed is simply an attribute of the Scripture, yet even the detailed Scripture requires explanation, and that explanation is not only separate from the Quran but it is an explanation that like the Quran has been sent down and given by Allah Himself:

ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ

Then, verily, upon Us is its clarification

(Sura 75:19)

In fact, it may be that the term al-Kitab does not refer exclusively to the Quran, but to the Religion of Allah in general. So it is the Religion of Allah that is detailed. This distinction between the Quran and the Kitab can be seen in the next verse brought forward by the Hadith-rejecter:

وَتَفْصِيلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

A detailed explanation of the Kitab in which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds.

(Sura 10:37)

Meaning the Quran itself is a detailed explanation of the Kitab, the Religion of Allah, and the Kitab or Religion of Allah is itself detailed and broader than the mere text of the Quran.

And as for the verse:

وَتَفْصِيلَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ

A detailed explanation of all things

(Sura 12:111)

Again, the Quran being a detailed explanation of everything is logically not a proof that it alone must be followed to the exclusion of any other divinely inspired guidance, especially considering the fact that the Quran itself enjoins the Believers to follow the Prophet (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam).