In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate
The verses of the Quran are frequently employed in an incorrect way to nullify the Prophetic Hadiths. That is because all Muslim sects agree that the Quran is a sacred book with decisive transmission whose letters and meanings are immune against any kind of criticism. As a result, some sects denied a number of hadiths authenticated by critics; they placed them (i.e., these Hadiths) in the context of general meanings that they understood from the Quran. They adopt this approach to reject any Hadith that goes against their desires and the principles of their doctrine.
The People of the Sunnah, for their part, believe that well-versed Muslim scholars’ acceptance of a Hadith means that it is impossible that it can contradict the Quran. Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr (d. 462 AH) said about this: "For a group of scholars, it is not accepted to reject the Sunnah by the apparent meaning of the Quranic verses, as long as there is a correct means to reconcile them. That is because the Sunnah explains and clarifies the Quran and cannot be in contradiction with it.Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr, Al-Tamhid, 17/276. (1)
Comparing the verses of the Quran with the Hadiths is in itself an unsafe approach, and thus devout Muslims should beware of falling into its trap, since not everyone could make this comparison and reach sound results. Rather, this is the duty of scholars of jurisprudence who are able to distinguish authentic hadiths from weak hadiths, and are well-versed in the different ways of interpretation, as al-Dārimī (d. 280 AH) described them.Naqd Al-Darimi ʿAla Al-Mirrisi, 17/276. (2)
Trying to grasp the meanings of the verses of the Quran and improperly employing them in a manner that reveals (this so-called) contradiction is an old approach, and Muslims who are fully aware of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) Sunnah and biography, have also refuted this stance since way back. An example of that is when Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) one day delivered a sermon in which he said: "You people recite this verse 'You who believe, care for yourselves; he who goes astray cannot harm you when you are rightly-guided,' [The Quran, 5:105] and put it in its improper place. We heard the Prophet (r) say: When the people see a wrongdoer and do not prevent him, Allah will soon punish them all."Abu Dawoud, Sunan, Hadith No. 4338; Al-Tirmidhi, Jameʿ, Hadith No. 2168; Ibn Majah, Sunan, Hadith No. 4005. (3)
Since the authentic Sunnah is compatible with the Quran, as they both come from one source, the explicative source cannot be in contradiction with the explained one or, in other words, the secondary source cannot contradict the main one. Allah, the Exalted, said: "And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought." [The Quran, 16:44] As such, we find proponents of this claim, experience confusion in explaining the Quranic verses in different ways, apart from any well-established standards. That is to say, that they do not have any precise or objective standard to explain where the Sunnah allegedly contradicts the Quran.
Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said about this issue: "Had it been acceptable to reject the Hadiths of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in light of the person’s understanding of the apparent meanings of the Qur’anic verses, most of the Prophetic Hadiths would have been totally rejected and invalidated. That is because anyone can hold onto the general or unrestricted meaning grasped from a certain verse to argue against an authentic Hadith that shows his doctrine null and void, affirming, 'This Hadith contradicts the generality deduced from this verse or that it is unrestricted, and thus would not be accepted.'
Al-Rafidah has adopted this approach in rejecting the Mutawātir Hadiths (i.e. consecutively transmitted), to the extent, that they rejected the Prophetic Hadith reading: 'Our (i.e. Messengers’) property should not be inherited, and whatever we leave, is to be spent in charity'Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Hadith No. (3092); Muslim, Sahih, Hadith No. (1759). (4). They said that it contradicts the Book of Allah. Allah has said, 'Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.' [The Quran, 4:11]
Similarly, al-Jahmiyah rejected a large number of the authentic Hadiths that prove the Divine Attributes under the pretext of the Saying of Allah: 'There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.' [The Quran, 42:11]
Al-Khawarij, for their part, rejected the Hadiths on the Prophet’s intercession and the admittance of the doers of major sins, who believe in the Oneness of Allah, into Paradise after abiding in Hell. They did so by virtue of the apparent meanings they understood from the Quran.
Al-Jahmiyah also rejected the many authentic Hadiths on seeing Allah by virtue of the apparent meanings they understood from the Saying of Allah: 'Vision perceives Him not …' [The Quran, 6:103]"Ibn Al-Qiyem, Al-Turuq Al-Hikamiyah, p. 66. (5)
Here is an example of this methodological defect in comparing the Islamic proofs with each other; some contemporary people rejected the Prophetic Hadiths highlighting a certain Shari’ah topic under the pretext that they contradict the meanings of the Quran.
They thus rejected all the miracles of the Prophet (r), such as the splitting of the moon and the gushing forth of water from his noble fingers, on the grounds that the Quran has exclusively restricted his (r) miracles only to it (i.e. the Quran), not any other miracle. As a result, he could not perform any other miracle.
On that, Muhammad ʿAbid Al-Jaibri said: "We strongly stress that the only thing understood from the entire Quran is that it is the Prophet Muhammad’s only miracle, and thus he (ﷺ) was not in need of any other miracles."Muhammad Al-Jabiri, Madkhal Ila Al-Qur’an Al-Karim, p. 187. (6) He cited as evidence the Saying of Allah the Exalted: "But they say, "Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord?" Say, "Certainly (all) signs are in the power of Allah, and I am only a clear warner." (50) And is it not sufficient for them that We revealed to you the Book which is recited to them? Indeed in that is a mercy and reminder for a people who believe." [The Quran, 29:50-51]
However, this negation of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) miracles is never found in the Quran.
The restriction recorded in the verse is only a reply to the people of Mecca concerning certain miracles, not all the miracles. That is because denial of the miracles after their occurrence leads to the destruction of the deniers, as clearly recorded in the Quran: "And nothing has prevented Us from sending signs except that the former peoples denied them …" [The Quran, 17:59]. Allah the Exalted did not answer their request to make those certain miracles, out of His Mercy towards His Prophet (r) and to give them (i.e. the deniers) more time so that they would repent.
Accordingly, the definite particle "Al (the)" in the Saying of Allah "al-Ayat” (the signs or the miracles) indicates al-ʿAhd (i.e. it refers to the aforementioned items).
As for the point that the Quran is all-sufficient, it is an undeniable fact since it is the biggest miracle of the Prophet (ﷺ); however, this does not mean the impossibility of the occurrence of other miracles at his (ﷺ) hands in confirmation of his prophethood in people’s hearts.
The verse in question may be understood in light of the following example: A man threw a banquet full of different kinds of food for a guest. He left the guest and returned after a while, but the food was untouched and the guest was still hungry, so he told him, "Had you eaten this dish of meat, it would have satisfied your hunger;" does this mean he didn’t serve him other dishes?!
A point of interest herein is to know that the Hadiths on the occurrence of the miracles by the Prophet (r) are Mutawātir (consecutively transmitted). This means that deniers of these miracles do not understand their rank of authenticity: are they authentic, or is there any controversy over them?
As for the verse, there is no controversy over its rank in terms of indication: is it decisive or ambiguous? This is actually what makes them unable to reconcile, though it is an easy matter.
This methodological error is what led Sheikh Muhammad al-Ghazālī to reject some agreed-upon Prophetic Hadith, such as the Hadith on Labīd, the Jew, working magic on the Prophet (ﷺ), though its authenticity is agreed upon.Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Hadith No. 5766; Muslim, Sahih, Hadith No. 2189. (7) Commenting on this Hadith, al-Ghazālī said: "Had this Hadith been authentic, why should not the saying of the polytheists recorded in the Quran 'And the wrongdoers say, "You follow not but a man affected by magic' [The Quran, 25:8] have been authentic?"Al-Islam Wa Al-Taqat Al-Muʿattalah, p. 54. (8)
Admittedly, inclination toward the Quran alone is an old principle established by the Muʿtazillites who used to reject the Prophetic Hadiths. This attitude was inherited by the contemporary deniers, such as Muhammad ʿAbduh, who cited this verse as an argument against some of al-Azhar scholars who criticized him Majallatu Al-Manar, 33/41-43. (9).
However, the deniers incorrectly understood the verse. The polytheists meant with their accusation "a man affected by magic" that the entire prophethood is based on magic, which is the result of devils seizing him ,and thus inspired the Quran to him, issued orders to him, and explained the affairs of religion to him. He (r) - according to the polytheists’ accusation - believed in all of this, thinking that he was being revealed to by Allah and His Angels. For the polytheists, he (ﷺ) was “a man who suffered from mental disorders, and thus said things that are inconceivable.'Al-Tahrir Wa Al-Tanwir, 18/329. (10)”
It goes without saying that the condition he (ﷺ) experienced as recorded in the Hadith was temporary, not to mention that it was not what the polytheists meant. In reality, this condition has nothing to do with the descriptions given.
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It is thus crystal clear that some so-called scholars were wrong when they hastened to reject a large number of the Prophetic Hadiths, which are authenticated by many well-versed scholars, under the pretext that they contradict the Quran—an error resulting from their firm belief in the apparent meanings of verses. In this way, they opened a wide door before deniers of the Sunnah to confirm or negate whatever they wish from the texts of the Sunnah. They did it to the extent that some of them called for "excluding about two to three thousand Hadiths, though at least half of them are recorded in the two books of Sahih, claiming that they contradict the Quran."Ibn Taymiyah, Jameʿ Al-Masa’il, 2/104. (12)
Admittedly, it is lawful to reject a Hadith if it is in total contradiction with the Quran. Well-versed scholars frequently apply this approach. That is because "the essence well established by the Quran, the Sunnah, and consensus could not be rejected by one report transmitted by trustworthy narrators; rather, they should be accused of making error."Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan Al-Hajawi, Al-Difaʿ ʿAn Al-Sahihayn Difaʿ ʿAn Al-Islam, p. 109 (13)
However, improper employment of any Hadith does not necessarily mean that it is originally invalid. As such, we can judge the Hadith as unauthentic when the following requirements are met:
The meaning of the verse recorded by the denier of the Hadith is decisive and the verse cannot normally have any other meaning;
This meaning has previously been recorded by well-known exegetes;
The difficulty in reconciling the apparent contradiction; and
The verse does not impart any other authentic opinion that is consistent with the Hadith, according to some scholars.
Thus, explaining the verses in a manner that is inconsistent with all texts and that is against our pious predecessors’ approach in interpretation is the essence of all defects.
The well-established scholar Muhammad Al-Hajwī’s (d. 1376 AH) comments on Sheikh ʿAbduh’s statement that "Scholars agree that the Hadith should be rejected if it contradicts the Quran," go as follows:
Transmitters of such speech agreed that it was not absolute and thus added two conditions:
First, the verse should be explicit and decisive, while the Hadith should not be Mutawātir, but rather individually reported. In this way, the verse should be given precedence since it is decisive in terms of transmission and denotation.
Second: The impossibility of reconciling the Quran and the Sunnah. However, if they can be reconciled, no one is allowed to claim contradiction or refrain from the Prophetic Sunnah for that claim."Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan Al-Hajawi, Al-Difaʿ ʿAn Al-Sahihayn Difaʿ ʿAn Al-Islam, p. 109 (14)
This is an essential methodological approach that should be applied before judging the Hadith as in contradiction with the Book of Allah. Many people have fallen into the trap of criticizing the texts of the Prophetic Sunnah without any basis of knowledge. In a forthcoming series, we will shed light – by the permission of Allah - on other methodological approaches neglected by contemporaries when approaching some Sharia reports.
May Allah protect us from the evil of denying without knowledge; and may He the Almighty enable us to understand His Revelation without any difficulties. Amin.
