Most scholars of Islam tell us to follow the Qur'aan and the Sunnah.
But what is the Sunnah? There is no clarity on this.
Some say that it is the practice established by Prophet Muhammad as recorded in the ahaadeeth (sayings of the Prophet recorded in writing hundreds of years after his death and not by his contemporaries). And some say it is the established practice followed generation after generation by the believers.
But the established practice does imperceptibly change with time. And as for the ahaadeeth, there are so many contradictions therein that as per the Qur'aanic criterion those cannot claim to have been divinely ordained (refer to Verse 4:82).
Moreover, the Qur'aan nowhere mentions سنث الرسول. It does, on the other hand, mention سنث الله (Verse 35:43). The Qur'aan does of course ask us Muslims to obey the Prophet (Verse 4:59). But it has not asked us to follow his purported sayings put in writing hundreds of years after his death. All authentic pronouncements of the Prophet, declared by him as from Allah, stand recorded in the Qur'aan.
I have no problem with any Sunnah edict which does not contradict any Qur'aanic edict, but I, as a Muslim, cannot accept an edict contrary to the Qur'aan in any way. Prophet Muhammad (peace on him) had not come to this earth to give any law authored by him himself. He had come to convey the divine Law to humanity
But the divine Law has left much leeway for believers to maneuver themselves within the Qur'aanic framework. They must see to it that they do not go beyond that framework to remain eligible to be called believers!
24th July 2022.