Within the three Abrahamic religions the concept of tradition holds an important place, but each faith expresses it in a different way and with a different emphasis.  In Judaism the oral tradition is believed to have been given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai; for rabbinic doctrine says that, “Moses received (kibbel) Torah from Mount Sinai and delivered it (umesarah) to Joshua, and Joshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets to the Men of the Great Synagogue” [Bruce, 95].  So rabbinic Judaism views tradition as a chain connecting each generation to the one before it, and leading all the way back to Moses.

          In Roman Catholicism tradition is seen as an indispensable element of revelation.  The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council stated that, “. . . it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed,” thus “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church” [Dei Verbum, 8].  In Catholicism one other element is viewed as necessary in the transmission of tradition, and that element is called the ecclesiastical Magisterium.  As the Fathers indicated, “. . . Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority [Magisterium] of the Church, in accord with God’s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls” [Dei Verbum, 9].  Only the Magisterium can authentically interpret the word of God, whether in its written form or as handed down through oral tradition.

          The Islamic view of tradition mirrors elements of both Judaism and Catholic Christianity, but has its closest relations to the rabbinical understanding of tradition.  Islam sees tradition as an inspired expression of the truth, but unlike the other two Abrahamic religions it holds written revelation in higher regard than oral teaching.  In Islam the Quran is supreme, but the Hadith (the collection of the sayings of Mohammed, and the stories of eyewitnesses concerning him), and the Sunna (the practice of the Prophet), both hold a form of canonical authority within the community [cf. Fyzee, 17].  As Asaf Fyzee states concerning Islamic tradition, “. . . the distinction between hadith, that is a story of an eye-witness concerning the Prophet, and sunna, the practice of the Prophet, must be carefully noted.  The importance of hadith as a primary source of fiqh [Islamic jurisprudence] must not be underestimated, for it is, as Wensinck says, the mirror of Muslim society” [Fyzee, 17-18],  he goes on to say that, “Hadith is the story of a particular occurrence; sunna, the practice deduced from it, is the rule of law; it is the model behaviour of the Prophet.  These terms are often used as synonyms, but this is inaccurate” [Fyzee, 18].  In a sense it would be proper to say that the individual occurrence was not inspired, but that the underlying principle is, and from that principle Muslim scholars can deduce the proper action for a given situation.

          From what has been said above it is important not to come away with the impression that the tradition is of little value, because the Hadith is vital in that it helps and inspires the community “in arriving at legal decisions” [Fyzee, 15].  Thus the Hadith fleshes out the elements of the practice of the faith left open by the Quran, and thus helps to define Islamic orthopraxy.  While in addition to it the Sunna of the Prophet helps to guide the Muslim community on what must be done in order to properly live a life of one who has submitted to the will of God.  Mohammed is seen as an exemplar by the Muslim world, and thus provides the example of how one should live in relation to God and his fellow man.

          It is important to note that within the various forms of Islam the Hadith and Sunna are given different degrees of weight and authority.  In Sunni Islam they are seen as highly authoritative, but each of the collections of sayings and actions of the Prophet are held in higher or lower regard based on the chain of authorities supporting the tradition.  It is also important to note that Muslim theology distinguishes between direct and indirect revelation [cf. Fyzee, 17], as Fyzee states, “Inspiration may be of two different kinds; it may be manifest (zahir) or it may be implied (Batin).  The verses of the Koran are direct inspiration – in the theory of Islam they are the very words of God.  The actions and the sayings of the Prophet stand on a different level” [Fyzee, 22], and he emphasizes that this distinction must always be kept in mind.  For the Muslim community the, “actions and sayings [of the Prophet are] also inspired but the inspiration was indirect, that is to say, we have to look to all the surrounding circumstances of a particular action or saying of the Prophet before we can arrive at the true principle behind it, and that principle was inspired in the sense that it also was suggested or commanded by God.  The traditions are therefore supposed to be indirect revelation” [Fyzee, 22].

          In a sense Islam’s view of tradition stands mid-way between the Catholic view of tradition, and the rejection of tradition by Protestantism.  It’s understanding of how inspiration works is very interesting, and is unique within the Abrahamic religious tradition.  But like Judaism there are various schools of thought and various degrees of authority given to the collections of Hadith.  This way of understanding tradition is foreign to Catholicism, because it has a teaching authority (Magisterium)  which is believed to be infallibly guided by God in order to settle questions of doctrine and practice with certainty.  In Islam the Ulama have a role similar to that of the Rabbis in Judaism and the Magisterium in Roman Catholicism.  Since the “. . . death of Muhammad, Sunni Islam came to place final religious authority for interpreting Islam in the consensus (ijma) or collective judgment of the community (the Consensus of the Ulama, i.e., the traditional religious scholars),” while, “the Shii believe in continued divine guidance through their divinely inspired guide, the Imam” [Esposito, 45].  In this case the Shii are closer to the Catholic view, while the Sunni are closer to the Jewish position.  So within Islam various ideas concerning tradition can be found that in some ways correspond to the two older Abrahamic religions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

F. F. Bruce.  Holy Book and Holy Tradition.  (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968).

John L. Esposito.  Islam: The Straight Path.  (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991).

Asaf A. A. Fyzee.  Outlines of Muhammadan Law.  (New York: Oxford University Press, 1955).

Documents of Vatican II.  Dei Verbum:  The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation.  (Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 1965).

The Role of Tradition in Islam

by Steven Todd Kaster

San Francisco State University

Philosophy 501:  Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Dr. Fred Astren

24 May 1999

Copyright © 1999-2025 Steven Todd Kaster