What does to present hadiths to the Quran mean? Did our Prophet say, Present what came to you from me to the Book of Allah. If it is in accordance with the Quran, it is my word. If it is not, it is not my word? If he did say so, how should
1- Some knowledge about presenting
When we take into consideration that the Quran and Sunnah are based on the same source and that both of them are revelations and that the Prophet would not continue a mistake, the reality that they cannot be contrary to each other will be apparent. Therefore, the issue whether everything that is attributed to the Prophet is in accordance with the Quran arises. Some say, We will look at the hadiths that are reported; if they are in accordance with the Quran, we will accept it; if not, we will not accept it; and they present evidences regarding it from the applications of both the Prophet (PBUH) and sahaba.
They accepted the word, Present what came to you from me to the Book of Allah. If it is in accordance with the Quran, it is my word. If it is not, it is not my word., which is attributed to the Prophet, as a basis and they laid being in accordance with the Quran as a condition to decide that a hadith is sound (sahih).(1) It is called presenting.
As there are people who attribute the idea of presenting to the Prophet through the hadith of presenting, there are also some people who say that hadith was made up by atheists and that it was fabricated (mawdu) so it cannot be used as a basis for any actions.
When our Prophet (PBUH) sometimes stated a decree, he recited a verse about it (2). Such an application was accepted as a basis for presenting hadiths to the Quran. Those who do not accept presenting say that those narrations are mudraj (interpolated) (3) therefore cannot be used as evidence in this issue.
It is necessary to think when it is said that Hazrat Umar presented sunnah to the Quran based on Hazrat Umars following reaction to the narration of Fatima bint Qais: We cannot quit the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His Prophet acting upon the word of a woman that we cannot know whether she has forgotten or not(4). The approach that all of the hadith should be reviewed, and those that are in accordance with the Quran should be accepted and those that are not should be excluded is contrary to the attitude of Hazrat Umar. Hazrat Umar, who hears that word for the first time, evaluates it by taking the whole Quran and sunnah. Those who go to the extreme in the approach of presenting assume a style that rejects the reference to sunnah.
One of the evidences that those who adopt the approach of presenting some hadiths to the Quran is some applications of Hazrat Aisha, the mother of the believers. Zarkashi collected some of her objections to sahaba in a book (5); some of them are as follows.
When Hazrat Aisha heard the hadith, Walad zina is the most evil of the three narrated by Abu Hurayrah, she said May Allah have mercy on Abu Hurayrah. That hadith is about a munafiq (hypocrite), he afflicted the Prophet a lot. The Prophet asked who he was. They said he was an illegitimate child. Then he said that hadith. How can the Messenger of Allah say something like that while the Quran says, no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another?(6). That is, the adulterous woman and man are sinful. The illegitimate child has no sins.
If we read it carefully, we will see that at first, Hazrat Aisha corrects the event, expresses that it has been misunderstood and mentions a verse that is in accordance with the decree coming from sunnah in order to state that the Quran and sunnah cannot contradict each other since they come from the same source.
Hazrat Aisha asked not only sahaba but also sometimes the Prophet (PBUH) questions. Once our Prophet (PBUH) says, He who is reckoned is exhausted. Hazrat Aisha says, May Allah sacrifice me for you, O Messenger of Allah! Does Allah not say he who is given his Record in his Right hand, soon will his account be taken by an easy reckoning.?(7). Then the Prophet (PBUH) says, It is being before Allah. He whose reckoning is disputable is exhausted (8), clarifying the issue.
That example is meaningful. Hazrat Aisha did not present a narration that reached her to the Quran but asked the Prophet (PBUH) about it personally because she did not understand the consistency of the decree of the Prophet with the Quran. It also shows us a different dimension of the issue. Hence, the objection of someone who cannot understand the integrity of sunnah and the Quran can easily be settled by somebody else. It is something that shows us the relativity of the issue.
2. Views regarding presenting
Those who say hadiths should be presented to the Quran and their evidences for their approach, and those who say presenting hadiths to the Quran is not right and their evidences do not interest the issue very much from our point of view. Therefore, we do not see it necessary and we will not go into the details of the evidences (9) but we prefer to report some of the views of scholars and their applications.
It is claimed that the sect in which presenting hadiths to the Quran developed as a method is the Hanafi sect. However, to have a judgment like that without evaluating the approach of the sect can mislead us. For instance, since sunnah cannot be contrary to the Quran, those who accept the issue of presenting will not restrict its decree and will not convey it. However, the place of sunnah in relation to the Quran is explained by imams, especially the imam of Hanafi sect (10) as follows:
a) Sunnah confirms the Quran.
b) Sunnah interprets and explains the Quran.
c) Sunnah reserves a decree of the Quran.(11).
However, it is necessary for sunnah to be mutawatir (narrated by many people) and mashhur (widely known) in order to abrogate or reserve the Quran. However, wahid khabars (isolated reports) that are contrary to the Quran cannot change its decree. What Hanafis say they present hadiths to the Quran are hadiths like those. Hanafi Methodists call it manawi inqıta (interruption in meaning) (12). So Hanafi scholars act on hadiths without making any restrictions in the reinforcing and interpretation of the Quran by sunnah, but if there is a hadith that will change or reserve a decree of the Quran, they make it compulsory that it be mutawatir or mashhur(13). Therefore, it is not correct to say that Hanafis presented sunnah to the Quran.
Imam Malik exactly adopts the three functions of sunnah (14). According to him, sometimes even wahid khabars reserve the whole of the Quran and restrict the absoluteness. What is more, if it is supported by action in Madinah, it becomes stronger. He even found the hadiths about seeing in accordance with the Quranic verse: Some faces, that Day, will beam (in brightness and beauty), looking towards their Lord and accused those who reject those hadiths of not obeying the Quran. (15) If khabar wahids are sometimes rejected because they are contrary to the Quran, and if it is called presenting, then we can say that such presenting is present in Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik.
Imam Shafi, who says that the narration stating that hadiths should be presented to the Quran is mawdu (fabricated) (16), states that to act in accordance with sound hadiths is the order of Allah and that a person who does not act in accordance with such a hadith must be mad.(17). Therefore, along with interpreting and restricting the Quran, sunnah also makes independent decisions regarding issues that the Quran did not bring obvious decrees. He says the decrees that sunnah make may seemingly look contrary to the Quran but it is due to the fact that the reasons for the determination of that decree are not known.(18)
It is very important that Imam Shafi explains the sunnah of the Prophet as what he understands from the Quran. Therefore, he regards it as ignorance to reject sunnah by alleging its contrariness to the Quran.(19)
However, all of his evaluations are about sound hadiths. If the hadith is shaz (contradictory), then one cannot act in accordance with it when it is contrary to the Quran. (20) So, it is understood that the seemingly contrary decrees of sound hadiths to the Quran cannot be contrary when the reasons are known but if the narration is shaz, then one cannot act in accordance with it due to its contrariness. Then we can say that Imam Shafi presents the shaz narrations to the Quran if they bring decrees that are not present in the Quran.
According to Ahmad bin Hanbal, who thinks like Imam Shafi, sunnah cannot be rejected by the outward meaning of the Quran. Sunnah determines the meaning and denotation of the Quran. Therefore a hadith cannot be rejected because it is contrary to the whole of the Quran. He says such a hadith actually explains and interprets the Quran.(21) So, according to him, sunnah and the Quran is a whole. The contrariness that is seen is only in appearance. It can be explained. Therefore, a hadith cannot be omitted on the ground that it is contrary to the Quran.
There are some other scholars who say that it is not right to reject sunnah under the pretext of presenting it to the Quran, that sunnah explains and interprets the Quran, that it can bring decrees that are not present in the Quran, that therefore hadiths cannot be rejected due to contrariness in appearance because their source is the same and they cannot be contrary to each other and that the contrariness in appearance can definitely be explained. Ibn Hazm, Ibn Abi Shayba, Suyuti, Ibn Abdil-Barr, Qurtubi, Shawkani, Saghani, Fattani, Ibnul-Arraq, Aliyyul-Kâri(22) are some of them. Especially the authors of mawduat (fabricated hadiths) books essentially object to people calling the narration of presenting as mawdu and presenting sunnah to the Quran.
However, we find it appropriate to present shaz and weak narrations to the Quran and sound sunnah when they are used for decrees. As a matter of fact, we see in the explanations above that they actually do it although they do not name it as presenting. After all, the scholars that essentially object to presenting must have meant that. We can say that they expressed concern that sound sunnah could be omitted under the pretext of being contrary to the Quran.
Although the narration of presenting is seen in mawdu sources, it is also present in valid books. (23) Therefore, we think that instead of rejecting it as a whole, it would be better to place it on a certain ground. In our opinion, the actual presenting of not sound hadiths but shaz and weak hadiths that bring a decree that is not present in the Quran would be better. In fact, that is what our scholars do.
On the other hand, we do not approve of eliminating many sound hadiths by presenting all of the hadiths to the Quran under the pretext of filtering the hadiths. (24) This will take us to the approach of the Quran without sunnah. Then, it will be inevitable that other approaches and systems will replace sunnah, which reflects the life of the Prophet, who was the living interpretation of the Quran.
3. Presenting the life of the Prophet to the Quran
It will mean to accuse the fourteen hundred year history to present the hadiths to the Quran and therefore to reject some narrations because they are contrary to the Quran and to go further by claiming that all of the hadiths should be filtered through the Quran and cast suspicions on everything that came to us through our Prophet (PBUH). It means to leave all of the people especially sahaba that reported those narrations aside and that we replace them.
Anyway, let us put aside the debate whether the application of presenting existed or not; how did our Prophet (PBUH) exert his right to understand and interpret the Quran that was sent down to him? Should he have only answered the questions that people asked him and settled the problems, or should he have applied the Quran actually in all aspects?
Our Prophet (PBUH), who was the person who understood and applied all of the realities expressed in the Quran in the best way, was also the person who reflected the Quran to his life in the best way. Therefore, we will deal with the issue of presenting hadiths to the Quran in a different aspect. We see the way of living of the Prophet (PBUH) that he presented in his life in all aspects, individual, familial and social, as the manifestation of the issues in the Quran and as the seeds that are present there becoming trees.
Therefore, instead of looking through the same eyeglasses it is necessary to think about what effects we will see by looking at the Quran through the window of the Prophets life.
The reason why the prophet sent to the humanity was not a jinn or angel but was chosen among human beings is that because he is a human being he will cast light on every aspect of life and serve as an example completely. To state it with Qardawis words(25), when life is considered in terms of length, width and depth, it is seen that nothing is left out of it. Length includes the life from birth to death even the hereafter; width includes all of the aspects of life: the house, market, mosque, way, occupation, partner, food, relation with Allah, people, family, Muslims, non-Muslims, human beings, animals relations with everything whether living or non-living; depth includes the inner structure of man, that is, his outward and inward feelings like body, mind, spirit, secret, his words and actions. From this point of view, it is necessary for the prophet to be an example in terms of all those aspects that involve man. So it will not be incorrect to define sunnah as every word, action and tacit approval of the Prophet when we evaluate it from the point of view of a large window that encompasses all of the aspects of life. (26)
So, let us present the lifestyle or way of living or whatever we call it, all aspects of his life to the verses of the Quran with a new point of view.
First, let us deal with the issue of whether the Prophet (PBUH) can bring a decree outside the Quran or not. As a matter of fact, our intention is to go to the Quran from sunnah but due to its importance let us start from the verses of the Quran.
All of the laws belong to Allah: the laws He imposed in the universe, the laws He created in man and eventually the laws in the Quran. We are not dealing with the issue in a narrow framework. We are evaluating it in a wide and comprehensive manner. For instance, Allah placed the whole program of the tree in its seed and the program of man and animal in their sperm or egg but not everyone understands it. Experts also understand it or do not understand it. He also made another program in every part of the tree and man and placed a tree or man in every part of the tree and every cell of man.
Therefore, that law of Allah needs to be valid in the verses of the Quran too. Besides, is the Quran not a work that reads the book of the universe and is the Prophet not a teacher who interprets and explains that book? Therefore, if the expressions in the verses of the Quran are seeds, sperms and eggs, then every aspect of the life of the Prophet (PBUH) are manifestations, trees, men or roses, flowers, eyes, ears and hearts of them.
Not let us listen to Allah: ... He (the Prophet) enjoins upon them what is right and good and forbids them what is evil; he makes pure, wholesome things lawful for them, and bad, corrupt things unlawful...(27) ...Fight against those who do not hold as unlawful that which God and His Messenger have decreed to be unlawful.(28)
Allah states clearly in the verses that he gave the authority to decree what is lawful and unlawful to the Prophet (PBUH). The fact that Allah especially mentions the name of the Prophet next to His name in the second verse closes the way for all kinds of interpretations. If it had been made a condition that what Allah prohibited would have to be prohibited by the Prophet too, it would have been meaningless because it would have been understood as the Prophet prohibited together with Allah. The opposite would also have been meaningless because Allah would have to prohibit what the Prophet had prohibited. Therefore, the fact that both of them are stated to have the authority to decree what is lawful and unlawful is to clarify the duty of the Prophet. From this point of view, all of the orders and prohibitions of the Prophet are the explanations of that verse and his enjoining what is clean and prohibiting what is dirty.
Since Allah gave the Prophet the authority to decree what is lawful and unlawful, which is the highest kind of authority, it is a clear indication of his authority in issues under that like wajib, makruh and good manners.(29) In addition, the Prophet (PBUH) attracted attention to the authority given to him and his position in religion with the word, He was given one fold together with the Quran. (30)
If we look at sunnah from the Quran,
1- The Prophet (PBUH) confirms, explains and interprets worships like prayer, zakat (almsgiving), fasting and hajj (pilgrimage) mentioned in the Quran (31).
2- He reserves general decrees(32).
3- He restricts absolute decrees(33).
4- He imposes decrees that are not present in the Quran (34) (35).
If we put those explanations in a framework, we reach the following conclusion. The prophet (PBUH) explained, upon being informed by Allah, all of the issues in the Quran, reserved general decrees, restricted absolute decrees and imposed decrees as a result of this.
Let us clarify the issue by giving one or two examples from the first chapter of the Quran, al-Fatiha.
For instance, the word of Allah in basmala. All of the explanations about it are either in the Quran or sunnah, so are Rahman and Rahim. The first word of al-Fatiha is al-Hamd (the praise). How is praise done? How will a person praise and thank Allah in prayer, hajj, fasting; in the street, at home, at work; while eating, in bed, in the rest room, etc? The answer is in sunnah. Malik yawm ad-din (the Owner of the Day of Judgment). All of the information about the realm of the hereafter, fundamentals of belief, Paradise, Hell, Sirat, reckoning, grave is explained in sunnah. From this point of view, every issue that is mentioned in the Quran was explained, stated and interpreted through sunnah.
Let us give a different example. Will it be true to say that the Prophet did not understand the verse that tells about the phases of creation but only some people who live today understood it? Then, it will be necessary to reject all of the hadiths that give information about the state of the child in mothers uterus. However, it will be better to see the explanations of those verses in hadiths. The verses related to special issues regarding women, husband and wife relations, end of the world, information about future were all explained in detail by the Prophet through the divine permission to his ummah.
With that approach, we think that each verse or decree can be presented to sunnah and the aim can be achieved.
Let us deal with the issue from the point of view of the Prophet (PBUH). That is, let us reach not from the seed to the tree but from the branches, knobs, flowers and fruits of the tree to the sapling and seed.
In terms of our issue, since we deal with the relationship between the forms of behavior that the Prophet showed in the community and the traditions, we will give some examples that highlight other states and actions rather than the principles of worship and belief:
All of the attitudes and recommendations of the Prophet and his wives in privacy and in community about tasattur (covering), the relations between people of the same gender, talking, being alone, etc are the explanations of the verses relating to those issues. They are what the Prophet understood from those verses. (36)
His attitude towards children, his explanations and statements (37) about the upbringing of children, treatment between children, relations between parents and children are all explanations of some verses (38) about those issues.
Similarly it can be said that the explanations of the relevant verses are present in the neighboring, student-teacher relations, relations with non-Muslims, orphans, the poor, chiefs, and officials, issues regarding greeting, visitors, feasts, cleanliness, and clothing. (39)
As for the moral qualities (40) that are among the humane characteristics and customs, we see the Prophet as an example to be followed in those qualities too.
We see that the mental, sensual and wrathful feelings in human beings were not restricted in creation. Therefore, sunnah teaches us to use them in a moderate way, without going to extremes. Similarly, our Prophet has moral virtues like gentleness, patience, gratitude, justice and piety, he received the order of stand firm (in the straight path) as you are commanded,(41) and the prayer of we want the straight way,(42); Our Prophets facilitation of humanity, intelligence at its peak, courage, gentleness and mercy, his good opinion about people, his anger, his attitude towards mistakes, warning, behavior, humbleness, dignity, courage, attitude towards invitations, attitude towards the person he is talking to, jokes, patience and persistence, chastity, generosity, good manners, modesty, his praising and criticizing, contentment, justice, loyalty, his keeping the trust, keeping his promise, attitude towards living and non-living things (43) are all the explanations of the verses in which those qualities are mentioned and indications of being moderate without going to the extreme.
Man is a being that naturally eats, drinks water, walks, sits, sleeps, meets his humane needs, cries, laughs, yawns and hiccoughs. They are his natural actions emerging from his creation. However, when, how and how much of those actions should be applied is seen in the good customs and behaviors of the Prophet.
The walking, sitting, clothing and attitudes of the Prophet (PBUH), who is the best example to be followed, are the actual and verbal explanations of the verses regarding those issues. He showed the style of the natural behaviors of going to mosque, knocking on the door, walking, talking, yawning, and going to sleep, and the verses regarding those behaviors through his statements and actions (44).
If we leave aside the issue of the soundness of the narrations in hadith books, all of the narrations that come with the name of the Prophet are binding. However, when we look at his life, whether from his life to the Quran or from the Quran to his life, we can say that all that the Prophet (PBUH)shows, whether religious, worldly, traditional or humane, are the explanations and actual indications of the issues that Allah mentions in the Quran. It is as if the following answer to the question, O My Lord! What is the correct form of our actions and behaviors that are worthy of your presence? –The life of the Prophet.
When we take into consideration that the Quran and Sunnah are based on the same source and that both of them are revelations and that the Prophet would not continue a mistake, the reality that they cannot be contrary to each other will be apparent. Therefore, the issue whether everything that is attributed to the Prophet is in accordance with the Quran arises. Some say, We will look at the hadiths that are reported; if they are in accordance with the Quran, we will accept it; if not, we will not accept it; and they present evidences regarding it from the applications of both the Prophet (PBUH) and sahaba.
They accepted the word, Present what came to you from me to the Book of Allah. If it is in accordance with the Quran, it is my word. If it is not, it is not my word., which is attributed to the Prophet, as a basis and they laid being in accordance with the Quran as a condition to decide that a hadith is sound (sahih).(1) It is called presenting.
As there are people who attribute the idea of presenting to the Prophet through the hadith of presenting, there are also some people who say that hadith was made up by atheists and that it was fabricated (mawdu) so it cannot be used as a basis for any actions.
When our Prophet (PBUH) sometimes stated a decree, he recited a verse about it (2). Such an application was accepted as a basis for presenting hadiths to the Quran. Those who do not accept presenting say that those narrations are mudraj (interpolated) (3) therefore cannot be used as evidence in this issue.
It is necessary to think when it is said that Hazrat Umar presented sunnah to the Quran based on Hazrat Umars following reaction to the narration of Fatima bint Qais: We cannot quit the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His Prophet acting upon the word of a woman that we cannot know whether she has forgotten or not(4). The approach that all of the hadith should be reviewed, and those that are in accordance with the Quran should be accepted and those that are not should be excluded is contrary to the attitude of Hazrat Umar. Hazrat Umar, who hears that word for the first time, evaluates it by taking the whole Quran and sunnah. Those who go to the extreme in the approach of presenting assume a style that rejects the reference to sunnah.
One of the evidences that those who adopt the approach of presenting some hadiths to the Quran is some applications of Hazrat Aisha, the mother of the believers. Zarkashi collected some of her objections to sahaba in a book (5); some of them are as follows.
When Hazrat Aisha heard the hadith, Walad zina is the most evil of the three narrated by Abu Hurayrah, she said May Allah have mercy on Abu Hurayrah. That hadith is about a munafiq (hypocrite), he afflicted the Prophet a lot. The Prophet asked who he was. They said he was an illegitimate child. Then he said that hadith. How can the Messenger of Allah say something like that while the Quran says, no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another?(6). That is, the adulterous woman and man are sinful. The illegitimate child has no sins.
If we read it carefully, we will see that at first, Hazrat Aisha corrects the event, expresses that it has been misunderstood and mentions a verse that is in accordance with the decree coming from sunnah in order to state that the Quran and sunnah cannot contradict each other since they come from the same source.
Hazrat Aisha asked not only sahaba but also sometimes the Prophet (PBUH) questions. Once our Prophet (PBUH) says, He who is reckoned is exhausted. Hazrat Aisha says, May Allah sacrifice me for you, O Messenger of Allah! Does Allah not say he who is given his Record in his Right hand, soon will his account be taken by an easy reckoning.?(7). Then the Prophet (PBUH) says, It is being before Allah. He whose reckoning is disputable is exhausted (8), clarifying the issue.
That example is meaningful. Hazrat Aisha did not present a narration that reached her to the Quran but asked the Prophet (PBUH) about it personally because she did not understand the consistency of the decree of the Prophet with the Quran. It also shows us a different dimension of the issue. Hence, the objection of someone who cannot understand the integrity of sunnah and the Quran can easily be settled by somebody else. It is something that shows us the relativity of the issue.
2. Views regarding presenting
Those who say hadiths should be presented to the Quran and their evidences for their approach, and those who say presenting hadiths to the Quran is not right and their evidences do not interest the issue very much from our point of view. Therefore, we do not see it necessary and we will not go into the details of the evidences (9) but we prefer to report some of the views of scholars and their applications.
It is claimed that the sect in which presenting hadiths to the Quran developed as a method is the Hanafi sect. However, to have a judgment like that without evaluating the approach of the sect can mislead us. For instance, since sunnah cannot be contrary to the Quran, those who accept the issue of presenting will not restrict its decree and will not convey it. However, the place of sunnah in relation to the Quran is explained by imams, especially the imam of Hanafi sect (10) as follows:
a) Sunnah confirms the Quran.
b) Sunnah interprets and explains the Quran.
c) Sunnah reserves a decree of the Quran.(11).
However, it is necessary for sunnah to be mutawatir (narrated by many people) and mashhur (widely known) in order to abrogate or reserve the Quran. However, wahid khabars (isolated reports) that are contrary to the Quran cannot change its decree. What Hanafis say they present hadiths to the Quran are hadiths like those. Hanafi Methodists call it manawi inqıta (interruption in meaning) (12). So Hanafi scholars act on hadiths without making any restrictions in the reinforcing and interpretation of the Quran by sunnah, but if there is a hadith that will change or reserve a decree of the Quran, they make it compulsory that it be mutawatir or mashhur(13). Therefore, it is not correct to say that Hanafis presented sunnah to the Quran.
Imam Malik exactly adopts the three functions of sunnah (14). According to him, sometimes even wahid khabars reserve the whole of the Quran and restrict the absoluteness. What is more, if it is supported by action in Madinah, it becomes stronger. He even found the hadiths about seeing in accordance with the Quranic verse: Some faces, that Day, will beam (in brightness and beauty), looking towards their Lord and accused those who reject those hadiths of not obeying the Quran. (15) If khabar wahids are sometimes rejected because they are contrary to the Quran, and if it is called presenting, then we can say that such presenting is present in Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik.
Imam Shafi, who says that the narration stating that hadiths should be presented to the Quran is mawdu (fabricated) (16), states that to act in accordance with sound hadiths is the order of Allah and that a person who does not act in accordance with such a hadith must be mad.(17). Therefore, along with interpreting and restricting the Quran, sunnah also makes independent decisions regarding issues that the Quran did not bring obvious decrees. He says the decrees that sunnah make may seemingly look contrary to the Quran but it is due to the fact that the reasons for the determination of that decree are not known.(18)
It is very important that Imam Shafi explains the sunnah of the Prophet as what he understands from the Quran. Therefore, he regards it as ignorance to reject sunnah by alleging its contrariness to the Quran.(19)
However, all of his evaluations are about sound hadiths. If the hadith is shaz (contradictory), then one cannot act in accordance with it when it is contrary to the Quran. (20) So, it is understood that the seemingly contrary decrees of sound hadiths to the Quran cannot be contrary when the reasons are known but if the narration is shaz, then one cannot act in accordance with it due to its contrariness. Then we can say that Imam Shafi presents the shaz narrations to the Quran if they bring decrees that are not present in the Quran.
According to Ahmad bin Hanbal, who thinks like Imam Shafi, sunnah cannot be rejected by the outward meaning of the Quran. Sunnah determines the meaning and denotation of the Quran. Therefore a hadith cannot be rejected because it is contrary to the whole of the Quran. He says such a hadith actually explains and interprets the Quran.(21) So, according to him, sunnah and the Quran is a whole. The contrariness that is seen is only in appearance. It can be explained. Therefore, a hadith cannot be omitted on the ground that it is contrary to the Quran.
There are some other scholars who say that it is not right to reject sunnah under the pretext of presenting it to the Quran, that sunnah explains and interprets the Quran, that it can bring decrees that are not present in the Quran, that therefore hadiths cannot be rejected due to contrariness in appearance because their source is the same and they cannot be contrary to each other and that the contrariness in appearance can definitely be explained. Ibn Hazm, Ibn Abi Shayba, Suyuti, Ibn Abdil-Barr, Qurtubi, Shawkani, Saghani, Fattani, Ibnul-Arraq, Aliyyul-Kâri(22) are some of them. Especially the authors of mawduat (fabricated hadiths) books essentially object to people calling the narration of presenting as mawdu and presenting sunnah to the Quran.
However, we find it appropriate to present shaz and weak narrations to the Quran and sound sunnah when they are used for decrees. As a matter of fact, we see in the explanations above that they actually do it although they do not name it as presenting. After all, the scholars that essentially object to presenting must have meant that. We can say that they expressed concern that sound sunnah could be omitted under the pretext of being contrary to the Quran.
Although the narration of presenting is seen in mawdu sources, it is also present in valid books. (23) Therefore, we think that instead of rejecting it as a whole, it would be better to place it on a certain ground. In our opinion, the actual presenting of not sound hadiths but shaz and weak hadiths that bring a decree that is not present in the Quran would be better. In fact, that is what our scholars do.
On the other hand, we do not approve of eliminating many sound hadiths by presenting all of the hadiths to the Quran under the pretext of filtering the hadiths. (24) This will take us to the approach of the Quran without sunnah. Then, it will be inevitable that other approaches and systems will replace sunnah, which reflects the life of the Prophet, who was the living interpretation of the Quran.
3. Presenting the life of the Prophet to the Quran
It will mean to accuse the fourteen hundred year history to present the hadiths to the Quran and therefore to reject some narrations because they are contrary to the Quran and to go further by claiming that all of the hadiths should be filtered through the Quran and cast suspicions on everything that came to us through our Prophet (PBUH). It means to leave all of the people especially sahaba that reported those narrations aside and that we replace them.
Anyway, let us put aside the debate whether the application of presenting existed or not; how did our Prophet (PBUH) exert his right to understand and interpret the Quran that was sent down to him? Should he have only answered the questions that people asked him and settled the problems, or should he have applied the Quran actually in all aspects?
Our Prophet (PBUH), who was the person who understood and applied all of the realities expressed in the Quran in the best way, was also the person who reflected the Quran to his life in the best way. Therefore, we will deal with the issue of presenting hadiths to the Quran in a different aspect. We see the way of living of the Prophet (PBUH) that he presented in his life in all aspects, individual, familial and social, as the manifestation of the issues in the Quran and as the seeds that are present there becoming trees.
Therefore, instead of looking through the same eyeglasses it is necessary to think about what effects we will see by looking at the Quran through the window of the Prophets life.
The reason why the prophet sent to the humanity was not a jinn or angel but was chosen among human beings is that because he is a human being he will cast light on every aspect of life and serve as an example completely. To state it with Qardawis words(25), when life is considered in terms of length, width and depth, it is seen that nothing is left out of it. Length includes the life from birth to death even the hereafter; width includes all of the aspects of life: the house, market, mosque, way, occupation, partner, food, relation with Allah, people, family, Muslims, non-Muslims, human beings, animals relations with everything whether living or non-living; depth includes the inner structure of man, that is, his outward and inward feelings like body, mind, spirit, secret, his words and actions. From this point of view, it is necessary for the prophet to be an example in terms of all those aspects that involve man. So it will not be incorrect to define sunnah as every word, action and tacit approval of the Prophet when we evaluate it from the point of view of a large window that encompasses all of the aspects of life. (26)
So, let us present the lifestyle or way of living or whatever we call it, all aspects of his life to the verses of the Quran with a new point of view.
First, let us deal with the issue of whether the Prophet (PBUH) can bring a decree outside the Quran or not. As a matter of fact, our intention is to go to the Quran from sunnah but due to its importance let us start from the verses of the Quran.
All of the laws belong to Allah: the laws He imposed in the universe, the laws He created in man and eventually the laws in the Quran. We are not dealing with the issue in a narrow framework. We are evaluating it in a wide and comprehensive manner. For instance, Allah placed the whole program of the tree in its seed and the program of man and animal in their sperm or egg but not everyone understands it. Experts also understand it or do not understand it. He also made another program in every part of the tree and man and placed a tree or man in every part of the tree and every cell of man.
Therefore, that law of Allah needs to be valid in the verses of the Quran too. Besides, is the Quran not a work that reads the book of the universe and is the Prophet not a teacher who interprets and explains that book? Therefore, if the expressions in the verses of the Quran are seeds, sperms and eggs, then every aspect of the life of the Prophet (PBUH) are manifestations, trees, men or roses, flowers, eyes, ears and hearts of them.
Not let us listen to Allah: ... He (the Prophet) enjoins upon them what is right and good and forbids them what is evil; he makes pure, wholesome things lawful for them, and bad, corrupt things unlawful...(27) ...Fight against those who do not hold as unlawful that which God and His Messenger have decreed to be unlawful.(28)
Allah states clearly in the verses that he gave the authority to decree what is lawful and unlawful to the Prophet (PBUH). The fact that Allah especially mentions the name of the Prophet next to His name in the second verse closes the way for all kinds of interpretations. If it had been made a condition that what Allah prohibited would have to be prohibited by the Prophet too, it would have been meaningless because it would have been understood as the Prophet prohibited together with Allah. The opposite would also have been meaningless because Allah would have to prohibit what the Prophet had prohibited. Therefore, the fact that both of them are stated to have the authority to decree what is lawful and unlawful is to clarify the duty of the Prophet. From this point of view, all of the orders and prohibitions of the Prophet are the explanations of that verse and his enjoining what is clean and prohibiting what is dirty.
Since Allah gave the Prophet the authority to decree what is lawful and unlawful, which is the highest kind of authority, it is a clear indication of his authority in issues under that like wajib, makruh and good manners.(29) In addition, the Prophet (PBUH) attracted attention to the authority given to him and his position in religion with the word, He was given one fold together with the Quran. (30)
If we look at sunnah from the Quran,
1- The Prophet (PBUH) confirms, explains and interprets worships like prayer, zakat (almsgiving), fasting and hajj (pilgrimage) mentioned in the Quran (31).
2- He reserves general decrees(32).
3- He restricts absolute decrees(33).
4- He imposes decrees that are not present in the Quran (34) (35).
If we put those explanations in a framework, we reach the following conclusion. The prophet (PBUH) explained, upon being informed by Allah, all of the issues in the Quran, reserved general decrees, restricted absolute decrees and imposed decrees as a result of this.
Let us clarify the issue by giving one or two examples from the first chapter of the Quran, al-Fatiha.
For instance, the word of Allah in basmala. All of the explanations about it are either in the Quran or sunnah, so are Rahman and Rahim. The first word of al-Fatiha is al-Hamd (the praise). How is praise done? How will a person praise and thank Allah in prayer, hajj, fasting; in the street, at home, at work; while eating, in bed, in the rest room, etc? The answer is in sunnah. Malik yawm ad-din (the Owner of the Day of Judgment). All of the information about the realm of the hereafter, fundamentals of belief, Paradise, Hell, Sirat, reckoning, grave is explained in sunnah. From this point of view, every issue that is mentioned in the Quran was explained, stated and interpreted through sunnah.
Let us give a different example. Will it be true to say that the Prophet did not understand the verse that tells about the phases of creation but only some people who live today understood it? Then, it will be necessary to reject all of the hadiths that give information about the state of the child in mothers uterus. However, it will be better to see the explanations of those verses in hadiths. The verses related to special issues regarding women, husband and wife relations, end of the world, information about future were all explained in detail by the Prophet through the divine permission to his ummah.
With that approach, we think that each verse or decree can be presented to sunnah and the aim can be achieved.
Let us deal with the issue from the point of view of the Prophet (PBUH). That is, let us reach not from the seed to the tree but from the branches, knobs, flowers and fruits of the tree to the sapling and seed.
In terms of our issue, since we deal with the relationship between the forms of behavior that the Prophet showed in the community and the traditions, we will give some examples that highlight other states and actions rather than the principles of worship and belief:
All of the attitudes and recommendations of the Prophet and his wives in privacy and in community about tasattur (covering), the relations between people of the same gender, talking, being alone, etc are the explanations of the verses relating to those issues. They are what the Prophet understood from those verses. (36)
His attitude towards children, his explanations and statements (37) about the upbringing of children, treatment between children, relations between parents and children are all explanations of some verses (38) about those issues.
Similarly it can be said that the explanations of the relevant verses are present in the neighboring, student-teacher relations, relations with non-Muslims, orphans, the poor, chiefs, and officials, issues regarding greeting, visitors, feasts, cleanliness, and clothing. (39)
As for the moral qualities (40) that are among the humane characteristics and customs, we see the Prophet as an example to be followed in those qualities too.
We see that the mental, sensual and wrathful feelings in human beings were not restricted in creation. Therefore, sunnah teaches us to use them in a moderate way, without going to extremes. Similarly, our Prophet has moral virtues like gentleness, patience, gratitude, justice and piety, he received the order of stand firm (in the straight path) as you are commanded,(41) and the prayer of we want the straight way,(42); Our Prophets facilitation of humanity, intelligence at its peak, courage, gentleness and mercy, his good opinion about people, his anger, his attitude towards mistakes, warning, behavior, humbleness, dignity, courage, attitude towards invitations, attitude towards the person he is talking to, jokes, patience and persistence, chastity, generosity, good manners, modesty, his praising and criticizing, contentment, justice, loyalty, his keeping the trust, keeping his promise, attitude towards living and non-living things (43) are all the explanations of the verses in which those qualities are mentioned and indications of being moderate without going to the extreme.
Man is a being that naturally eats, drinks water, walks, sits, sleeps, meets his humane needs, cries, laughs, yawns and hiccoughs. They are his natural actions emerging from his creation. However, when, how and how much of those actions should be applied is seen in the good customs and behaviors of the Prophet.
The walking, sitting, clothing and attitudes of the Prophet (PBUH), who is the best example to be followed, are the actual and verbal explanations of the verses regarding those issues. He showed the style of the natural behaviors of going to mosque, knocking on the door, walking, talking, yawning, and going to sleep, and the verses regarding those behaviors through his statements and actions (44).
If we leave aside the issue of the soundness of the narrations in hadith books, all of the narrations that come with the name of the Prophet are binding. However, when we look at his life, whether from his life to the Quran or from the Quran to his life, we can say that all that the Prophet (PBUH)shows, whether religious, worldly, traditional or humane, are the explanations and actual indications of the issues that Allah mentions in the Quran. It is as if the following answer to the question, O My Lord! What is the correct form of our actions and behaviors that are worthy of your presence? –The life of the Prophet.
So, the source of sunnah, which means the words, actions, tacit approvals and attitudes of the prophets, is the Quran. In other words, we can say that it is what he understands from the Quran and Allah's approval of it.
References:
(1) For evaluation see, Saghani, Abul-Fazail, Mawzuat, Beirut, 1985, p.76; Ajluni, Kashful-Khafa, I, 86; Haysami, Majmauz-Zawaid, I, 170; Suyuti, Miftah, 16.
(2) For examples see. Buhari, Tefsir, Sure 1,3,4,6; Tirmizi, Sıfatu Ehlil-Cenne, 1; Cf. Yıldırım Suat, Peygamberimizin Kuran Tefsiri, İst., 1983, p.138-147; Çakın, Kamil, Hadislerin Kurana Arz Meselesi, AUİFD.XXXIV, Ank, 1993, p.240-243; keleş, Arz, p.15 etc.
(3) Mudraj; Something added, which is not present in the bond or text. Aydınlı, İstılah, p.106; To evaluate the narration see, Çakın, ibid., p.240-243.
(4) Ibn Hajar, Feth, IX, 596,603; Çakın, ibid, p.243-245; Cf. Keleş, Arz, 24.
(5) Zarkashi, Badruddin Abu Abdillah, al-Ijaba li iradi ma Istadrakathu Aisha alas-Sahaba, Beirut, 1985.
(6) Zarkashi, Ijaba, p.119; See, Musnad, II, 311; VI,109.
(7) Inshiqaq, 7-8.
(8) Bukhari, Tafsiru Inshiqaq, 2; Musnad, VI, 103,206.
(9) See. Keleş, Arz, 69 etc; Apaydın, Yunus, Hanefi Hukukçularının Hadis Karşısındaki Tavırlarının Bir Göstergesi Olarak Manevi Inkıta Anlayışı, EÜİFD, s.8, Kayseri, 1992, Çakın, ibid.;
(10) Imam Azam Abu Hanifa says: I take Allahs book. If I cannot find there, I take the sunnah of the messenger of Allah. Ibn Hajar, Asqalani, Tahzibut-Tahzib, Beyrut, ts, X. 451.
(11) Abu Zahra, Abu Hanifa, 292-294.
(12) Bukhari, Kashf, III, 19,29; See, Sarahsi, Usul, I,364; Ünal, İmam Ebu Hanife, p.84-88,141; Apaydın, ibid., A text that is sound and definite cannot be abrogated and replaced by something that is not definite.
(13) However, for the applications that sometimes even khabar wahids made additions that are not in the Quran, Ayni, al-Binaya fi Sharhil-Hidaya, Beirut, 1988, VI,261-262, 274-381; Ünal, Ebu Hanife, 141-142; For hadiths see. Bukhari, Hudud, 13; Muslim, Hudud, 7; Musnad, III, 253.
(14) That is, sunnah confirms and interprets the Quran. It brings a decree that is not in the Quran. The Quran cannot be understood without sunnah. Abu Zahra, Imam Malik, 260-267.
(15) Sometimes, he did not acted in accordance with khabar wahids due to their contrariness to the Quran. Abu Zahra, Imam Malik, 283-86,296; Verse, Qiyama, 22-23; The approach of Imam Malik is parallel to the approach of Imam Azam Abu Hanifa.
(16) In return, Shafi, Risala, 80; states the independent legislative value of sunnah by mentioning the hadith I was given one fold together with the Quran; I can enjoin and prohibit.
(17) Zahabi, Tazkiratul-Huffaz, Beirut, ts, I, 362; Hadith was placed into the heart of the Prophet by Hazrat Jibril (Gabriel). Therefore, sunnah cannot be contrary to the Quran. Shafi, Risala, 76-89.
(18) Shafi, al-Umm, Beyrut, ts. VII, 273,286; See, Gazali, Mustasfa, I,179.
(19) Shafi, Risala, 85,103; Qasimi, Qawaid, p.58.
(20) Shafi, Umm, VII, 307-308.
(21) Abu Zahra, Ahmed b. Hanbal, 239.
(22) See respectively. Ibn Hazm, Ihkam, I,114-117; ıbn Qayyim, Ilamul-Muwaqqiin, Beirut, 1994, II, 220 etc.; Ibn Abi Shayba, Musannaf, Beirut, 1989, VIII, 363 etc.; Suyuti, Miftah, 2 etc.; Ibn Abdil-Barr, Jami, II, 190; Kurtubi, Tafsir, I, 38; For the views of some authors regarding presenting cf. Akseki, Riyazus-Salihin Translation, I, XX-XXI; Abu Zahw, Mukanatus-Sunnah, 32-36; Abu Shahba, Sunnah, I, 58; Ajjaj, as-Sunne, 49-50; Sibai, as-Sunna, 81-83,98-100; Keleş, Arz, 90 etc.
(23) See. Musnad, V, 425; Darakudni, I, 208; Abu Yusuf, Rad, 31; Jassas, Ahkamul-Kuran, Beirut, 1993, IV, 201; Shatibi, Muwafakah, IV, 19; Qasimi, Kuranı Anlamak, translated by. Sezai Özel, İst, 1990, p.170.
(24) For instance, for the rejection of the hadith about the Caliphate belonging to Qurayshis, see Hatiboğlu, Hilafetin Kureyşiliği, AUİFD XIII, Ank, 1979; For the views of Atay, Öztürkün and Reşit Rıza see. Keleş, Arz, 53-58.
(25) Qardawi, Sunnah, p.115; Kulaçoğlu, Sünnet, p.98.
(26) Since the binding characteristic of sunnah will be explained later, it should be noted that the issue will be evaluated only in sunnah-the Quran integrity.
(27) al-Araf, 157.
(28) at-Tawba, 29.
(29) That the Quran itself without leaving any doubt puts the sunnah of the Prophet in the equal level as the Quran, (on the fact that whatever the Prophet said was accepted within the concept of ethics) see, Hamidullah, İslam Devlet İdaresi, translated by. Kemal Kuşçu, İst. 1963, p.18; Koçkuzu, Haber-i Vahitler, p.107.
(30) Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 6.
(31) For confirmation cf. al-Baqara, 43, 183; Aal-e-Imran, 97; an-Nisa, 29; Hud, 102; an-Nahl, 44; Bukhari, Eeman, 1; Muslim, Eeman, 19-22; Musnad, V,72; Ibn Majah, Fitan, 22; For the concise interpretation see. Bukhari, Azan, 18; Adab, 27; Buyu, 78; Muslim, Musaqat, 81-84; Nasai, Buyu, 50; Darimi, Salat, 42; Musnad, III, 318; Ibn Majah, Tijarah, 48; To explaind problems, see al-Baqara, 187; Tirmizi, Tafsir, 3.
(32) Restricting the eleventh verse of Chapter an-Nisa stating that each inheritor should be given his due by the hadith there is no inheritance to the unbelievers (Musnad, I,49; Abu Dawud, Diyat, 18; Darimi, Faraiz, 41). Those that are forbidden to marry were stated in the verse (an-Nisa 23-24). The others were stated as permissible to marry. However, the Prophet restricted the generality by saying that a man cannot be married to a woman and her paternal or maternal aunt at the same time. See Müslim, Nikah, 37-38; Bukhari, Nikah, 27.
(33) There is no limitation in the verse stating that the hand of the thief must be amputated. (al-Maeda, 38). The hadith brought a lower limit stating that the hand of a person who steals a quarter dinar or more will be amputated. (Muslim, Hudud, 2-5; Ibn Majah, Hudud, 22; Musnad, VI, 104,249,252.
(34) In fact each application is a decree. For instance, everything that the Prophet did, especially rakats (units) and times of prayers and how to perform prayers are the determinants of decrees of the Quran that could be understood differently. In this respect, we want to attract attention to the width of the issue. Since it is considered that there is nothing in the Quran that is not original, each sunnah is an explanation; since most of the things in sunnah are not exactly present in the Quran, it can be said that most of the applications of the Prophet (PBUH) are new decrees.
(35) For evidence from verses, see Aal-e-Imran, 164; al-Jumua, 2; an-Nisa, 59; al-Ahzab, 36; an-Noor, 63; See also Bukhari, Ilm, 9; Tirmizi, Ilm, 7; Ibn Majah, Muqaddima, 18; Darimi, Muqaddima, 24; Suyuti, Miftah, 19,23,27; Koçkuzu, Haber-i Vahitler, 107-108.
* For the parts of the body that men have to cover in the presence of other men and women and that women have to cover in the presence of other women and men, see Bukhari, Salat, 69; Nikah, 111; Muslim, Salatul-Idayn, 4; Salam, 8; Adab, 10; Abu Dawud, Libas, 37; Nikah, 44; Tirmizi, Rada, 13; Edeb, 38-40.
* For the parts of the body that men have to cover in the presence of other men and women and that women have to cover in the presence of other women and men, see Bukhari, Salat, 69; Nikah, 111; Muslim, Salatul-Idayn, 4; Salam, 8; Adab, 10; Abu Dawud, Libas, 37; Nikah, 44; Tirmizi, Rada, 13; Edeb, 38-40.
(36) al-Ahzab, 6,32,33; al-Baqara, 235; an-Nisa, 4; Bukhari, Nikah, 3,8,36,50,63,68,79; Muslim, Rada, 16; Nikah, 4,7,12; Tirmizi, Rada, 1; Nikah, 5,38; Abu Dawud, Nikah, 20; All of the issues regarding, asking a girls hand in marriage, engagement, marriage, wedding, marriage banquet, the duties of husband and wife towards each other, etc are explained in sunnah. Even the satisfaction of sexual desires, (Abu Dawud, Salat, 367; Bujhari, Riqaq, 23); private issues like the state of sexual intercourse, the state of women in menstruation are stated.
(37) Bukhari, Adab, s.7,18; Istizam, 35; Jumua, 11; Nikah, 79; Abu Dawud, Adab, 66,129; Salat, 25,94-95; Sunnah, 18; MUslim, Itq, 25; Birr, 5; Ibn Majah, Nikah, 28; Adab, 3; For detailed information , see Canan, İ. Hz. Peygamberin sünnetinde Terbiye, Ank, 1980, D.İ.B.
(38) al-Kahf, 46; al-Isra, 6; al-Furqan, 74; Aal-e-Imran, 159; al-Maeda, 8; ash-Shuara, 49; an-Nahl, 58-59; at-Tahrim, 6.
(39) For detailed information regarding those issue, see Duman, Adab.
(40) Hz Aisha answered the question how the ethic of the Prophet was as, His ethic was completely the thic of the Quran. (Abu Dawud, II, 56) that is, he showed the beauties of the ethic in the best way.
(41) Hud, 112.
(42) al-Fatiha,
(43) See Bukhari, Eeman, 30; Badul-Halk, 6; Adab, 27; Jihad, 50; Nikah, 1; Tirmizi, Kitab-ul Adab; Ebu Davud, Kitab-ul Adab, Qadi Iyad, ash-Shifa, bi Tarifi Hukukil-Mustafa, Damascus, ts. I,140-210; II, 330-341; Dihlawi, Hujja, II, 80 etc; Gazali, Ihya, III, 50 etc; Nadwi, Sulayman, Konferanslar, translated by Osman Keskioğlu, DİB.1957; Bukhari, al-Adabul-Müufrad; Abdurrahman Azam, Rasulü Ekremin Örnek Ahlakı, translated by Hayrettin Karaman, İst, 1975; Bayraktar, Şemail; Yardım, Şemail; Canan, Terbiye.
(44) For instance, his behaviors about beginning from the right or the left (al-Balad, 13-18; al-Waqia, 27-38; al-Baqara, 115; Inshiqaq, 7-8; al-Haaqqa 19-21;) his style of walking are the explanations of the verses like; al-Furqan, 63; Luqman, 18-19).
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