Qur'an and Sunnah Distinguished (1/3)

The Qur’an was recorded in writing from beginning to end during the lifetime of the Prophet, who ascertained that the Qur'an was preserved as he received it through divine revelation. The Prophet clearly expressed the concern that nothing of his own Sunnah should be confused with the text of the Qur'an. This was, in fact, the main reason why he discouraged his Companions, at the early stage of his mission in any case,[1] from reducing the Sunnah into writing lest it be confused with the Qur'an. The Sunnah on the other hand was mainly retained in memory by the Companions who did not, on the whole, keep a written record of the teachings of the Prophet. There were perhaps some exceptions as the relevant literature suggests that some, though a small number, of the Companions held collections of the Hadith of the Prophet which they wrote and kept in their private collections. The overall impression obtained is, however, that this was done on a fairly limited scale.

The Companions used to verify instances of doubt concerning the text of the Qur'an with the Prophet himself, who would often clarify them through clear instruction. This manner of verification is, however, unknown with regard to the Sunnah.[2]

The entire text of the Qur'an has come down to us through continuous testimony (tawatur) whereas the Sunnah has in the most part been narrated and transmitted in the form of solitary, or Ahad, reports. Only a small portion of the Sunnah has been transmitted in the form of Mutawatir.

The Qur'an in none of its parts consists of conceptual transmission, that is, transmission in the words of the narrator himself. Both the concepts and words of the Qur'an have been recorded and transmitted as the Prophet received them. The Sunnah on the other hand consists, in the most part, of the transmission of concepts in words and sentences that belong to the narrators. This is why one often finds that different versions of the one and the same Hadith are reported by people whose understanding or interpretation of a particular Hadith is not identical.

The scope of ikhtilaf, or disagreement, over the Sunnah is more extensive than that which may exist regarding the Qur'an. Whereas the ulema have differed in their understanding/interpretation of the text of the Qur'an, there is no problem to speak of concerning the authenticity of the contents of the Qur'an. But disagreement over the Sunnah extends not only to questions of interpretation but also to authenticity and proof, issues which we shall further elaborate as our discussion proceeds.[3]

Priority of the Qur'an over the Sunnah

As Sunnah is the second source of the Shari'ah next to the Qur'an, the mujtahid is bound to observe an order of priority between the Qur'an and Sunnah. Hence in his search for a solution to a particular problem, the jurist must resort to the Sunnah only when he fails to find any guidance in the Qur'an. Should there be a clear text in the Qur'an, it must be followed and be given priority over any ruling of the Sunnah which may happen to be in conflict with the Qur'an. The priority of the Qur'an over the Sunnah is partly a result of the fact that the Qur'an consists wholly of manifest revelation (wahy zahir) whereas the Sunnah mainly consists of internal revelation (wahy batin) and is largely transmitted in the words of the narrators themselves. The other reason for this order of priority relates to the question of authenticity. The authenticity of the Qur'an is not open to doubt, it is, in other words, qati, or decisive, in respect of authenticity and must therefore take priority over the Sunnah, or at least that part of Sunnah which is speculative (zanni) in respect of authenticity. The third point in favor of establishing an order of priority between the Qur'an and the Sunnah is that the latter is explanatory to the former. Explanation or commentary should naturally occupy a secondary place in relationship to the source.[4]

Furthermore, the order of priority between the Qur'an and Sunnah is clearly established in the Hadith of Mu'adh b. Jabal which has already been quoted. The purport of this Hadith was also adopted and communicated in writing by 'Umar b. al-Kattab to two judges, Shurayh b. Harith and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, who were ordered to resort to the Qur'an first and to the Sunnah only when they could find no guidance in the Qur'an.[5]

A practical consequence of this order of priority may be seen in the Hanafi distinction between fard and wajib. The former is founded in the definitive authority of the Qur'an, whereas the latter is founded in the definitive Sunnah, but is one degree weaker because of a possible doubt in its transmission and accuracy of content. These are some of the factors which would explain the general agreement of the ulema to the effect that the authority of Qur'an overrides that of the Sunnah.[6]

There should in principle be no conflict between the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. If, however, a conflict is seen to exist between them, they must be reconciled as far as possible and both should be retained. If this is not possible, the Sunnah in question is likely to be of doubtful authenticity and must therefore give way to the Qur’an. No genuine conflict is known to exist between the Mutawatir Hadith and the Qur'an. All instances of conflict between the Sunnah and the Qur'an, in fact, originate in the solitary, or Ahad, Hadith, which is in any case of doubtful authenticity and subordinate to the overriding authority of the Qur'an.[7]

It has, however, been suggested that establishing such an order of priority is anomalous and contrary to the basic role that the Sunnah plays in relation to the Qur'an. As the familiar Arabic phrase, al-Sunnah qadiyah 'ala al-kitab (Sunnah is the arbiter of the Qur'an) suggests, it is normally the Sunnah which explains the Qur’an, not vice versa. The fact that the Sunnah explains and determines the precise meaning of the Qur’an means that the Qur'an is more dependent on the Sunnah than the Sunnah is on the Qur’an.[8]

In the event, for example, where the text of the Qur'an imparts more than one meaning or when it is conveyed in general terms, it is the Sunnah which specifies the meaning that must prevail. Again, the manifest (Zahir) of the Qur'an may be abandoned by the authority of the Sunnah, just as the Sunnah may qualify the absolute (mutlaq) in the Qur'an. The Qur'an on the other hand does not play the same role with regard to the Sunnah. It is not the declared purpose of the Qur'an to explain or clarify the Sunnah, as this was done by the Prophet himself. Since the Sunnah explains, qualifies, and determines the purport of the Qur'an, it must take priority over the Qur'an. If this is admitted, it would follow that incidents of conflict between the Qur'an and Sunnah must be resolved in favor of the latter. Some ulema have even advanced the view that the Hadith of Mu'adh b. Jabal (which clearly confirms the Qur'an's priority over the Sunnah) is anomalous in that not everything in the Qur'an is given priority over the Sunnah.[9]

For one thing, the Mutawatir Hadith stands on the same footing as the Qur'an itself. Likewise, the manifest (Zahir) of the Qur'an is open to interpretation and ijtihad in the same way as the solitary, or Ahad, Hadith; which means that they are more or less equal in these respects. Furthermore, according to the majority opinion, before implementing a Qur'anic rule one must resort to the Sunnah and ascertain that the ruling in question has not been qualified in any way or given an interpretation on which the text of the Qur'an is not self-evident.[10]

(Continued)