As-salaamu'alaykum,
The advent of the second century saw the emergence of those who rejected the validity of the Sunnah as a source of Islamic legislation, of those who rejected non-Muatawaatir narrations (i.e., Ahad narrations), and of those who rejected those hadiths that either did not explain what is in the Qur’an or did not affirm what is in the Qur’an: in other words, those hadiths that legislated independent rulings that are not found in the Qur’an.
Based on what we know, the first to write about such groups was Imam Ash-Shafi’ee (rahimahullah). In al-Umm, he dedicated a chapter to given an account of a debate that took place between him and a man who denied the legislative authority of hadiths. Shafi’ee relates the debate in the form of a dialogue, first beginning with his opponent who supposedly was a learned man.
His opponent:
“You are an Arab, and the Qur’an was revealed in your tongue... If one were to doubt a single letter of the Qur’an, you would ask him to repent, and if he had repented, you would have left him alone; but if he had not, you would have killed him. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“...as an exposition of everything...”
(Qur’an, 16: 89)
So then how does it become permissible for you or for anyone else to say that a command is general one time and specific another time? And for the most part, your rulings have thus differed because of a hadith that you relate from one man who has related from another... And I have found that you as well as those of your school do not deny that those to whom you give precedence for their veracity and memory could possibly forget or make a mistake in their hadiths. I have often found you saying, ‘Such and such person made a mistake in such and such hadith’, Is it correct to distinguish between different commands of the Qur’an, when their apparent meaning (i.e., that they impart a command) is one? In spite of your description of certain narrators, you place their narrations at the same level as Allah’s Book, and you allow (certain matters) based on those narrations and forbid (others) based on them as well.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“We rule based on certainty of knowledge, on authentic narrations, and on analogy: though some are stronger than others, we rule based on all of the above... For example, in a court case, we issue a ruling based on a man’s confession, based upon proof (i.e., for the most part, witnesses), or finally, based on an oath. If any of the above proofs are established, we issue a ruling, yet they vary in their strength.”
His opponent:
“You accept that which narrators inform you of, yet you even acknowledge possible faults in them; what is your proof, then, against those who reject such narrations? Because of the possibility of error, I accept nothing from them. I only accept... Allah’s book, which no can have doubts about, not even about a single letter. Can something have the same weight as sure knowledge, though that something does not reach its level?”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
When one has knowledge of Arabic and of the Qur’an which was revealed in that tongue, that knowledge will make it binding upon him to accept the narrations of truthful people regarding the Messenger of Allah. (Next Imam Ash-Shafi’ee began mentioning proofs to back up his statement).
Allah says:
He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger (Muhammad
from among themselves, reciting to them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief and polytheism), and teaching them the Book (this Quran, Islamic laws and Islamic jurisprudence) and Al-Hikmah (wisdom).
(Qur’an, 62: 2)
His opponent:
“We know that ‘the Book’ is Allah’s Book, but what is the Hikmah?
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
His opponent:
“It is possible that ‘the Book’ is the Qur’an in general, whereas the Hikmah is specific, and refers to its rulings.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“You mean that Allah has clarified his commands to them in a general way – commands such as the Prayer, Zakat, Hajj, and so on. These matters He clarified in His Book, yet He clarified their rulings and details on the tongue of His Prophet.
His opponent:
“That is indeed possible!”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“If you accept that, then you accept what I said earlier, which means that you will not arrive at those detailed rulings except through narrations from the Messenger of Allah.
His opponent:
“Unless one takes the view of repetition in speech (i.e., that ‘the Book’ and the Hikmah have one meaning – the Qur’an).”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“When you say, ‘The Book and the Hikmah’, which is more probable, that they represent two things or one thing?”
His opponent:
“It is possible that they refer to two matters, as you have said – the Qur’an and the Sunnah. And it is also possible that they signify one and the same thing.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“What you first said is more likely to be correct, and in the Qur’an is proof for what we said, proof that invalidates your view:
His opponent:
“Where?”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
Allah says:
And remember (O you members of the Prophet’s family) what is recited in your houses of the verses of Allah and wisdom. Indeed, Allah is ever Subtle and Acquainted [with all things].
(Qur’an 33: 34)
He informs us that two matters are recited in the home.”
His opponent:
“I understand that the Qur’an is recited, but how is the Hikmah recited?”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“The meaning of ‘that which is recited’ here is that both the Qur’an and the Sunnah are articulated.”
His oppenent:
“Yes, more than your previous argument, this more clearly shows that the Hikmah is not the Qur’an.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“Allah commanded us to follow and obey His Prophet.”
His opponent:
“Where?”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“Allah says:
But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad ) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.
(Qur’an 4: 65)
Allah also says:
He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad), has indeed obeyed Allah...
(Qur’an 4: 80)
And Allah says:
And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.
(Qur’an 24: 63)
His opponent:
“It is clear then that the Hikmah is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“Allah ordered us to obey the Prophet’s commands:
...And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)...
(Qur’an 59: 7)
His opponent:
“It is clear in revelation that we must follow what the Prophet commanded us to do and abstain from what he forbade us from doing.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“Is that obligation equally binding on us, on those who came before us, and on those who will come after us?”
His opponent:
“Yes!”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“As regards those who did not meet the Prophet but who came after him, do you not see that they can follow the commands of the Prophet only through narrations about him that have been passed on?”
Ask yourself this:
“Knowing that certain parts of the Qur’an abrogate other parts, how can we achieve knowledge of such matters except through reports that come to us from the Prophet?”
His opponent:
“The proof is well established on your side; we must accept narrations from the Messenger of Allah. I now believe that it is compulsory upon Muslims to accept narrations from the Prophet...”
The advent of the second century saw the emergence of those who rejected the validity of the Sunnah as a source of Islamic legislation, of those who rejected non-Muatawaatir narrations (i.e., Ahad narrations), and of those who rejected those hadiths that either did not explain what is in the Qur’an or did not affirm what is in the Qur’an: in other words, those hadiths that legislated independent rulings that are not found in the Qur’an.
Based on what we know, the first to write about such groups was Imam Ash-Shafi’ee (rahimahullah). In al-Umm, he dedicated a chapter to given an account of a debate that took place between him and a man who denied the legislative authority of hadiths. Shafi’ee relates the debate in the form of a dialogue, first beginning with his opponent who supposedly was a learned man.
His opponent:
“You are an Arab, and the Qur’an was revealed in your tongue... If one were to doubt a single letter of the Qur’an, you would ask him to repent, and if he had repented, you would have left him alone; but if he had not, you would have killed him. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“...as an exposition of everything...”
(Qur’an, 16: 89)
So then how does it become permissible for you or for anyone else to say that a command is general one time and specific another time? And for the most part, your rulings have thus differed because of a hadith that you relate from one man who has related from another... And I have found that you as well as those of your school do not deny that those to whom you give precedence for their veracity and memory could possibly forget or make a mistake in their hadiths. I have often found you saying, ‘Such and such person made a mistake in such and such hadith’, Is it correct to distinguish between different commands of the Qur’an, when their apparent meaning (i.e., that they impart a command) is one? In spite of your description of certain narrators, you place their narrations at the same level as Allah’s Book, and you allow (certain matters) based on those narrations and forbid (others) based on them as well.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“We rule based on certainty of knowledge, on authentic narrations, and on analogy: though some are stronger than others, we rule based on all of the above... For example, in a court case, we issue a ruling based on a man’s confession, based upon proof (i.e., for the most part, witnesses), or finally, based on an oath. If any of the above proofs are established, we issue a ruling, yet they vary in their strength.”
His opponent:
“You accept that which narrators inform you of, yet you even acknowledge possible faults in them; what is your proof, then, against those who reject such narrations? Because of the possibility of error, I accept nothing from them. I only accept... Allah’s book, which no can have doubts about, not even about a single letter. Can something have the same weight as sure knowledge, though that something does not reach its level?”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
When one has knowledge of Arabic and of the Qur’an which was revealed in that tongue, that knowledge will make it binding upon him to accept the narrations of truthful people regarding the Messenger of Allah. (Next Imam Ash-Shafi’ee began mentioning proofs to back up his statement).
Allah says:
He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger (Muhammad
from among themselves, reciting to them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief and polytheism), and teaching them the Book (this Quran, Islamic laws and Islamic jurisprudence) and Al-Hikmah (wisdom).(Qur’an, 62: 2)
His opponent:
“We know that ‘the Book’ is Allah’s Book, but what is the Hikmah?
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah
.His opponent:
“It is possible that ‘the Book’ is the Qur’an in general, whereas the Hikmah is specific, and refers to its rulings.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“You mean that Allah has clarified his commands to them in a general way – commands such as the Prayer, Zakat, Hajj, and so on. These matters He clarified in His Book, yet He clarified their rulings and details on the tongue of His Prophet.
His opponent:
“That is indeed possible!”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“If you accept that, then you accept what I said earlier, which means that you will not arrive at those detailed rulings except through narrations from the Messenger of Allah.
His opponent:
“Unless one takes the view of repetition in speech (i.e., that ‘the Book’ and the Hikmah have one meaning – the Qur’an).”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“When you say, ‘The Book and the Hikmah’, which is more probable, that they represent two things or one thing?”
His opponent:
“It is possible that they refer to two matters, as you have said – the Qur’an and the Sunnah. And it is also possible that they signify one and the same thing.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“What you first said is more likely to be correct, and in the Qur’an is proof for what we said, proof that invalidates your view:
His opponent:
“Where?”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
Allah says:
And remember (O you members of the Prophet’s family) what is recited in your houses of the verses of Allah and wisdom. Indeed, Allah is ever Subtle and Acquainted [with all things].
(Qur’an 33: 34)
He informs us that two matters are recited in the home.”
His opponent:
“I understand that the Qur’an is recited, but how is the Hikmah recited?”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“The meaning of ‘that which is recited’ here is that both the Qur’an and the Sunnah are articulated.”
His oppenent:
“Yes, more than your previous argument, this more clearly shows that the Hikmah is not the Qur’an.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“Allah commanded us to follow and obey His Prophet
.”His opponent:
“Where?”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“Allah says:
But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad
) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.(Qur’an 4: 65)
Allah also says:
He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad
), has indeed obeyed Allah...(Qur’an 4: 80)
And Allah says:
And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad
) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.(Qur’an 24: 63)
His opponent:
“It is clear then that the Hikmah is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“Allah ordered us to obey the Prophet’s commands:
...And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad
) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)...(Qur’an 59: 7)
His opponent:
“It is clear in revelation that we must follow what the Prophet commanded us to do and abstain from what he forbade us from doing.”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“Is that obligation equally binding on us, on those who came before us, and on those who will come after us?”
His opponent:
“Yes!”
Imam Ash-Shafi’ee:
“As regards those who did not meet the Prophet but who came after him, do you not see that they can follow the commands of the Prophet only through narrations about him that have been passed on?”
Ask yourself this:
“Knowing that certain parts of the Qur’an abrogate other parts, how can we achieve knowledge of such matters except through reports that come to us from the Prophet?”
His opponent:
“The proof is well established on your side; we must accept narrations from the Messenger of Allah. I now believe that it is compulsory upon Muslims to accept narrations from the Prophet...”