Page 88 - The Importance of the Ahl Al-Sunnah
P. 88
HARUN YAHYA
the Qur’an alone. Therefore, one should look into the Sunnah,
which was revealed together with the Qur’an, for the Prophet
(saas) inferred this through his own ijtihad and Allah (swt)
approved it. There is no other way.
If the Sunnah were not a proof (the source for rulings), then
it would be unreliable for any scholar to look into it and draw
support from it. In that event, nobody would understand their
exact responsibilities, rulings would disappear, and obligations
would be cancelled.
It is impossible for scholars (mujtahid) to act alone and
according to their personal opinions on this matter, because
the Qur’an is at the highest level of miraculous inimitability
(i`jaz). Due to its eloquence alone, it contains many secondary
meanings, secrets, and treasure troves of knowledge that only
Allah (swt) knows.
The Prophet (saas) expounds the Qur’an, and no one can
devise rulings based only on it. In fact, explaining the Qur’an is
one of his duties. In the Qur’an our Almighty Lord says:
It is not devoutness to turn your faces to the East or to
the West. Rather, those with true devoutness are
those who have iman in Allah and the Last Day, the
Angels, the Book and the prophets, and who, despite
their love for it, give away their wealth to their rela-
tives and to orphans and the very poor, and to travel-
ers and beggars and to set slaves free, and who estab-
lish salat and pay zakat; those who honor their con-
tracts when they make them, and are steadfast in pov-
erty and illness and in battle. Those are the people
who are true. They are the people who have taqwa.
(Surat al-Baqara, 177)
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