Why Was the Sunnah Not Recorded as the Qur’an Was Recorded?
Why Was the Sunnah Not Recorded as the Qur’an Was Recorded?
Many Orientalists in recent times succeeded in influencing the minds of some Muslims. These Muslims were deceived by their writings and studies about Islam, thinking that they were based on objectivity, neutrality, fairness, and impartiality in scientific research.
In reality, they followed in their footsteps and repeated claims for which no evidence was established. Some even added further claims of their own. All of these people spewed their poison in the name of research, knowledge, and freedom of criticism, while being far from true knowledge, sound research, and honest criticism.
Thus, the writings of this group of Orientalist students and followers about Islam in general, and the Prophetic Hadith in particular, were no less than the Orientalists’ writings — if not worse — in raising doubts and casting suspicion on the sources of Islamic law. These writings were, in reality, nothing but a mirror and echo of Orientalist ideas that they had absorbed and repeated.
The Rise of the “Qur’an Alone” Claim
Among those who called for abandoning the Hadith and relying only on the Qur’an was Dr. Tawfiq Sidqi. He wrote two articles in Al-Manar magazine entitled:
“Islam is the Qur’an Alone.”
He was followed by Ahmad Amin in his book The Dawn of Islam, where he devoted a special chapter to ideas and opinions about Hadith. These views, in their entirety, did not depart from Orientalist claims, although he did not attribute them to the Orientalists.
After them came Mahmoud Abu Rayya, who wrote his book Lights on the Muhammadan Sunnah. In it, he published allegations and accusations against the Prophetic Hadith. He mixed together the claims of earlier Orientalists and the claims of Muslims who followed their path. His book became a mixture of different opinions designed to cast doubt on the Prophetic Hadith and its narrators, and to present the Sunnah as different, contradictory, and distorted.
Their purpose was to cast doubt on the Prophetic Hadith as the second source of Islamic legislation. They attacked the authority of the Sunnah and raised doubts about it so that Muslims would abandon acting upon it.
The Doubt: Why Was the Sunnah Not Preserved Like the Qur’an?
“If the Sunnah were necessary, Allah would have preserved it as He preserved the Qur’an in His saying: {Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and will preserve it}, and the Prophet ﷺ would have ordered its writing down as he ordered the writing down of the Qur’an.”
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will preserve it.”
They also say regarding the hadith:
“Behold, I have been given the Qur’an and something like it with it.”
Their objection is:
“If this hadith were authentic, the Prophet ﷺ would not have forbidden the writing down of the Sunnah, and he would have ordered it to be written down as the Qur’an was written down. It is not possible for him to leave half of what was revealed to him among the people without writing it down. Otherwise, he would not have conveyed the message and delivered the trust in full. Why did the Companions leave half of the revelation and not write it down? By neglecting it, they all become sinners.”
This is the doubt being answered.
The Response: Allah Preserved the Shariah Without Burdening the Ummah Beyond Its Capacity
Just as Allah Almighty wanted this Shariah to remain and be preserved, He also wanted not to burden His servants with preserving it beyond what they could bear, nor to place them in great hardship.
The Arabs were an illiterate nation. Scribes were rare among them, and writing tools were scarce. The Qur’an itself was written on palm fronds, bones, and skins.
The Prophet ﷺ lived among his Companions for twenty-three years after the beginning of his mission. To require the writing of the entire Sunnah would have been extremely difficult and arduous. The Sunnah includes all of his sayings, actions, conditions, and approvals.
This task would have required a large number of Companions to devote themselves entirely to writing. Yet the Companions also had their own needs, livelihoods, struggles, and duties. Not all of them were skilled in writing. Rather, those who could write were few individuals.
For this reason, the focus of the scribes from among the Companions was placed on writing the Qur’an and nothing else, so that they could transmit it to those after them complete, precise, and without a single missing letter.
Why the Qur’an Was Prioritized in Writing
The obligation was limited to writing down what was revealed of the Qur’an gradually, until the entire Qur’an was collected in written pages.
One major reason was the fear of confusion among ordinary Muslims. The Qur’an could have become mixed with other material, especially in the early period when revelation had not yet been completed.
The concern was not that the Sunnah had no authority. The concern was that the Qur’an, while still being revealed and collected, had to remain distinct and protected from being mixed with anything else.
This was one of the important reasons that prevented the general writing of the Sunnah in the earliest period.
The Sunnah Was Not at Risk in the Same Way as the Qur’an
The preservers of the Sunnah during the era of the Companions did not experience the same crisis that occurred with the preservers of the Qur’an.
Many of the Qur’an memorizers from the Companions were killed. This created a serious concern that the Qur’an needed to be gathered and preserved in written form.
As for the Sunnah, the Companions who narrated hadith from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were many, and large-scale killing did not happen to them before the Successors received the Sunnah from them.
Therefore, the method of preserving the Qur’an and the method of preserving the Sunnah differed according to the nature of each source and the circumstances surrounding its transmission.
The Sunnah Was Too Vast to Be Collected Completely at Once
Another reason is that the Sunnah was extremely broad in its events and incidents. It was not realistically possible to collect all of it with certainty during the Prophet’s lifetime in the same manner as the Qur’an.
If the Companions had collected only what they could, this may have caused later people to reject anything they missed, assuming that the written collection represented the entire Sunnah.
If an early written collection of Sunnah had been treated as complete, later generations may have rejected authentic reports that were not included in it. This would have harmed the preservation of the Sunnah rather than helped it.
Another issue is that collecting the Sunnah into books before the Qur’an had been firmly established could have caused some people to turn toward those books and neglect the Qur’an. For this reason, the Companions were content with spreading the Sunnah through narration, alongside some private writings.
The Qur’an and Sunnah Differ in Their Nature
The Qur’an differs from the Sunnah in several important ways.
The Qur’an is recited as an act of worship. It is miraculous in its arrangement. It is not permissible to narrate it by meaning. Its exact revealed wording must be preserved.
If the Qur’an had been left only to memory, there would be no guarantee that a letter would not be added, removed, or replaced.
The Sunnah, however, is primarily intended for its meaning, not necessarily its exact wording in every case. Allah did not command creation to recite it as an act of worship, nor did He challenge mankind with its arrangement. It is permissible to narrate the Sunnah by meaning, and narration by meaning made its preservation and transmission easier for the Ummah.
The Qur’an must be preserved in exact wording because its recitation itself is worship and its wording is miraculous. The Sunnah is preserved in meaning and legal authority, and narration by meaning is permitted when done by qualified transmitters.
This distinction explains why the Qur’an and Sunnah were preserved through different methods, without implying that the Sunnah was neglected.
The Prophet ﷺ Conveyed the Entire Religion
The Prophet ﷺ conveyed the entire religion. Allah Himself testified to this conveyance.
“O Messenger, convey that which has been revealed to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people.”
The existence of the Sunnah among the Ummah alongside the Noble Qur’an is the clearest indication that the Messenger ﷺ conveyed it to his nation.
Therefore, he did not neglect half of what Allah revealed to him, as the claimants allege.
Rather, everyone knows that the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, had strong memories, aware hearts, and great intelligence. These qualities helped them preserve the Sunnah and convey it as they heard it.
The Prophet ﷺ Encouraged Preservation and Transmission
The Prophet ﷺ urged his Companions to hear, memorize, preserve, and transmit his statements.
“May Allah brighten the face of a man who hears a statement from me, memorizes it, and conveys it as he heard it, for there may be one who conveys knowledge to someone more understanding than himself.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others.
Thus, what the Prophet ﷺ wanted regarding the preservation and conveyance of the Sunnah was accomplished. By doing this, he conveyed the religion of Allah Almighty in full and did not omit anything from it.
Conclusion
The Prophet ﷺ conveyed the religion completely. The Companions did not neglect the Sunnah. Rather, they preserved it according to the capacity, circumstances, and wisdom Allah placed in this Ummah.
References
- Al-Manar Magazine, 9/515.
- Mahmoud Abu Rayya, Lights on the Muhammadan Sunnah.