Quranism: Difference between revisions

Within [[Islam]] the two largest sects are the [[Sunni]]s (up to 90%)<ref name="rl"></ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/295507/Islam Islām] - Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/574006/Sunnite Sunnite] - Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)</ref><ref name="pew">[http://pewforum.org/Muslim/Mapping-the-Global-Muslim-Population%286%29.aspx Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population] - Pew Research Center, October 7, 2009</ref><ref name="pew2">Tracy Miller - [http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/Muslimpopulation/Muslimpopulation.pdf Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population] - Pew Research Center, October 2009</ref> and [[Shiites|Shi'ite]]s (approximately 10-20%).<ref name="rl">[http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm Comparison of Sunni and Shia Islam] - ReligionFacts</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540503/Shiite Shīʿite] - Encyclopædia Britannica Online (2010)</ref><ref name="pew"></ref><ref name="pew2"></ref> Together they make up almost the entirety of Islam. However, there is a small but growing group, considered heretics by the others, who are collectively known as "Qur'anists" (also referred to as ''Quraniyoon'', ''Ahle Quran'', or by their critics, ''hadith rejectors''). They reject the [[Hadith]] (oral traditions) and the [[Sunnah]] (example) of [[Muhammad]], an integral part of Islam, and are viewed by mainstream Islam in much the same way as the Jehovah's Witnesses are viewed by mainstream Christianity (i.e. Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox etc). Their views have some similarities with those of ''modernist'' or ''progressive'' Muslims, who do not reject hadiths entirely, but draw on modern academic scholarship in taking a historical-critical view of the hadith corpus as well as skepticism towards traditional interpretations and jurisprudence.

==Problems with Quranism==

This verse somewhat begs the question of what, exactly, it is that the Messenger commands, since the Qur'anists themselves subscribe to the idea that the Qur'an is the word of [[Allah (God)]] himself and not just Muhammad's inspired word. The Qur’an also commands Muslims to follow the Messenger’s example, yet the only place this example is established is in the Sunnah. Without the Hadith, one cannot know Muhammad. Without knowing Muhammad, there is no [[Uswa Hasana]]. Doubting the hadith thus opens up multiple lines of doubt about entirety of Islam. If one rejects the hadiths, that in-turn rejects Islam as a system by going against the orders of the Qur'an and, in the eyes of most Muslims, renders the rejecter an apostate/murtad/kafir (whichever may apply). Ultimately, to remain faithful to Allah and the Qur'an in the traditional sense, there is no alternative to the Sunnah of the prophet as embodied in the hadith.

Islam means [[The Meaning of Islam|submission]] (contrary to popular belief that it means ''peace''), and more specifically it means ''submission to the will of Allah.'' Qur'an-only Muslims believe that the Qur'an clearly defines what exactly Allah's will is. But the case is not so clear.

For one thing, the Qur'an is full of [[Contradictions in the Quran|contradictory verses]] and commands; sometimes commanding believers to seek out and kill pagans ({{Quran|9|5}}), other times commanding Muslims to leave pagans to practice their polytheistic religions in peace ({{Quran|109|1-6}}). Without the Hadith and the Sirah to give context to the [[Asbab al-Nuzul (Revelational Circumstances of the Quran)]] , the doctrine of [[Abrogation (Naskh)|Abrogation]] becomes untenable as there exists no clear timeline of which verses were revealed at which time and the Qur'an itself provides little to no evidence in this regard. The pacifist can decide to take from it a peaceful message by deliberately ignoring or twisting violent verses whereas the sadist can easily interpret a violent message by focusing on such verses as are found in Surah 9.  Both Muslims could be selectively justified by the Qur'an because of its contradictory messages from [[Chronological_Order_of_the_Qur'an|Muhammad-in-Mecca versus Muhammad-in-Medina]].

If one rejects the Hadith (ie. Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud), the Tafsir (e.g. Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abbas, al-Jalalayn, Maududi), and the History (ie. al-Tabari, Ibn Sa'd, al-Waqidi, Ibn Ishaq), then the entire historical context of the Qur'an, along with proof of Muhammad's existence is lost. It simply becomes an ancient Arabic document of partially incoherent, repetitive, and often-times confusing statements and commands. The reader is left with such questions as: "Who wrote this and why?" and "Who is Abu Lahab, and why are he and his wife going to be tortured?" and "Why don't these stories match the ones found in the Bible?" and "Who is [[Isa|'Isa]]?".  

The often-levelled charge by the Qur'an-only sects that "Sunni's and Shi'ite's are following a deviant form of Islam by introducing these man-made books," is also questionable, considering most of the narrators of hadith are the very same people who passed down the Qur'an itself. The first Muslims ([[Sahabah]]- companions of Muhammad, which include all four [[Caliph|Rightly Guided Caliphs]]) who partook in the Hijra to [[Medina]], ''were not'' Qur'an-only Muslims as far as we can tell, nor the generation of Muslims that followed the death of Muhammad (the [[Tabi'un]]). As far back as the Rashidun Caliphs, the idea of "Sunnah" was salient although this idea changed rapidly in the first centuries of Islam. Recording and sorting through these narrations in written form was to codify and clarify already existing beliefs - though admittedly much later than the time of Muhammad, with the majority of compilations recorded in the 9th century (for a history on this, see the Britannica entry on [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hadith Hadith]), leading to many [[Mawdu' (Fabricated) and Daif (Weak) Hadiths|Mawdu' (Fabricated) and Da'if (Weak) Hadiths]] being recorded.