Allah intended to convey His message to humankind through His prophets. This approach facilitated a more effective transmission of the divine message, thereby ensuring a more profound comprehension among people. It is clearly stated in the Qur'an: “Indeed, Allah has done the believers a great favor by raising a messenger from among them” (Ali ‘Imran, 3:164). In this context, the concept of Allah’s favor towards humanity encompasses His benevolence, mercy and assistance. The concept of benevolence, compassion, and assistance are embodied through the Prophet, who conveyed the Qur'an to people, imparted its teachings, elucidated its principles, and exemplified its application, thereby providing guidance to humanity. The Prophet's teachings and lifestyle are known as his Sunnah, which is defined as the explanation and practice of the Holy Qur'an. This situation is similar to the status of constitutions, laws and regulations within the legal system. Just as laws are explanatory and complementary to the constitution, so the Sunnah is to the Qur'an. Without laws, the interpretation and application of the constitution would become subject to debate. The same can be said of the relationship between the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In the absence of the Sunnah, understanding and applying the Qur'an would be difficult or controversial in numerous instances. In this context, we can summarise the relationship between the Qur'an and the Sunnah under three main categories.
1- The Sunnah confirms the Qur’an
Some of the words of the Prophet are almost identical in meaning to the verses of the Qur'an, articulated in the Prophet's own words. These elements do not add to the interpretation of the verse, nor do they provide an explanatory perspective. Instead, they serve to reinforce the fundamental message of the verse. For example, the hadith, “Fear Allah in regard to women” (Abu Dawud, “al-Manasik”, 56) reinforces the meaning of the verse, “Treat them fairly” (an-Nisa, 4:19). Both sources command that women's rights not be violated and prohibit mistreating thema.
The hadith, “A Muslim's property is forbidden for others except by his permission and consent.” (Ahmed b. Hanbal, al-Musnad, V, 72), supports the verse, “O believers! Do not devour one another’s wealth illegally, but rather trade by mutual consent.” (an-Nisa, 4:29). In both sources, the earning of income through lawful means, such as trade based on mutual consent, is permitted, while unlawful means of the earning of income are prohibited. In both cases, the hadiths merely emphasize the meaning of the verse without adding any supplementary regulations. The Sunnah's re-emphasizing and reinforcing of a principle found in the Qur'an constitutes an aspect of the Prophet's duty of guidance and admonition, that is, to guide people and warn them by teaching and reminding them of religious principles.
2- The Sunnah explains and teaches the Qur’an
The primary responsibility of the Prophet was to convey the Qur’an and then provide guidance to the ummah on its interpretation and application in practice. Indeed, this matter is expressed in the Qur'an with the verse, “ [We sent them] with clear proofs and written ordinances. And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.” (an-Nahl, 16:44) For this reason, it is evident that our Prophet made various explanations regarding the meanings of the verses of the Qur'an. Without these explanations, it would not be possible to correctly understand and live by the relevant verses.
The nature of the explanatory duty entrusted to the Prophet is described in another verse as follows: “He is the One Who raised for the illiterate people a messenger from among themselves—reciting to them His revelations, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom,…” (al-Jumu’ah, 62:2) It is noteworthy that this verse encompasses not only the act of conveying the verses to people through recitation, but also the purification of the individuals and teaching them the Book and wisdom as they are among the Prophet's duties. So how did the Prophet fulfill the duty of teaching the Qur’an and wisdom? Let us explain this with some examples...
The Qur'an commands believers to pray, give zakat, prostrate, and bow. The Prophet, however, provides comprehensive instruction on the times of prayer, the number of rak'ahs, that there is one bow and two prostrations in each rak'ah, and how to perform the prostration and bow. The properties subject to zakat, the amount of zakat to be given from each properties, and who is obliged to pay zakat are learned from the Prophet, that is, from the Sunnah. The Qur'an commands, “O believers! When the call to prayer is made on Friday, then proceed diligently to the remembrance of Allah and leave off your business. ” (al-Jumu’ah, 62:9) The Sunnah teaches that this call is made at noon on Fridays and that remembering Allah is done by performing two rak'ahs of prayer in congregation. In other words, matters such as the time of Friday prayer and how it is to be performed are explained and taught by the Sunnah. The Qur'an commands us to take a ritual bath (gusul) and to be clean (An-Nisa, 4:43; Al-Ma’idah, 5:6). Nevertheless, it was the Prophet who taught in great detail how to be clean or perform gusul. This guidance is part of the Prophet's duty of irshad and tezkir, that is, guiding people and warning them by teaching and reminding them of the principles of religion.
The Sunnah introduces exceptions to the general rulings found in some verses. For example, the Qur'an prohibits the consumption of meat from animals that have died naturally (murdar) (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:173), but the Sunnah exempts fish from this ruling.
The Sunnah's explanation of the Qur’an can sometimes clarify the rulings. For instance, the Qur'an commands that inheritance be distributed after the will is fulfilled (an-Nisa, 4:11), while the Sunnah specifies that the will cannot exceed one-third of the estate.
3- The Sunnah introduces rulings that are not explicitly stated in the Qur’an
Some rulings of religion are not found in the Qur'an at all, but are determined only by the Sunnah. The prohibition of eating the meat of predatory animals with canine teeth, birds of prey, and donkeys; the obligation of the witr prayer and fitr-alms; the prohibition of men wearing silk and gold; the prohibition of women praying and fasting during their menstrual period; funeral prayers; eid prayers; and numerous other significant religious rulings are not found in the Qur'an. The Sunnah has established a set of independent rulings on these matters, separate from the content of the Qur’an.
The examples we have mentioned actually demonstrate that a significant part of the rulings of our religion have been derived from the Sunnah of our Prophet. The Prophet's teachings on understanding and living the Qur'an were passed on to subsequent generations through hadiths. Therefore, in order to understand and live the principles found in the Qur'an in the most accurate way in the areas of faith, worship, morality, and law, it has become imperative to refer to the Sunnah of the Prophet and, consequently, to the hadiths.
Note: This article constitutes a component of a broad-perspective study conducted by the Meridyen Association, for the benefit of Muslims, particularly in the context of hadith, sunnah and related subjects. The issues addressed were discussed in detail by a group of experts in their respective fields, and each article was written independently by the relevant author. The following researchers were consulted for this study: Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yücel, Prof. Dr. Ayşe Esra Şahyar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatma Kızıl, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rahile Kızılkaya Yılmaz, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Tekin, and Dr. Betül Yılmazörnek.
Translated by Merve Tosun.
