Date : 20-10-2009

Question :

Some people claim that if the Prophetic Hadiths don`t agree with the Quran, then they shouldn`t be acted upon. Is this true?


The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.



In principle, there is no contradiction between the authentic Hadiths and the Glorious Quran because both come from one source, and that is Allah, The Almighty; therefore, contradiction is impossible.



If some claim that contradiction exists, then it is due to their own understanding. Had they traced what the righteous predecessors said in this regard, they would have found no contradiction at all. Muslim scholars have their own ways in bringing the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah together. This can be found in the books about the fundamentals of jurisprudence.



The following are some of these ways:



First: The Sunnah (Prophetic Tradition) clarifies matters that the Quran hasn`t made clear, as it did with the rules pertaining to prayer and pilgrimage (Hajj). Second: The Sunnah limits the absolute which is mentioned in the Quran, thus if the Quranic text is absolute ; whereas, that same text is limited in the Sunnah, then the Sunnah limits the absolute or specifies the general mentioned in the Quran.



Through these ways the contradiction is resolved. For more details on this issue, please refer to books about the fundamentals of jurisprudence under the title: "Contradiction and Preponderance". And Allah Knows Best.