Hikma ≠ Sunnah

Another common argument is that when it is stated that the messenger delivered the scripture (Kitab) and wisdom (Hikma), the Hikma is implying the Sunnah.

The word Hik’ma ( الْحِكْمَة ), which is typically translated as wisdom throughout the Quran, is almost always mentioned in association with the scripture (kitab) (See: 2:129, 2:151, 2:231, 3:48, 3:81, 3:164, 4:54, 4:113, 5:110, 6:89, 45:16, 62:2).

[2:129] “Our Lord, and raise among them a messenger to recite to them Your revelations, teach them the scripture and wisdom, and purify them. You are the Almighty, Most Wise.”

رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

If we accept the traditionalist’s interpretation that the Hikma is something other than the Quran, then this would mean that God’s word does not contain wisdom. Such implications would be comically absurd. When we study the Quran, we see that Hikma is not something external to the Quran but something contained within the Quran.

[36:2] And the Quran full of wisdom (l-ḥakīmi).

(٢) وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ

[3:58] These are the revelations that we recite to you, providing the Reminder full of wisdom.

(٥٨) ذَٰلِكَ نَتْلُوهُ عَلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ وَٱلذِّكْرِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ

[43:1] H. M. [43:2] And the enlightening scripture. [43:3] We have rendered it an Arabic Quran, that you may understand. [43:4] It is preserved with us in the original master, honorable and full of wisdom.

(١) حم (٢) وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ (٣) إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ (٤) وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ

[10:1] A. L. R. These (letters) are the proofs of this book of wisdom.

(١) الر تِلكَ آياتُ الكِتابِ الحَكيمِ

Despite the Quran clearly stating those who rule according to other than God's revelations are disbelievers (5:44), unjust (5:45), and wicked (5:47), later Muslims, starting with Imam Shafi'i (767-820 CE, 150-204 AH) created this narrative that the Hadith is Divine Revelation (wahi). He did this by reinterpreting the word Hikma used in the Quran to claim that this was in reference to the Hadith, except prior to him and his contemporaries, none of the scholars held this understanding.

In the book Hadith As Scripture: Discussions on the Authority of Prophetic Traditions in Islam, by Aisha Y. Musa, on page 41, it states:

Up to this point, al-Shafi'i has relied primarily on interpretation of Qur’anic verses to convince his adversary of the obligation to accept the authority of the Hadith. The interpretation of hikma as Sunna is central to al-Shafi'i’s argument. In examining Qur’an commentaries that predate or are contemporary with al-Shafi'i in his work in the Risala, where he presents the same line of argument, Lowry finds that with the exception of Abd al-Razzaq’s [d. 827 CE / 211 AH] commentary on 33:34, no one interprets the word hikma as sunna. My own investigation of early Qur’an commentaries reveals much the same thing. However, the commentary of Hud ibn Mumakkam does address the question of hikma and sunna. Hud ibn Mumakkam was a Kharijite commentator who lived during the middle or late third/ninth century. Commenting on verses such as 62:2, which mention “the Book and the Wisdom,” he says: “Some of them say the Book is the Qur’an and the Wisdom is the Sunna.” The wording that ibn Mumakkam uses suggests that there was disagreement about the interpretation of hikma as sunna in the generations following al-Shafi'i. This, together with the paucity of earlier evidence for that idea, suggests that it was not a common interpretation before al-Shafi'i’s careful and forceful articulation.

Aside from Shafi'i's argument, it is clear that historically, prior to Shafi'i, most scholars of their time did not treat the Hadith as divine law but, at best, as a just opinion that should be taken into consideration in rulings.

A prime example of the evolving attitudes toward Hadith can be seen in the practices of early Islamic scholars and founders of major schools of thought. Abu Hanifa (697-767 CE, 80-150 AH), for instance, was known for his minimal use of Hadith, a point that later Sunni scholars frequently criticized. Similarly, Malik ibn Anas (711-795 CE, 93-179 AH) also demonstrated less reliance on Hadith compared to later scholars. According to page 26 of the book “Hadith Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World,” by Jonathan Brown, it states:

The version of the Muwatta that became famous in North Africa and Andalusia contains 1,720 reports. Of these, however, only 527 are Prophetic hadiths; 613 are statements of the Companions, 285 are from Successors, and the rest are Malik’s own opinions.
Muhamad Abd al-Rauf, ‘Hadith Literature – 1:Development of the Science of Hadith,’ p. 273; Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali al-Qabisi, Muwatta’ al-imam Malik

But if Muhammad was the ultimate interpreter of God’s will as was understood in later generations of Sunnis, why would a scholar like Imam Malik so infrequently rely on his words in a mussannaf collection for his legal rulings? This shows that they did not treat the prophet's words as divine revelation. This is even perfectly encompassed in their own Hadith.

Narrated Abu Juhaifa: I asked Ali, "Do you have the knowledge of any Divine Inspiration (wahi) besides what is in Allah's Book?" Ali replied, "No, by Him Who splits the grain of corn and creates the soul. I don't think we have such knowledge, but we have the ability of understanding which Allah may endow a person with, so that he may understand the Qur'an, and we have what is written in this paper as well." I asked, "What is written in this paper?" He replied, "(The regulations of) blood-money, the freeing of captives, and the judgment that no Muslim should be killed for killing an infidel."

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ، حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرٌ، حَدَّثَنَا مُطَرِّفٌ، أَنَّ عَامِرًا، حَدَّثَهُمْ عَنْ أَبِي جُحَيْفَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِعَلِيٍّ ـ رضى الله عنه هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ شَىْءٌ مِنَ الْوَحْىِ إِلاَّ مَا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ قَالَ وَالَّذِي فَلَقَ الْحَبَّةَ وَبَرَأَ النَّسَمَةَ مَا أَعْلَمُهُ إِلاَّ فَهْمًا يُعْطِيهِ اللَّهُ رَجُلاً فِي الْقُرْآنِ، وَمَا فِي هَذِهِ الصَّحِيفَةِ‏.‏ قُلْتُ وَمَا فِي الصَّحِيفَةِ قَالَ الْعَقْلُ وَفَكَاكُ الأَسِيرِ، وَأَنْ لاَ يُقْتَلَ مُسْلِمٌ بِكَافِرٍ‏.‏

Sahih al-Bukhari 3047 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3047

Narrated AbdulAziz bin Rufai': Shaddad bin Ma'qil and I entered upon Ibn `Abbas. Shaddad bin Ma'qil asked him, "Did the Prophet (ﷺ) leave anything (besides the Qur'an)?" He replied. "He did not leave anything except what is Between the two bindings (of the Qur'an)." Then we visited Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyya and asked him (the same question). He replied, "The Prophet (ﷺ) did not leave except what is between the bindings (of the Qur'an).

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ بْنِ رُفَيْعٍ، قَالَ دَخَلْتُ أَنَا وَشَدَّادُ بْنُ مَعْقِلٍ، عَلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رضى الله عنهما فَقَالَ لَهُ شَدَّادُ بْنُ مَعْقِلٍ أَتَرَكَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْ شَىْءٍ قَالَ مَا تَرَكَ إِلاَّ مَا بَيْنَ الدَّفَّتَيْنِ‏.‏ قَالَ وَدَخَلْنَا عَلَى مُحَمَّدِ ابْنِ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ فَسَأَلْنَاهُ فَقَالَ مَا تَرَكَ إِلاَّ مَا بَيْنَ الدَّفَّتَيْنِ‏.‏

Sahih al-Bukhari 5019 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5019

Even in the Hadith attributed to the prophet by Bukhari, he informs his followers what to do if they disagree regarding an interpretation of the Quran, and the answer was not to consult his Hadith or Sunnah.

Narrated Jundab bin `Abdullah: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Recite (and study) the Qur'an as long as you are in agreement as to its interpretation and meanings, but when you have differences regarding its interpretation and meanings, then you should stop reciting it (for the time being.) (See Hadith No 581, Vol. 6)

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ، عَنْ سَلاَّمِ بْنِ أَبِي مُطِيعٍ، عَنْ أَبِي عِمْرَانَ الْجَوْنِيِّ، عَنْ جُنْدَبِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ اقْرَءُوا الْقُرْآنَ مَا ائْتَلَفَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ فَإِذَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فَقُومُوا عَنْهُ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْد اللَّهِ سَمِعَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ سَلَّامًا.

Sahih al-Bukhari 7364 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7364

Further Reading