Sunnis Use Hadith & Sunnah As Sources of Law
TLDR: Sunnis have created a secondary source of law called Hadith and Sunnah that God never authorized. Much like the Jews they believe that in addition to the Written Law found in the Quran, the prophet also received and Oral Law which they also consider God's revelations. They even will take the Hadith and Sunnah over the rulings found in the Quran.
If someone takes a source of religious law from anyone other than God, they elevate that entity to the status of an idol. This idea is rooted in the Quran, where it explicitly warns:
[6:121] Do not eat from that upon which the name of GOD has not been mentioned, for it is an abomination. The devils inspire their allies to argue with you; if you obey them, you will be idol worshipers.
(١٢١) وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا۟ مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَفِسْقٌ وَإِنَّ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآئِهِمْ لِيُجَـٰدِلُوكُمْ وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ
The Quran consistently declares itself to be complete, fully detailed, and the only legitimate source of religious law (6:114-115). Furthermore, it warns that agents of the devils fabricate attractive and convincing words to mislead those who harbor doubts about God's revelations (6:112-113). Tragically, the Quran predicts that the majority of people will succumb to these deceptions, abandoning the Quran for conjecture and other sources (6:116, 25:27-30).
For a devout adherent to the Quran and a sincere follower of the Prophet Muhammad, two key reasons emerge for relying exclusively on the Quran as the sole source of religious law while rejecting all other Hadith. First, obedience to any other source undermines God's words, effectively committing idolatry. Second, the Quran itself explicitly warns against being deceived by fabricated doctrines based on conjecture, urging believers to remain steadfast in their reliance on God's word alone. These principles guide true monotheists to uphold the Quran as their singular and ultimate authority.
Hadith Has No Authority
To expand on the first point, the primary reason is that the Hadith corpus has no authority in the religion and is condemned by name in the Quran.
[45:6] These are GOD’s revelations that we recite to you truthfully. In which Hadith other than GOD and His revelations do they believe?
تِلْكَ ءَايَـٰتُ ٱللَّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِٱلْحَقِّ فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍۭ بَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ وَءَايَـٰتِهِۦ يُؤْمِنُونَ
[77:50] Which Hadith, other than this, do they uphold?
فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍۭ بَعْدَهُۥ يُؤْمِنُونَ
[31:6] Among the people, there are those who uphold baseless Hadith, and thus divert others from the path of GOD without knowledge, and take it in vain. These have incurred a shameful retribution.
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِى لَهْوَ ٱلْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
[6:114] Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.
[6:115] The word of your Lord is complete, in truth and justice. Nothing shall abrogate His words. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.
أَفَغَيْرَ ٱللَّهِ أَبْتَغِى حَكَمًا وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مُفَصَّلًا وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُۥ مُنَزَّلٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ بِٱلْحَقِّ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْمُمْتَرِينَ
وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا لَّا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِهِۦ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
Hadith Lacks Authenticity
The secondary reason for rejecting Hadith is their inherent inauthenticity, rendering the entire corpus highly unreliable. By their very nature, Hadith are based on conjecture (zann / ظَّنَّ) and lack any degree of certainty. Unlike the Quran, which is preserved and guaranteed by God as the ultimate source of truth, Hadith rely on human transmission over many generations, making them susceptible to fabrication, error, and misinterpretation. This lack of reliability undermines their credibility as a source of religious law, reinforcing the necessity for believers to rely solely on the Quran for guidance.
[6:116] If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of GOD. They follow only conjecture (l-ẓana); they only guess.
وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ
[6:148] The idol worshipers say, “Had GOD willed, we would not practice idolatry, nor would our parents, nor would we prohibit anything.” Thus did those before them disbelieve, until they incurred our retribution. Say, “Do you have any proven knowledge that you can show us? You follow nothing but conjecture (zann); you only guess.”
سَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا۟ لَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَآ أَشْرَكْنَا وَلَآ ءَابَآؤُنَا وَلَا حَرَّمْنَا مِن شَىْءٍ كَذَٰلِكَ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ ذَاقُوا۟ بَأْسَنَا قُلْ هَلْ عِندَكُم مِّنْ عِلْمٍ فَتُخْرِجُوهُ لَنَآ إِن تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا تَخْرُصُونَ
[10:36] Most of them follow nothing but conjecture (zann), and conjecture is no substitute for the truth. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.
وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ إِلَّا ظَنًّا إِنَّ ٱلظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِى مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ شَيْـًٔا إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ
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