Refuting the Doubt of Those Who Resemble the Quranists.

The questioner : Among some contemporary writers who have adopted the path of the Quranists—those who call themselves Quranists but have nothing to do with the Qur'an—they have made it a condition for accepting hadiths that they be checked against the Qur'an. It is well known that all the hadiths that mandate checking the Sunnah against the Qur'an are fabricated by the Zinadiqqa (heretics). However, they cited an incident from the early era involving Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), where it appeared to the observer at first glance that some of her hadiths contradicted certain verses. What is the response to such people regarding this issue they raise?

The Shaykh : Our answer comes from two angles. First, why do they not cite those who contradicted Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in her argumentation, and they are the majority? This is the first point. Second, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), considering that she was in the company of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and indeed was his wife, trusted her knowledge and her memorization of the hadith of her husband and her Prophet more than others trusted their memorization of the hadith of their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, when she cited the saying of Allah the Exalted to refute the hadith of 'Umar and Ibn 'Umar, when they narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) , she did not rely solely on the verse; rather, she had prior knowledge that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had said this hadith specifically regarding a man from the Jews who died. Therefore, she interpreted the hadith as applying to disbelievers. As for these people who call themselves Quranists, they are among the most ignorant of the Sunnah. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), on the other hand, was among the most knowledgeable of the Sunnah for the reason I mentioned earlier. Therefore, it is not valid for them to compare themselves to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). This is the first point. Second, in this story and in others, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was correct in some of what she went for, and incorrect in what she denied regarding other Companions. Specifically, the hadith she denied was the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) . If it were possible for us, or if we were compelled, to err on one side of the dispute between Aisha, who denied the hadith, and the other side who attributed the hadith to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), if we were compelled to take the side of one of these two parties, we would take the side of the majority, and that would justify us in saying, "Whoever has memorized [the evidence] has a claim over whoever has not memorized." This is the reality. We say, "Whoever has memorized [the evidence] has a claim over whoever has not memorized." This is because Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is opposed by 'Umar, and 'Umar says, "I heard the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say ." Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) denied this absolute meaning. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) denied this absolute meaning. And we say, "Whoever has memorized [the evidence] has a claim over whoever has not memorized." This is a rule that no one among the scholars, indeed no one among people of intellect, can fail to adhere to, and the lives of people do not function without it, not only their religious lives but even their ordinary social lives. So here, if we apply this rule, we would say 'Umar is the affirmer and Aisha is the denier, and the affirmer takes precedence over the denier. Whoever has memorized [the evidence] has a claim over whoever has not memorized. How so, when Aisha alone is the denier, and 'Umar is the affirmer, along with his son and al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah—three of the most prominent and greatest of the Companions—who narrate this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? If we were compelled to declare an error, we would say Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) erred. But we do not use the word "error." We say she did not memorize what these people memorized, and whoever has memorized [the evidence] has a claim over whoever has not memorized. Then we say to these people who unjustly attributed themselves to the Qur'an, and the Qur'an disowns them: Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in the story of two, three, and we have stretched our imagination to fifteen, had such a stance. But you denied the entire Sunnah and said, "We are Quranists; we do not take except from the Qur'an." Was Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) like that? The answer is no. So their clinging to some details that occurred with some of the Companions, including Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), does not benefit them. This is our response to these people, and we ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to guide them.