The Shaykh’s remarks on the issue of interpreting the Qur’an: “It is not permissible to understand the Qur’an in isolation from the Sunnah”

The questioner : ... The Shaykh : Hassan, there is a question from your brother Abu Ashraf, and Hassan has a question as well.

The Shaykh : Go ahead, my brother.

The questioner : What happened is that in a session we were sitting in, the brothers mentioned repentance. So I said a word, I said that repentance does not occur, meaning that repentance is not beneficial at all times. They said, “Explain and clarify.” So I read an interpretation in a summary of *Tafsir al-Dhala'il* [The Shadows] that said this is the repentance of the desperate one. The repentance of the desperate one is not permissible with Allah; Allah will not accept it. That was the clarification: Allah will not accept the repentance of the desperate one. I understood from it that the desperate one is the one who is unable to perform his act due to some condition. So I gave the brothers two examples. The first example is a person who was a fornicator in his life until he reached the age of ninety, so he is unable to approach [women] either lawfully or unlawfully; he is now impotent. So he said, “Since this is the case, let us repent.” I did not understand from this book that this repentance will be accepted by Allah. So we need, if there is a clarification, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Fine, this understanding that you understood, whether the understanding itself is correct or incorrect, was it based on a scriptural proof?

The questioner : My teacher, the verses mean that he repented recently. This word, "recently," also gave us a little bit of meaning.

The Shaykh : Fine, do you know that the Qur’an is not permissible to interpret independently of the Sunnah?

The questioner : Authentic

The Shaykh : The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) has a word that is truly very important. Even if we did not verify its correct attribution to him, it is sufficient that the meaning itself is correct. He said: This is a fact that no scholar of the Book and the Sunnah doubts at all. Let us give an example now of how a Muslim must not rely solely on interpreting the Qur’an, as some say, “We interpret the Qur’an by the Qur’an only; we do not interpret the Qur’an by the Qur’an and interpret the Qur’an by the Sunnah.” Allah the Exalted said: to the end of the verse. So here, “when you stand up for prayer,” this is conditional according to the scholars. The meaning of the verse is: whenever you stand up for prayer, wash, meaning perform ablution. So now, if a man who is in a state of ablution stands up for the Maghrib prayer and prays, and then the call to prayer is made for the 'Isha' prayer, here, if we wanted to apply the literal wording of the verse, he would have to perform ablution because he stood up for prayer. But he is already in a state of ablution. So how do we interpret this verse if we do not rely on the Sunnah which indicates [the condition]? Among that is what came in the authentic hadith of Anas: Do you see this noble Messenger to whom the previous verse and the entire Qur’an were revealed directly? Do you see whether he applied the verse or contradicted it? There is no doubt that he applied it. So how do we interpret it? We will interpret it by adding a very simple addition we take from the authentic Sunnah. We say: “When you stand up for prayer and you are not in a state of ablution.” Where did we take this addition, this increase, from? From the Sunnah. And is this increase strange? The Sunnah added hundreds of additions to the Qur’an, if not thousands. Therefore, we advise Muslims in general, and our Salafi brothers in particular, not to rely solely on understanding the Qur’an by the Qur’an. It is obligatory for them to also look to the Sunnah. And when I say this, I mention that it is not a reality, nor is it approved by the Shari'ah, for every individual Muslim to be a scholar of the Book and the Sunnah. If that were the case, the earth and those upon it would be ruined, because responsibilities and knowledge must be distributed among the Muslims. So if one is unable to apply this methodology of combining the Qur’an and the Sunnah in interpreting the Qur’an, he must, as Allah the Exalted said: After clarifying this rule with this clear example: