The Shaykh’s mention of al-Shafi'i’s (may Allah have mercy on him) statement: “The entire Sunnah is what Allah made understood to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him),” and his commentary on it.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : And so it is reported from Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: “The entire Sunnah”, meaning, naturally, that what is authentic of it is what Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) made understood to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Imam al-Shafi'i meant that the Qur'an encompasses the Sunnah, and that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) inspired His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to explain what the Muslims needed explained from the noble verses. This is one example, and that is sufficient for you.
So the rule in interpreting the Qur'an—I return to mention it and say—is that it is done by referring to the Qur'an and the Sunnah. We should not say “referring to the Qur'an, then the Sunnah,” because that explicitly states that the Sunnah is in the second position. We do not want to speak in ways that are not fitting except for scholars, so we say: Yes, in terms of its transmission, the Sunnah is in the second position relative to the Qur'an, which came to us as mass-transmitted. But in terms of practice, the Sunnah is like the Qur'an; it is not permissible to distinguish between Allah and His Messenger, between the speech of Allah and the speech of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The distinction observed by some specialized scholars in the science of hadith is a distinction that pertains to the science of narration (riwayah). As for what pertains to the science of understanding (dirayah), jurisprudence, and comprehension of the Book, there is no difference between the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
So the rule in interpreting the Qur'an—I return to mention it and say—is that it is done by referring to the Qur'an and the Sunnah. We should not say “referring to the Qur'an, then the Sunnah,” because that explicitly states that the Sunnah is in the second position. We do not want to speak in ways that are not fitting except for scholars, so we say: Yes, in terms of its transmission, the Sunnah is in the second position relative to the Qur'an, which came to us as mass-transmitted. But in terms of practice, the Sunnah is like the Qur'an; it is not permissible to distinguish between Allah and His Messenger, between the speech of Allah and the speech of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The distinction observed by some specialized scholars in the science of hadith is a distinction that pertains to the science of narration (riwayah). As for what pertains to the science of understanding (dirayah), jurisprudence, and comprehension of the Book, there is no difference between the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).