The Refutation of al-Turabi in His Claim That the Criteria Established by the Scholars of Hadith Are Matters of Independent Legal Reasoning and Not Binding on Those Who Came After Them.

The student : The reality is that here a question arises regarding something I hinted at, which is that it is not permissible for us to deal with the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) except in accordance with this study that you place before us, which is a very precise methodology. This is the methodology known as the methodology of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (the critique and vindication of narrators). The theorist we referred to says, in one of the speeches he gave in front of some youth, that the criteria they established were all established by those scholars as matters of independent legal reasoning. So when you mention that you have no criteria, you will establish criteria for yourself, but this does not mean that these criteria are religiously obligatory from eternity until the Day of Resurrection, and that every predecessor imitates the predecessor before him. We are, he says in a comment on what has come before, in need of prioritizing movement and freedom over looseness, and looseness over system and precision. This is a terrifying and frightening statement, as if he is saying that these rules established by those scholars are no longer sufficient for us to deal with them in order to establish the methodology on a sound, precise, and organized basis. So he says, therefore, we are in need of prioritizing movement, freedom, and looseness over system and precision, and over system and precision. This statement truly requires some clarification, warning, and caution regarding what these words contain in the sentences he formulated in his speech.

The Shaykh : Yes, I say, and success is from Allah.

The questioner : Excuse me, Shaykh, also as a continuation of the question, he says that these criteria they established—of course, we took the answer clearly from what you presented—but this is also a phrase that gives the impression of two things: it gives the impression of mockery and undermining of this methodology on one hand, and on the other hand, we do not hesitate to say that it indicates complete ignorance. He says, where did they get these criteria they established for authenticating the Sunnah from?

The Shaykh : I have an answer from two aspects. The first is that I concluded the previous speech with the noble verse: The verse mentioned at the end of my previous speech is the first answer to the second question, which is His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): .