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<metadesc>Qur'anists are a small group who reject the hadith and sunnah, a critical component of Islam. They are rejected as apostates by mainstream Muslims.</metadesc> | <metadesc>Qur'anists are a small group who reject the hadith and sunnah, a critical component of Islam. They are rejected as apostates by mainstream Muslims.</metadesc> | ||
Within [[Islam]] the two largest sects are the [[Sunni]]s (up to 90%)<ref name="rl"></ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/295507/Islam Islām] - Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/574006/Sunnite Sunnite] - Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)</ref><ref name="pew">[http://pewforum.org/Muslim/Mapping-the-Global-Muslim-Population%286%29.aspx Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population] - Pew Research Center, October 7, 2009</ref><ref name="pew2">Tracy Miller - [http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/Muslimpopulation/Muslimpopulation.pdf Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population] - Pew Research Center, October 2009</ref> and [[Shiites|Shi'ite]]s (approximately 10-20%).<ref name="rl">[http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm Comparison of Sunni and Shia Islam] - ReligionFacts</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540503/Shiite Shīʿite] - Encyclopædia Britannica Online (2010)</ref><ref name="pew"></ref><ref name="pew2"></ref> Together they make up almost the entirety of Islam. However, there is a small | Within [[Islam]] the two largest sects are the [[Sunni]]s (up to 90%)<ref name="rl"></ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/295507/Islam Islām] - Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/574006/Sunnite Sunnite] - Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)</ref><ref name="pew">[http://pewforum.org/Muslim/Mapping-the-Global-Muslim-Population%286%29.aspx Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population] - Pew Research Center, October 7, 2009</ref><ref name="pew2">Tracy Miller - [http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/Muslimpopulation/Muslimpopulation.pdf Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population] - Pew Research Center, October 2009</ref> and [[Shiites|Shi'ite]]s (approximately 10-20%).<ref name="rl">[http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm Comparison of Sunni and Shia Islam] - ReligionFacts</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540503/Shiite Shīʿite] - Encyclopædia Britannica Online (2010)</ref><ref name="pew"></ref><ref name="pew2"></ref> Together they make up almost the entirety of Islam. However, there is a small but growing group, considered heretics by the others, who are collectively known as "Qur'anists" (also referred to as ''Quraniyoon'', ''Ahle Quran'', or by their critics, ''hadith rejectors''). They reject the [[Hadith]] (oral traditions) and the [[Sunnah]] (example) of [[Muhammad]], an integral part of Islam, and are viewed by mainstream Islam in much the same way as the Jehovah's Witnesses are viewed by mainstream Christianity (i.e. Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox etc). Their views have some similarities with those of ''modernist'' or ''progressive'' Muslims, who do not reject hadiths entirely, but draw on modern academic scholarship in taking a historical-critical view of the hadith corpus as well as skepticism towards traditional interpretations and jurisprudence. | ||
===Rejected as Apostates=== | ===Rejected as Apostates=== | ||
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The Grand Mufti of Pakistan {{wp|Muhammad Rafi Usmani}} has also criticised Qur'anists in his lecture Munkareen Hadith (refuters of Hadith); he states: | The Grand Mufti of Pakistan {{wp|Muhammad Rafi Usmani}} has also criticised Qur'anists in his lecture Munkareen Hadith (refuters of Hadith); he states: | ||
{{Quote||The Qur’aan, which they claim to follow, denies the faith of the one who refuses to obey the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and does not accept his ruling: “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” [al-Nisa’ 4:65 – interpretation of the meaning]}} | {{Quote||The Qur’aan, which they claim to follow, denies the faith of the one who refuses to obey the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and does not accept his ruling: “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” [al-Nisa’ 4:65 – interpretation of the meaning]}}[https://lote.org.uk/sh-nooruddeen-rashid/ Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid] of the Lote Tree Foundation in the United Kingdom, answering on the islamanswers.co.uk website question "Are Hadith rejectors (Quranists) Kafir?" (22.04.24) ''Yes, Hadith rejectors (Quranists) are Kafir. People who reject the entirety of the Sunnah are Kafir. As opposed to those who reject individual Sahih Hadith. People who reject all Hadith have clearly opposed Quran, Hadith and the consensus of credible Muslim scholars (Ijma).''<ref>[https://islamanswers.co.uk/question/are-hadith-rejectors-quranists-kafir/ Are Hadith rejectors (Quranists) Kafir?] Islam Answers</ref> | ||
==Problems with Quranism== | ==Problems with Quranism== | ||
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== Other issues == | == Other issues == | ||
=== | ===Characters in the Quran=== | ||
There are also characters supposedly contemporary to Muhammad such as [[Abu Lahab]] ({{Quran|111|1}} (and his wife {{Quran|111|4}})) and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zayd_ibn_Haritha_al-Kalbi Zayd] ({{Quran|33|37}}), who have no equivalents in biblical literature to refer to, that are named but not introduced formally - so the meaning of the verses and who they are is highly obscure (if not impossible to understand fully) without secondary literature. | There are also characters supposedly contemporary to Muhammad such as [[Abu Lahab]] ({{Quran|111|1}} (and his wife {{Quran|111|4}})) and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zayd_ibn_Haritha_al-Kalbi Zayd] ({{Quran|33|37}}), who have no equivalents in biblical literature to refer to, that are named but not introduced formally - so the meaning of the verses and who they are is highly obscure (if not impossible to understand fully) without secondary literature. | ||
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=== Verses that have no meaning and/or make no sense === | === Verses that have no meaning and/or make no sense === | ||
Many verses lack any clear meaning without further context, a few (of many) are given below. For example it is impossible to know what the following verses are talking about by themselves (tafsirs generally link them to angels, though the third verse is sometimes also linked to humans reciting the Quran).<ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/37.1 Tafsir Jalalayn on verse 31:1].'' Al Jalalayn / Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli and Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti. Published in 1505.</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/37.1 Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Verse 37:1-5]''. Ibn Kathir d 1373.</ref> | Many verses lack any clear meaning without further context, a few (of many) are given below. For example it is impossible to know what the following verses are talking about by themselves (tafsirs generally link them to angels, though the third verse is sometimes also linked to humans reciting the Quran).<ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/37.1 Tafsir Jalalayn on verse 31:1].'' Al Jalalayn / Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli and Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti. Published in 1505.</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/37.1 Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Verse 37:1-5]''. Ibn Kathir d 1373.</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|37|1-4}}|“By those ranged in ranks. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|37|1-4}}|“By those ranged in ranks. | |||
Then those who drive away with reproof. | Then those who drive away with reproof. | ||
And those who recite a reminder. | And those who recite a reminder. | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|9|36}}|The number of months with God is twelve in accordance with God's law since the day He created the heavens and the earth. Of these four are holy. | {{Quote|{{Quran|9|36}}|The number of months with God is twelve in accordance with God's law since the day He created the heavens and the earth. Of these four are holy. | ||
This is the straight reckoning. So do not exceed yourselves during them; but fight the idolaters to the end as they fight you in like manner; and remember, God is with those Who preserve themselves from evil and do the right.}} | This is the straight reckoning. So do not exceed yourselves during them; but fight the idolaters to the end as they fight you in like manner; and remember, God is with those Who preserve themselves from evil and do the right.}} | ||
Nor the Night of Determination (laylat-ul-qadr) - sometimes translated as the 'Night of Power'. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|97|1-5}}|We sent it down in the night of determination. <br>Do you know what the night of determination is?<br> The night of determination is better than a thousand months.<br> In it angels and the spirit descend by permission of their Lord in every matter.<br> It is a blessing until break of day!}} | |||
Nor the seven 'oft-repeated verses'. | Nor the seven 'oft-repeated verses'. | ||
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The same issue occurs with the final two 'prayer' surahs, 113 ({{Quran|113|1-5}}) and 114 ({{Quran|114|1-6}}), although these at least open with the statement 'say' (''qul'' قول')<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2994.pdf قول] - Lane's Lexicon pp. 2294</ref> however there is no context given for why, when and where they are supposed to be said found in the Qur'an. | The same issue occurs with the final two 'prayer' surahs, 113 ({{Quran|113|1-5}}) and 114 ({{Quran|114|1-6}}), although these at least open with the statement 'say' (''qul'' قول')<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2994.pdf قول] - Lane's Lexicon pp. 2294</ref> however there is no context given for why, when and where they are supposed to be said found in the Qur'an. | ||
Even the whole of Surah 105 (Surah of the Elephant) is left unexplained, which we have to look to traditions and commentaries for the meaning and what it is referring to.<ref>E.g. ''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/105.1 Tafsir Jalalayn on verse 105:1.]'' (Al Jalalayn / Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli and Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti. Published in 1505.) summarises the general story.</ref> | In fact this happens to many verses throughout the Qur'an, where only later traditions clarify that the whole book is meant to be from Allah, and not just the parts of it that can be gained from reading the Qur'an alone; such as swearing oaths on himself, angels speaking, and the regular (and unnaturally sounding) third person voice. | ||
{{Quote|Bell, Richard., and W. Montgomery. Watt. Introduction to the Quran. Edinburgh, 1977. pp. 66-67|The assumption that God is himself the speaker in every passage, however leads to difficulties. Frequently God is referred to in the third person. It is no doubt allowable for a speaker to refer to himself in the third person occasionally, but the extent to which we find the Prophet apparently being addressed and told about God as a third person, is unusual. It has, in fact, been made a matter of ridicule that in the Quran God is made to swear by himself. That he uses oaths in some of the passages beginning, “I swear (not)…” can hardly be denied [e.g., 75.1, 2; 90.1].…“By thy Lord,” however, is difficult in the mouth of God…. Now there is one passage which everyone acknowledges to be spoken by angels, namely 19.64: “We come not down but by command of thy Lord; to him belongs what is before us and what is behind us and what is between that; nor is thy Lord forgetful, Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them; so serve him, and endure patiently in his service; knowest thou to him a namesake?” | |||
In 37.161-166 it is almost equally clear that angels are the speakers. This, once admitted, may be extended to passages in which it is not so clear. In fact, difficulties in many passages are removed by interpreting the “we” of angels rather than of God himself speaking in the plural of majesty. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two, and nice questions sometimes arise in places where there is a sudden change from God being spoken of in the third person to “we” claiming to do things usually ascribed to God, e.g., 6.99; 25.45.}} | |||
Not mentioned are also verses that seem to be spoken by the jinn in surah 72 (surah al-jinn)<ref>Durie, Mark. The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion pp. 25. (pp. 116 Kindle Edition). Lexington Books. | |||
..There are conversations reported between the Messenger and others and between believers and disbelievers, and there are often rapid switches between different conversations. ''There are even conversations where jinn speak to each other (Q72)...''</ref> beginning from verse 8 onwards, which one would not see as coming from Allah without extra-Quranic appeals.Even the whole of Surah 105 (Surah of the Elephant) is left unexplained, which we have to look to traditions and commentaries for the meaning and what it is referring to.<ref>E.g. ''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/105.1 Tafsir Jalalayn on verse 105:1.]'' (Al Jalalayn / Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli and Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti. Published in 1505.) summarises the general story.</ref> | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|105|1-5}}|Have you not regarded how your Lord dealt with the army of the elephants? | {{Quote|{{Quran|105|1-5}}|Have you not regarded how your Lord dealt with the army of the elephants? | ||
Did He not put their scheme into ruin? | Did He not put their scheme into ruin? | ||
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And you (are) free (to dwell) in this city. | And you (are) free (to dwell) in this city. | ||
And the begetter and what he begot. | And the begetter and what he begot. | ||
Certainly, We have created man (to be) in hardship.}} | Certainly, We have created man (to be) in hardship.}}Archer (2024) summarises many of the issues, looking at {{Quran|96|8-10}} and others.<ref>''The Prophet’s Whistle: Late Antique Orality, Literacy, and the Quran. pp. 64–67.'' 2024. Archer, George</ref> | ||
{{Quote|<i>The Prophet’s Whistle: Late Antique Orality, Literacy, and the Quran. pp. 43–44.</i>Archer, George|..yet the fact remains that the early Quran is extraordinarily elliptical; it implies identities but almost never identifies. Consider this brief passage from the famous ninety-sixth sura called either “the Clot” (al-ʿAlaq) or “Recite” (Iqraʾ): | |||
<i>Surely to your Lord is the return. Have you seen the one who forbids a slave when he is praying? (Q 96:8–10)</i> | |||
Imagine we were to read this passage cold, without any previous knowledge of the Quran, Muhammad, or Islam. What are the pronouns telling us? We have “your Lord” (rabbika, using the singular possessive your). Who is the you implied here? The whole audience being spoken of but in the singular? The narrator speaking about himself in the second person? Someone in the audience who already affirms this single God as their own? Is this the same “you” implied by “Have you seen” (araʾayta) in the following verse? Does this mean a particular singular person has literally seen a servant who isn’t allowed to worship freely? Does it mean that the narrator of the Quran has seen this happen? Does it mean generally that one sees this sort of thing happen? Likewise, is “the one who” (alladhī) a particular person, and the audience knows exactly who this is? Is this one in the audience? Did the narrator’s eyes dart toward them when he said this, or toward their house? Or is this a general discussion of a type of person? And then who is the “slave” (ʿabd): a slave of God, so any of God’s servants? Slaves or other lower-class people generally? A certain slave whom everyone in town knows? The narrator himself (now in the third person)? <br><br> These questions can go on, and most of them can be at least partially resolved using contextual clues and later Quranic commentaries. Indeed, one of the major functions of so much classical Islamic writing—prophetic epic-biographies, anecdotes, and commentary literatures—is to give the Quran context. But we aren’t asking here who is implied by these sorts of pronouns, conjugations, and possessives; we are asking why there are so many ungrounded implications in the first place. The weight and excess of such indeterminate personal or place markers, without names or even much detail, tells us that the Quran in its early manifestations is quite oral. The divine speech is embodied and conversational. A passage like Q 96 makes no sense without contextualization. The Prophet thought this passage was going to be spoken on a particular date and in front of particular people. The context of the passage is thus assumed. Oral performances must do this; pure literature doesn’t (and often can’t). You are reading or hearing this right now. I have no meaningful idea about who you are, and you don’t know where I am writing this passage. But when the Quranic narrator says, “No, I swear by this land and you are a lawful resident in this land,” the listener knows they personally are “you,” can see the “I,” and are standing on the “land.”<sup>8</sup> This kind of speech is entirely situational; it only makes sense in a very precise context.}} | |||
==Criticism of hadiths== | ==Criticism of hadiths== | ||
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* 2:58:03 Conclusion | * 2:58:03 Conclusion | ||
In a separate video on the channel Sképsislamica, Joshua Little defends accepting a historical Muhammad as being the founder of Islam despite the | In a separate video on the channel Sképsislamica, Joshua Little defends accepting a historical Muhammad as being the founder of Islam despite the issues with hadith, called [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm9QU5uB3To Did Muhammad Exist? An Academic response to a Popular Question], where from ~20:00 - 1:37:39, he elaborates on these, but this time focusing on biographical hadith, with the points raised adding even more weight to the arguments against their accuracy. | ||
== Additional Points == | == Additional Points == | ||