Understanding the Core Sources of Islamic Teachings

Posted on Feb 20, 2025 in Arabic and Islamic Studies

The Sources of Islam

The sources of Islam are generally categorized as:

  • Earthly (man-made)
  • Heavenly (divine)

A divine religion is considered man-made if its sources are corrupted or interfered with by humans.

The Quran

The Quran is the most well-known name for the divine revelation given to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Quran is considered a miracle, and Allah challenges all of humanity and jinn to produce a book like it. This challenge was presented in four stages:

  1. Challenge 1: To bring a book which resembles the Quran. Allah says: “Say, if all beings and jinn join their efforts to bring forth something like this Quran, they would not be able to do so, even if they backed one another.” (17:88)
  2. Challenge 2: To bring ten chapters which resemble the Quranic ones. Allah says: “Or perhaps they say, ‘He has forged it.’ Say: Come up with ten forged chapters like it, and call upon whom you can, other than Allah, to help you, if you are truthful.” (11:13)
  3. Challenge 3: To bring one chapter like it. Allah says: “Or do they say, ‘He has forged it?’ Say: Bring forth one chapter like it, and call upon whom you can besides Allah to help you, if you are truthful.” (10:38)
  4. Challenge 4: To bring one chapter similar to the texts of the Quran. Allah says: “If you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our servant, then bring forth one chapter of similar text and call upon your witnesses – except Allah – to help you if you are truthful.” (2:23)

Main Aspects of the Inimitability of the Quran

There are four main aspects to the inimitability of the Quran:

  1. Eloquent and Rhetorical Language: This dominates the entire Quran and forms the main aspect of its inimitability, covering the nature, composition, and arrangement of expressions and sentences.
  2. Scientific Aspect: Some verses discuss scientific matters, many of which have been recently confirmed. This raises the question of how the Prophet knew about such matters at a time when people were entirely ignorant of these proofs.
  3. Legislative Aspect: The legislation within the Quran, in its reality, comprehension, and balance, is highly distinguishable from that of others. It is well-arranged, dealing with all aspects of human life: intellectual, emotional, and so on.
  4. Narration of the Unseen: The Quran narrates news of the unseen, both from the past and the present.

The Stages of Writing Down the Quran During the Prophet’s Life

  1. The Prophet used to dictate every verse revealed to him to designated scribes, known as the writers of the inspiration (Kuttab al-Wahy).
  2. The Quran was written down on available writing materials such as leather, stones, wide bones, and palm tree leaves.
  3. The entire Quran was written according to its arrangement as it was revealed to the Prophet.

The Prophet prohibited anyone from writing anything from him except the Quran. This was a precautionary measure to ensure that the Quran would not be mixed with the Prophet’s own words.

  1. It was impossible for the Prophet to compile all the separate materials himself because the Quran was still being revealed to him until his last days.

Conditions Set by Abu Bakr for Collecting the Quran

  • To bring two witnesses to testify that the piece of text was written down in front of the Prophet.
  • That the piece of text complied with what was actually memorized by the Companions.

The Sunnah

The Sunnah is a general term given to what was reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) as being his words, deeds, decisions, and qualities in matters related to the inspiration and legislation.

Hadith

The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned a man who had traveled for a long time. Unkempt and covered in dust, he raised his hands to the heavens (and cried): ‘O my Lord! O my Lord!’ His food was unlawful, his drink was unlawful, his clothing was unlawful, and what he had provided to sustain himself with was also unlawful. How could his invocation be accepted?

The Importance of Sunnah and its Relationship with the Quran

  • It is the second source of Islam after the Quran and is a kind of inspiration.

It confirms the Quranic rules. When Allah mentions any rules or directions, they can be re-confirmed by the Prophet. Allah says: “O you who believe! Obey Allah and the Messenger and those of you who are in authority.”

  • It supplements the Quran by giving additional rules and details, because not all legislation was mentioned in the Quran. For example, forbidding gold rings for men or the wearing of silk by men.
  • It explains the Quran by detailing rules or removing obscurity from verses.

Kinds of Sunnah According to Their Degree of Authenticity

  1. The successive accounts (Mutawater) which were related in every step of the chain by many narrators who were trusted for their honesty and memorization.
  2. The individual accounts (akhbar al-ahad), which were not successive or definite.

Different Sorts of Hadith According to Reliability

The different sorts of Hadith according to the reliability of the narrator of the chain (isnad) are:

  1. The ‘sound’ or authentic Hadith known as (sahih), where all narrators in the chain are rooted in both honesty and memorization.
  2. The ‘good’ (hasan) Hadith, which is the same as the sound, but one or more of the narrators are of a lesser degree in memorization.
  3. The ‘weak’ (daeif) Hadith where the reliability of one or more narrators is of a lesser degree than those in hasan Hadith.
  4. The fabricated (mawdu) accounts which were said to be the Prophet’s word but are actually a lie.