Interpretation of Islam: What is in God’s book may be interpreted only through the Sunnah, the understanding of the Prophet’s companions and analogy with these.
No one may interpret Islam and how God wants it to be except God Himself, in his book, the Qur’an, and in the Sunnah of the Prophet. No human being has a higher status than God’s Prophet, yet he only delivers what God reveals to him.
Interpretation of Islam: What is in God’s book may be interpreted only through the Sunnah, the understanding of the Prophet’s companions and analogy with these.
No one may interpret Islam and how God wants it to be except God Himself, in his book, the Qur’an, and in the Sunnah of the Prophet. No human being has a higher status than God’s Prophet, yet he only delivers what God reveals to him. God says:
‘Messenger, proclaim what has been revealed to you by your Lord’. (5: 67)
As he delivers his message, the Prophet also has to explain it and make it clear, as God says:
‘The Messenger is not bound to do more than clearly deliver his message’. (24: 54)
The explanation and clarification also comes from God as He says in reference to the Qur’an:
‘When We recite it, follow its recitation. Then it will be for Us to make its meaning clear’. (75: 18–19)
The Sunnah is revelation from God to His messenger:
‘He does not speak out of his own fancy. That [which he delivers to you] is nothing less than a revelation sent down to him’. (53: 3–4)
When a question was put to the Prophet he would respond if the answer had been revealed to him. Otherwise, he would wait for the answer in new revelation.
The people who were closest to understanding what the Prophet said were his companions and their understanding of the Qur’an is clear evidence. Other than God, whoever says that anyone has the authority to state what is permissible or forbidden in religion claims a partnership with God in His rulings. This is blatant disbelief in God and an act of associating partners with Him. There is no disagreement among scholars on this.
When God revealed His book, His words carry meanings that He wanted to convey. The meanings He intended are explained only by Him and whoever of His creation is permitted to do so. A scholar who studies the Qur’an may deduce its meanings, provided he observes two conditions:
1. He sticks to the Arabic language and its grammar.
2. He does not contradict a clear meaning that is already established in the Qur’an.
Not everything that is attributed to God actually comes from Him. Followers of earlier divine messages went astray when they made arbitrary deductions, twisting what is definitive in order to contradict what is equivocal. God says of them: ‘There are some among them who twist their tongues when quoting the Scriptures, so that you may think that [what they say] is from the Scriptures, when it is not from the Scriptures. They say:
“It is from God”, when it is not from God. Thus, they deliberately say of God what they know to be a lie’. (3: 78)
Thus, they twisted the words when quoting ‘the Scriptures’ and their aim was to make you ‘think that [what they say] is from the Scriptures’ because it is very close to it. They did this with a definite aim to lead people astray.