The Holy Qur’an’s Lofty Station—Acknowledged by the Holy Qur’an itself

All knowledge is comprised in the Qur’an, but the intellect of people falls short of it. One of the principal causes of people going astray in this age is that in the eyes of most people the greatness of the Holy Qur’an no longer prevails. One group of Muslims has become the follower of misleading philosophy. They seek to decide every matter by reason. They claim that the highest arbiter available to man for the settlement of disputes is reason. When they find that the existence of Gabriel, Azrael and other angels that are mentioned in religious books, and the existence of heaven and hell as is established in the Holy Qur’an, cannot be proved by reason, they immediately reject them and begin to have recourse to flimsy explanations. They interpret angels as meaning powers, revelation only as a faculty, and heaven and hell as meaning merely spiritual comfort or pain. They do not seem to realize that reason alone is not the instrument for discovery of the unknown. Indeed high verities and extreme insights are far above the reach of reason and are established only through true visions. If the touchstone for verities were to be reason alone, the great wonders of Godhead would remain hidden and man's understanding would remain incomplete and imperfect and he would not be rid of doubts and suspicions. The end of this one-sided understanding would be that in the absence of guidance from above and without any knowledge of the lines of thought that are set in motion by the Power on High, all sorts of doubts would arise with regard to the existence of the Creator Himself. Therefore, the idea that reason alone is sufficient for unravelling all the intricate mysteries of the True Creator, is wholly unsupportable.

The second group has discarded reason altogether and has also left aside the Holy Qur’an which is the fountainhead of all knowledge of things Divine and has taken firm hold of stories and meaningless sayings. We desire to draw the attention of both these groups to the Holy Qur’an and to urge them to value its greatness and its light, and to make use of reason in receiving the guidance of its light. They should leave aside the sayings of other people, and even if they should find a Hadith which contradicts the Holy Qur’an, they should discard it immediately, as God Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an:

In what discourse, leaving aside the Holy Qur’an, will they believe? al-A‘raf, 7:186

It is obvious that, for us Muslims, the Holy Qur’an is an authority of the highest grade which is absolute and certain. Most Ahadith, even when authentic, are at best useful probabilities.

‘Surely conjecture avails nothing against truth.’—Yunus, 10:37

 

Study the following verses carefully and then consider whether it is proper to leave aside the Word of God and to set up some other guide or arbiter. These verses are:

 

 This Qur’an guides to the way which is straight; Bani Isra’il, 17:10

To the worshippers it provides guidance about true worship; al-Anbiya’, 21:107

To those who are righteous, it is a reminder of the excellences  of righteousness; al-Haqqah, 69:49

And surely it is the true certainty; al-Haqqah, 69:52

It is wisdom par excellence; al-Qamar, 54:6

It is certain truth and is universal in scope; al-Nahl, 16:90

It is light upon light; al-Nur, 24:36

A cure for the souls; Yunus, 10:58

The Gracious God revealed the Holy Qur’an. al-Rahman, 55:2-3 

He has revealed the Book which is the truth and is a balance for weighing the truth. al-Shura, 42:18
 
It is guidance for mankind and contains the exposition of guidance. It discriminates between truth and falsehood by its reasoning. al-Baqarah, 2:186
 
It is a decisive discourse. al-Tariq, 86:14
 
It is free from doubt. al-Baqarah, 2:3

We have revealed it to thee so that it might decide matters concerning which there is difference and so that believers may be provided with guidance and mercy. al-Nahl 16:65
 
It comprises all the verities which were contained in the previous books in a scattered form. al-Bayyinah, 98:4
 
Falsehood cannot approach it from fore or aft. Ha Mim al-Sajdah, 41:43

It comprises clear proof for people and is a guidance and a mercy for those who have faith. al-Jathiyah, 45:21

Then leaving aside Allah and His Signs, in what discourse will you believe? al-Jathiyah, 45:7

It follows that if a Hadith is contradictory of the Holy Qur’an, it must be rejected. If it can be interpreted as being in accord with the Holy Qur’an, it might be accepted. The meanings of the remaining verses is:

Tell them that by the Grace and Mercy of Allah this Qur’an is a precious possession which you should accept with joy. It is better than the properties which you gather together. Yunus, 10:59

This is an indication that no property is as valuable as knowledge and wisdom.