Shubuhat al-Quraniyyin hawl al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran in Madinah
Shubuhat al-Quraniyyin hawl al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah (Doubts of the Quranists Regarding the Prophetic Sunnah) is a treatise by the Egyptian scholar Mahmud Mazrua that examines and refutes the arguments of modern Hadith rejecters who claim exclusive reliance on the Quran .
Background and Context
The work arose out of Mazrua's direct engagement with Quranist factions while serving as a professor at the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan . In 1983 CE, he participated in three debate sessions in Karachi with the followers of Ghulam Ahmad Parvez (known as the Parvezis) . The author notes that although modern Quranist groups adopted their title to give the impression of sole devotion to the Quran, their movement emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in British-ruled India before spreading to Pakistan following independence .
Contents and Methodology
The treatise is organized into foundational discussions and thematic refutations:
- Introduction and Concepts of the Sunnah: Mazrua opens by affirming the role of the Prophetic Sunnah as the essential explicator of the Quran's concise rulings, citing Quran 16:44: وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ("And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought") . He discusses the linguistic and technical definitions of the Sunnah across different Islamic disciplines, distinguishing the comprehensive scope of hadith scholars (muhaddithun) from the legalistic focus of legal theorists (usuliyyun) .
- Historical Lineage of Sunnah Rejection: The author addresses the historical precedents of groups that rejected the Sunnah, tracing their lineage while noting the emergence of Urdu-language literature produced by the modern Indian subcontinent movement .
- Refutation of Doubts: In the core refutation sections, Mazrua examines the textual arguments raised by Quranists, such as their claim that the Quran's self-description as comprehensive—using verses such as مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ("We have not neglected in the Book a thing", Quran 6:38)—renders external legislative sources unnecessary . Mazrua systematically counters these arguments primarily through the Quran itself to hold his interlocutors to their own claimed authority .
Conclusion and Findings
Mazrua concludes the study by framing the modern Quranist movement as a product of British colonial influence in India intended to sow division among Muslims, drawing parallels between it and groups such as the Qadianiyyah and Barelvis . He argues that its early proponents maintained financial and intellectual ties to colonial authorities and Christian missionary efforts in India, and judges the complete rejection of the Sunnah as an exit from Islam, on the grounds that both the Quran and the Sunnah stem from divine revelation .
Answer updated