19 Hadith Against Sunnah

When debating with the people of the scripture, it is most effective to use sources they recognize which they claim to uphold rather than sources they doubt. So, for example, if one is debating with a Christian, it is more effective to use the New Testament. If one was to argue with a Christian using the Quran, it is easy for them to dismiss the claims because they do not recognize the Quran as a legitimate source. Similarly, if one is debating a traditionalist, it is helpful to show the flaws in their logic based on the Hadith they claim to uphold. One could use the Quran since traditionalists recognize this as a divine book from God, but by their logic, they think the Hadith supersedes the Quran in understanding.

For instance, al-Shāfiʿī, the founder of the Shafi’i school of Sunni jurisprudence, argued that the Sunnah stands on equal footing with the Quran in authority for “ the command of the prophet is the command of God.” Yet despite this claim, we see that time and time again, they take the ruling of the Hadith over the Sunnah.

Other notable figures like “Sa’id ibn Mansur narrated on the authority of ‘Isa ibn Yunus on the authority of al-Awza’i on the authority of Makhul, who said: “ The Quran needs the Saunnah more than the Sunnah needs the Quran.” The same statement was related by al-Awza’i on the authority of Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, who was also reported to have said, “ The Sunnah came to rule over the Qur’ān, it is not the Qur’ān that rules over the Sunnah. “

Therefore if I argue with people with this mentality and attempt to make my points using the Quran alone, they will most likely disregard my claims. So this article aims to dismantle the Sunnah using the Hadith itself.