God tells us that as humans we will move from stage to stage (84:19), and we have to trust in God’s system that when we are ready He will make things obvious for us.
20:114 Most Exalted is GOD, the only true King. Do not rush into uttering the Quran before it is revealed to you, and say, “My Lord, increase my knowledge.”
The last reason information is not in the Quran is because it is obvious. For instance, God does not need to describe what it means to wash (), to walk (), eat (), etc. Additionally, there are the practices of Abraham that have been preserved since they have been originally revealed e.g. Salat (Contact Prayer), Zakat (Obligatory Charity), Sayem (Fasting), Hajj (Pilgrimage) that God did not need to explain because they were already known.
These practices were all in existence when the prophet got the revelation of the Quran. All the Quran did was to purify these practices for the people. For instance, we see the Sayem (Fasting) was being practiced even before the revelation for fasting was revealed to the people.
2:183 O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation.
2:187 Permitted for you is sexual intercourse with your wives during the nights of fasting. They are the keepers of your secrets, and you are the keepers of their secrets. GOD knew that you used to betray your souls, and He has redeemed you, and has pardoned you. Henceforth, you may have intercourse with them, seeking what GOD has permitted for you. You may eat and drink until the white thread of light becomes distinguishable from the dark thread of night at dawn. Then, you shall fast until sunset. Sexual intercourse is prohibited if you decide to retreat to the masjid (during the last ten days of Ramadan). These are GOD’s laws; you shall not transgress them. GOD thus clarifies His revelations for the people, that they may attain salvation.
39:23 GOD has revealed herein the best Hadith; a book that is consistent, and points out both ways (to Heaven and Hell). The skins of those who reverence their Lord cringe therefrom, then their skins and their hearts soften up for GOD’s message. Such is GOD’s guidance; He bestows it upon whomever He wills. As for those sent astray by GOD, nothing can guide them.
By being consistent with no contradictions, this gives the reader of the Quran certainty that all the information one needs to render a judgment can be found in this one book. Consider if the Quran was inconsistent, in such a scenario, if there was some claim made or ruling rendered, there is always going to be an element of doubt; what if I don’t have the full picture, what if there is context missing, or what if this verse no longer applies.
Ironically this is what we find with the Hadith when compared to the Quran.
39:29 GOD cites the example of a man who deals with disputing partners (Hadith), compared to a man who deals with only one consistent source (Quran). Are they the same? Praise be to GOD; most of them do not know.
In Hadith sciences, there are two primary factors that individuals use to validate the strength and authenticity of any given Hadith. The first is if it is sahih (authentic), and the second is if it is mutawatir (mass transmitted). If the Hadith is considered sahih, this means that the chain of narrators is trustworthy, of sound mind, and is not broken. If it is mutawatir, then there are multiple chains that all claim the same narration. Except, there is a fundamental paradox that we see in the Hadith with the most authentic Hadith that are mutawatir.
As the number of narrators for any one Hadith increases, ironically, it also increases the number of variations within that Hadith. Such that each narration will slightly vary from the other narrations. This is not a ding against the integrity of the supposed witnesses but just a reality of human limitations. Consider some of the biggest events that occur today, that despite the numerous witnesses, tons of videos and audio recordings, and endless amounts of metadata, there are still disputes as to the exact details of what happened.
Or consider a bunch of students in a class listening to the teacher all taking notes. If we compare these notes after the class, we will inevitably find discrepancies in these accounts. For most instances, this isn’t going to be a big deal as long as the general message was understood, but when it comes to a source of law, the slightest differences in word choice, phrasing, etc., can cause an entire cascading effect of understanding.
For instance, I was listening to a podcast regarding a lawsuit between an HOA and a homeowner, where the language in the contract said that the homes need to be “brown, tan, or local earth tones.” Over this specific language, multiple lawsuits were filed between the HOA and the homeowner because the homeowner painted their home green. If the contract is fixed, then it is easy to make a judgment, but imagine if the contract was constantly in flux. Where tomorrow, someone finds another piece of the contract that states the colors need to be “brown, tan, or forest.” Or another that said “brown, orange, or grey.” In such a scenario, there would never be a definitive answer because inevitably, if you accept one narration, you have to disregard the other narrations.
Now consider one of the strongest Hadith, that of the supposed seven ahruf of the Quran. If you are wondering what ahruf in the Hadith means, don’t worry; so are all the scholars who study this material. Based on which narration one reads, their understanding will vary tremendously.
Here is a sample of the various hadith on this topic.
Scholars squabble over what the meaning of the seven ahruf is but typically fall into one of the following camps of understanding:
The Seven Ahruf are seven ways of pronouncing a word
The Seven Ahruf are seven types of Quranic verses
The Seven Ahruf just denotes a large number
The Seven Ahruf are the seven dialects of Arabic spoken at that time
The Seven Ahruf refers to the seven types of differences in the Quranic readings
The Seven Ahruf refers to synonyms of a Quranic word
The Seven Ahruf refers to seven recitals
The absurdity of these understandings leaves people to assume that:
There is not one Quran, but seven Qurans (Quran 10:15)
The words in the Quran are ambiguous and are subject to change
The Quran allows for synonyms to be added in place of words
That prophet could authorize changes to the Quran to make it easy for people (Quran 10:15)
The Quran is not sent down in one form, but seven, if not more (Quran 85:22)
Ironically, if we consult the Quran, we see that the word ahruf means distortion, so it is not surprising that this Hadith has caused people such misunderstanding regarding the Quran.
Conclusion
This is the irony of upholding any other Hadith as a source of law next to that of the Quran, that when one does that, it inevitably destroys their entire understanding of what the Quran even is.
Individuals who ascribe to upholding Hadith besides the Quran struggle to define what the Quran is. This is due to their erroneous understanding that the verses of the Quran were abrogated or forgotten.
According to Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur’an (االتقان في علوم القران), by Jalaluddin Suyuti, English Translation by Muneer Fareed it states:
Abu ‘Ubaid said: “Ismai’il b. Ibrahim reported to us, from Ayyub, from Nafi, from Ibn ‘Umar, who said:
“Nobody should say that he has committed the whole Qur’an to memory, for he does not know what is the whole Qur’an, since much of the Qur’an has been eliminated. Rather, he should say that he has memorized what is found of it.”
Variant Readings of The Qur’an, Ahmad ‘Ali Al-Imam
According to followers of Hadith:
The Quran had two additional suras, Named ‘l-Khal`a and ‘l-Hafd, that were forgotten
Sura 33, Al-Ahzãb, which contains 73 verses, used to contain 200 verses. While another narration stated that it was originally the same length as Sura 2, Al-Baqarah, which is the longest sura in the Quran, with 286 verses
Sura 9, Barã’ah, was originally much longer
That the compilers of the Quran debated making the last two verses, which were falsely added to Sura 9, into its own sura, but decided instead to add it to the end of Sura 9 because there wasn’t a third verse added to it
The verses regarding the stoning of adulterers and adult suckling were left out of the Quran
The 113 occurrences of Basmallah in the Quran are not part of the Quran
The Quran came down in seven modes (ahruf)
More details on these claims can be found here.
6:114 Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.