The Sunna and the Hadith Through the Lens of the Qur’an

Volume 2 of The Qur’anic Revelation A Reformed Understanding

Description:

This book is the second in a series that presents an attempt to understand the Qur’anic revelation—published concurrently with the first and third volumes. It continues on the work presented in the first volume of this series to propose a new interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation that is claimed to constitute a more accurate representation of the revelation.

The first three volumes of this series argue that the religion of Islam or rather the numerous interpretations of Islam are unacceptable representations of the Qur’anic revelation. The proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation challenges the standpoints of Traditional Islam on three key issues: inclusiveness, the sources of religious knowledge, and the composition of any acceptable Qur’anic-based interpretation of religion. Each of the first three volumes of this series is dedicated to one of these topics, respectively.

In this book the stance of the proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation in regard to the Sunna (teachings of Prophet Muhammad) and the Hadith (reports on the Sunna) is addressed. The proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation recognizes—in reference to the followers of the Qur’an—the Qur’an to be the sole source of religious knowledge. It does not consider the Sunna to represent an independent or complementary source of religious knowledge. Furthermore, it does not consider the Hadith to represent the Sunna, nor does it consider the Hadith a source of religious knowledge.

What Islam is the book talking about? Is it one Islam that around one-quarter of the world’s population follows? Is the Sunna a source of religious knowledge? Does the Hadith actually report on the Sunna? What of the Hadith is certain in its attribution to Prophet Muhammad? These questions and a multitude of others are addressed in this volume of the series.

This book is self-contained. It can be read as part of the series or independently. It does not require the reader to have previous knowledge in any of the topics discussed. The book discusses topics you do not find in your typical book about the Qur’an or Islam. It would interest those who want to learn about the Qur’an, its message, the Sunna and the Hadith. Among this group would be those searching for a reformed understanding of the Qur’an and how it applies today; those interested to learn about the Sunna and the Hadith—what they are and what they are not; and those interested in monotheistic religions in general.

Keywords: The Qur’an (Quran, Koran, al-Qur’an, el Coran, القران الكريم), Sunna, Hadith, Shari’a, Fiqh, Islam, Islamic law, eternal law, revealed scriptures, interpretations of scripture, monotheism, inclusiveness, religious reform.