Irrefutable evidence that the Quran and Sunnah are authentic

4-12-2011 | IslamWeb

Question:

What is the evidence for the authenticity of the Quran and Sunnah, knowing that I have absolute faith in them?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

 

The fact that the Quran is authentic and that it is nothing but the Words of Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, has been proved in more than one way:

First, we can refer to what was mentioned by Al-Qurtubi may Allaah have mercy upon him at the beginning of his Tafseer (exegesis) about the kinds of miracles and the miraculous nature of the glorious Quran. He mentioned that the Quran is still transmitted from one generation to the next and can be traced back to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, whose existence is an indisputably established fact and whose genuineness is proved by evidence and miracles. It is known that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, received the Quran from Jibreel (Gabriel) may Allaah exalt his mention who took it from Allaah The Almighty. Therefore, the Quran was originally transmitted by  two completely trustworthy beings and this guarantees that it was not subjected to any additions or deletions.

After that, it was transmitted by so many people that they could never have lied in what they reported or heard as they were so great in number.

The second thing, which confirms the first point, is that the Quran is being memorized, in every age, by millions of people; men, women, young and old without any additions or deletions because Allaah The Almighty has promised to safeguard it.

The third thing is the numerous miraculous aspects of the Quran. Al-Qurtubi may Allaah have mercy upon him mentioned ten of them, some of which are:

1. The magnificent composition and the unique style that differs from any other style that was familiar to the Arabs or others.

2. Powerful, yet easy words. It was mentioned by Ibn Al-Hassaar may Allaah have mercy upon him that anyone who knows that Allaah The Almighty is the truth, will realize that only He alone is capable of composing such powerful wordings.

3. The fact that it informs us about things that took place in the past and things that will take place in the future; that cannot be known except through revelation.

There is more than one aspect of the authenticity of the Sunnah:

 

First, everyone, the ignorant and the knowledgeable, know very well that the Companions may Allaah be pleased with them were very keen on knowing what the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did, said, or approved of in order to follow his example.

The second thing is the effort that was exerted by scholars throughout the ages in order to transmit the Sunnah. In fact, they were extremely cautious in choosing those whom they could trust to report only the truth. They did this to the extent that made Muhammad ibn Sireen may Allaah have mercy upon him say that religious knowledge is the religion itself and that is why investigating the source of information, meaning, the narrators in this regard, is crucial. Hence, scholars stipulated certain rules for accepting narrated Hadeeths and this is called the Science of Hadeeth.

The third thing is that these Hadeeths  inform us about matters that took place in the past and that will take place in the future.

According to the Scholars’ most valid opinion, Allaah The Almighty has been guarding the Sunnah the same way as the Quran has been guarded. This is for two reasons:

The first is that the Sunnah is included in what Allaah The Almighty Says (which means):

·        {Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardian.}[Quran 15:9]

·       {And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them.}[Quran 16:44]

 

The verse here refers to the fact that Allaah The Exalted revealed the Sunnah to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in order to explain the Quran and clarify its meaning.

The second reason is that even if the Sunnah was not included in the previously mentioned verse, it still must have been guarded by Allaah The Almighty because guarding the Quran and its meanings against perversion or change cannot be achieved without protecting the Sunnah that clarifies it. This can be understood in light of the rule which states that what is necessary to fulfill an obligation becomes in itself obligatory.

Allaah Knows best.

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