# Did Muslims learn how to pray from hadith books?

*Quranists are not a monolith; Islam reached us through the living tradition*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ht0qjv5om9o/s/2/
- Date: 2021-10-25 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Should We Debate Quranists? | Mufti Abu Layth (4:30–7:07)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht0qJv5Om9o&t=270s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ht0qjv5om9o/

**Topics:** Quran-only movement; Sunnah versus hadith

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** No: the practice of Islam reached us through the living tradition, taught from parent to child, not through hadith collections compiled two centuries later. Quranists are not one group, and many only doubt the accuracy of hadith.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says that, personally, he would say the practice of Islam has not reached us through hadith but through the living tradition.

**Evidence, his words at 5:49:** “i personally you see i would say that the islam the practice of islam has not reached us through hadith it's reached us through the living tradition” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht0qJv5Om9o&t=349s)

## Longer summary

Continuing his answer to the caller, Mufti Abu Layth says Quranists are not a monolith, comparing the term to 'Sunni', which covers Sufis, Salafis, Barelvis, Deobandis and Jamaat-e-Islami. Some called Quranists accept the sunnah of the Prophet but doubt that hadith reached us with accuracy, which he calls an epistemological issue rather than disloyalty to the Prophet. He says that in his view the practice of Islam did not reach us through hadith but through the living tradition: Abu Dawud and al-Bukhari came about two hundred years after the Prophet, and people were praying before them because Islam was taught from parent to child and in community. He says he advises embracing the inherited tradition, which in such matters as the five prayers is not a corruption.

## Sources and names cited

- Quranist (Quran-only)
- Sunni
- Sufi
- Salafi
- Barelvi
- Deobandi
- Jamaat-e-Islami
- Abu Dawud
- al-Tirmidhi
- Imam al-Bukhari
- The deen reaches us through continuous living practice

## Transcript (machine tier, 4:30–7:07)

[3:51] about god's decree it's not really doesn't befit me as a human uh i i don't this is me personally i i find it almost as very you know stupendously arrogant to try attempt that so i wouldn't speak on things like that you see allah's mercy encompasses all his creation it encompasses all and only allah knows what he will do and what he how he treats we just we just deal with ourselves in this world that's what i would say so nobody can be going around telling you're going to hell that guy is definitely going to hell this woman's definitely going to hell

[4:30] that bunch of people are going we worry about ourselves we concern ourselves with the path we we serve people that's what we do yeah we develop ourselves that's our journey the other issue is okay about uh okay about quranis now i'm not exactly sure because people use this term and they use it in different ways so i'm not exactly sure because they're not a monolith one people who are the quranists for example they are different representations it's like saying sunni so sunni is includes that it'll include the sufis they'll include the selfies as well will put themselves in sunnis

[5:10] they'll include brailwys diobandis jamaat islami will include every all these groups will still call themselves sunni now in somewhat of a reflection you'll get people that will call themselves quranist or people call them quranis but some won't claim they will say no of course we accept the sunnah of the prophet but it's just we have doubt on for example certain things that go against reason or some might say we have doubt that the hadith has reached us with accuracy had it reached us with certainty we would have accepted it so this is now an epistemological issue okay it's that they're doubting the

[5:49] veracity of what's reached us the information they're not denying the loyalty to the prophet so there's a big difference conceptually i personally you see i would say that the islam the practice of islam has not reached us through hadith it's reached us through the living tradition now this is where people misunderstand this they think that islam reached us through hadith it didn't they think the salah how to pray salah reached us because it's said in abu dhabi or in termity no that's not true abu dawood comes over 200 years about 200 years after the prophet as does imam bukhari

[6:28] for 200 years were people not praying you see islam was taught from parent to child and in community and this is how it got transmitted by the living tradition and so this is how we learn things like salah this is how we learn things like song the main features of islam and people disagreed i get that wherever interpretation wherever there was interpretation people disagreed but this is how it was taught now i do uh advise and advocate to embrace the tradition of islam and i feel that this is the inherited tradition is not in that sense about these things corrupt it's not like the

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment ht0qJv5Om9o/s/2. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ht0qjv5om9o/s/2/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.