Battle of Ideas in Islam: Tradition vs Revelation

Persons that uphold the Book of Allah in preference to the hadiths are treated as "hadith rejectors." They are branded by takfiris as kafirs. But is a person that follows the "best hadith" - the Book of Allah - a hadith rejector? Bukhari rejected in excess of half a million hadiths and he was not referred to as a "hadith-rejector." Following the tradition of the prophet requires following what he followed. And he did not follow Bukhari. The prophet followed what he was asked to follow. The prophet was not expected to follow Bukhari. He was asked to follow what was revealed to him. And, contrary to what traditionists assert, Allah did not reveal Bukhari to the prophet. Allah revealed the Book of Allah to the prophet. The prophet did not follow his traditions. He followed the "best hadith" and the "best tafsir," the Book of Allah. Accordingly, persons that follow what the Book of Allah are not hadith rejectors. They are rejectors of falsehoods that permeate the traditions ascribed to the prophet without his permission and in defiance of his prohibition of writing his traditions. Persons that follow the Book of Allah follow the real tradition of the prophet, which is to follow the Book of Allah. In different words, persons that follow the Book of Allah are real sunnis, because they follow the real tradition of Muhammad, which was to follow the Book of Allah. By contrast, persons that follow the hadiths in preference to the "best hadith" - the Book of Allah - are the real "hadith rejectors." They are rejectors of the tradition of the prophet because they follow what the prophet neither followed, nor even knew about. The prophet followed the Book of Allah. But the traditionists assert that following the Book of Allah is not enough. We are also expected to follow books that did not exist at the time of the prophet. But following the Book of Allah was enough for the prophet and his people. It is not enough for the Islamists. The re-orientation from revelation to tradition resulted in disorientation. Books of persons overshadowed the Book of Allah. Persons that equate the traditions with the Book of Allah perpetrate shirk, for they treat Bukhari as "equal to," a "partner of," and even as a "part of" the Book of Allah. Traditional exegesis and jurisprudence are riddled with shirk, associating books of traditions with Allah and even "abrogating" and "replacing" revealed rulings by rulings from books of traditions. They treat persons as possessing the authority to "abrogate" and "replace" Allah's rulings. Treating tradition as "revelation from God," "equal to" and even able to "abrogate" and "replace" parts of the Book of Allah, to replace revelation, also taints the law with shirk. Juristic shirk is reflected in rulings on adultery, blasphemy and apostasy. For the Book of Allah mandates no death penalty for any of these actions. It is extremist ulama that clamor for death. Traditional exegesis and jurisprudence require purification from tainting by shirk. The turn to tradition was triggered by the efforts of hawkish rulers to find a religious justification for waging wars of aggression prohibited in revelation. The turn to traditions was reinforced in the clashes between the ahl al-Quran and the ahl al-hadith in early Islam. The treatment of tradition as "revelation from God" defies the prohibition of the fabrication of revelation in the Book of Allah. It also defied the prophet's prohibition of the recording of his traditions. Hawkish ulama reinterpreted the teaching of revelation to provide their rulers with a "religious" rationale for waging unlawful wars of aggression. In this they betrayed Islam. For the purpose, bellicose or mercenary ulama weaponized exegesis and jurisprudence, turning them into weapons of mass deception. Militant ulama weaponized the epistemology of revelation through he fabrication of hawkish traditions for example the tradition according to which "the blood of the kafir is halal for the believer."

• | Author: Leslie Terebessy
• | Publisher: Independently Published
• | Publication Date: Jun 06, 2025
• | Number of Pages: 00174 pages
• | Binding: Paperback or Softback
• | ISBN-10: NA
• | ISBN-13: 9798286963430