Quranism

{{Islam}}
'''Qurʾānism''' (Arabic: '''القرآنية''', romanized as '''''al-Qurʾāniyya'''''), also known as '''''Qurʾāniyūn''''' (Arabic: '''قرآنيون''')<ref>[https://abdurrahman.org/innovated-groups-sects/quraniyoon/ "Qurʾāniyūn (قرآنيون) – Qurʾānists : The Rejectors of Sunnah"]</ref> and the '''''Ahl al-Qur'an'''''<ref>[https://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/main.php The "International Quranic Center" literally has "Ahl al-Quran" as their URL]</ref>{{efn|Translated as "People of the Qur'an"}} is a reformist movement in [[Islam]] that holds that the [[Qur'an]] alone is sufficient for an understanding of Islamic law.<ref name="listverse">{{cws|https://listverse.com/2016/04/08/10-forgotten-sects-of-major-world-religions/|10 Forgotten Sects of Major Religions|Listverse}}</ref> This entails either a rejection or minimization of the [[Hadith]] and the {{wpl|sunnah}} as extraneous and even backwards to some degree. Quranists differ from other Muslims in that they believe the Qur'an can be understood alone without contextual reference to the Sunnah, the consensus of the ''{{wpl|ulama}}'' (community of Islamic scholars; Arabic: '''علماء''', romanized as '''''ʿulamāʾ'''''), and Hadith. In this way, the Quranists emphasize ''{{wpl|ijtihad||,}}'' or personal interpretation, of the Qur'an to come to conclusions independently through a [[rationalist]]ic lens. This rejection of the Hadith and Sunnah in general has important implications for the Islam of the Quranists, leading to marked differences in [[theology]], ritual observances, and general jurisprudence (''[[fiqh]]'').

==History==
===Early history===
There has long been a tradition of [[skepticism]] of the reliability of the Hadith as scriptural authority. Many hadiths were written down centuries after the events they depicted and were often cynically used as polemical pieces in the [[ideological]] disputes of the day (thus implicating [[bias]] in the hadiths themselves).<ref name="holm">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8IGNHuBP78 "Who are the Quranists?"] courtesy of religious scholar and expert on Islam, Filip Holm</ref> Some criticized the hadiths as being contradictory, and the result of "guesswork." A few even called the hadiths ''{{wpl|bid'ah}}'' (meaning "innovation"; Arabic: '''بدعة''').<ref name="azami">[http://www.mostmerciful.com/Hadithbook-sectionone.htm Azami, M. A., ''Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature'', Islamic Book Trust, Kuala Lumpur, 92; cited in Akbarally Meherally, ''Myths and Realities of Hadith – A Critical Study'', (published by Mostmerciful.com Publishers), Burnaby, BC, Canada, 6] [https://web.archive.org/web/20160313063736/http://mostmerciful.com/hadithbook-sectionone.htm|date=2016-03-13] (Archived); excerpted from Abdur Rab, ibid, p. 200.</ref>

The same skeptics who called the reliability of the hadiths into question also insisted that the Qur'an alone was sufficient for understanding the divine law. The Qur'an was divine in origin, perfect in form and understanding, whereas the hadiths were the product of fallible men.<ref name="azami"/> A letter was sent to the {{wpl|Umayyad}} [[caliph]] {{wpl|Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan}} that reserved particular condemnation for the hadithist traditions of the {{wpl|Kufa|Kufans|:}}

{{quotebox|They abandoned the judgement of their Lord and took hadiths for their religion; and they claim that they have obtained knowledge other than from the Koran … They believed in a book which was not from [[God]], written by the hands of men; they then attributed it to the Messenger of God.<ref name="aisha">Aisha Y. Musa, ''Hadith as Scripture: Discussions on the Authority of Prophetic Traditions in Islam'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp. 37–38. {{isbn|9781349372805}}</ref>}}

===Modern history===
Quranism in its modern form can be rooted in the ideas of late 19<sup>th</sup> and early 20<sup>th</sup> century reformers like the [[Egyptian]] modernist {{wpl|Mohammed Abduh||,}} who tended to reject traditional methods of jurisprudence like ''taqlid'' (legal reasoning reliant on the consensus of legal scholars) in favour of interpreting from the Qur'an directly.<ref name="brown">Brown, Daniel W. (1996). ''Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{isbn|978-0-52157-077-0}}.</ref>{{rp|38-41}} This particular methodology is very similar to that advocated for by [[Salafi]]s, but they come to very different conclusions from the Salafis.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8so2h21Mznk "What is Salafism"?] courtesy of religious scholar Filip Holm</ref>

One early Quranist (in its modern form) was the [[Egyptian]] physician {{wpl|Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi||,}} who once famously declared:

{{quotebox|What is obligatory for man does not go beyond God's Book. If anything other than the Qur'an had been necessary for religion, [[Muhammad|the Prophet]] would have commanded its registration in writing, and God would have guaranteed its preservation.<ref name="aisha"/>}}

Quranism also began to spread among [[Iranian]] circles, who tended to regard traditional [[Shi'a]] practices such as a belief in ''{{wpl|raj'a}}'' as [[superstition]] without basis in the Qur'an.<ref name="arjomand">Said Amir Arjomand, ''Authority and Political Culture in Shi'ism'', State University of New York Press, 1998, pp. 160–161 and 166–167</ref> These Shi'a Quranists advocated for an interpretation of the Qur'an solely through the lens of the Qur'an, without the contextual intercessor of the hadiths. This was exemplified as interpreting the "Qu'ran with the Qu'ran".<ref name="arjomand"/>{{efn|In Arabic: تفسير القوزآن بي القوزآن (romanized as ''Tafsīr al-Qur'ān bī al-Qur'ān'')<ref>{{cws|https://web.archive.org/web/20200626200611/http://pdmag.info/article-1-316-en.pdf|A Criticism of the “Qura’n-through-Qura’n Interpretation Method” of the Shiite Quraniyan|Journal of Religious Research}} (note that the link is in {{wpl|Persian||.}} Also archived from the original, which is now a dead link.</ref>}}

According to {{wpl|Syed Ahman Khan||,}} a 19th-century [[Indian]] Islamic reformist, while the Qur'an possesses social relevance continuing into modern times, continued reliance on the Hadith limits the infinite potential of the Qur'an to a particular social and temporal setting.<ref name="brown"/>{{rp|65}}

==Sharia==
Many Quranists will note that the more problematic elements associated with Islamic law (''[[sharia]]'') come from the Hadith.<ref name="holm"/> This includes many of the penalties proscribing [[capital punishment]] for [[criminal]] offences,<ref name="holm"/> and some of the more [[sexist]] and [[homophobic]] elements of the religion also have their roots in the Hadith. The Qur'an tends to be more ambiguous regarding the status of women and [[homosexuality]].<ref name="holm"/>

==Persecution==
Quranists however, because they reject the Hadith, and therefore view Muslims who rely on the Hadith as wrong, are unpopular in many Muslim countries and therefore face persecution from the religious orthodoxy.<ref name="listverse"/> This includes [[imprisonment]] and even [[torture]].<ref name="quran">[https://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/show_article.php?main_id=2614 "The Quranists as persecuted Muslim scholars"] - ''Ahl al-Quran''</ref> Many Quranists have been subject to death threats from fanatics. Opposition to Quranism is one of the few things that can unify the Egyptian government and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], as Quranists criticize the beliefs and practices of both groups.<ref name="quran"/>

In 2007 five Quranists were arrested by Egyptian authorities and detained for thirty-seven days, where they were [[torture]]d and interrogated about the details of their faith.<ref name="quran"/> A man related to one of the Quranists wrote about the damages inflicted on the Quranists as a result of the lengthy period of detainment and torture:

{{quotebox|The five Quranists have been released in October 6, 2007, after more than four months in prison. Because of torture, my brother Abdellateef had to undergo surgery in his ear. Amr Tharwat needed surgery on his leg, while Ahmed Dahmash has damage in his backbone.<ref name="quran"/>}}

The same man relates that the five Quranists continued to be harassed by the authorities even after being released, including regular interrogations and arrests. The five men were also ordered to practice their Friday prayers at orthodox [[Sunni]] mosques (which are not going to be very friendly to critics of the ruling orthodoxy).<ref name="quran"/>

==See also==
*[[Judaism#Other|Karaite Judaism]], a now-rare form of Judaism whose adherents follow only the [[Tanakh]].
*[[Protestant Reformation]], a similar movement in [[Christian]] history which rejected the extraneous traditions popular in Christianity at the time as being without [[Biblical]] basis.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
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