Believing the Quran sets out everything Muslims must practise is a major misconception

Today's Friday sermon said it was a major misconception to believe that Almighty Allah has set out everything Muslims must practise in the Holy Quran and that there is therefore no need to consult anything beyond it.

Delivered today on the theme “Sunnah: the second source of Islamic law”, the Friday sermon said Islam is the religion Almighty Allah has chosen for humanity to follow in this world. It said success in this world and the hereafter can only be achieved by adhering to both the Holy Quran and the Prophet's Sunnah, which form the foundations of Islamic law.

Noting that Almighty Allah sent a messenger to guide people to the straight path, the sermon said Muslims are obliged to follow him in every aspect of life and take him as their example. It also said Almighty Allah has made clear that the Prophet's words form part of the revelation sent down to him.

The sermon said some people understand Sunnah to mean practices that are not obligatory. Such people believe that even where a religious ruling is established through the Sunnah, if it is not stated in the Quran, observing it brings a reward but failing to do so carries no punishment. However, the sermon said it is impossible to practise many aspects of Islamic law by drawing evidence solely from the Quran without referring to the Sunnah.

For example, the sermon said prayer is the pillar of the religion and its most important tenet after the two declarations of the Shahada. Although the Quran makes clear that prayer is obligatory for believers, it does not set out how to perform it. This is known through the Prophet's Sunnah, the sermon said, adding that he had likewise taught how to perform the rituals of Hajj.

Drawing a parallel between the relationship of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah and that of the two declarations of the Shahada, the sermon said the Quran and Sunnah cannot be separated, just as the two declarations cannot be separated. It also said the Prophet's Sunnah is part of the religion revealed to him, which Almighty Allah has promised to preserve until the Day of Judgement.