What are the Sources of Islam?

What Are the Sources of Islamic Knowledge?

Islamic teachings are derived from two primary sources:

1. Divine Revelation
2. Reasoning from Logical and Scriptural Principles

As for the first source, ‘Divine Revelation’ comprises of the primary source of Islamic teachings through:

1. the Holy Quran—The Holy Quran is God’s final revelation and is free from error and alterations.
2. the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hp), otherwise understood as his practical life. The sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hp) is demonstrated by:

• his sayings;
• his actions;
• his approval of statements and acts by Muslims.

It is agreed upon by all Muslims that the true Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hp) includes these three elements irrespective of the fact that some Muslims have eagerly chosen the name “al-Sunnah” solely (excluding other sects) for their sect.

The Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh&hp) must be authenticated, verified, and established such that its reliability is confirmed with confidence. The highest level of authenticity that a tradition can reach is what is known as a Mutawaattir Hadith; this type of narration is transmitted by numerous narrators such that the possibility of it being fabricated is minimal; hence, it leads to certainty in is authentically stated by the Prophet. One example of a mutawaattir hadith is ‘Hadith al Thaqalayn’ in which the Holy Prophet (pbuh&hp) states: “Verily, I am leaving behind two weighty things (thaqalayn) among you: the Book of God and my family (I’trah), my household (Ahl al-Bayt), for indeed, the two will never separate until they return to me by the Pond (of al-Kawthar) on the Day of Judgment.”

The second source of Islamic teachings is ‘Reasoning from Logical and Scriptural Principles’

There are general fundamental principles and methodologies that jurists implement to address contemporary matters not mentioned explicitly in the Holy Quran or Sunnah. These are of two types:

• Incisive principles of reasoning: rational principles that are based on logic; for example, oppression is evil and justice is good.
• General rules derived from the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, such as, no harm is allowed in Islam, and everything is considered lawful until a prohibition is ascertained. This general principle is applied in situations where the jurist does not find proof in the Quran or Sunnah on the prohibition of something, hence it is deemed lawful.

The process of implementing the general principles requires expertise and special qualifications that require many years of studying various Islamic sciences. After many years of studying and training, a person becomes a mujtahid or jurist which is the level at which one can accurately deduce Islamic laws and define the religious rulings/edicts. It is only rational that the average Muslim must resort to one of these accomplished jurists, due to not having the necessary qualifications to deduce religious laws themselves. The jurist who fulfills a specific set of requirements established by Islam, in addition to those mentioned above, is followed by ordinary people and is called a marja.