to them that over which they differ, and as guidance and mercy for a people who believe.” (al-Naḥl 16:64). For this reason the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Verily I have been given the Qur’an and something like it along with it,” meaning the Sunnah.

The Sunnah, likewise, was sent down to him by revelation just as the Qur’an was, although it is not recited in the same manner. Imām al-Shāfiʿī and other leading scholars have produced numerous proofs for this, but this is not the place to elaborate on them.

The point, then, is that you first seek the Qur’an’s interpretation from the Qur’an itself; if you do not find it there, then from the Sunnah. This is exactly what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked of Muʿādh when he dispatched him to Yemen: “According to what will you judge?” He replied, “By the Book of Allah.” He said, “And if you do not find it there?” He responded, “By the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.” He said, “And if you do not find it there?” He replied, “I will exert my own reasoning.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then struck him on the chest and said, “Praise be to Allah who has guided the envoy of the Messenger of Allah to what pleases the Messenger of Allah.” This ḥadīth is recorded in the Musnads and the Sunan with a sound chain of transmission.