Rather, they acted upon Allah’s words: “It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, once Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, to have any choice in their affair” (Quran 33:36); upon His words: “By your Lord, they will not truly believe until they make you the judge in their disputes, then find within themselves no discomfort regarding what you decide and submit with full submission” (Quran 4:65); upon His words: “Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord, and do not follow other patrons besides Him—how little you take heed” (Quran 7:3); and upon verses of this kind.

Yet we now live in an age where, if someone is told, “It is soundly established that the Prophet ﷺ said such-and-such,” he retorts, “Who said that?”, thrusting the hadith from his breast. He turns his ignorance of the transmitter into an argument for opposing the report and abandoning its application. Had he been sincere with himself, he would have realized that such a response is utter falsehood and that it is impermissible to reject the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the basis of such ignorance.

Even worse is the excuse he offers for his ignorance: he imagines that a consensus exists that the hadith should be opposed. This betrays a poor opinion of the Muslim community, for he is accusing them of agreeing unanimously to contravene a Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Worse still is that his only proof for alleging this consensus is his own ignorance and his lack of knowledge of anyone who has acted upon the hadith—so the matter returns to preferring his ignorance over the Sunnah. Allah alone is the One whose help is sought.