Chapter One: The Duty to Return to the Sunnah and the Prohibition of Contradicting It
Introduction
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Chapter One: The Duty to Return to the Sunnah and the Prohibition of Contradicting It
Honoured brothers, it is unanimously agreed among the earliest Muslims that the Prophetic Sunnah—upon its author be the finest blessings and peace—is the second and final point of reference in Islamic law for every sphere of life: matters of the unseen and creed, as well as practical, political, and educational rulings. It is therefore impermissible to oppose the Sunnah in any of these areas on the basis of personal opinion, independent reasoning, or analogy. Imām al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy on him, said at the end of his work Al-Risālah: “Analogy is not lawful when a report exists.” Similar maxims circulated among later scholars of legal theory: “When a narration arrives, reasoning is set aside,” and, “There is no ijtihād where an explicit text is present.” Their proof for this stance lies in the Noble Book and the purified Sunnah.

The Qur’an commands recourse to the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ
As for the Book, it contains many verses on this subject; in this introduction I shall cite only a few of them as a reminder—“for indeed reminders benefit the believers” (51:55).

1 – “ It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, once Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, to have any choice about their affair. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has clearly gone far astray.” (33:36)