Chapter Three: The Authority of Solitary Reports in Creed and Law

Introduction

Those who contend that a solitary report (ḥadīth al-āḥād) cannot establish matters of creed simultaneously affirm that the legal rulings of the Sharīʿah are proven by such reports. By doing so they have drawn a distinction between creed and law. Can that distinction be found in the previously cited Qur’anic and prophetic texts? Absolutely not. Their general and unrestricted wording embraces doctrinal matters as well, obligating us to follow the Prophet ﷺ in them. Without doubt they fall under His words “a matter” in the verse:

“It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, once Allah and His Messenger have decided any matter, to have any choice about their affair.” ⦗Al-Aḥzāb 36⦘

Similarly, Allah’s command to obey His Prophet ﷺ, His prohibition against disobeying him, His warning to those who oppose him, and His praise for the believers who, when called to judgment before Allah and His Messenger, say, “We hear and we obey,” all point to the obligation of obeying and following him ﷺ in both creed and practice.

The same applies to His statement:

“So take whatever the Messenger gives you.” ⦗Al-Ḥashr 7⦘

Here the word “whatever” is, as is well known, a term of complete generality and inclusiveness. Were you to ask those who insist on accepting solitary reports in legal matters for their evidence, they would cite these very verses and others we have omitted for brevity—verses that Imām al-Shāfiʿī, d. 204 AH, gathered exhaustively in his work al-Risālah. Whoever wishes may consult them. What, then, has led them