This question is of great significance: What principles should serve as the foundation for understanding, discussion, reasoning, and agreement or disagreement in religious discourse In our view, two fundamental principles hold primary importance in this regard. These are reason(Aql) and transmitted knowledge (Naql), both of which serve as decisive authorities in the comprehension of religion and Shari‘ah. The principles are as follows:
1. The Qur’an is ‘Meezan’ and ‘Furqan’
In religion, the Qur’an holds the status of the scale (mizan) and the criterion (furqan). This means that in all matters related to religion, it possesses decisive authority. Therefore, every statement, every narration, and every opinion from Hadiths and traditions, history and biography, jurisprudence and exegesis will be weighed on its scale and tested against its criterion. Only that will be acceptable which it accepts. Whatever the Qur’an rejects will not be accepted as part of religion or as its interpretation and explanation.
To adhere to this principle, it is essential that Hadith be understood in the light of the Qur’an, and if anything within it contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah, it should not be accepted. Esteemed teacher Javed Ahmed Ghamidi writes:
…In religion, its status is that of the scale and the criterion. It is the overseer of everything and has been sent down as a deciding authority to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Therefore, it requires no further argument that anything against the Qur’an must necessarily be rejected. The ultimate and definitive source of the history of what the Prophet (PBUH) did in his capacity as a Prophet and Messenger is also the Qur’an. Hence, most of the content of Hadith is related to it in the way that a branch is related to its root, and an explanation is related to the main text. It is obvious that understanding an explanation or a branch without referring to the original text or root is not possible in any way. If we meticulously review the mistakes made so far in understanding Hadith, this truth becomes clearly evident. The incidents of stoning during the Prophetic era, the killing of Ka’ab bin Ashraf, the narrations of the punishment of the grave and intercession, commands such as Umirtu an uqātila an-nās (I have been commanded to fight the people) and Man baddala dīnahu faqtulūh (Whoever changes his religion, kill him) have caused confusion precisely because attempts were not made to understand them in relation to their root in the Qur’an. (Meezan 63, 65)
2. The Holy Qur’an was revealed in clear Arabic language
The Qur’an was revealed in clear and lucid Arabic language. There is no complexity, ambiguity, peculiarity, or strangeness in its words and styles. It presents its message with complete clarity, which poses no difficulty for scholars to understand.
The esteemed teacher has written in Meezan:
…The Qur’an was revealed not only in Arabic but in clear Arabic—meaning a language that is extremely explicit, without any ambiguity, where every word is clear and every style is familiar to its audience. It is stated:
The Trusted Spirit has brought it down to your heart so that you also become a warner like other prophets, in very lucid Arabic.
(26: 193-195)
قُرۡاٰنًا عَرَبِيًّا غَيۡرَ ذِىۡ عِوَجٍ لَّعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَّقُوۡنَ
In the form of a Qur’ān that is in Arabic in which there is no flaw so that they can be secure from God’s torment. (39:28)
This is a clear fact about the Qur’an. If one acknowledges it, then as a necessary consequence, it must be accepted that no word or style in the Qur’an can be rare or obscure in terms of its meaning. It was revealed using words and styles that were completely well-known and familiar to its audience. In terms of language, nothing in it contains any kind of peculiarity, but rather, it is clear and evident in every aspect. Therefore, in its translation and interpretation, the known meanings of its words should be kept in mind at all times. Any interpretation deviating from these cannot be accepted under any circumstances. (20-21)
In our traditional schools of thought, many misunderstandings stem from the avoidance of principles concerning reason and transmitted knowledge. The unequivocally authenticated and definitive texts of the Qur’an are considered subsidiary, while the conjecturally authenticated and probable texts of the Hadith are taken as primary. Instead of understanding Hadith in the light of the Qur’an, the Qur’an is interpreted in the light of the Hadith. The same issue arises with well-known Arabic words and styles. Sometimes they are taken away from their established meanings and attributed with rare and unfamiliar interpretations. This erroneous approach to knowledge and thought and the inverted order of comprehension and reasoning compromise the status of the Qur’an as a scale and criterion. Established linguistic norms are disregarded, and such an interpretation is conveyed which, in certain aspects, results in opposition or contradiction to the overarching goals of the Qur’an and Sunnah.