Those who say the Quran is enough for us and abandon worshipping

They are some people who believe in the Quran but who harm Islam though unknowingly in terms of its being practiced in life due to the way they follow. What people generally do is to seek a foreign agent behind every negative movement but the people we mention here are not tools of foreigners; they please foreigners unknowingly.   

There is a great group of young people who are loyal to the realities of the Quran heartily, who have adopted Islamic ethics and who worship regularly. The number of them is increasing day by day, making all our enemies think deeply. Those destructive forces constantly encourage alcoholic drinks, drugs, debauchery and all kinds of immoral publications to prevent youth from meeting Islam.

Their aim is to form an animal youth that make their minds and hearts operate based on lust. We have to accept that they have come a long way related to their aim. However, considering that it is easy to destroy and difficult to build, it is also a fact that the scene that makes them more hopeless day by day is becoming bigger.

Years ago, a strange trend that would please those enemies and become a light of hope, though dim, for them emerged. Since they are eager to show up again nowadays, we want to deal with the issue briefly.

Those people say that everything exists in the Quran and that there is no need to look for another source. Although they state that they believe in both parts of kalima ash-shahada, which is the basis of Islam, they follow a strange way by not taking into consideration the second part of it, which is related to deeds. Therefore, they do not accept hadiths as the second source of Islam; they say that everything exists in the Quran and that there is no need for hadiths. We say to them, “Prayer is ordered in the Quran but it is not explained in detail how to perform it. How can we perform prayers without hadiths and the practices of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)?”

They answer this question by saying, “We will perform prayers based on whatever we understand from the Quran.” When we say, “Five daily prayers are not mentioned clearly in the Quran; the morning and evening prayers are mentioned along with the middle prayer, which can be understood as the afternoon prayer”, they immediately approve of you and say, "There are two daily prayers; the third is left to our preference." Then, we say, "Even if there are two daily prayers, how many rak'ahs we will perform these two prayers and what will we read in them? They are not explained in the Quran."

You receive the following strange answer: There is nothing called rak’ah. Only prayer is ordered in the Quran; ruku’ and sajdah are mentioned and qiblah is determined. A person is to determine the rest himself; he can perform any prayer he wishes as any rak’ahs; he can perform a prayer as one rak’ah or ten rak’ahs.    

It is not necessary to mention all mistakes of that group here. We will make explanations based on the following hadith and giving prayer as an example: “Prayer is the pillar of the religion.” (Tirmidhi, Iman 8). Their wrong thoughts about the other deeds of worship are similar.

Where are those who perform prayers according to the Quran?  

First, let us have a look around us: Are there anybody who perform prayers like that? No. We do not think that they perform prayers like that. If they did, they would show up with this cause, which they believe to be right, would constitute a school that performed prayers like that way and try hard to increase their number. In that case, the result of this idea is to raise a generation that does not perform prayers, under the cover of, supposedly, performing prayers according to the Quran.

They cannot claim that the first addressees of the Quran and the Companions, who were the first friends and students of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), performed such prayers. The Companions practiced and imitated every deed of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), especially his practices related to worship, exactly and meticulously. There is no such individual and arbitrary practice in the period Tabiun, which followed the Companions, and in the Muslims of the later centuries. This state continued like that until this century.

In addition to the true madhhabs, we cannot see such an arbitrary form of worship in the sections that deviate from the straight line of Islam and that we call the deviant sects. Since no such practice has been seen until this century, it means no worship in accordance with the Quran has been performed up to now according to the claims of this group. Thus, according to them, Islam is a religion that does not interfere life and that remains only at the level of faith. 

Why did Allah send the Prophet if the Quran is enough for us?

According to their understanding, the Prophet (pbuh) is seen as a person who did not teach his nation how to perform prayers and left them alone with their own views at this point. In that case, the following question can come to the mind "Why was a prophet sent then?" If the only duty of the prophet was to convey the Quran to people, and if he did not have the duty of serving as an example about how to practice the Quran, the Quran could have been sent down through an angel and without a prophet.

Angels are luminous beings that can take any shape they wish. As a matter of fact, since Jibril was able to appear in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in the form of the Companion Dihya, God Almighty could have sent the Quran collectively through Jibril as it was the case related to the Torah, and could have left its practice to people's personal opinions and preferences.

The point where these people are confused is the issue of why God Almighty did not explain prayer and other deeds of worship in the Quran in detail. They interpret it as follows: It means, there is no need for it and it is a mercy for the slaves of Allah to be left free regarding the issue. 

According to such an understanding, there is no need for so many details in human laws. It is groundless and meaningless to list all crimes one by one and to explain all penalties in detail. Everyone should study the constitution and apply it as they understand it.

According to this understanding, it is also inappropriate to search the subtle meanings in the book of the universe. It is sufficient to do whatever Allah showed clearly. Thus, you will see the way with the light of sun, breathe the air, cultivate the soil, drink the water and irrigate your crops. It is not necessary to investigate the underground resources, the duties of internal organs, and the properties of genes, atoms and rays because if it were necessary, Allah would show them to us like water and the sun.

Such a thought deprives man of knowledge and blessings of civilization; similarly, looking only at the explicitly stated meanings in the verses of the Quran deprives man from the vast meanings of the Quran and from very deep sources of understanding. Such a person is contented with only what he understands; he does not need to experience what he does not understand or the unexplained decrees. Anyway, what the soul wants is an ungrateful life and a religion without worship.

Is there a Quranic verse saying, “There is no need to follow the Prophet; the Quran is enough for you”?

What those people who oppose ijtihad, do not accept madhhabs and regard ilm al-hal unnecessary do is actually a very wrong ijtihad. That is, saying “The Quranic verses are enough; there is no need for hadiths” itself is an irresponsible and daring ijtihad.

For, there is no verse meaning “There is no need to follow the Prophet; the Quran is enough for you” in the Quran. On the contrary, there are verses ordering us to obey the Messenger of Allah. We will mention some of them later. 

Thus, such an understanding is a completely wrong ijtihad originating from feelings and desires of the soul. 

Let us see what is stated in the verse that opens the door of ijtihad and enables deduction from verses:  

“When there comes to them some matter touching (Public) safety or fear, they divulge it. If they had only referred it to the Messenger, or to those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would have Tested it from them (direct)...” (an-Nisa, 4/ 83)

The permission to make “istinbat”, that is, deduction is given to those charged with authority (ulul-amr). As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) himself and the authorized scholars among the Companions made ijtihads based on the permission given by the verse above.

Those who say, “We act based on the Quran only” have to know that it is also necessary to act based the verse above and that it means to obey the ijtihads made by authorized people. 

The ijtihads made in order to settle new cases that occur based on time related to fiqh are about ten percent as Badiuzzaman Said Nursi puts it; ninety percent of shari’ah is related to definite decrees. Ijtihad cannot be made related to the issues that the Quran expresses clearly and the definite statements of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).

It is a duty for every Muslim to follow the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) exactly about the verses of prayer. If the Prophet (pbuh) performed the morning prayer (fajr) as two rak’ahs, nobody has the right to reduce it to one rak’ah or to increase it to three rak’ahs. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) performed the morning prayer as two rak’ahs throughout his life and all Companions followed him; all of the scholars and believers that followed them agreed unanimously on; therefore, it is great heedlessness, if not an attempt to distort the religion, to act contrarily to the Prophet (pbuh) and all Muslims based on the following excuse: “There is no Quranic verse stating that the morning prayer consists of two rak’ahs.”  

“If anyone contends with the Messenger even after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than that becoming to men of Faith, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell,- what an evil refuge!” (an-Nisa, 4/115)

Since those people read the Quran, they must have seen the following verses:

“So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you.” (al-Hashr, 59/7)

“He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah...” (an-Nisa, 4/80)

“Say: ‘Obey Allah and His Messenger": But if they turn back, Allah loveth not those who reject Faith.’” (Aal-i Imran, 3/ 32)

“Say: ‘If ye do love Allah, follow me: Allah will love you…’” (Aal-i Imran, 3/ 31)

“O ye who believe! Obey Allah and His Messenger, and turn not away from him when ye hear (him speak)!” (al-Anfal, 8/20)

“All who obey Allah and the messenger are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah,- of the prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the Righteous (who do good): Ah! what a beautiful fellowship!” (an-Nisa, 4/69)

“It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.” (al-Ahzab, 33/36)

“But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against Thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.” (an-Nisa, 4/65)

God Almighty could have said, “Obey my Quran and my commands; avoid My prohibitions; obey Me…” directly, without mentioning the Messenger of Allah in the verses above. However, since the such statements were preferred, it means it is impossible to obey Allah without following the Prophet. 

There are some decrees about which even the most knowledgeable scholars cannot decide. Let us give an example about prayer again. Authorized scholars can make some explanations about the times of prayers acting upon the relevant verses but they cannot make any decisions about the numbers of rak’ahs, ruku’s and sajdahs, the order of them and the supplications to be said in ruku’ and sajdah. For, such issues cannot be settled through sheer intellect and knowledge, without the instructions of the Prophet. 

We read some writings of the people who made such claims. We want to write about an issue that attract our attention:

In most of these writings, only the word prophet (pbuh) was used; they did not regard it necessary to show respect and to send greetings to the Prophet (pbuh) by writing Hz. or (pbuh).  We think that is a great loss for those people.

We want to believe that these misunderstandings and wrong deeds, only some of which we have mentioned briefly, are not intentional but are caused by heedlessness; and we hope that those people will return from this wrong way in a short time. Otherwise, they will cause some people to live a life without prayer and worship; and they will suffer a great loss as the same sins committed by those people whom they misguide will be recorded for them based on the rule "He who causes something to be done is regarded like a person who does it."