Quran or Heritage? What is our scale for judgment?
The difference between those who cling to the Quran and those who cling to heritage is not just a disagreement over reference or understanding; it is a fundamental difference in the mental structure and the foundation upon which every thought and conclusion is built.
The Holy Quran describes itself as a "clarification for all things" and states that "not a leaf falls but He knows it, nor a grain within the darknesses of the earth and nor anything fresh or dry but that it is written in a clear record." Meanwhile, heritage is a human product—efforts transmitted across generations that contain both truth and error, some of which align with the Book of God, while others contradict it or add to it.
The "Scale" is the decisive factor. A person who adopts the Quran as their primary scale, when presented with any topic, returns to the Book of God. If a basis for it is found, it is accepted; if not, it is questioned or rejected. Such a person prioritizes no source over God's words, nor do they weigh the Quran against anything else. Instead, they make the Quran the balance by which all sayings, narrations, and schools of thought are measured.
On the other hand, for those who take heritage as their primary reference, the opposite occurs. They measure the Quran against what is written in books of jurisprudence (Fiqh), Hadith, and biographies. If the Quran contradicts what they have inherited, they interpret the verses to fit the tradition or ignore them entirely. They may even question the sufficiency of the Quran itself, claiming it is "incomplete" or "insufficiently detailed," thereby—perhaps unknowingly—undermining the Quran itself.
Take this example: the issue of "Nisab al-Zakat" (the minimum threshold for Zakat). Anyone who returns to the Quran will notice that the Book of God does not specify a particular amount of wealth for Zakat, whether in gold, silver, or livestock. Regardless of the broader concept of Zakat, the term "Nisab" is entirely absent from the Quran.
Those who make the Quran their scale will say: If the text has not provided it, we have no right to impose it on people as divine law.
However, those who make heritage their scale, when they fail to find a text about "Nisab" in the Quran, do not doubt their scale (heritage). Instead, they hasten to accuse the Quran of being deficient or overly brief, and begin justifying the absence of the text.
This subject is vital because when we differ on the "Scale," we will differ on everything that follows it. Those who weigh matters by the Quran will see things through a completely different lens than those who weigh matters by transmitted traditions.
The Contrast:
- The former: Starts from the Divine text and concludes with an opinion based on it.
- The latter: Starts from a human opinion or tradition and then twists the meanings of the texts to align with it.
Therefore, the greatest intellectual reform a person can undertake is to review their scale and determine: Is the Quran the origin by which everything else is measured? Or is it a follower to be interpreted and explained according to what we inherited from our predecessors?
The answer to this question defines your entire methodology. It is impossible to build a sound understanding of Islam without making the Quran the foundation and the primary scale. Whoever wishes to build their understanding on a solid basis must start with the Book of God above all else, making it the criterion by which everything else is weighed.