The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders (MCE) recommends that Indonesian scholars protect their children against those who raise doubts about the authenticity of the Sunnah, and stresses:

The nation’s connection to the Prophet of humanity is a close connection that only becomes more steadfast and firmer as time passes.

There are old, but renewed, calls that have been raising doubts about the Prophetic Sunnah.

One of those who raise doubts about the Prophetic Sunnah went so far as to claim Prophethood.

Separating the Holy Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah puts the former at risk.

Doubts and suspicions are common traits among deniers of the Prophetic Sunnah.

Muslim scholars spent their lives and spared no effort to examine the authenticity of the Prophetic hadiths.

When I was the President of Al-Azhar University, I demanded designing a curriculum for critiquing the unacceptable (Munkar) text of some hadiths.

Some of the deniers of the Sunnah call themselves “Quranists,” and they are the furthest from Qur’anic teachings.

More than 14 hundred years ago, the Prophet (PBUH) warned us against those who would call for denying the Sunah.

The Muhammadiyah Society in Indonesia held a special reception for His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders (MCE), Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, on the occasion of his visit to the country for the third time, under the title "Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and the Muhammadiyah and their pioneering role in spreading the moderation of Islam and achieving world peace." This event was attended by His Eminence Sheikh Haedar Nashir, Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Society, the leaders of the institution, the presidents of Muhammadiyah universities, and a group of Indonesian scholars and thinkers.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Mr. Nashir expressed his happiness with the visit of the Grand Imam to the Muhammadiyah headquarters, and Al-Azhar’s unlimited support for Indonesian Muslims by providing scholarships and hosting Indonesian youth at Al-Azhar University. He stressed that Al-Azhar is a model in developing religious education and calling to Islam, and it is the greatest Islamic authority and a pillar of Islamic civilization.

He stressed that the Grand Imam is the greatest supporter of Islamic world causes and humanitarian issues as he is not only an imam for Muslims, but a symbol of peace and humanity worldwide. He pointed out the necessity of activating the provisions of the Human Fraternity Document that His Eminence co-signed with Pope Francis in 2019, as it contains humanitarian principles that protect the interests of people regardless of their color, religion or race. Nashir pointed out the Indonesians’ appreciation for the initiatives that emerged from this document, most notably the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, which was awarded to the Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama societies for their efforts in establishing peace and human fraternity within Indonesia, and their effective participation in economic and social development through expanding the establishment of institutes, universities and hospitals that serve millions of Indonesians.

His Eminence the Grand Imam delivered a speech in which he affirmed the connection between Muslims and their Prophet (PBUH) who took humanity out of the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge, and from barbarism and oppression to peace and mercy, pointing out that it is a close relationship that gets stronger and firmer by time. He added that Muslims around the globe study and read the Prophetic biography and duly appreciate the Prophet (PBUH) and believe that he dispersed the darkness of the earth with the light of the heavens.

The Grand Imam pointed out the re-emergence of old calls that have been constantly questioning the value of the Prophetic Sunnah, its authenticity and authority, and challenging its narrators– the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH), their successors, and those who came after them. These skeptics demand that the Prophetic Sunnah be excluded in its entirety from the sphere of Islamic legislation and rulings, that the the Holy Qur’an be the only source of rulings and law regarding acts of worship and dealings for Muslims, and that whatever is not explicitly stipulated in the Qur’an, is not binding for them in terms of command, prohibition, or permissibility. His Eminence described such calls as old, yet renewed matter.

His Eminence explained that separating the Holy Quran from the Sunnah makes the former vulnerable and opens the doors to tampering with its verses, rulings and legislations. He mentioned the scholars’ statement, as an example, regarding prayer which is established in the Quran. However, there is not a single verse in the Quran that explains how a Muslim should pray, or what the manner of prayer is, or the number of its rak’ahs and prostrations are. These details cannot be explained, known, or inferred except from the Sunnah, which is the second source of legislation in Islam. He pointed out that many of the legislations are mentioned in the Quran in general terms, but they are detailed in the Sunnah.

The Grand Imam explained that these skeptics, regardless of their places and times, have one thing in commo, which is to raise doubts and suspicions about the narrators of hadiths. They always try to belittle the tremendous and arduous academic efforts in which the scholars and masters of the nation spent entire lives achieving one goal, which is to distinguish the authentic Prophetic hadiths from the inauthentic ones, through precise, unique and amazing research into the history of the narrators and their biographies, and their status regarding truthfulness, accuracy, and trustworthiness. This precision of tracking, investigation and tracing, led to the emergence of an independent science known to scholars as the science of isnād (chain of transmitters), which accredits or dicredits the narators based on their biographical backgrounds. This science has no parallel among non-Muslims, in neither ancient nor modern times, as attested by the outstanding scholars of Europe who have studied the Prophetic Sunnah. His Eminence stressed that this fair judgement would not have been issued by Western scholars had they not spent a long time studying, researching and investigating the Prophetic Sunnah. It became clear to them that history did not know of a person other than Muhammad (PBUH) whose entire life events, actions, sayings, travels, morals and customs were recorded. His biographies and books of history brim with descriptions of his way of clothing, the lines of his face, the way he spoke, walked, ate, drank, slept and smiled, his behavior toward his household, his friends and enemies, and many other things that were also recorded in abundance.

His Eminence praised Al-Azhar Al-Sharif for designing curricula that focus on criticizing the unacceptable text of some hadiths, when he was the President of Al-Azhar University at the beginning of this century. He explained that he personally requested this from the senior scholars of Hadith at the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion, with the aim of clarifying the flaws in these hadiths, to spread this critical hadith literature, and to verify these rare treasures of knowledge, which have not received their fair share of study, popularity, and dissemination.

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar expressed his great astonishment that the Prophet (PBUH) had informed his followers fourteen centuries ago that some of those who claim to be of his followers would one day come out calling for the exclusion of his Sunnah and considering the Qur’an as the only source of law and guidance in Islam; he warned us against their actions while they were still in the the unseen world. Therefore, the Grand Imam said, “Is this not evidence of his prophethood and one of his many miracles whose light has never been put out throughout history?” He also expressed his astonishment that some of those who deny the Sunnah call themselves “Qur’anists” though they are the farthest from the Holy Qur’an's teachings. They deny what Allah Almighty has made obligatory in this Qur’an regarding the obligation to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) and to follow the path of the believers. His Eminence stressed that the Sunnah is preserved by the preservation of the Holy Qur’an itself.

At the end of his speech, His Eminence recommended that Indonesian scholars pay great attention to this issue (the proof value of the Prophetic Sunnah), and it would be great if it was made a university curriculum, or even a course in pre-university education, so that we can protect the young generations from being kidnapped to a place where there is no Sunnah, no Qur’an, and no religion. He said, “The discussion is long, yet it is enough for me that I have sounded the alarm against the issue that has begun emerge again these days in Muslim countries, East and West.”