Title: Why 'The Qur'an and The Sunnah ' Why Not 'The Qur'an and The Ahl al-Bayet '? Question: The top of your web page states "Presenting Islam in light of Qur'an and Sunnah ..." I am wondering if you are aware of the famous hadith al-thaqalyn (two weighty things), which the Prophet (saawaws) said he left for us on his last pilgrimage. He clearly and specifically said "Qur'an and Ahlul Bait ." He NEVER said Qur'an and Sunnah . This hadith is present in ONLY ONE book ( al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim ), has ONLY ONE narrator and is regarded as WEAK by the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim . It is NOT present in ANY of the Sahih Sittah . You are welcome to verify this. The "Quran/ Ahlul Bait " version is present in 5/6 Sahih Sittah and its tawatur and isnad is not questioned. Of course, all Muslims must follow the Sunnah , but the Prophet (s) clearly tells us here who carries it. My question to you is in light of this overwhelming evidence, why is the weakest version of his Hadith the only one quoted? Why are you not quoting the "Quran/ Ahlul Bait " version? or telling saying "presenting Islam in light of Quran and Ahlul Bait (as)" Are you sacred quoting the Sahih hadith ? Here is the reference in Sahih Muslim if you wish to verify. Sahih Muslim , Chapter of the virtues of the companions, section of the virtues of Ali , 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version, v4, p1873, Tradition #36. For the English version of Sahih Muslim , see Chapter CMXCVI, v4, p1286, Tradition #5920. So please answer why I hear so few Muslims quote the correct hadith and why you insist on ignoring the Quran/ Ahlul Bait (as) hadith in all your discussions. Thank you. Answer: I do not base my basic beliefs on ' Hadith '. For clarification of my point of view regarding the sources of Islam and the position of ' Hadith ', please refer to my writings on the page titled: ' Sources of Islam ' [1] . In case you believe that the Qur'an has stipulated the ' Ahl al-bayet ' to be a source of Islam, please do let me know. However, I would appreciate if you would kindly see my opinion on the subject in a couple of my earlier responses on the topic. You may kindly take a look at my responses titled: " Do the Prophet's Descendents Enjoy a Special Position? " and " Regarding the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayet " . 5 th June 2000 [1] Clarifying the position of Hadith , (in one of my responses titled ' Position of Hadith ' ) I had written: I would like to consider every narrative ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) in the light of the Qur'an and the established Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). Thus, in my view, a narrative ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh), before being accepted as the words of the Prophet (pbuh) should be considered according to the following criteria: The sources; the subject matter. First of all, we shall see that the source of the particular narrative is reliable or not. Secondly, we shall see if the subject matter is in harmony with the Qur'an and the established Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) or not. If a narrative is found to be acceptable on both these accounts, such a narrative may then be accepted as a true narration of the words of the Prophet (pbuh). Thus, in my view, hadith , by its very nature should be given a position secondary to the Qur'an and the established Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). The work done by the scholars of hadith cannot be held as final and absolute. Obviously, all these scholars were normal human beings, prone to the errors that normal human beings make. I therefore, think that like these great scholars of old, the contemporary scholars too must apply these criteria and only then take a hadith to be a true narration of the words of the Prophet (pbuh).