The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to take the ruling on different matters in their lives from the Qur’an, which they learned from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In many instances, the verses of the Qur’an treated a subject in a general manner, without any specific condition and sometimes, the verses would come as an absolute ruling, without any precondition or limitation in terms of time, place, and so on.
As an example of what came in a general way in the Qur’an is Prayer. The Qur’an does not mention how many rak`ahs we should perform, or how to physically move during Prayer, or the time for Prayer. Similarly, the Qur’an does not mention the minimum amount of money to have before giving zakah or the conditions by which to pay it.
Many of our acts of worship cannot be performed without referring to the explanations related to the regulations, pillars, and conditions of nullification. Thus, it is necessary to return to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to know the rules in a comprehensive and clear manner.
Many times, the Companions faced incidents in which the Qur’an had no ruling, then there was a need to return to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to know the ruling for such matters. It was the Prophet who was ordered by Allah Almighty to teach humanity, and it was the Prophet who was the most knowledgeable of mankind about that which Allah expects from us.
Allah has told us about the duty of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with respect to the Qur’an. Allah said:
[And We have sent down unto thee (also) the Reminder; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may give thought.] (An-Nahl 16:44)
Allah also made it clear to us that the duty of the Prophet (
