Quranism - History

History

Historically, such beliefs were expressed during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad while he was still alive. Although widely unnoticed, Umar ibn Khattab is regarded as the first person to make such claims. Al-Bukhari records in his Sahih:

"عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال لما حضر رسول اله صلى الله عليه وسلم وفي البيت رجال فيهم عمر بن الخطاب قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم هلم اكتب لكم كتابا لا تضلوا بعده فقال عمر ان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قد غلب عليه الوجع وعندكم القرآن حسبنا كتاب الله " Narrated Ibn Abbas that the Prophet, Allah's blessings be upon him, was in his deathbed and there were some people in the house amongst whom was Umar Ibn Khattab. The Prophet, Allah's blessings be upon him, said, 'Bring for me a (pen and paper) so that I may write for you something so that you will not go astray after (me).' Umar said, 'Amongst us is the Qur'an and Allah's Book is sufficient for us.' ".

1-Arabic: 2-English version (slightly different translation which incorrectly states "the Prophet is seriously ill" instead of "His illness has dominated him (i.e. he is hallucinating)"):

This tradition has also been recorded in Sahih Muslim (vol. 5, p. 76, Kitab al-Nadhr). What is inferred from Umar's words is that he believes the Quran is sufficient for guidance. Thus, he might be regarded as the first person in Islam to express Quranism beliefs. This conclusion is further supported by the historical claims that during his rule, Umar banned the narration of the Prophets traditions and hadiths.

However, despite claims that Umar banned narrations of the Prophets traditions and hadiths, it can also be stated that the meaning of the Prophetic traditions, embodied in actions, was still being transmitted orally and by inherited practice. Thus, for orthodox Muslims, the claim that Umar banned Prophetic narrations in order to make a statement that the Qur'an would suffice for Muslims bears little weight as the "Sunnah", which would later be codified in text (i.e. books of hadith), was known to be in practice - the best example of which includes the times for prayer and the method by which prayer is performed.