Umar Advocated Quran Alone

It is well understood that Umar had a strong position against people spreading Hadith and traditions attributed to the prophet and strongly enjoined the people to follow the Quran alone.

Narrated ‘Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah: Ibn `Abbas said, “When the ailment of the Prophet (ﷺ) became worse, he said, ‘Bring for me (writing) paper and I will write for you a statement after which you will not go astray.’ But `Umar said, ‘The Prophet is seriously ill, and we have got Allah’s Book with us, and that is sufficient for us.’ But the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) differed about this, and there was a hue and cry. On that, the Prophet (ﷺ) said to them, ‘Go away (and leave me alone). It is not right that you should quarrel in front of me.” Ibn `Abbas came out saying, “It was most unfortunate (a great disaster) that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise.

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ لَمَّا اشْتَدَّ بِالنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَجَعُهُ قَالَ ‏”‏ ائْتُونِي بِكِتَابٍ أَكْتُبُ لَكُمْ كِتَابًا لاَ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدَهُ ‏”‏‏.‏ قَالَ عُمَرُ إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم غَلَبَهُ الْوَجَعُ وَعِنْدَنَا كِتَابُ اللَّهِ حَسْبُنَا فَاخْتَلَفُوا وَكَثُرَ اللَّغَطُ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏”‏ قُومُوا عَنِّي، وَلاَ يَنْبَغِي عِنْدِي التَّنَازُعُ ‏”‏‏.‏ فَخَرَجَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ يَقُولُ إِنَّ الرَّزِيَّةَ كُلَّ الرَّزِيَّةِ مَا حَالَ بَيْنَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَبَيْنَ كِتَابِهِ‏.‏

Sahih al-Bukhari 114
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:114

Additionally, it is reported that during his reign as Caliph, Umar did not allow the prophet’s companions to travel freely without his permission because he did not want them to propagate Hadith. It wasn’t until the reign of Uthman that this ban was lifted, and the companions were allowed to emigrate to some of the newly Muslim-conquered regions.

In Tadhkirat al-huffaz, al-Dhahabi reported from Shu’bah, from Sa’id ibn Ibrahim from his father, that Umar detained Ibn Mas’ud, Abu al-Darda’, and Abu Mas’ud al-Ansari, saying to them: You have narrated hadith abundantly from the Messenger of Allah. It is reported that he had detained them in Medina, but they were set free by Uthman.

Ibn Sa’d, and Ibn Asakir reports from Mahmud ibn Labid that he said: I heard Uthman ibn Affan addressing people from over the pulpit: It is unlawful for everyone to narrate any hadith he never heard of during the time of Abu Bakr and that of Umar. Verily that which made me abstain from narrating from the Messenger of Allah was not to be among the most conscious of his Companions, but I heard him declaring: “Whoever ascribing to me something I never said, he shall verily occupy his (destined) abode in Fire.”

Also, we find the following Hadith in The History of al-Tabari, Vol. XIV p. 108, and from the Leiden edition of al-Tabari titled “Annales quos scripsit Abu Djafar Mohammed ibn Djarir at-Tabari” Vol III, p. 188.

According to Abu Kurayb – Abu Bakr b. Ayyash – Abu Hasin: Whenever ‘Umar appointed his governors, he would go out with them to bid them farewell, saying, “I have not appointed you governor over Muhammad’s community with limitless authority. I have made you governor over them only to lead them in prayer, to make decisions among them based on what is right, and to distribute (the spoils) among them justly. I have not given you limitless authority over them.

Do not flog the Arabs and humiliate them; do not keep them long from their families and bring temptation upon them; do not neglect them and cause them deprivation. Be exclusively devoted to the Qur’an, and diminish the annotations of Muhammad, and I am your partner.”

He would also allow vengeance to be taken on his governors. If there was a complaint against a governor, he would bring together the governor and the complainant. If there was a genuine case against (the governor) for which punishment was obligatory, he would punish him.

Here is the Arabic expression, that I wanted to emphasize (underlined in red above):

جَرِّدوا القرآن وأَقِلّوا الروايسة محمّد صلعم وانا شريككم

Here is the word-by-word breakdown for this expression.

جَرِّدوا	jarridoo	Be exclusively devoted [you all]
القرآن	al-Qur’an	the Quran,
وأَقِلّوا	wa-aqalluu	and diminish [you all]
الروايسة	al-rawaaysa	the annotations / commentary (of)
محمد	Muhammad	Muhammad,
صلعم	salla Allahu `alayhi wa sallam	peace and blessings be upon him,
وانا	wa-ana	and I am
شريككم	shareekukum	your partner.

The root letters of the word جَرِّدوا in Arabic are “ج ر د” (j, r, d), which have the basic meaning of “to strip, to remove, to take off.” When used in the command form, it means to “devote or apply oneself diligently and exclusively, and not to be diverted therefore by any other thing.” Therefore, in this sentence, Umar was commanding the people to be exclusively devoted to the Quran.

The root letters of the word وأَقِلّوا in Arabic are “ق ل ل” (q, l, l), which have the basic meaning of “to decrease, to diminish, to lessen.”

The root letters of الروايسة in Arabic are “ر ا س” (r, a, s), which have the basic meaning of “to mark, to designate, to indicate.” From this root, the word الروايسة (al-rawaaysa) is derived, which refers to annotations or marginal notes that are added to a text to provide additional information or clarification. Therefore, in this context, it is in reference to the commentary that the people have been accustomed to associating with the Quran based on the supposed sayings or actions of Muhammad.

Therefore, this expression ” جَرِّدوا القرآن وأَقِلّوا الروايسة محمّد ” is stating to the people that they should “Be exclusively devoted to the Quran, and diminish the commentary of Muhammad.” If people do this, then Umar would be their partner in this matter.

This again emphasizes Umar’s devotion to people following the Quran alone during his reign after the prophet’s death. This shows that Umar advocated for the Quran alone and against the dissemination of Hadith. Ironically, if someone made this statement today, they would be called a heretic by the Muslim masses.

In the book Ta’wil Mukhtalif al-Hadith by Ibn Qutaybah (828-890 CE/213-276 AH), on page 70 of the Annotated Translation, Ibn Qutaybah says the following regarding ‘Umar’s view on Hadith transmission:

…’Umar, who was abrasive against whoever transmitted numerous ahadith or reported information related to judicial judgment without any witness. He used to order (the narrators) to reduce the number of narrations so that the masses will not be confused or corrupted by falsehood.

In the book “Imam Abu Hanfiah Life and Work” by Shibli Nomani, on pages 131-132, it states,

“Al-Dhahabi writes in the Tabaqat al-Huffaz that Umar, from a fear that narrators might ascribe incorrect traditions to the prophet, always used to tell them to narrate as few traditions as possible. While sending a delegation of Ansar to Kufah, he instructed them as follows: “In Kufah you will meet a group of people who reciate the qur’an in a voice full of emotion. On hearing of your arrival they will come to you, eager to listen to traditions of the Prophet from you. Be careful not to narrate to them too many traditions.

Similarly when sending a number of Companions to Iraq, ‘Umar went part of the way with them to see them off. “Do you know,” he asked them, “why I am accompanying you part of the way?” “In order to honour us,” they replied. “That is so,” said ‘Umar, “but there is also another reason. I want to tell you that the people of the country to which you are going are fond of reading the Qur’an. Try not to entagle them in traditions but narrate very few traditions from the Prophet.” When the Companions arrived at Qurzah, the inhabitants came to see them and requested them to narrate traditions; but they declined to do so, excusing themselves by saying that they had been forbidden by the caliph.

Abu Hurayrah, asked by Abu Salamah whether he used to narrate traditions as freely in ‘Umar’s time as he was then doing, replied, “No, for if I had tried, ‘Umar would have had me whipped.”

Umar Burns Hadith and Compares it to Mishna

The following narration in Ibn Saad’s “Tabaqat” (Volume 5) includes another story about Umar and his stance on Hadith. This account is attributed to Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq (d. 106 AH). Al-Qasim, the grandson of Abu Bakr (one of Prophet Muhammad’s closest companions and the first Caliph), was approached by his student, Abd Allah ibn al-Ala’ (d. 164 AH), with a request to dictate Hadith. Al-Qasim, however, refused to do so and supposedly stated:

“the Hadith multiplied during the time of Umar; then he called on the people to bring them to him, and when they brought them to him, he ordered them to be burned.” Afterward, he said, ‘a Mishna like the Mishna of the People of the Book,’ (mathna’a ka mathna’at ahl al-Kitab).”

In the above narration not only does Umar burn Hadith attributed to the prophet but he compares it to the Mishna, the Oral Law of the Children of Israel. This is the folly of the Muslim ummah that they set up a secondary book of law beside the Quran, just like the Children of Israel have done to the Torah in the past.

Final Thoughts

Naturally, upholding the Quran alone aligns with the message in the Quran as it should be the only source of religious law for the true followers of Muhammad.

[6:112] We have permitted the enemies of every prophet—human and jinn devils—to inspire in each other fancy words, in order to deceive. Had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. You shall disregard them and their fabrications.
[6:113] This is to let the minds of those who do not believe in the Hereafter listen to such fabrications, and accept them, and thus expose their real convictions.

وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الْإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ
 وَلِتَصْغَىٰ إِلَيْهِ أَفْئِدَةُ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ وَلِيَرْضَوْهُ وَلِيَقْتَرِفُوا مَا هُمْ مُقْتَرِفُونَ

[6:114] Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.
[6:115] The word of your Lord is complete, in truth and justice. Nothing shall abrogate His words. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.

 أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلًا وَالَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ مُنَزَّلٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ
 وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

[6:116] If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of GOD. They follow only conjecture; they only guess.

 وَإِنْ تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ