Who Started Today’s “Quran Alone, God Alone” Movement?

Throughout modern Islamic history, some scholars have questioned the authority of Hadith as a source of religious law—some advocating for its complete rejection, others calling for its diminished role. However, none of these figures combined a total rejection of Hadith with a bold and uncompromising call to worship God alone, free from all forms of idolatry and human intermediaries. The first to unify these two positions into a coherent movement was Dr. Rashad Khalifa.

Rashad Khalifa not only challenged the validity of Hadith as a religious authority, but also identified widespread idol worship (shirk) within traditional Islamic practices. His message was a radical return to the Quran as the sole source of guidance, emphasizing strict monotheism and the exclusive worship of God. Among his key assertions:

• The Shahadah should be dedicated to God alone, and no other names should be mentioned (3:18, 47:19, 39:45)
• That the places of worship belong to God alone and no other names should be called upon (72:18)
• That the Salat and all worship practices should be dedicated to God alone (6:162)
• That there is only one Sacred Masjid, and visiting the prophet’s mosque and tomb is a sacrilege (5:97)

In addition to his call for pure monotheism, Rashad Khalifa advanced some of the most powerful Quran-based arguments against the Hadith, many of which continue to serve as much of the foundation of the Quran-alone movement today. He was the first translator to consistently use the Arabic word Hadith in the English Quran, highlighting how the Quran explicitly warns against following any hadith as a source of law besides itself:

• Hadith are satanic innovations (6:112-113)
• Quran is the only source of law (6:19, 6:38, 6:114-115)
• Quran is the only legitimate Hadith to be followed (77:50, 45:6, 31:6, 7:185, 39:23, 52:34, 68:44)
• The only Sunna to follow shall be God’s Sunna. (17:77, 33:62, 48:23, 6:114)

Unlike some of his predecessors who attempted to compromise by claiming that they only rejected Hadith, which goes against the Quran, Rashad was vehemently against such a position. In Appendix 19 of his translation of the Quran, titled “Hadith & Sunna: Satanic Innovations,” he wrote:

Some Muslims compromise: “If a Hadith agrees with the Quran we will accept it, and if it contradicts the Quran, we will reject it!” Such premise proves that these people do not believe God’s assertions that the Quran is “complete, perfect and fully detailed.” The moment they seek guidance from anything besides the Quran, no matter how “right” it seems, they fall into Satan’s trap (see 63:1). For they have rejected God’s word and set up another god besides God (18:57). See Appendix 33.

While a number of scholars before Rashad Khalifa criticized the Hadith or questioned the doctrine of intercession, none were as consistent, uncompromising, and Quran-focused as he was. His legacy lies not only in rejecting Hadith but in reviving the call to absolute monotheism and returning to the Quran as the complete and final authority in Submission.

Syed Ahmad Khan

Full Rejection of Hadith = No
Call For Strict Monotheism = No

Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–1898) was a South Asian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educator in nineteenth-century British India. Though primarily known for his role in the Pakistani movement, he also held controversial opinions about Islam. The theology he advocated was not an outcome of criticism of orthodoxy; instead, he emphasized how Islam can be interpreted to accommodate rationalist thinking based on modern science. He did not reject all Hadith outright, despite considering them unreliable, but he rejected the concept of miracles, the existence of angels, and the supernatural. He aimed to try to rationalize religion and reinterpret the Quran to make it compatible with science and modernity.

Chiragh Ali

Full Rejection of Hadith = No
Call For Strict Monotheism = No

Moulví Cherágh Ali (1844–1895) was an Indian Muslim scholar of the late 19th century. As a colleague of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, he contributed to the school of Muslim Modernists and presented reformative thinking about the Qur’an.

Cherágh Ali’s main arguments sought to correct what he perceived to be misperceptions of Islam and jihad. These misunderstandings, he argued, came from the historical development of hadith and the activities of Muslim jurists. He believed the jurists had taken justice into their own hands and, in doing so, misused or wholly ignored the Qur’an. In following these beliefs, Cherágh Ali was committed to offering a fresh interpretation of the Qur’an and a moderated version of jihad.

Cherágh Ali described the wars of Muhammad as strictly defensive. He argued that Muhammad’s wars were local and temporary, making them defensive because the Qur’an does not teach a war of aggression. Cherágh did not condemn Hadith or complain about the blatant idol worship that crept into the religion.

Cherágh also rejected the concept of ijma as a source of Islamic law and believed that the prophet had advised his future followers to revise their statutes according to the needs of the time.

Abdullah Chakralawi

Full Rejection of Hadith = Yes
Call For Strict Monotheism = No

Abdullah Chakralawi (d. 1914) was from Lahore, Pakistan. He started the group that called themselves ‘Ahl al-Qur’an. He rejected all Hadith. His famous statement: “This is the Qur’an that was revealed from Allah to Muhammad, and anything that goes against it is not revelation.” Unfortunately, not much of his work can be found to determine his views on other aspects of the religion, but it’s safe to say that his following did not go beyond his views towards the rejection of Hadith.

Muhammad Abduh

Full Rejection of Hadith = No
Call For Strict Monotheism = Partially (no intercession)

Muḥammad ʿAbduh (1849 –1905) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar, judge, and Grand Mufti of Egypt. Despite being mentioned under Quranist scholars on Wikipedia, his direct views on Hadith are not mentioned in his bio. Instead, we see that he had non-traditional opinions on Islam. According to him, Islam is the only religion whose dogmas can be proven by reasoning. ʿAbduh didn’t advocate for returning to the early stages of Islam. He was against polygamy if it resulted in injustice between wives and believed in a form of Islam that would liberate men from enslavement, abolish the ulama monopoly on the exegesis of the Quran, and abolish racial discrimination. He described a fundamental re-interpretation of Islam as a genuine base of empowered Arab societies in the face of secular Western imperialism and believed Islam to be the solution to political and social problems. He was also heavily against the concept of intercession.

According to ʿAbduh:

Shirk is of various types including that which has come to affect the Muslim masses (‘āmat al-muslimīn) in their worship of other than God by way of bowing and prostration. And the greatest of these kinds of shirk is that by way of supplicating and seeking intercession (with God) by placing intermediaries between themselves and Him… And we certainly see this shirk among Muslims today. And you will not see any god added to this religion… except that (expressed by) the word “intercession” (shafā‘a), which its practitioners reckon is a means of veneration the prophets and saints, but which is, in reality, a means of turning its them into idols, that disgrace the greatness of the Lord of the Worlds. The only explanation for this is in the whispers of Satan.^[54]

Mohammed Abu Zaid al-Damanhury

Full Rejection of Hadith = No
Call For Strict Monotheism = No

Mohammed Abu Zaid Al Damanhury was a 20th-century scholar and Al-Azhar University graduate from Damanhur, Egypt, who wrote a controversial commentary on the Quran.

In 1930, al-Damanhury published a rationalist commentary of the Quran titled Guidance and Wisdom from Interpretation of the Quran using the Quran (Al-hidaya wal-‘irfan fi tafsir al-Qur’an bil-Qur’an). In it, al-Damanhury used the Quran to interpret the Quran instead of using hadith-based commentaries. According to Ali Gomaa, he differed in opinion from traditional Sunni beliefs regarding the miracles of the prophets, inheritance in islam, the banning of alcohol, and the hijab. There is no mention of him objecting to the dual Shahadah or the perpetual emphasis of Muhammad.

Aslam Jairajpuri

Full Rejection of Hadith = Mostly
Call For Strict Monotheism = No

Aslam Jairajpuri (1882–1955) was a scholar of Qur’an, Hadith, and Islamic history who is best known for his books Talimat-e-Qur’an and “History of Qur’an.” Aslam did not reject Hadith. He just viewed Hadith as the history of Islam and not Islam. He was the teacher and friend of Ghulam Ahmed Pervez.

Ghulam Ahmed Pervez

Full Rejection of Hadith = Mostly
Call For Strict Monotheism = No

Ghulam Ahmed Pervez (1903–1985) was a teacher of the Quran in India and Pakistan. He did not reject Hadith outright and denied being a Hadith rejector. He just believed that the source of law for the religion should be the Quran.

Below is an excerpt from his book “The Eclipse of Islam” p. 71.

Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi

Full Rejection of Hadith = Mostly
Call For Strict Monotheism = No

Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi (1881-1920) was an Egyptian Muslim and physician who argued against the authenticity of hadith. He is remembered today for his argument “that nothing of the Hadith was recorded until after enough time had elapsed to allow the infiltration of numerous absurd or corrupt traditions” and that God had allowed this to happen because the Sunnah of Muhammad as a whole “was only ever meant for the Arabs of the Prophet’s time,” as only the Quran was necessary for Islam. Sidqi concluded that the Sunnah of Muhammad was “temporary and provisional law,” not divine revelation (waḥy) meant for all humanity.

Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi wrote an article titled Al-Islam Huwa ul-Qur’an Wahdahu (‘Islam is the Qur’an Alone) that appeared in the Egyptian journal Al-Manar, which argues that the Quran is sufficient as guidance:

What is obligatory for man does not go beyond God’s Book. If anything other than the Qur’an had been necessary for religion, the Prophet would have commanded its registration in writing, and God would have guaranteed its preservation.

— Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi

Mirza Rida Quli Shari’at-Sanglaji

Full Rejection of Hadith = No
Call For Strict Monotheism = Partially (no intercession)

Ayatollah Muhammad Hassan Mirza Rida Quli (1891 – 1944) was an Iranian reformer, theologian, philosopher, and scholar. He was an opponent of Ruhollah Khomeini. He was considered a Qurʾan-oriented Scholar or Qurʾanist among Iranian Shias. Some of the ideas he held was that the Twelfth Imam would return before resurrection to establish justice on earth as an illegitimate addition to Islam. He condemned the belief that the prophet and the imams are closer to God than ordinary people and can be sought for intercession (shafa’t). He also rejected the popular idea that al-Husayn’s suffering and death were expiatory self-sacrifices, denouncing it as un-Islamic.

Mahumd Abu Rayya

Full Rejection of Hadith = No
Call For Strict Monotheism = No

Mahmud Abu Rayya (d. 1970) was an Egyptian who, in 1960, wrote the book, “Adwa ala al-Sunnah al-Muhammadiyyah’ (Lights on the Muhammadan Sunnah). In this book, he argued that only the Qur’an, reason, and mutawatir hadith should be used for Islam.

Rashad Khalifa

Full Rejection of Hadith = Yes
Call For Strict Monotheism = Yes

Dr. Rashad Khalifa’s work marked a turning point in modern Islamic thought—a bold stand against centuries of inherited tradition and a call to return to the unadulterated message of the Quran. His insistence on worshiping God alone, rejecting all forms of idolization, and upholding the Quran as the sole source of divine law continues to resonate with those seeking a purer, more rational understanding of their faith. Though still considered controversial to this day, the arguments advanced through Dr. Khalifa’s work have become the foundation of the modern-day Quran Alone, God Alone movement. Ironically, many who now identify as Quranists remain unaware of this origin, even as they draw upon the very principles and scriptural insights that were introduced and articulated through him by God’s leave.