This excerpt is taken from the book "Hujjat-e-Hadith" by Fazilat al-Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri .
Every field has some technical terms which cannot be resolved by the dictionary, rather the technical interpretation of those words is taken. Whatever technical terms are mentioned in the Holy Quran, their explanation will not be done by the dictionary, but the interpretation will be taken from the Holy Prophet ﷺ, such as Salah (prayer), Sawm (fasting), Zakat, etc. Even the Companions of the Prophet could not understand the Holy Quran based on the Arabic dictionary alone.
The command of Allah Almighty is:
[وَ کُلُوۡا وَ اشۡرَبُوۡا حَتّٰی یَتَبَیَّنَ لَکُمُ الۡخَیۡطُ الۡاَبۡیَضُ مِنَ الۡخَیۡطِ الۡاَسۡوَدِ مِنَ الۡفَجۡرِ۪]
"Eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct from the black thread."
Reference: (Al-Baqarah:187)
Sayyiduna Uday ibn Hatim رضي الله عنه narrates:
لما نزلت: [حَتّٰی یَتَبَیَّنَ لَکُمُ الۡخَیۡطُ الۡاَبۡیَضُ مِنَ الۡخَیۡطِ الۡاَسۡوَدِ]
Reference: (Al-Baqarah:187)
عمدت إلى عقال أسود، وإلى عقال أبيض، فجعلتهما تحت وسادتي، فجعلت أنظر في الليل، فلا يستبين لي، فغدوت على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فذكرت له ذلك فقال: إنما ذلك سواد الليل وبياض النهار."When this verse was revealed: [حَتّٰی یَتَبَیَّنَ لَکُمُ الۡخَیۡطُ الۡاَبۡیَضُ مِنَ الۡخَیۡطِ الۡاَسۡوَدِ]
Reference: (Al-Baqarah:187)
'until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct from the black thread [of night].' I took a white and a black thread and placed them under my pillow, then I watched at night, but they did not become distinct, so the next morning I went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and mentioned this to him, and he said: It means the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the day."
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 1916, Sahih Muslim: 1090)
The words of Sahih Muslim are:
[إن وسادتك لعريض، إنما هو سواد الليل، وبياض النهار]
"Your pillow is long and wide; it means the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the day."
Reference: Sahih Muslim:1090
In the Holy Quran:
[وَ یُسَبِّحُ الرَّعۡدُ بِحَمۡدِہٖ] "The lightning praises Allah."
Reference: (Ar-Ra'd:13)
There are countless examples in the Holy Quran where there is brevity, and its explanation without Hadith is impossible.
Hafiz Khattabi, may Allah have mercy on him (388 AH), says:
"Prophetic Saying: 'It is near that a well-off person will sit on his pillow and tell you to hold firmly to this Quran.' In this saying of the Prophet ﷺ, there is a warning against opposing the Sunnah, those Sunnahs which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has explained but are not in the Quran, as done by the Kharijites and Rafidah. They take the apparent meaning of the Quran and abandon the Sunnahs in which the explanation of the Quran is found, thus they are lost in astonishment and misguidance."
Reference: (Ma'alim al-Sunan: 298/4)
A person said to Imam Mutarrif bin Abdullah bin al-Shakhir, may Allah have mercy on him (95 AH):
[لا تحدثونا إلا بالقرآن فقال له مطرف: والله ما نريد بالقرآن بدلا ولكن نريد من هو أعلم بالقرآن منا]
"Just teach us the Quran," so Mutarrif, may Allah have mercy on him, said to him: "By Allah! We do not bring a substitute for the Quran, rather we bring the one who understood the Quran better than us."
Reference: (Kitab al-Ilm by Abu Khaythamah: 97, Jami' Bayan al-Ilm wa Fadlih by Ibn Abd al-Barr, p. 563, and its chain is authentic)
Imam al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him (310 AH), says:
[تأويل القرآن غير مدرك إلا ببيان من جعل الله إليه بيان القرآن]
"The interpretation of the Quran can only be understood when the Prophet of Allah explains it, to whom Allah Almighty has entrusted the explanation of the Quran."
Reference: (Tafsir al-Tabari: 181/2)
Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him (728 AH), says:
[قد اتفق الصحابة والتابعون لهم بإحسان وسائر أئمة الدين أن السنة تفسر القرآن وتبينه وتدل عليه وتعبر عن مجمله وأنها تفسر مجمل القرآن من الأمر والخبر]
"The Companions, the Followers, and all the Imams of the religion are unanimous that the Sunnah interprets the Quran, explains it, points towards it, and interprets or explains its ambiguous rulings or reports."
Reference: (Majmoo' al-Fatawa: 432/17)
He also says:
[مما ينبغي أن يعلم أن القرآن والحديث إذا عرف تفسيره من جهة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يحتج في ذلك إلى أقوال أهل اللغة فإنه قد عرف تفسيره]
"It should be known that when the interpretation of the Quran and Hadith is found from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, then the statements of the linguists cannot be taken as proof, because its interpretation has already been established."
Reference: (Majmoo' al-Fatawa: 13/27)
Allama Shatibi, may Allah have mercy on him (790 AH), says:
[على هذا لا ينبغي في الاستنباط من القرآن الاقتصار عليه دون النظر في شرحه وبيانه وهو السنة؛ لأنه إذا كان كليا وفيه أمور جملية كما في شأن الصلاة والزكاة والحج والصوم ونحوها؛ فلا محيص عن النظر في بيانه، وبعد ذلك ينظر في تفسير السلف الصالح له إن أعوزته السنة؛ فإنهم أعرف به من غيرهم، وإلا؛ فمطلق الفهم العربي لمن حصله يكفي فيما أعوز من ذلك]
"When deducing from the Quran, it is not sufficient to only stick to its words, but it is necessary to look at its explanation and see its statement in the Sunnah, because when a verse describes something in general, its details will be in the Sunnah, such as prayer, zakat, Hajj, and fasting, etc. So at that time, there is no option but to look at its explanation; then if nothing is found in the Sunnah, the interpretation of the pious predecessors will be consulted, because the Salaf understood the Quran better than others, and if it is not found there either, then the understanding of the Arabic language will be sufficient."
Reference: (الموافقات: 369/3)
Allama Ibn al-Wazir al-Yamani, may Allah have mercy on him (840 AH), says:
[التفسير النبوي وهو مقبول بالنص والإجماع]
"It is a Quranic text and consensus that the interpretation explained by the Noble Prophet ﷺ is accepted."
Reference: (إيثار الحق على الخلق، ص 152)
