Qur’an and well-established Sunnah as interpretive benchmarks

Sunnah and Categories of Reports: Mutawatir, Mashhur, Ahad and Transmission Criteria

«أن لا يكون مخالفاً للكتاب والسنة المشهورة»
A solitary report must not contradict the Book or an established widespread Sunnah.

The condition concerns genuine irreconcilable opposition, not every first impression of difference. The jurist should first consider harmonization, specification, different contexts and other legitimate legal explanations.

A general Qur'anic formulation alongside a report discussing a specific case may be a case of qualification rather than contradiction. The hierarchy of evidence matters once a genuine conflict is established, not merely because two formulations appear different.