[The Authority of the Quran is Not Exclusive to the Prophet]

Yes, what has been attributed to some Muslims is the belief that the Quran is not authoritative for anyone other than the Prophet; meaning that the Quran has been revealed solely for him, and accordingly, his Sunnah is the only source of Islam. However, this is contrary to what is observable and evident, for most of the verses of the Quran have not addressed the Prophet alone; rather, through the expressions ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ﴾[1]; “O people” and ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾[2]; “O you who believed,” they have addressed all people and all Muslims and have been conveyed to them by the Prophet—whereas, naturally, if it had been revealed solely for him and carried no authority or benefit for others, then conveying it to them would not have been obligatory, but rather would have been pointless and impermissible. Moreover, whether the Quran has been revealed exclusively for him or for all people, including him, his Sunnah is in agreement with it. Accordingly, adherence to the Quran does not conflict with adherence to his Sunnah. Therefore, Allah has explicitly affirmed the goodness of adherence to His Book, saying: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ يُمَسِّكُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ﴾[3]; “And those who adhere to the Book and established prayer—We do not waste the reward of the reformers.” Furthermore, the Sunnah of the Prophet has not been narrated in a widely transmitted manner except in a few cases; therefore, adherence to it is not sufficient for those who have come after him. Nevertheless, one of its widely transmitted instances is the Hadith al-Thaqalayn, which has been narrated by more than thirty of his companions and indicates the necessity of adherence to the Book of Allah after him.

[The Impossibility of Abrogating the Quran by the Sunnah of the Prophet]

From here, it is understood that referring to the Book of Allah to derive the beliefs and rulings of Islam is both possible and necessary, and beliefs and rulings that conflict with its texts are not part of Islam, even if they are based on the Sunnah of the Prophet. This is because the Sunnah of the Prophet is what he said or did in accordance with the Quran—it is impossible for it to conflict with the Quran, and it does not have the authority to abrogate the Quran; because the Quran is Allah’s speech, and the Prophet is more deserving of obeying Allah’s speech and of speaking and acting in accordance with it. If there is a need to abrogate the Quran, Allah is more aware and more deserving of doing so, and He does so through the Quran itself; because the Quran is widely transmitted and has reached the eastern and western parts of the Earth, whereas the Sunnah of the Prophet is—in most cases—not widely transmitted and has not reached the eastern and western parts of the Earth. Therefore, abrogating the Quran by the Sunnah of the Prophet is not sufficient, does not fulfill Allah’s purpose, and is considered a delay in providing explanation when it is needed. Based on this, abrogating the Quran is permissible only by the Quran and not by the Sunnah of the Prophet, which is why it has not occurred.