One Source or Two: Al-Kitab and Al-Hikmah?
Why the claim that “(Wisdom) Hikmah = (Fabrications) Hadith” collapses under Qur’anic grammar, language, and internal consistency.
The Qur’an does not treat hikmah (ٱلْحِكْمَة — al-hikmah, wisdom) as a second source of revelation alongside itself. It never presents “wisdom” as a parallel corpus, an oral tradition, or a separate body of reports transmitted independently from the Book. Instead, the Qur’an consistently treats wisdom as something contained within revelation, expressed through it, and inseparable from it.
This becomes especially clear in Qur’an 2:231—where the grammar itself blocks the idea that “scripture” and “wisdom” are two independent authorities.
The verse ends that clause with:
بِهِۦ (bihi) — “by it”
That word is a singular pronoun in Arabic. It refers back to what was just mentioned—what God “sent down”: the scripture and wisdom.
So the verse is not treating them like two separate pipelines (“scripture” over here, “hadith/wisdom” over there). It treats them as one unified referent—one package of what God sent down—then points back to that package with one “it.”
If someone wants hikmah in this verse to mean a separate body of revelation outside the Qur’an (like Hadith), 2:231 becomes grammatically awkward:
The verse would be naming two distinct authorities, then referring back to them as one unified “it.”
But the Qur’an’s wording does the opposite: it links “scripture” and “wisdom” so tightly that the admonition is described as coming by it—singular—meaning the same revealed guidance is what enlightens and admonishes.
This becomes especially clear in the Qur’an’s most common pattern, where hikmah (wisdom) is paired with al-kitāb (the scripture). This pairing appears repeatedly in verses:
People often cite 33:34 as if it proves “hikmah (ٱلْحِكْمَة — al-hikmah) = Hadith (حَدِيث — hadith)” because it addresses the Prophet Muhammad’s wives and tells them to remember what is recited in their homes. But that reading collapses when you stick to the verse’s own wording and the Qur’an’s internal usage.
The verse does not tell the Prophet Muhammad’s wives to “remember the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings.” It uses a very specific Qur’anic phrase: “God’s revelations” (ءَايَاتِ ٱللَّه — āyāti Allāh). In the Qur’an, āyāt are God’s own revealed signs/verses - what God sends down and what is recited as revelation. That wording is not used for human reports, biographies, or later collections. So when 33:34 says what was being recited in their homes included “God’s revelations,” the referent is the revealed scripture itself, not a separate body of report-literature that was compiled generations later.
Once the verse anchors the subject as “God’s revelations” (āyāti Allāh), the next detail becomes decisive: how does the Qur’an say those revelations were present in the home? It answers with one loaded verb—يُتْلَىٰ (yutlā), “is being recited.”
The Qur’an doesn’t say “what was said,” “what was narrated,” or “what was reported.” It chooses يُتْلَىٰ (yutlā)—from the root of tilāwah (تلاوة), meaning to recite aloud.
In Qur’anic usage, this verb is strongly tied to revelation:
Revelation is something that is recited to people.
It is recited repeatedly so it can be memorized, preserved, and proclaimed as guidance.
It is recited in public and private settings because it functions as a living message, not casual speech.
That matters because 33:34 is describing what was happening inside the Prophet Muhammad’s household: God’s revelations were actively being recited there. And the wives are commanded to “remember” that recited content—meaning to retain it, internalize it, live by it, and keep it present.
So the plain reading is straightforward: the Qur’an was being recited in their homes, and they are told to remember it—along with the wisdom that is embedded in it. Turning “yutlā” into “Hadith being transmitted” requires changing the Qur’an’s own vocabulary into something it doesn’t use.
BOTTOM LINE
When the Qur’an repeatedly treats the revealed message as a single referent (“this / these revelations”) and condemns the hadith by its name:
So if someone tries to use 33:34 to smuggle in “Hadith” as a second revelation called “wisdom,” they collide with the Qur’an’s own framing: God’s revelations are recited, and the Qur’an asks—repeatedly—which hadith besides this are you going to follow?
