Do 8:7-10 and 3:123-126 prove revelation outside the Quran?

[Galaxy]

Assalamualaikum, this is my first post here. I am a believer of the Quran as the sole guide authorized by Allah. However, recently I've been studying the arguments against those who reject ahadith, and came across Muhammad Taqi Usmani's work, 'The Authority of Sunnah.' Most of the arguments presented seem to be refutable and refuted, however, there is one example that bothers me, which is, the 7th to 10th verses of Surah 8 and 123rd to 126th verses of Surah 3. I am deeply in need of a plausible refutation or alternative explanation.

Here are these verses:

8:7-10: [Remember, O believers], when Allah promised you one of the two groups - that it would be yours - and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But Allah intended to establish the truth by His words and to eliminate the disbelievers. That He should establish the truth and abolish falsehood, even if the criminals disliked it. [Remember] when you asked help of your Lord, and He answered you, "Indeed, I will reinforce you with a thousand from the angels, following one another." And Allah made it not but good tidings and so that your hearts would be assured thereby. And victory is not but from Allah . Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.

3:123-126: And already had Allah given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were few in number. Then fear Allah; perhaps you will be grateful. [Remember] when you said to the believers, "Is it not sufficient for you that your Lord should reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down? Yes, if you remain patient and conscious of Allah and the enemy come upon you [attacking] in rage, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels having marks [of distinction]. And Allah made it not except as [a sign of] good tidings for you and to reassure your hearts thereby. And victory is not except from Allah , the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

The argument is that these verses ask the believers to recall/remember a time and event that took place in the past (the battle of Badr).

The first paragraph shows us that:

1. Allah made a promise to the believers that they would win against at least one of the groups.
2. When the believers prayed, Allah replied with, 'Indeed, I will reinforce you with a thousand from the angels, following one another.' This was a good news from Allah.

The second paragraph shows us that:

1. Muhammad said to the believers in the past, 'Is it not sufficient for you that your Lord should reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down? Yes, if you remain patient and conscious of Allah and the enemy come upon you [attacking] in rage, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels having marks [of distinction].'
2. Muhammad's words were a good news from Allah.

The point is, both these paragraphs mention a event of the past, quoting it here. However, the ACTUAL time when these words were said or when Allah made the promise are NOT mentioned in the Quran. We do not see in the Quran that Allah is saying in the PRESENT that He is promising that the believers will win against one of the groups, nor do we see in the Quran that Allah is saying in the PRESENT that He is going to send down angels. Similarly, the words Muhammad is supposed to have said in the past are not mentioned anywhere else with a 'Qul/Say'. I hope I am making sense. Does this not imply that the news of Allah sending angels, the promise Allah made about winning against one of the groups, the words Muhammad said, were all outside of the Quran yet authorized by God because Allah says these were good news? If that is true, then doesn't it mean that there is revelation outside of the Quran?

I tried looking for alternative explanations but could not come across anything solid.

To repeat my points:

1. Allah is REMINDING the believers of the promise he made about their victory in 8:7, but when was this promise made?
2. Allah is REMINDING the believers how He responded with, 'Indeed, I will reinforce you with a thousand from the angels, following one another', but when did He actually say this in the Quran? Where is the revelation of when he ACTUALLY said this? How did the believers get to know that Allah said this? If not through the Quran, doesn't it indicate that there is revelation outside the Quran?
3. Allah is REMINDING the Prophet about when he said to the believers that they will be assisted with divine forces, but when did he actually say this to them? Were these his own words, were they inspired words? Even if they were his own words that happened to be in line with God's words, that doesn't explain the previous two points.
4. Allah mentions that these statements were good news and comfort for the believers. This means that these statements were approved by God and since these are not found elsewhere in the Quran, how did they get to the believers?

[Joseph Islam]

Wa alaikum assalam Galaxy,

Welcome to the forum!

I trust that the following 4 points will assist in separating the different matters and answering the gist of your question.

• During his prophetic ministry, the prophet had many roles and would have arguably been inspired in many ways. [1], [2]
• The inspiration he received that became part of the 'Quran' (the reading) was edict / guidance for believers to follow as part of authorised 'religion'. In other words, what was vital for mankind's guidance was included in the scripture.
• Much of the prophetic sunna (personal habits, decisions etc) would have been time bound as he would be applying guidance to a certain set of circumstances and the environment he would have been familiar with. Prophetic practice (Sunna) can also be argued as = Quran (Divinely inspired guidance) + Circumstances (Context driven situations) [3]
• The Ahadith reports captured centuries after the death of the prophet by fallible collectors, often based on mere hearsay should not be seen to automatically support point (1). In other words, just simply because the prophet received various forms of context driven inspirations, does not automatically mean that fallible compilers captured this faithfully centuries later after the death of the prophet based on sectarian hearsay.

I hope this helps, God willing
Joseph



REFERENCES:

[1] Was the Prophet of God Akin to a Postman Who Simply Delivers a Message?
http://www.facebook.com/joseph.a.islam/posts/247680292035772
[2] Verse 33:37 and Prophetic Wahi (Inspiration) Outside the Quran
http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=811.0
[3] TIME-BOUND SUNNA
http://quransmessage.com/articles/timebound%20sunna%20FM3.htm

[Galaxy]

Thanks a lot for your swift reply. I have gone through the links you've provided and indeed these are excellent explanations for these verses. Thank you!