Short answer
No. The Qur'an itself sends its readers to the Prophet (ﷺ). It tells believers to obey Allah (﷾) and obey the Messenger, and to take whatever the Messenger gives them. It says he was sent to explain what was revealed, and to teach the Book and the Wisdom. It speaks of commands that are not written in it, such as the first direction of prayer, which Allah (﷾) says He appointed. It tells Muslims to pray, but it does not say how many prayers a day, or how many units each has. The Prophet (ﷺ) showed that. His teaching was passed on by the same people who passed on the Qur'an, and it was checked with a care few histories have ever received. So a Muslim follows the Qur'an by following the Prophet (ﷺ), as the Qur'an commands.
Full explanation
The Qur'an mentions commands it does not contain
The Qur'an says Allah (﷾) appointed the direction of prayer the Muslims used to face, to test who would follow the Messenger. Yet no verse ever tells them to face Jerusalem. They knew it from the Prophet (ﷺ), who prayed that way for sixteen or seventeen months in Madinah. Again, the Qur'an says marital relations are now permitted on the nights of the fast, and that Allah (﷾) forgave those who had broken the earlier rule in secret. No verse gives that earlier rule. And when one of his wives asked who had told him she had passed on his secret, he said: the One who knows and is well-acquainted told me. So Allah (﷾) taught him things outside the Qur'an's text, and the Qur'an itself says so.
“Thus, have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves; and We appointed the Qibla to which thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels (From the Faith). Indeed it was (A change) momentous, except to those guided by Allah. And never would Allah Make your faith of no effect. For Allah is to all people Most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful.”
Al-Bara ibn Azib reports that after arriving in Madinah the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed facing Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months, until the direction of prayer was turned to the Kaaba.
“Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is the approach to your wives. They are your garments and ye are their garments. Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves; but He turned to you and forgave you; so now associate with them, and seek what Allah Hath ordained for you, and eat and drink, until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread; then complete your fast Till the night appears; but do not associate with your wives while ye are in retreat in the mosques. Those are Limits (set by) Allah: Approach not nigh thereto. Thus doth Allah make clear His Signs to men: that they may learn self-restraint.”
Al-Bara reports that when the fast of Ramadan was first made obligatory, people kept away from their wives for the whole month, and some men broke that rule in secret. Then Allah revealed: Allah knows that you were deceiving yourselves, but He turned to you and forgave you (2:187).
“When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his consorts, and she then divulged it (to another), and Allah made it known to him, he confirmed part thereof and repudiated a part. Then when he told her thereof, she said, "Who told thee this? "He said, "He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted (with all things)."”
The Book and the Wisdom
Again and again the Qur'an says the Messenger teaches the Book and the Wisdom (al-kitab wa al-hikma). It says Allah (﷾) sent down to him the Book and the Wisdom. It tells the Prophet's (ﷺ) wives to recite what is rehearsed in their homes of the signs of Allah (﷾) and His Wisdom. The word "and" joins two things: the Wisdom is sent down and taught beside the Book. Al-Shafi'i, the early jurist, reported that the scholars of the Qur'an he trusted said the Wisdom is the sunna, the teaching of the Prophet (ﷺ). A reader who follows the Qur'an alone still has to say where that teaching is to be found.
“"Our Lord! send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them: For Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise."”
“Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a messenger from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of Allah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error.”
“But for the Grace of Allah to thee and his Mercy, a party of them would certainly have plotted to lead thee astray. But (in fact) they will only Lead their own souls astray, and to thee they can do no harm in the least. For Allah hath sent down to thee the Book and wisdom and taught thee what thou Knewest not (before): And great is the Grace of Allah unto thee.”
“And recite what is rehearsed to you in your homes, of the Signs of Allah and His Wisdom: for Allah understands the finest mysteries and is well-acquainted (with them).”
In the chapter on Allah's command in His Book to follow the sunna of His Prophet, al-Shafi'i notes that the Qur'an names the Book and, beside it, the Wisdom. He says he heard scholars of the Qur'an whom he trusted say that the Wisdom is the sunna of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), since it is mentioned with the Book and the Messenger teaches both.
Obey Allah (﷾), and obey the Messenger
Many verses say "obey Allah and obey the Messenger", and some repeat the word "obey" before the Messenger. The Qur'an says whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah (﷾). It tells believers to take what the Messenger gives them and keep away from what he forbids. It says they have no real faith until they make him the judge of their disputes and accept his decision. It calls him the beautiful pattern for believers. If obeying him only meant obeying the Qur'an, these verses would say "obey Allah and obey Allah". And since he was sent to all people, not only to his companions, his teaching must reach us too.
“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.”
“He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah: But if any turn away, We have not sent thee to watch over their (evil deeds).”
“What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from the people of the townships,- belongs to Allah,- to His Messenger and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; In order that it may not (merely) make a circuit between the wealthy among you. So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you. And fear Allah; for Allah is strict in Punishment.”
“But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against Thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.”
“Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah.”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
Who explains the details?
The Qur'an tells Muslims to establish prayer, but it does not say how many prayers to pray each day or how many units each has. The Prophet (ﷺ) told his companions: pray as you have seen me pray. Without his example, every reader is left to build a prayer of his own. That is what happened to the Qur'an-only movement in India. One of its leaders worked out a "Qur'anic prayer", which others dropped, and another fell back on the prayer the whole community had always prayed, taught by the Prophet (ﷺ). The Qur'an says he was sent to explain what was revealed.
“And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship).”
Malik ibn al-Huwayrith reports that he and other young men stayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) for twenty days. When he sent them home to teach their families, he told them: pray as you have seen me praying.
A history of modern debates over the authority of the sunna in Egypt and South Asia. Brown records that the Ahl-i Qur'an, the early Qur'an-only movement in India, could not settle how to pray. Abdullah Chakralawi worked out a "Qur'anic prayer", which others in the movement dropped. Aslam Jayrajpuri instead accepted the prayer that the whole community had always practised, handed down from the Prophet (ﷺ), while still denying the authority of hadith.
“(We sent them) with Clear Signs and Books of dark prophecies; and We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may give thought.”
The readings and the prophecies
In the first chapter, many Muslims recite "Maaliki" (Master of the Day of Judgment), and others, in much of North Africa, recite "Maliki" (King). Both are the Qur'an. Yet the Qur'an does not say that it was revealed to be read in more than one way. That comes from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said the Qur'an was revealed to be recited in seven ways. The hadith also hold prophecies. The Qur'an says Allah (﷾) shows the unseen only to a messenger He chooses. In a book finished in the ninth century, the Prophet (ﷺ) foretold that barefoot, destitute shepherds would compete in raising tall buildings. A Qur'an-only reader must say where that knowledge came from.
“Master of the Day of Judgment.”
Umar heard Hisham ibn Hakim recite Surat al-Furqan differently from the way he had learned it and brought him to the Prophet (ﷺ). The Prophet had each recite, said of both readings that the surah was revealed that way, and said the Qur'an was revealed to be recited in seven ways, so recite whichever is easier.
“"He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries,- "Except a messenger whom He has chosen: and then He makes a band of watchers march before him and behind him,”
Umar ibn al-Khattab reports that a stranger in very white clothes came and questioned the Prophet (ﷺ) about Islam, faith and excellence in worship, and then about the Hour. The Prophet said the one asked knew no more than the one asking, and gave two of its signs: a slave woman will give birth to her mistress, and you will see barefoot, poorly clothed, destitute shepherds competing with one another in raising tall buildings. Afterwards the Prophet told Umar the stranger was the angel Gabriel, who had come to teach them their religion.
The same witnesses carried both
No one today received the Qur'an from the Prophet's (ﷺ) own hand. It reached us through his companions, their students and every generation since. The same people passed on his teaching. If their reports could not be trusted at all, the Qur'an would lose its witnesses too. Muslims hold the Qur'an's transmission strongest, since whole generations recited it, but the trust rests on the same honest people. The Qur'an itself accepts witnesses: it asks for two witnesses to a debt, and tells believers to check news brought by a wicked person, not news brought by the honest. The companions checked too. Once Umar would not accept a saying of the Prophet (ﷺ) from Abu Musa until a second companion confirmed it.
“O ye who believe! When ye deal with each other, in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed period of time, reduce them to writing Let a scribe write down faithfully as between the parties: let not the scribe refuse to write: as Allah Has taught him, so let him write. Let him who incurs the liability dictate, but let him fear His Lord Allah, and not diminish aught of what he owes. If the party liable is mentally deficient, or weak, or unable Himself to dictate, Let his guardian dictate faithfully, and get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her. The witnesses should not refuse when they are called on (For evidence). Disdain not to reduce to writing (your contract) for a future period, whether it be small or big: it is juster in the sight of Allah, More suitable as evidence, and more convenient to prevent doubts among yourselves but if it be a transaction which ye carry out on the spot among yourselves, there is no blame on you if ye reduce it not to writing. But take witness whenever ye make a commercial contract; and let neither scribe nor witness suffer harm. If ye do (such harm), it would be wickedness in you. So fear Allah; For it is Allah that teaches you. And Allah is well acquainted with all things. If ye are on a journey, and cannot find a scribe, a pledge with possession (may serve the purpose). And if one of you deposits a thing on trust with another, let the trustee (faithfully) discharge his trust, and let him Fear his Lord conceal not evidence; for whoever conceals it, - his heart is tainted with sin. And Allah knoweth all that ye do.”
“O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done.”
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reports that Abu Musa asked three times for permission to enter on Umar, was not answered, and went away. He told Umar the Prophet (ﷺ) had said that whoever asks three times and is not given permission should go back. Umar said he would make him bring a witness to it. Abu Musa asked a gathering of the Ansar, and Abu Sa'id went with him and told Umar that the Prophet had said so.
Checked with rare care
Every hadith comes with its chain: who heard it from whom. Muslim records one this way: Yahya ibn Yahya read it to Malik, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar, from the Prophet (ﷺ). Scholars wrote down the life of each narrator, when he lived, whom he met, and what those who knew him said of his honesty and memory. Ibn al-Mubarak said the chain is part of the religion; without it, anyone could say whatever he liked. Writing began early. Hammam ibn Munabbih wrote down 138 reports from Abu Hurayra, a companion who died about 680 CE, and copies of his collection survive. Harald Motzki, a German scholar of Islam, tested thousands of reports and dated many to the first Islamic century. By comparison, our main account of Alexander the Great was written more than four centuries after his death, yet historians use it.
Muslim gives the chain: Yahya ibn Yahya, who read it to Malik, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar, that the Prophet (ﷺ) said prayer in congregation is twenty-seven degrees better than prayer alone.
The classical handbook of hadith criticism. It defines a sound (sahih) hadith as one whose chain is connected from beginning to end through narrators who are upright and precise, with no irregularity or hidden defect. It names al-Bukhari as the first to compile a book of sound hadith alone, followed by Muslim, and calls their two books the most authentic books after the Book of Allah.
Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 797 CE) says that the chain of narration is part of the religion, and that without it anyone could say whatever he wished.
Hammam ibn Munabbih, a student of the Companion Abu Hurayra (d. about 680 CE), wrote down 138 reports he heard from him. Hamidullah published the collection from two manuscripts, one in Berlin and one in Damascus. The same reports are found in the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, compiled in the following century.
Western scholars such as Ignaz Goldziher and Joseph Schacht had argued that most hadith were put into circulation long after the Prophet (ﷺ). Motzki, a German scholar of Islam, tested a sample of 3,810 reports in the Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq (d. 827 CE). He concluded that the work can be trusted as a source of genuine reports from the first Islamic century.
Arrian, writing in the second century CE, more than four centuries after Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE, says he has followed the accounts of Ptolemy and Aristobulus, two men who served with Alexander. Their own books are lost. His work is still the main source historians use for Alexander's campaigns.
Islam's answer: the Book, and the one who brought it
The Qur'an says the Prophet (ﷺ) does not speak from his own desire: it is revelation sent to him. It warns whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance is clear, and follows a path other than that of the believers. The Prophet (ﷺ) said he was given the Qur'an and something like it with it. He warned that a time would come when a man reclining on his couch would say: keep to the Qur'an alone. Muslims follow the Book and the one who brought it, as the Book commands.
“Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) Desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him:”
“If anyone contends with the Messenger even after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than that becoming to men of Faith, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell,- what an evil refuge!”
Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said he had been given the Qur'an and something like it with it, and warned that a time would come when a man reclining full on his couch would say: keep to the Qur'an alone, and treat as lawful only what you find lawful in it.
The replies answered
Qur'an 4:59 — Surat al-Nisa (The Women), verse 59
“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.”
Cited for
"Obey the Messenger" just means obey the Qur'an he brought. Allah and His Messenger speak with one voice.
The response
Then these verses would say "obey Allah and obey Allah". The Qur'an repeats the word "obey" before the Messenger. It tells believers to refer their disputes to Allah (﷾) and His Messenger, and says they have no real faith until they make him the judge and accept his decision. The Qur'an asks for both kinds of obedience.
Where it lands — The Qur'an asks for obedience to the Messenger as well as to the Book.
Qur'an 2:129 — Surat al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 129
“"Our Lord! send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them: For Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise."”
Cited for
"The Book and the Wisdom" are one thing. The Wisdom is simply the wisdom inside the Book.
The response
The Qur'an says both were sent down to the Prophet (ﷺ), and that he teaches both. It speaks of what is rehearsed in his homes of the signs of Allah (﷾) and His Wisdom. Even if the Wisdom only meant understanding, the Qur'an says the Messenger teaches it. Believers then still need his teaching.
Where it lands — Whatever the Wisdom is, the Messenger teaches it, so his teaching is needed.
Qur'an 15:9 — Surat al-Hijr (The Rock), verse 9
“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”
Cited for
We know the Qur'an is kept because Allah promised to guard it. The hadith have no such promise.
The response
A verse cannot vouch for its own text until we know the text reached us. We know that through the people who passed it on, and the same people passed on the Prophet's (ﷺ) teaching. Allah (﷾) guarded both through people, as the Qur'an itself relies on honest witnesses.
Where it lands — The Qur'an and the Prophet's (ﷺ) teaching reached us through the same trusted people.
Perspectives
The Qur'an alone
A small number of Muslims, often called Qur'anists, hold that the Qur'an is complete and enough. They see the hadith as later human reports that cannot be trusted as religion.
The Qur'an says nothing has been left out of the Book, and that it explains all things. So nothing else is needed.
Rebuttal
The same surah that says the Book explains all things says the Prophet (ﷺ) was sent to explain what was revealed. The Qur'an explains all things partly by sending us to him: it tells us to take what he gives.
The Qur'an asks in what hadith, after Allah and His signs, people will believe. That rules out any other hadith.
Rebuttal
Hadith in Arabic simply means speech or account. The Qur'an calls itself the best hadith. The verse is about those who reject Allah's (﷾) signs, not about the Messenger whom the Qur'an tells believers to obey.
The Prophet (ﷺ) told his companions not to write down anything from him except the Qur'an.
Rebuttal
That report is itself a hadith, and it goes on: narrate from me, there is no harm in it. After the conquest of Makkah he had a sermon written for Abu Shah, and he told Abdullah ibn Amr to keep writing. The early rule kept the Qur'an apart; it never stopped his teaching being passed on.
The hadith were collected two centuries after the Prophet (ﷺ), so they cannot be trusted.
Rebuttal
The great collections came later, but they drew on earlier written records and chains of named narrators. Copies of Hammam's collection from Abu Hurayra survive, and Motzki dated many reports to the first Islamic century.
The Islamic perspective
The Qur'an commands Muslims to obey the Messenger, says he teaches the Book and the Wisdom, and leaves him to explain it. His teaching was kept by the same people who kept the Qur'an, and checked with great care.
The Qur'an commands obedience to the Messenger alongside obedience to Allah (﷾).
The Qur'an speaks of a command it does not contain. It is the first direction of prayer, which Allah (﷾) says He appointed.
The Qur'an says the Messenger teaches the Book and the Wisdom, both sent down by Allah (﷾).
Early written collections of hadith survive, and Western study has dated many reports to the first Islamic century.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said he was given the Qur'an and something like it with it.