Why did Al-Azhar reject the book "Love and Sex in the Life of the Prophet" by the author Basant Rashad, and what were the reasons that led her to question the Prophetic Hadiths, citing the opinions of some figures who believe that not all Hadiths are authentic and that the Holy Quran alone is sufficient?

This book is filled with falsehoods, impugning the Sunnah of the Prophet and its authenticity, and questioning the trustworthiness and integrity of Muslim scholars.

First: The marriage of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, at the age of nine, was a common practice in the hot environment that aids rapid puberty. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was engaged before that, and none of the Quraysh objected to it despite their enmity.

Second: The story of the Gharaniq (cranes): This was previously detailed in earlier fatwas (41811, 45200).

Third: The delay in the codification of the Sunnah: Much of the Sunnah was written during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, such as: the Sahifah Sadiqa of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas, the Sahifah of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Sahifah of Saad ibn Ubadah, and his letters, peace and blessings be upon him, to his governors, agents, and the kings of Rome and Muqawqis, as well as his contracts and treaties, and his letters to individual Companions. The widespread practice of writing has been established.

As for the prohibition against writing the Sunnah, it was abrogated by the permission to write after the fear of its mixing with the Quran was removed, or it was a prohibition against writing it alongside the Quran in the same sheet. There is another wisdom behind the prohibition, which is that the Sunnah comprises various types: verbal, practical, and approval. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, intended for the Companions to apply the Sunnah practically, not to rely solely on written material.

As for the delay in official codification during the era of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, it is due to the fact that the Arabs were an unlettered nation relying on strong memory, and writing was considered a defect among them. Moreover, those who received knowledge from the Companions codified it for themselves. The strict conditions for receiving and accepting narrations, and the sciences of Jarh and Ta'deel (disparagement and authentication), prove the credibility of authentic hadiths, and scholars have clarified the weak and fabricated hadiths.

As for those who call themselves "Quranists," they have been discussed previously in earlier fatwas (43427, 47392, 89496).