Is what Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said—that the Sunnah is not recited as the Qur’an is recited—different from what Al-Zarkashi said—that the Sunnah was revealed verbatim? And what is the authenticity of that? And what is the meaning of Al-Shatibi’s statement: “The Hadith is either pure revelation from Allah, or an ijtihad from the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, considered by sound revelation from the Book or the Sunnah”? And what is the meaning of ijtihad considered by sound revelation?

There is no contradiction between what Al-Zarkashi and Shaykh Al-Islam stated regarding the Sunnah being revealed by Allah through revelation, just like the Quran. Al-Zarkashi's phrase, "So he mentioned the Sunnah with the wording of recitation like the Quran," means that the rulings of the Sunnah are from Allah's revelation, not that its wordings are revealed like the wordings of the Quran. For the Quran, its wording is literal from Allah, whereas for the Sunnah, its meanings are from Allah, and its wording is from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Al-Shafi'i argued with the Almighty's saying: "And Allah has revealed to you the Book and Wisdom," for wisdom is what the Sunnah brought.

Al-Shatibi's statement that the Hadith is either pure revelation or considered ijtihad means that the Sunnah is either direct revelation from Allah or an ijtihad from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, based on revelation. In both cases, the Sunnah cannot contradict the Quran.