Assalaam alaykum. Is it permissible for a Muslim to disregard the books on aqeedah (creed) and take aqeedah directly from the Quran and the Sunnah? Also, what is the ruling on the person who takes his aqeedah from the Quran only and disregards the sunnah with the excuse that he would not know whether the hadith is saheeh or not? May Allaah reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. 

Not referring to the books of the scholars by claiming that the Quran and the Sunnah are sufficient to clarify the creed (belief of Islam) is one of the lures of the devil and his deception for some people because Allaah entrusted the clarification of this religion and explanation of the contents of the Quran and the Sunnah of His Prophet to the scholars. The latter are the ones who understand the meaning of the texts and reconcile what appears to be contradictory, and they clear out any misunderstanding. Without referring to their statements, there will be misguidance and deviation; it is for this reason that Allaah ordered us to ask them and to refer to them; as Allaah says (what means): {So ask the people of the message if you do not know.} [Quran 16:43]

When some people of innovation claimed to understand the texts without referring to the words of the scholars, they went astray. The best example of this is the Khawaarij, who abstained from the understanding that the Companions had about the texts of the Quran, and they [Khawaarij] interpreted it in a manner other than what these texts really mean.

As regards the second claim, which is abandoning the Sunnah and not relying on it with the pretext of being unable to distinguish what is authentic from what is weak in it, then it is also a trick of the devil, who wants to misguide the creation and deviate them from the truth, because it is the Sunnah that clarifies the Quran, as Allaah says (what means): {And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them.} [Quran 16:44]

The Sunnah clarifies the entire texts of the Quran, and it explains what is ambiguous or not clear to us, and it specifies what is general in it and restricts what is absolute; so the Sunnah is the second revelation. Without the Sunnah, people would be misguided. For more benefit, please refer to fataawa 3879and 91740.

If a person does not know the authentic and weak ahaadeeth, then the solution is not to categorically reject the Sunnah, but the solution is to refer to the scholars as they are the ones who clarified what is authentic and what is weak from it, and they made great efforts in doing so, may Allaah reward them.

Among the books of the Sunnah that are totally authentic are Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim, and this is agreed upon by all scholars. Besides, the ahaadeeth on which there is a difference of opinion on whether or not they are authentic are much less in number than the ahaadeeth on which the scholars agreed on their authenticity or weakness. Also, regarding the ahaadeeth on which there is a difference of opinion, the person should follow a scholar whose knowledge and piety he trusts, and by doing so, he is acquitted from sin.

In brief, these two claims are very serious, and they lead to the corruption of belief and the propagation of innovations and misguidance. So it is obligatory to be alert about them and warn against those who call to them. There is a need to unite and help each other by referring to the scholars and act upon their sayings.

Allaah knows best.