u/Kuerkue

The Scale of the Hadith Corpus Sunni hadith compilations contain hundreds of thousands of narrations. Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s Musnad alone contains over 27,000 hadiths. When you combine the Six Canonical Collections (Kutub al-Sittah), the Muwatta of Malik, the Musannafs, and other secondary works, the total exceeds 100,000 narrations (including repetitions).

Infinite Commands and Prohibitions A massive portion of these narrations consists of imperatives ("Do X") or prohibitions ("Do not do Y"). They cover every minute detail of life, from the specific method of brushing one's teeth to the exact order in which one must cut their fingernails.

The Lack of an Authoritative List There has never been a uniform, universally agreed-upon list of every single command attributed to the Prophet. Because there is no central index, a believer can never be certain they have fulfilled every obligation found within the massive corpus of tradition.

The Shifting Nature of Practice Just 30 or 40 years ago, many Sunni communities practiced female circumcision as if it were a confirmed Sunnah. Today, it is widely considered haram (forbidden). This proves that something treated as a prophetic tradition for decades can later be rejected or even labeled a sin.

Conclusion

This is one of the primary reasons I follow only the Quran. It alone offers a clear, complete, and consistently reliable message.

"And this is the path of your Lord, [leading] straight. We have detailed the verses for a people who remember." (Quran 6:126)

"And, this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed you that you may become righteous." (Quran 6:153)

(See also: Quran 6:114-117)

feel free to ask me anything.