Canonical authority can circulate through oral and popular channels

Evidence

Despite Umm Faris’s lack of religious training, she often invoked authoritative canonical sources in her lessons ( such as the Quran and the badith), even if her familiarity with these sources came from what many would consider nonauthoritative channels (such as orally transmitted stories, local sermons, and popular devotional literature). — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety, 639