Abdullah Ibn al-As stated that they used to record everything they heard from the Prophet (SAW). They were warned against doing so as, it was argued, the Prophet (SAW) was a human being that may be angry at times and pleased at times. Abdullah stopped writing his Hadith until they could ask the Prophet (SAW) about this issue. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) told him,
“Write [My Hadith] by the One in whose hand is my soul, nothing leaves it [the Prophet’s (SAW) mouth] save the truth.”(That is, whether he was angry or pleased what he spoke was always the truth)
1. WHY I AM WRITING THIS
2. What is the main reason of this upheaval (fitna)
3. Where this fitna started from
4. Hadith & Sunnah's significance
5. Quran has everything explained in it?
6. Authority of Hadith o Sunnah according to Quran
7. When and who started the compilation of Hadees and how it was preserved
1. WHY I AM WRITING THIS
These days there is a secession, upheaval or chaos (fitna) is been spread among Muslim’s to take away them from Hadith (hadees). They call them selves "
QURANISTS". And unfortunately, some Muslims are believing in this Fitna. It’s about "not accepting the authority of Hadith and Sunnah" by saying that Quran is enough for us. And it have all the answers so why to look toward hadees. And even to put doubts in the mind of innocent Muslim’s they trying to create different doubts about Hadith.
(3:164): "Indeed Allah has already done a favor to the believers, when He raised amongst them a messenger from themselves to recite to them His verses, purify them and teach them the book and the wisdom."
This aya explains one of the most important responsibilities of the beloved Blessed Prophet: to teach the Book. This responsibility consists of not just teaching the pronunciation and reading of the Book [as that is already covered in the first responsibility, i.e. ‘to recite to them His verses’], but more importantly, the meaning of the Qur’an. It would be meaningless for a Muslim to try to understand the meaning and message of the Qur’an without the Blessed Prophet as a teacher to explain it to us.
Proficiency in the Arabic language alone cannot help us grasp the meaning of the Qur’an. Remember, the sahaba (companions of prophet Muhammad), who spoke fluent Arabic, always turned to the Blessed Prophet to understand the deeper meanings of the Qur’an. The Qur’an’s words and its meanings were explained both verbally and practically by the Blessed Prophet. These sayings and explanations of the Blessed Prophet are called Hadith and provide us with the the most authentic commentary of the Qur’an. Therefore, Allah’s promise to preserve the Qur’an meant preservation of the Hadith as well.
By the grace of Allah all mighty, I will try to clear this topic as much as I can. Rest is on Allah to give some one hidayh. My main goal would be to prove the authority of Hadees through Quran, and to elaborate the Quranic text I will use hadith too. But main focus will be Quran. Then I will try to clear few doubts that they make about Hadith. But because there is no limit to the human stupidity. So if I will make the main goal of this subject just to replay to those questions then it will start a never-ending chain of questions and answers, and we will not be able to give our main topic time at all. Therefore, those doubts and arguments will be cleared Insha’Allah in the topic itself.
2. What is the main reason of this upheaval (fitna)
The main reason of this upheaval to take place in the mind is the weak faith toward the Holy Prophet (peace be upon Him). When someone lack in clarity in Aqeeda and Iman (Faith), & have confused or damaged concept of Toheed and Risalat, Then instead of finding the connection between them, they try to make Toheed (oneness of Allah) superior by decreasing the value of Risalat (Prophet hood) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him).
Ofcource, Toheed is superior and it comes first. Mixing both will be wrong. Toheed can never become Risalat and Risalat can never become Toheed. However, make one thing clear, Risalat is not something against toheed. Toheed and Risalat are not two separate things, but actually, Toheed and Risalat are connected to each other. We cannot separate them. We cannot understand Toheed without Risalat and we cannot understand Risalat without Toheed. Therefore, if someone is giving importance to Toheed and not to Risalat then he is not on the right path at all.
In Quran, Allah narrates the story of Hazrat Yakoob AS when he asked his sons that whom they will worship after His Death. And definitely, there is something very important in this question and answer that Allah made it the part of Holy Quran, which is the book of whole human kind. Now look at the conversation.
(2:133)"Were you present (at the time) when death approached Ya‘qub (Jacob) when he asked his sons: ‘Whom will you worship after (my passing away)?’ They said: ‘We shall worship your God, the God of your ancestors Ibrahim (Abraham) and Isma‘il (Ishmael) and Ishaq (Isaac), Who is the One and Only God; and we (all) shall remain obedient to Him.’"
Now pay attention to above verse of Quran. Near death time of Prophet Yakoob As. He asked his sons a question that "whom they will worship after him?"
Straight forward and easy answer would be "we will worship Allah".
If we were there, we would give this answer. But no. It would be a wrong answer. Because look at what Hazrat Yakoob As's son's replied. They said "We will worship your God. and the God of your ancestors Ibraheem As, Ismaeel As, and Ishaaq As".
So actually, they did not try to separate Toheed from Risalat. They told there father that they came to know about God through God's Prophets.
So this was the answer that Allah liked so much that Allah made it the part of Holy Quran. This is what Allah is teaching Muslim Uma. To not to separate Risalat from Toheed. Cause prophets are the people who passed us the teachings of Allah not only by Allah's words but also by their actions and sayings. Cause if just Allah's words were enough then there was no need of choosing prophets and making them sin less. Allah chose Prophets and make their characters sinless so that people will be inspired by them and then they will listen to them. And once the character of a Prophet is above any doubt then the message he is spreading also becomes above any doubt. And very importantly, "when a character and the words of prophet are above all doubts then there is no border saying that only the words of Allah that prophet tells are above doubt and rest we don’t believe. But whatever Prophet says becomes above doubts."
And Allah says
(4:64): And We have not sent any Messenger but that he must be obeyed by the command of Allah. And, (O Beloved,) if they, having wronged their souls, had come to you imploring the forgiveness of Allah, and the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) had also asked forgiveness for them, then (owing to this mediation and intercession) they would certainly have found Allah Most Relenting, Ever-Merciful.
Allah says in above verse that it is the command of Allah to obey a Messenger. Look at the verse again, where did Allah says just to obey only the words of God a messenger tells? And not even that Allah also telling that if someone committed any sin then THEY WILL COME TO YOU TO ASK THE FORGIVENESS OF ALLAH. and MESSENGER HAD ALSO ASKED FORGIVENESS FOR THEM. THEN THEY WILL FOUND ALLH MERCIFUL.
Tell me. IF Allah is giving importance to what Messenger says then who are people not to give importance to his words? Those who still think that hadith have no authority. They should think again. Its Allah's command to obey whatever Messenger says. Means when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) is saying something (hadith), doing something (sunnat), allowing something, stopping something. And people listen to him and do whatever he says, then they are not just obeying him but actually, they are obeying what Allah ordered them in Quran.
And Further Allah says.
(4:150,151): 150. "Surely, those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messengers and seek to discriminate between Allah and His Messengers and say: ‘We believe in some and deny the others,’ and intend to find a way in between (belief and disbelief),..They are the ones who are in fact the disbelievers. And We have prepared a humiliating torment for the disbelievers."
In above verses Allah mentioned 3 things about disbelievers. 2nd one is "and seek to discriminate between Allah and His Messengers".
It can’t be mean that Messengers are actually Allah (nouzubillah) because that would be shirk. So what it means then? ya it’s very clear it means that it’s the character of disbeliever who says that I believe in Allah and not his messengers. Means that whoever believes in the authority of Allah's words and he not the authority of his messenger's words is also disbeliever.
So now the people who give importance to Quran and not to hadith. They should check themselves where they stand. In believers group or non-believer’s group?
Make it clear. Once Allah chose someone as his Prophet, He can never go wrong and follow his own desire or the devil. And same is with our prophet (peace be upon Him)
Allah says
(53:2): "He who bestowed on you his companionship (The Messenger) has never lost his way, nor has he (ever) strayed from the right path."
So whatever he talks is for sure the right path.
Allah says
(7:157): (They are the people) who follow the Messenger, the Prophet (titled as) al-Ummi, whose (eminent attributes) these people find written in the Torah and the Injil (Gospel); who enjoins on them virtues and forbids them vices, declares wholesome things lawful and impure ones unlawful for them and removes from them their heavy burdens and yokes (i.e., shackles) weighing upon them (due to their acts of disobedience and blesses them with freedom). So those who will believe in this (most exalted Messenger [blessings and peace be upon him]) and venerate and revere him and serve and support him (in his Din [Religion]) and follow this light (the Qur’an) that has been sent down with him, it is they who will flourish and prosper.’
Reading the above verses tells us that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) never lost his way and Allah then tells that He (Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) allow and forbid things and whatever Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) says (other than Quran) is hadith and sunnah. And who ever believes in his authority is actually on the right path. Now who doesn’t admit his authority, can he also be on right path?
No, he cannot. Therefore, it is as important to follow Sunnah and hadith as it is important to follow Quran. Cause it is the order of Allah.
3. Where this upheaval (fitna) started
Make it clear that not to accept the authority of haddes is not something new.
This fitna took place in the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him). The founder of this thinking was a person from Tribe Tamim. His name was "Abdullah bin zil-khowesra al-tamime". He was the first person to challenge the authority of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
In Hadees his whole story is mentioned.
It was narrated that Abu Saeed Al-Khudri said: “When he was in Yemen, ‘Ali sent a piece of gold that was still mixed with Sediment to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon Him) and the Messenger of Allah distributed it among four People: Al-Aqra’ bin Habis Al-HanzalI, ‘Uyaynah bin Badr Al- Fazari, ‘Alqamah bin ‘Ulathah Al ‘Amiri, who was from Banu Kilab and Zaid At-Ta’i who was from Banu Nabhan. The Quraish” — he said one time “the chiefs of the Quraish” — “became angry and said: ‘You give to the chiefs of Najd and not to us?’ He said: ‘I only did that, so as to soften their hearts toward Islam.’ Then a man with a thick beard, prominent cheeks, sunken eyes, a high forehead, and a shaven head came and said: ‘Fear Allah, Muhammad!’ He said: ‘Who would obey Allah if I disobeyed Him? (Is it fair that) He has entrusted me with all the people of the Earth but you do not trust me?’ Then the man went away, and a man from among the people, whom they (the narrators) think was Khalid bin Al Walid, asked for permission to kill him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon Him) said: ‘Among the offspring of this man will be some people who will recite the Qur’an but it will not go any further than their throats. They will kill the Muslims but leave the idol worshippers alone, and they will pass through Islam as an arrow passes through the body of the target. If I live to see them, I will kill them all, as the people of ‘Aad were killed.”
(Sahi Bukhari, no 3414, Sahi Muslim, no 1064, Sunan e Nisai)
The name of this person was "abdullah bin zil khowersa al tamime". He used to say his prayer, recite Quran and all other things that Muslim’s do. His only thought that took him out of Islam was that he raised his finger and challenged the authority of Prophet Muhammad. And Prophet also said that among his offspring will be people who will recite Quran but they will be out of Islam and he further said "if I live to see them I will kill them like the people of aad". We all know about "Ashra Mubshra" (10 people who were given the news that they will be in heaven by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) in this world). So when Prophet tells a person that he will be in heaven. We believe that he will. So if Prophet says about the people who are out of Islam. Can we even imagine that they are still Muslims?
Today! see the People who don’t admit the authority of hadith and sunnah today. Aren’t they same like Prophet said? they talk about Quran, which to a normal person feels very religious. They appear very religious, like Muslim’s and they never talked about non-muslims instead their actions just spread fitna among muslims and its there life's goal to take people away from Hadith and Sunnah where as Allah said in Quran
(33:21):"In truth, in Allah’s Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) there is for you a most perfect and beautiful model (of life) for every such person that expects and aspires to (meeting) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah abundantly."
According the the above verse of Quran, Allah made Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) a model of muslim then the question is, what is model made for if not to follow? And to be very clear. Allah did not say that Prophet Muhammad's teaching of Quran is model. Instead, Allah said that he himself (peace be upon Him) is the model. So tell me whatever he said (hadith) and did (Sunnah) are to follow or not to follow? Answer is "ofcource they are to follow cause that’s why Allah made him the model and told us that he never is out of the right path".
About that person "abdullah bin zil khowersa al tamime"! Allama ibn e tamila says in his "Majmooa Fatawa" that "this person was the first "Biddati" (bad inovator) in the history of Islam".
And then like the Prophet Said some people who had the same thought did appeared in the time of Hazrat Ali (the 4th kalaph of islam), and that group was called as "khawarji". Hazrat Ali (RZ) fought against them. They use to say the same thing. "That authority only belongs to Allah."
To a normal person, this thing seems very good. No doubt. However, if you use some thinking, you will know that the real reason behind saying this was not to submit yourself to Allah. However, there main goal was not to accept the authority of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him). Then with time this fitna appeared in different shapes and groups. Recently this fitna appeared with a new name "Pervazi". This group says the same as "khawaraj" use to say. That Quran is enough for us and there is no need of Hadith or Sunnah now.
Do not get confused by their appearance or words, whoever will try to challenge the authority of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) is out of Islam. No matter they recite quranic verses or anything. Whoever will follow them will also be out of Islam.
4. Hadith & Sunnah's significance
a) Hadith Significance
Before going to the topic, let me clear few things first.
1st: There were more than one ways that Allah sent his revelations to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him). They are mentioned in Quran
Allah says
(
42:51): "And every man does not have the faculty that Allah should speak to him (directly) except by Revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending some angel as a messenger to reveal with His permission what Allah may will. Surely, He is Most High, Most Wise."
Means there are ways that Allah sent his revelations that even angels are not aware of, it is when Allah speak directly to a prophet or form behind a veil.
2nd: It is mention in seerat books that angel Jabreel AS visited Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) about 12 to 24 thousand times. (Here let us assume its 12 thousand). And each time 3 to 10 verses of Quran were reviled. (Here let’s assume that just 1 verse was reviled at a time).
And Quran have 6346 verses. So if angel Jabreel as came to prophet Muhammad 12000 times and 6346 times it was just Quran then what about the rest 5654 times? Jabreel As didnt came all those 5654 times just to have little chit chat or just to kill time. Jabreel AS is a messenger so each time when he came to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him), it was a message from Allah. So where are those messages? And do not forget, message through an angel is just one way of sending revelations. Other 2 ways are when Allah speaks directly to the Prophet or from behind a veil (as he spoke to Prophet Moses). So where 5654 messages from Jabreel As and messages from Allah when he spoke directly and from behind a veil gone?
(Don’t forget this number 5654 is only true when we assumed that Jabreel AS came to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) just 12000 times and each time just 1 verse of Quran was reviled. Reality is Jabreel AS came to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) more than 12000 times and the least number of verses reviled at one time were 3 and most number was 10).
The answer is. Blessed Prophet received two types of divine revelations.
One is, the spoken [matluww] and the second, the unspoken [ghair-matluww].
Matluww revelation is Quran and ghair-matluww is Hadees and Seerat.
An indication of the roots of the unspoken revelation can be found in the ayas of the Quran. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:
(2:143): "... And We appointed the Qibla (the direction of Prayer), which you used to face before, only to bring to light (by trial) who would follow (Our) Messenger and who would turn back upon his heels. And this (change of Qibla) was indeed a hard task, but not for those whom Allah blessed with guidance....."
To gain a broader understanding of this aya, it is important that we look into its historical background.
Shortly after the migration to Madina, the Blessed Prophet and the ýaúóba ? were told to pray towards Masjid al-Aqüó in Jerusalem. Masjid al-Aqüó became the qibla of the Muslims for seventeen months. After seventeen months, the order to pray towards Masjid al-Aqüó was abrogated and Muslims were ordered to pray towards Makka. This order was established through the following aya:
(2:144): "(O Beloved! (Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him)) We have been watching your radiant face turning frequently towards heaven. So We will indeed make you turn towards that Qibla (direction of Prayer) with which you feel pleased. So turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque now. And, wherever you are, (O Muslims,) turn your faces towards it. And those who have been given the Book definitely know that this (commandment of changing the Qibla) is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of the works they are doing."
So in (2:143) Allah mentions the first order, which was to face towards Jerusalem, as His own order. This impresses upon the reader the fact that Allah himself was behind the order to face Masjid al-Aqüó. But when we read the Qur’an we do not find any such aya in which Allah ordered the Muslims to pray towards Jerusalem.
The fact is that this order came from the Blessed Prophet and not from any aya of the Quran. The aya does not say, “The Blessed Prophet enacted the order…” rather it says, “We appointed the qibla….”
The proof is so self-evident it does not require any further clarification. This clear statement from the Qur’an regarding the order given by the Blessed Prophet? demonstrates a fundamental belief about the aúódõth of the Blessed Prophet ?: that they are a form of revelation. And this is what is known as the unspoken or unrecited revelation.
There are many verses of Quran that indicate the unspoken revelation. I'll just mention few without explaining them.
(9:25): "Assuredly, Allah has helped you on a great many occasions and (in particular) on the day of Hunayn, when the superiority of your (numerical strength) exhilarated you. Then that (numerical superiority) could not prove to you of any avail, and the earth, despite its vast expanse, narrowed for you, and then you turned your backs in retreat."
..Nowhere in Quran it is mentioned what help.
(9:40): "If you do not help him (the Holy Messenger, then what!). Indeed, Allah helped him (also at the time) when the disbelievers drove him away (from Makka) whilst he was the second of the two (emigrants). Both were in the cave (of Mount Thawr) when he said to his Companion: ‘Do not grieve. Allah is surely with us.’ So, Allah sent down His serenity upon him, and strengthened him by means of such armies (of angels) that you could not see, and He made the word of the disbelievers the lowermost, and Allah’s Word is (always) the uppermost and exalted. And Allah is Almighty, Most Wise.
..If you don’t get help from hadees then you will never know who was the second person.
(80:1-2): "A feeling of uneasiness came upon his (holy) face, and he turned aside his (radiant) face, because a blind man approached him"
..Now without knowing hadees. you can never understand what this incident was.
There are many examples like this, so I’m skipping the rest. Just want to make a point that to understand Quran we need hadees o sunnah. Otherwise we can never understand what Allah is telling in his book.
b)Sunnah's significance:
I can say many things about the significance of Sunnah, but my words can never be as good as Allah's words. So I will just post few verses of Quran where Allah called the actions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him), His (Allah's) own actions.
1. (8:17): "It is not you who killed the disbelievers (who initiated war against you) but it is Allah Who killed them, and, (O Glorious Beloved,) when you smote (them with pebbles), it was not you who smote them, but Allah smote, (so) that He confers upon the believers great favors from Him. Allah is indeed All-Hearing, All-Knowing."
2. (48:10): "(O Beloved!) Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you in fact pledge allegiance to Allah alone. Allah’s hand is over their hands (in the form of your hand). Then whoever breaks his pledge breaks it only to his own harm. But he who fulfills what he has promised to Allah, He will bless him with immense reward."
Now a very simple question. Who's hand actually smote the pebbles? and on who's hand Muslims were pledging allegiance to?
Answer is very simple...it was the hand of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him). But Allah says that it was not him on both occasions but it was Allah himself, just to tell us that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) was not doing those things on his own, but it was an order from Allah himself. That’s why Allah said that it was not you but it was I.
And same like the above mentioned, all the things Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) performed were because of revelations from Allah. And Allah even mentioned it in Quran
3. (53:2-5): "2: He (pbuh) who bestowed on you his companionship, has never lost his way, nor has he (ever) strayed from the right path. 3:And he does not speak out of his (own) desire. 4: His speech is nothing but Revelation, which is sent to him. 5: (The Lord) of Mighty Powers (directly) conferred on him (perfect) knowledge,"
Pay attenction to above verses now. Where did Allah said that "He (pbuh) dosnt speaks of Quranic verses out of his own desire and that is sent by Allah?" no where. Allah said that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) does not speak out of his own desire" means Allah is not telling about just Quran. Infect Allah is telling that "What ever Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says is revelation. Because in the first verse mentioned, Allah before any thing else first clarifies that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) never lost his way and he is always on right path. Concentrate on the word "NEVER". It means not only when he is telling Quran but also on other times. Means Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is always on right path. So if he is always on right path then it means every time he speaks either it is Allah's words (Quran) or his own words. They are never wrong. Because he is not speaking because of his desire but when ever he is speaking, he is speaking because Allah conferred on him knowledge and revelation that is sent to him.
Now who ever says that Quran has authority and Hadees dosnt. Where did they get there reference from? Because obviously Allah havent used the words "Quran only" when telling us that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) what ever speaks is because of a revelation and knowledge that Allah sent to him.
5. Qurah have everything explained in it?
The biggest Question that people who deny the authority of Hadees o Sunnah, raise is by mentioning the following 2 verses of Quran improperly
1. (16:89): "....... And We have revealed to you that Glorious Book which is a clear exposition of everything and is guidance, mercy and glad tidings for the believers."
2. (6:154): ".......and (revealed it) as explanation of everything and as guidance and mercy, so that they might believe in meeting with their Lord."
This is true. Quran have explained everything in it, BUT only when you obey Allah's order to follow Hadit and Sunnah too (as i explained in above subjects).
If someone will cut the hadith and sunnah aside and will follow just Quran and still hope that it will explain everything. Then he is totally wrong.
With reading just Quran and not the hadith and Sunnah we cannot even understand the basic orders of Allah. For example
1.
(5:1): "O believers! Fulfil (your) promises. The quadrupeds (i.e., cattle) have been made lawful for you except those (animals) that will be announced to you afterwards. (But) when clad in ihram (the Pilgrim’s sacred dress), do not presume hunting lawful. Surely, Allah ordains what He wills."
And in different places of Quran the animals which are allowed to eat are, camel, she camel, cow, bull and goats of some kind.
Now if you will ignore the hadith and sunnah and just stick to the Quran then a question raises. The above mentioned animals are not the only animals in the world. There are many more like. Dog, cat, tiger, lion, bear, rabbit, sparrow and the list goes on and on and on, now what about them? Are they eatable? Or not eatable? or some are and some are not? which ones are and which ones are not?
Quran doesn’t tells this detail. So if not to look to hadith o sunnah now then what other way we have? And nauzubillah if we will not look toward hadith o Sunnah for further guidance then the above mentioned verses of Quran go wrong. That Allah is saying that everything is mentioned and here we can name thousand animals, which are not mentioned. So what the people who deny the authority of sunnah say now?
There are many examples like that which we can found in Quran, im just gonna give 2 examples and then move on to the next subject
2. In Quran Allah gives us order to say our prayers. Qayam, Ruku and Sajda both are mentioned in Quran. But they are just mentioned. Nowhere in Quran we can get the detail that what should we do first. Qayam, Ruku or sajda? If Qayam first then how to stand? on one foot or both feet? In Ruku how much we should bend? in which direction?
So if we will not contact Hadith o Sunnah, we will never know the right way of saying prayer, without Hadith o Sunnah, we can’t even say our prayer.
3. In Quran Allah ordered us to give Zaqat (charity). Without hadith o Sunnah how will we know when to give Zaqat? and How much zaqat on different things? mean if someone have gold, and other person have silver and then some other person have wheat. will they all pay same amount of Zaqat or what? Quran doesn’t gives details about these matters. So if not hadith o Sunnah then what other way of knowing all this?
6. Authority of hadith according to Quran
Before going further in this topic, i would like to ask a question to the people who deny the authority of hadith o sunnah. Question is, There are many verses of Quran in which Allah tells us (muslims) to obey Him(Allah) and Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) aswell. And obeying Allah means Obeying every thing Allah said in Quran and obeying Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) means obeying every thing that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said and did. So thats why we accept the authority of hadit o sunnah, i mean Quran is our reference to accept hadith o sunnah. But they (who deny) dont admit the authority of hadith o sunnah and only Quran then where in Quran Allah said not to admit the authority of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?
There is no place in Quran Allah said only to accept quran and not to hadith or sunnah. It is just a self made concept of some so called muslims. Quran infect tells at so many places to obey Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that i cant write them all here. So i am just going to write few and you will see your self that when it is the matter of obeying, Allah added the name of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with his name. Means we have to obey the authority of both.
Allah says in Quran
(3:32): " Say! Obey Allah and the Messenger. Then, should they turn back, Allah does not love the disbelievers."
(3:132): "And obey Allah and the Messenger; that ye may obtain mercy."
(3:164): "Indeed, Allah conferred a great favour on the believers that He raised amongst them (the most eminent) Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) from amongst themselves, who recites to them His Revelations, purifies them, and educates them on the Book and Wisdom though, before that, they were in manifest error."
In above verse Allah tells us the duty of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), one is that he recites him the revelations (means recites Quran). But look at rest of them.
a. Purifies them,
b. educates them on the book and wisdom
(So how can some one purifies a person and educate him if that person will not accept his authority? Reciting Quran is not enough unless Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) educate them too with the help of Quran and WISDOM. what is wisdom? obviously the word and actions of Holy Prophet. So as we have to admit the authority of Quran, we also have to admit the authority of his Wisdom.)
(4:61): "And when they are asked to come to what Allah has revealed (the Qur’an) and to the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him), you will see that the hypocrites turn away from you."
(subhanAllah! indeed Allah knows every thing. In this verse Allah said that when hypocrites are asked to come to Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). They will turn away from you (means Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)). Means they will never say no to Allah but cause they are hypocrites so they will say no to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). same like the people who admit the authority of Quran but say no to hadith or sunnah.)
(4:65): “So, (O Beloved,) by your Lord, they cannot become true believers until they make you a judge in every dispute that arises amongst them, and thereafter they do not feel any resentment in their hearts against the judgment that you make, and submit (to your decision) gladly, with total submission.”
(Again! Allah didnt said that until they will make Quran a judge in every dispute. Allah gave this authority to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He (pbuh) will judge according to the rules that Allah made but words will be his(pbuh) own. which are called hadith)
(4:80): “Whosoever follows the Blessed Prophet(pbuh) has followed Allah. ”
(5:92): "Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, know ye that it is Our Messenger's duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner."
(16:44): “....And, (O Glorious Messenger,) We have revealed to you the Glorious Reminder (the Qur’an) so that you may explain clearly to people that have been sent down to them and that they may meditate.”
(Very important! Allah said that He revealed Quran so that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) will explain it to people. Now Quran is Allah's word. so What is the explanation of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is then? Ofcource its hadith o Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). And if hadith o sunnah was not there, It would be impossible for us to understand Quran because Allah who sent that quran knows better, thats why he made it the duty of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to explain it. So if one will not accept hadith o sunnah then how can he accept and understand Quran?)
(24:54): "Say, :Obey Allah and obey the messenger. But if you turn away, then on him (the messenger) lies (the responsibility of) what he is burdened with, and on you lies (the responsibility of) what you are burdened with. And if you obey him, you will get the right path. The duty of the Messenger is no more than to convey the message clearly."
(Pay attenction to what Allah said "And if you obey him, you will get the right path" . Allah didnt said "just obey Me or My Quran", Allah said to obey His Messenger (pbuh) whom Allah made a model for us. And he is the one who will show us the practical implimentation of Quranic verses by his words (hadith) and actions (sunnah))
(24:63): “Do not take the call of the messenger among you as a call of one of you to another. Allah definitely knows those of you who sneak out hiding themselves under the cover of others. So, those who violate his (messenger‘s) order must beware, lest they are visited by a trial or they are visited by a painful punishment.”
(Allah says! who violate Messenger's order will be visited by a pain ful punishment. Allah didnt said that who violate Quran. So if Messenger (pbuh) is mentioned it means what every Messenger orders. Either its Quran or Hadith o Sunnah)
(59:7): “……And whatever the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) gives you, take that and whatever he forbids you, abstain (from that) ……..”
(Pay attenction on the word "Whatever". In whatever, Every thing is included. Quran and both Hadith o Sunnah)
Their are so many verses other then the above mentioned which says the same thing. To obey Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) both. Obeying Allah means obeying His Book. And obeying His Messenger (pbuh) means Obeying his every word. (which are both Quran and hadith). Allah didnt differentiate any where in Quran to follow just Quran and not the hadith o Sunnah.
7. When and who started the compilation of Hadees
People who deny the authority of Hadith says that "hadith was written 2 centuries after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). So if we can not accept bible which was written 60 years after Prophet Esa As, then how can we accept Hadith?" Plus "Hadith was written by non arabs, so we can not accept it"
This is totally wrong. In reality, compilation of hadith started in the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on His own order.
During the end of his life, the Blessed Prophet ? abrogated this restriction and gave permission for everyone to write his aúódõth.
He said, “Write! There is no harm.”
(Tadrõb al-Rówõ, pg.286)
Once he said, “Preserve knowledge by writing it.”
(Jómi‘a Bayón al-‘Ilm, pg.72)
‘Abd Allóh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘ôü said that the Blessed Prophet told him, “Preserve the knowledge.”
He replied, “How should I preserve it?”
He said, “By writing it.”
(Mustadrak ûókim, 1/106)
This is why many collections of aúódõth were compiled during the lifetime of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh)
For example, there is the al-ýaúõfat al-ýódiqa [The Authentic Scroll] in which ‘Abd Allóh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘ôü ? wrote all the aúódõth of the Blessed Prophet. He himself said: I wrote whatever I heard from the Blessed Prophet ? and memorized it. Some members of Quraish discouraged me from recording the aúódõth. They said, “Do you write whatever you hear from the Prophet? He is a man; sometimes he jokes and sometimes he gets angry like any other person.”
What they meant was that the Blessed Prophet ? may get angry or joke and say what he did not mean to say, therefore one should not write down everything he says. ‘Abd Allóh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘ôü brought this to the Blessed Prophet’s ? attention. The Blessed Prophet pointed to his lips and said, “I swear in the name of Allah, in whose hands is my life, that nothing but truth comes from these two lips.”
(Sunan Abo Dawud)
It is known that Abñ Huraira ? recorded the largest collection of aúódõth, which was also documented. Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr narrates on the authority of ûasan ibn ‘Amr, who says:
I narrated a úadith to Abñ Huraira ? but he rejected it. I said, “I have heard this úadith from you.”
He said, “If you have heard this úadith from me, then I must have it written down.” He held my hand and took me to his room. He showed me his library of books that comprised of his narrations from the Blessed Prophet ?. He found the úadith I had narrated in the books. After that, Abñ Huraira ? said to me, “Did I not tell you that if I narrated any úadith to you I must have it written down?”
(Mustadrak ûókim, 3/584)
Anas ? also wrote down his collection of aúódõth. Sa‘õd ibn Hilól says in the Mustadrak of ûókim: When we asked a lot of questions, Anas ? pulled out a big bag, opened it and would say, “These are the aúódõth that I have heard from the Blessed Prophet ?. I wrote them down and have already shown them to the Blessed Prophet ?.”
(Mustadrak ûókim, 3/664)
Sayyidina Abu Huraira (RA) reported that an Ansari man used to sit in the Prophet’s assembly. He heard from him his ahadith and loved them much, but he could not remember them. So, he complained about it to Allah’s Messenger (SAW) saying “O Messenger of Allah (SAW) (SAW) do hear from you the hadith and love them, but I do not remember them” So Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said “Seek help with your right hand “ and gestured with his hand that he should write them down.
(jamia Turmazi, vol 2, no 575)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
When Allah gave victory to His Apostle over the people of Mecca, Allah's Apostle stood up among the people and after glorifying Allah, said, "Allah has prohibited fighting in Mecca and has given authority to His Apostle and the believers over it, so fighting was illegal for anyone before me, and was made legal for me for a part of a day, and it will not be legal for anyone after me. Its game should not be chased, its thorny bushes should not be uprooted, and picking up its fallen things is not allowed except for one who makes public announcement for it, and he whose relative is murdered has the option either to accept a compensation for it or to retaliate." Al-'Abbas said, "Except Al-ldhkhir, for we use it in our graves and houses." Allah's Apostle said, "Except Al-ldhkhir." Abu Shah, a Yemenite, stood up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Get it written for me." Allah's Apostle said, "Write it for Abu Shah." (The sub-narrator asked Al-Auza'i): What did he mean by saying, "Get it written, O Allah's Apostle?" He replied, "The speech which he had heard from Allah's Apostle ."
(Sahi Bukhari, Vol 1, no 2329)
www.islamonline.net
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2. MUHADITTH QUALIFICATION
Question :
What you have to do to become a 'muhadith' (expert on hadith)? Is it OK to memorize loads of hadith in your home?
Answer:
A Muhaddith does not just mean someone who memorizes hadith. A Muhaddith is a scholar who is qualified in:
1)Studies of Arabic language and the sciences of the Arabic language.
2)Must be very knowledgeable in Qur'an studies.
3)To be knowledgeable in Fiqh and Shari'ah.
4)To be knowledgeable in the sciences of biography and the history of the narrators of hadith.
5)To have a comprehensive study of the well-known collections of hadith, including any sort of criticism given to a hadith in the form of narrators or the substance of the text.
6)All the Muhaddiths used to memorize the whole Qur'an and memorize thousands of hadith with isnad.
7)As much as possible, his live is as per example of Quran and Hadith.
Excerpted from: www.islamonline.net
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5. AUTHENTICITY OF BUKHARI
Question :
I came to believe that the Qur'an is authentic, but how do we know that books like al-Bukhari and Muslim are authentic?
I also heard that al-Bukhari's teacher, Ishaq ibn Rahaweih was a Jew? What do you think? Date : 18/Jul/2002
Answer : Name of Counselor : Daud Matthews
May I first of all congratulate you on your acceptance of the Quran as authentic, since there are still some people who like to dispute, often just for the sake of disputing.
For the Sahihain (Bukhari and Muslim), it is necessary to know the methodology they used and the level of research they employed in tracing hadith. The Sahihain are considered the most authentic, precisely because they use the most stringent methodology for acceptance of any hadith. Before answering your question, may I suggest you read books on the life of the Imams e.g. Life and Work of Imam Bukhari translated by M. Rafiq Khan; and also the books by Prof. M.M. Azmi e.g. Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature.
Imam Bukhari laid down the most strict conditions for acceptance of hadith for his Sahih:
- The narrator must be of a very high grade of personal character, of a very high grade of literary and academic standard.
- There must be positive information about narrators that they met one another and the student learnt from the sheikh.
It is difficult to obtain complete data about every scholar. In fact, we do not have complete information about any scholar’s list of students. There was a difference of opinion relating to this matter between Bukhari and Muslim. In Muslim’s opinion, if two scholars lived together, where it was possible for them to learn from each other, even if we have no positive information about their meetings, we should accept their hadith, regarding their isnad (chain of narration) as unbroken, providing they were not practicing tadlis (following blindly). Bukhari did not agree with this position. He insisted on positive evidence of learning and teaching. He did not consider even this condition sufficient and required further scrutiny in selecting authorities.
Most of the authors of the six principal books of hadith did not describe their criteria in selecting the material, except for a sentence here and there, but it is possible to arrive at some conclusions from their writings.
One of the persons who studied this subject (Hazimi) uses the example of Zuhri to give the explanation simply:
1.Narrators from Zuhri who possessed the high quality of itqan (accuracy), hifz (excellent memory) and a lengthy companionship with Zuhri, accompanying him even in his journeys.
2.The second group was ‘adl, like the first group, but they didn’t spend sufficient time with Zuhri to be able to remember his hadith thoroughly and accurately and were placed a little below group 1.
3.Those who lived a long time with Zuhri like those in group 1, but have been criticized by the scholars.
4.Those who have been criticized by the scholars and who did not spend much of their time with Zuhri.
5.Those who are considered as weak narrators, or not known to early scholars.
In his sahih, Imam Bukhari mostly recorded the hadith narrated by the first group, but sometimes recorded the hadith of the second group as well.
Imam Muslim sometimes recorded the hadith of the famous scholars of the third group as well. (Nasa’i and Abu Dawud quote frequently from the first, second and third groups. Abu Dawud sometimes mentions hadith from the fourth group as well. Tirmidhi records hadith from the first, second third and fourth groups, but he describes the weak narrators, a method not generally applied by Nasa’i or Abu Dawud.)
Many scholars criticized Imam Bukhari’s work. The criticism concerns about 80 narrators and some 110 hadith. The criticism showed that though these hadith were not mistaken or false, they did not measure up to the high standard set by Imam Bukhari. (A comparable example would be of a college which only accepted ‘A’ grade students, but which was found to have allowed a few ‘C’ grade students in.) It seems that in accepting the narrations of these ‘lower’ grade scholars, Imam Bukhari had some other evidence, which satisfied him about the correctness of the hadith, which he accepted.
The number of hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari is around 9,082. But without repetition this number reduces to around 2,602. This is from a total of around the some of 600,000 traditions that the Imam collected. [All the above material is from Prof. Azmi’s books.] Imam Bukhari mentions that he learnt from over 1000 sheikhs and some scholars have put the number above 1000 as 80. Every person Imam Bukhari heard a hadith from was his sheikh or teacher.
Let us now look at some of his sheikhs/teachers:
Several teachers of Imam Bukhari are such that they are equal to the sheikhs of Imam Malik and Imam abu Hanifa. These are:
- Imam Bukhari (1) Muhammad bin Abdullah Ansari (2) Humaid (3) Anas – the sahabi (companion of the prophet).
- Imam Bukhari (1) Makki bin Ibrahim (2) Yazid bin Abi Ubaid (3) Salma bin al-Akwa – the sahabi.
- Imam Bukhari (1) Ali bin Ayash (2) Hariz bin Usman (3) Abdullah bin Bisar – the sahabi.
- Imam Bukhari (1) Abu Noim (2) al-Aamash (3) al-Mokhzaram – the sahabi.
- Imam Bukhari (1) Ubaidullah bin Moosa (2) Maroof (3) Abut-Tufel an-Ali.
- Imam Bukhari (1) Khallad bin Yahya (2) Isa bin Tahman (3) Anas.
- Imam Bukhari (1) Osam bin Khalid (2) Hariz bin Usman (3) Abdullah bin Busr – the sahabi.
After mentioning a few series of this kind, the muhaddithin (scholars of Hadith) say that Imam Bukhari has also takenhadith from those who were of the same stature, as men of his class, who were the teachers of Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa.
If we look at an example of the second person in one of these chains, that is, the teacher of Imam Bukhari, e.g. Makki bin Ibrahim:
He is the disciple of Yazid bin Abi Ubaid and Jafar Sidiq. He reports hadith from 17 tabeyees (children of those who knew Muhammad). He performed hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) sixty times. His main quality is that he is hafiz of the hadith and trustworthy. He is the sheikh of Imam Bukhari and Ibn Mayeen.
Information is available about all these teachers – see for example: Life and Work of Imam Bukhari op. cit. p23
Up to the age of 16, Imam Bukhari took lessons from the teachers of his own native place. The chronicler of Imam Bukhari, Ibn Hatim Warraq states that the Imam said: “When I had learnt by heart the works of Abdullah bin Mubarak and had fully understood the positions of Ahlur Rae, I traveled to Hejaz.” The leaders of the great seminaries in Mecca at that time included: Imam Abul Walid Ahmad bin Arzuqi, Abdullah bin Yazid, Ismail bin Salim as-Saegh, Abu Bakr, Abdullah bin Zubair, Allama Humaidi etc.
At the age of 18, Imam Bukhari did his rehlat (traveling for knowledge of hadith) to Medina. Among those who taught him there were: Ibrahim bin Munzir, Mutrif bin Abdullah, Ibrahim bin Hamza, Abu Sabit, Muhammad bin Obedullah, Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Oyesi and others. Then, having reached Basra he derived benefit from: Imam Abu Aasim Annabil, Safwan bin Isa, Badil bin Mohabbir, Hamri bin Umara, Affan bin Muslim, Mohammad bin Ar-ara, Suleman bin Harb, Abdul Walid Attyalisi, Imam Aarim, Mohammad bin Senan and others.
Imam Nauwi has enumerated the names of a few prominent sheikhs in Kufa as follows: Abdullah bin Moosa, Abu Naim, Ahmad bin Yaqoob, Ismail bin Aban, Alhasan bin Rabi, Khalid bin Mokhlid, Saeed bin Hafs, Talq bin Ghanam, Umar bin Hafs, Urwah Qabisa bin Uqbah and Abughassan. These were also teachers of Imam Bukhari.
Of his teachers in Baghdad we may mention: Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Mohammad bin Isaa Sabagh, Mohammad bin Saeq, Suraj bin Noman etc. Then he journeyed to Sham and studied under: Allama Yousuf Firyabi, Abu Nasr Ishaq bin Ibrahim, Adam bin Abi Eyas, Abul Eman Hakam bin Nafe, Hayat bin Shuraih and others.
In Egypt he learnt from: Usman bin Saegh, Saeed bin Abi Maryam, Abdullah bin Swaleh, Ahmed bin Swaleh, Ahmad bin Shabib Asbagh bin Farj, Saeed bin Abi Isa, Saeed bin kasir bin Afir, Yahya bin Abdullah bin Bukair and others. While in Jazira he took lessons from: Ahmad bin Abdul Malik Alharrani, Ahmad bin Yazid Alharrani, Amar bin Khalaf, Ismail bin Abdullah Alriqqi etc.
Also in Merv he collected from: Ali bin Hasan bin Shaqiq, Abdan, Mohammad bin Maqatil and others. Then in Balkh from: Makki bin Ibrahim, Yahya bin Bishr, Mohammad bin Aban, Hasan bin Shuja, Yahya bin Moosa, Qutaiba and others. As for Herat, he collected from: Ahmad bin Abil Walid Alhanfi.
As for Nishapur, he collected from: Yahya bin Yahya, Bishr bin Hakam, Ishaq bin Rahweh, Mohammad bin Rafe and others. While in Ray, he learned from Ibrahim bin Moosa and in Wasit from Hesan bin Hesan, Hesan bin Abdullah, Saeed bin Abdullah among others.
Numerous, these are the places Imam Bukhari visited to gain knowledge! His travels were over some 40 years. In 250 A.H /864 C.E he went to Nishapur and wanted to settle down. Eventually he had to leave on account of the rivalry of Muhammad bin Yahya al-Dhuhli, at the command of Khalid bin Ahmad al-Dhuhli whose request to give lectures on hadithat his palace was not accepted by the Imam. From Nishapur he went to Khartank, near Samarqand, at the request of its inhabitants and died in 256 A.H./870 C.E..
One of the Imam’s teachers in Nishapur was Ishaq bin Rahweh. I assume this to be the same person (Ishaq bin Rahaweih) you are claiming was a Jew.
First, there can be no question of this individual, as a Jew, being a teacher of Imam Bukhari. Read the criteria, which Imam Bukhari uses for his selection of hadith. I think you will find one of them is to be a practicing Muslim, but there is much more to the criteria than just this.
It might be possible that the person was a Jew who reverted to Islam. If that was the case, I believe we would have more information available to us in the literature and I haven’t come across it. If it really were the case, then his life would have to conform to the criteria established by Imam Bukhari, so that the Imam would have learnt from him. In any case there is no racism in Islam.
I actually tried a search on the computer for this name in the isnad (chain of narrators), but nothing came up. This is not surprising. Of the 1000 (+80) teachers the Imam had, he learnt 600,000 hadith, but only 9082 (including duplications) appeared in his Sahih al-Bukhari and only 2602 different hadith are present (M.M. Azmi op. cit.). Unless you have ahadith with this name in the isnad I cannot help further.
Excerpted, with some modifications, from: ReadingIslam.com
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6. PROTECTION OF QURAN AND HADEETH!
Question :
Is promise to protect the glorious quran, includes the protection of hadeeth?
Answer :By Shahid Bin Waheed
The Promise to Protect the Glorious Quran Includes the Protection of Hadeeth!
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
As a matter of principle, all learned scholars and/or people agree that the Glorious Quran is neither the name of the words of Quran alone, nor that of its meanings alone, instead, a combination of both is called Quran. This leads to the conclusion that the Glorious Quran is the exclusive name of the particular Divinely revealed Book, the words and meanings of which are simultaneously protected. (Also see The Definition of Quran!)
It is obvious that the meanings of the Glorious Quran are the same as the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent to teach, as we read in the Glorious Quran 16:44.
“….that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them….”(An-Nahl 16:44)
Wefurther read in Ayaah 3:164 the following:
“Indeed Allâh conferred a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (the Qur’ân), and purifying them (from sins by their following him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the Qurân) and Al-Hikmah (the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet (i.e. his legal ways, statements, acts of worship)), while before that they had been in manifest error”.(Al-i-'Imran 3:164)
Mujâhid said, "(Make us) a community that follows the Muttaqûn (righteous) people who preceded us, and whom those succeeding may follow." Ibn ‘Aun said, "(There are) three things which I love for myself and for my brothers, i.e. thisSunnah (the legal ways of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) which they should learn and ask about; the Qurân which they should understand and ask the people about; and that they should leave the people except when intending to do good (for them)."(Sahih Al-Bukhâri , Vol.9, Chap. 2, P.282)
A)Narrated Hudhaifah: Allâh’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to us, "Certainly Al-Amânah (the trust or the moral responsibility or honesty, and all the duties which Allâh has ordained) descended from the heavens and settled in the roots of the hearts of men (faithful believers), and then the Qurân was revealed and the people read the Qurân, (and learnt Al-Amânah from it) and also learnt it from the Sunnah, (Both the Qurân and As-Sunnahstrengthened their (the faithful believer’s) Amânah )."(Sahih Al-Bukhâri, Vol. 9 , Hadîth No.381).
B)Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allâh’s Messenger said, "All my followers will enter Paradise except those who refuse." They said, "O Allâh’s Messenger! Who will refuse?" He said, "Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses (to enter it)."(Sahih Al-Bukhâri , Vol.9, Hadîth No.384).
C)Narrated Jâbir bin ‘Abdullâh:Some angels came to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was sleeping. Some of them said, "He is sleeping." Others said, His eyes are sleeping but his heart is awake." Then they said, "There is an example for this companion of yours." One of them said, "Then set forth an example for him." Some of them said, "He is sleeping." The others said, "His eyes are sleeping but his heart is awake." Then they said, "His example is that of a man who has built a house and then, offered therein a banquet and sent an inviter (messenger) to invite the people. So whosoever accepted the invitation of the inviter, entered the house and ate of the banquet, and whoever did not accept the invitation of the inviter, did not enter the house, nor did he eat of the banquet." Then the angelssaid, "Interpret this parable to him so that he may understand it." Some of them said, "He is sleeping." The others said, "His eyes are sleeping but his heart is awake." And then they said, "The house stands for Paradise and the call-maker is Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and whoever obeys Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), obeys Allâh; and whoever disobeys Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, disobeys Allâh. Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) separated the people (i.e., through his message, the good is distinguished from the bad, and the believers from the disbelievers)."(Sahih Al-Bukhâri , Vol.9, Hadîth No.385).
D) Narrated Abu Mûsa : The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "My example, and the example of what I have been sent with, is that of a man who came to some people and said, ‘O people I have seen the enemy’s army with my own eyes, and I am the naked warner; so protect yourselves!’ Then a group of his people obeyed him and fled at night proceeding stealthily till they were safe, while another group of them disbelieved him and stayed at their places till morning when the army came upon them, and killed and ruined them completely. So this is the example of that person who obeys me and follows that truth which I have brought (the Qurân and the Sunnah), and the example of the one who disobeys me and disbelieves the truth I have brought."(Sahih Al-Bukhari , Vol.9, HadîthNo.387).
Since the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent to explain the meanings of the Glorious Quran and to impart education to the people, then, he used a set of his saying and/or doing as the medium for his community. This very set of the words and deeds are known as the Hadeeth.
One who says that Ahadeeth are not absolutely protected is really saying that the Glorious Quran is not protected!
Those who attack Islaam under pretext that Ahadeeth are not trustworthy and/or were complied later are certainly wrong. Later compilation does not means Ahadeeth never existed and/or were documents. Ahadeeth were recorded during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as proved above, later compilation means that they were put together in form of Books. This assumption of Hadeeth rejecters and enemies of Islaam is not correct because the process of protection and documentation of Ahadeeth had already started within the age of Prophethood itself as proved above, though it was compiled later. In addition to that, Ahadeeth are really the explanation and the meanings of the Glorious Quran. Thus, their protection is something, which Allah has taken upon Himself. Therefore, how can it be possible that only the words of the Quran remain protected while the meanings of the Quran (i.e. Ahadeeth) go to waste?
Allah, through humans used many means by which He preserved the Sunnah. Some of these aspects are unique to Muslim Ummaah. This is a great blessing and bounty from Allah for which every Muslim should be sincerely grateful to Allahand grateful to those individuals who sacrificed their time, wealth in order to preserve the teachings of the best of the creations and last and final Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Obviously, the means of preservation had to be followed from the earliest times in order to truly preserve the Hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) few are briefly mentioned here.
□ First, there was the understanding of the Companions about their responsibility for conveying the Hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); they must have understood that they must convey the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with the utmost accuracy.
□ In the early years, there began the work of Hadeeth criticism and criticism of the narrators. This developed into ascience known as al-jarh wa al-tadeel.
□ There was also the recording or writing down of the Hadeeth of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Obviously, in general, one of the ways of preserving something is to record it. There have been many claim and misconceptions surrounding the recording of Hadith. But the proof has been cited above that shows that the misconceptions are not true.
□ A very important and unique aspect that worked to preserve the Sunnah was of the use of Isnaad or chain of narrators, tracing one’s source all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
□ Another unique phenomena that appeared and assisted in preservation of Sunnah was the traveling in search of Hadeeth, in order to check the sources and gather more Hadeeth together.
Rejection of hadeeth is really the rejection of the quran.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was a prophet of Allah and therefore he can not speak anything which is against the wish of Allah. Quran says:
“Nor does he speak of (his own) desire (3) It is only a Revelation revealed” (An-Najm 53:3-4)
The above Ayaat further confirms that the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) were Divinely guided and guarded, thus, have same authority as that of Glorious Qur’aan.
If a person claims under any pretext that Ahadeeth are unreliable, in fact he/she is accusing the Prophet Muhammad for acting against the Glorious Quran and its injunctions for not explaining the Glorious Qur’aan. Thus, attackers of Ahadeeth are suggesting that Glorious Quran is not protected and/or remained unprotected, but none of it is true. The absurd claims of Hadeeth rejecters and/or enemies of Islam are contrary to the textual authority of the Glorious Quran. From here it stands proved that any person who refuses to accept the Sunnah {and/or Ahadeeth} of the Prophet Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as a binding authority of Islam is, in reality a denier of the Glorious Qur’aan itself (Naudhubillaah).
Finally, I would respectfully remind my Muslim brothers and sisters that when you read and/or hear something against Islam; please remember the teachings of Glorious Quran, which are as follows:
“O you who believe! If a Fâsiq (liar - evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done” (Al-Hujurat 49:6)
Excerpted, with some modifications, from: http://www.islam-is-the-only-solution.com/Q&A.htm
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7. REJECTION OF HADEETH, IS REJECTION OF QURAN
Question :
Is rejection of hadeeth is really the rejection of the Quran?
Answer :By: Shahid Bin Waheed
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In this treatise I will insha Allah discuss and establish that Hadeeth is necessary to understand Glorious Quran and rejection of Hadeeth is really the rejection of the Glorious Qur’aan.
Allah (SWT) says in Glorious Quran,
“With clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers). And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad) the Dhikr (reminder and the advice (i.e. the Qur’ân)), that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought” (An-Nahl 16:44)
The word الذِّكْرَ(adh-dhikr) in Ayaah (verse) 16:44 {And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the Dhikr {reminder and the advice (i.e. the Qur’ân), that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them} means, by consensus, the Glorious Qur’aan, and in this Ayaah (verse) Prophet Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has been given the assignment of explaining the meaning of the Ayaat (Glorious Quran) revealed to him, to the people and/or mankind. Therefore, herein, lies an open proof that the correct understanding of the realities, insight and injunctions of the Glorious Quran depends on the statements and/or deeds of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
If everyone by simply having and/or acquiring the knowledge of Arabic language were to become capable of understanding the injunctions of the Glorious Quran as Divinely intended, then the mission of explaining assigned to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have been rendered meaningless.
In Al-Muwafqat, Allamah Shatibi has provided detailed proof that the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) (the whole of it) is the explanation of the Glorious Quran.
Thus, the outcome is that every word and deed of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is a mirror image of Glorious Quran, as we read,
“Nor does he speak of (his own) desire (3) It is only a Revelation revealed” (An-Najm 53:3-4)
The above Ayaat further confirms that the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) are and/or were Divinely guided and guarded, thus, have same authority as that of Glorious Quran.
If a person claims under any pretext that Ahadeeth are unreliable, in fact he/she is accusing the Prophet Muhammad for acting against the Glorious Quran and its injunctions for not explaining the Glorious Quran. Thus, attackers of Ahadeeth are suggesting that Glorious Quran is not protected and/or remained unprotected, none of it is true.
The absurd claims of Hadeeth rejecters and/or enemies of Islam are contrary to the textual authority (nass) of the Glorious Qur’aan. From here it stands proved that any person who refuses to accept the Sunnah {and/or Ahadeeth} of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as a binding authority of Islaam is, in reality a denier of the Glorious Quran itself (Naudhubillaah).
Excerpted, with some modifications, from: http://www.islam-is-the-only-solution.com/Q&A.htm
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8. THE MYTH OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF AHADEETH
Question :
What is the myth of hundreds of thousands of ahadeeth?
Answer :
The myth that there are hundreds of thousands of Ahadeeth which were allegedly complied hundreds of years after Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has always been very aggressively put forth by the Kuffar, Pseudo-Muslims and/or Pseudo-Islaamic cults without any supporting evidence [as usual]. To spread thisdisinformation two notorious Murtadds are also very active i.e. Murtadd-e-Azam Osama Abdallah [of website answering-christianity] and Murtadd Akbarally Meherally [of website mostmerciful.com]. However, in this treatise we will examine the truth and inSha Allah impeach the Kuffar while also quashing their absurd claims.
The total number of Ahadeeth reported from Rasool Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) only goes in the thousands. Imaam Bukhari’s Kitaab ‘al-Jamius Saheeh’ only contains 9082 Ahadeeth, including all sorts of narrations and repeats. What then is the status of all other Ahadeeth.
The answer can be fond in the terminology of the Muhadditheen. When one thing is heard from ten different persons and these ten personas relate this to you, then according to the Muhadditheen, you have heard ten things. This is so because the subject matter and then ten different sources are all listed down, resulting in ten different narrations.Ahadeeth are also classified in this manner, where one Hadeeth may have been related via ten chains of narrators, so in Hadeeth terminology, this is counted as ten Ahadeeth.
Besides this, almost all Muhadditheen also regard the speech, practices and conditions of the Sahaabah as Hadeeth. Since according to them, besides the Ahadeeth-e-Nabwi, the speech, actions and conditions of Sahaabah are also included amongst Ahadeeth. Since there was a great number of Sahaabah, thus, there speech, actions and conditions are also many. This is the reason of large number of Ahadeeth but not as many as the enemies of Islam like to project.
Also Muslims must not fall for the trickery of anti-Islam and/or ignorant Muslims’ and/or Hadeeth rejecters’ claim that Ahadeeth were written 200/300 hundred years after the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), which in fact is not true. Ahadeeth were re-written while being compiled into Sahihian etc. Since at that time and/or era printing press was not invented yet, and neither existed copiers etc. Everything has to be written and then rewritten by hands. Notice there is extreme difference between the terms written and compiled (compilation). In order something to be compiled, it has to be written and/or be in existance. Therefore, the facts is that Ahadeeth were already in existance and/or written long before, they were compiled into books like Sahih Bukhari and/or Sahih Muslim or else.
Excerpted, with some modifications, from: http://www.islam-is-the-only-solution.com/Q&A.htm
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9. WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE IS SCHOLARLY DIFFERENCES ON A HADEETH
Question :
What should we do if the scholars of hadeeth differ as to whether a hadeeth that has to do with worship is saheeh (sound) or da’eef (weak)? Answer
raise be to Allah.
If one is qualified to distinguish between their opinions, he may decide which of the two rulings concerning one hadeeth he thinks is correct; if he is not qualified to do so, then he should follow the opinion of a scholar (taqleed) and he should accept the verdict of the one who he thinks is more religiously committed and has greater knowledge concerning this matter. He should not be deceived by the fact that he is a faqeeh or scholar of usool or mufassir, rather the one whose verdict of saheeh or da’eef is followed should be prominent in the science of hadeeth, and there is no sin on him if he follows a prominent scholar. If the hadeeth is saheeh according to that scholar and he follows him in that, and it contains a fiqhi ruling, then he must act upon it, but there is no sin on him for not acting upon it if the hadeeth is da’eef.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If the scholars differed concerning it in their fatwas or what is heard in their exhortations and advice, for example, then he should follow the one who he thinks is closer to the truth in his knowledge and religious commitment.
Liqa’ al-Baab il-Maftooh (no. 46, question no. 1136)
However we must try to have some study and ask scholars opinions. Allah says :
“…. So ask the people of the Reminder if you do not know” (An-Nahl 16:43)
The scholars have stated that the madhhab of the common man is the madhhab of his mufti.
If their opinions differ, then he should follow the one who is most trustworthy and most knowledgeable. This is like when a person falls sick – may Allah give us all good health – and he looks for the most trustworthy and knowledgeable doctor so that he can go to him, because he is most likely to give him the right treatment than anyone else. It is more important to be on the safe side in religious matters than in worldly ones.
It is not permissible for the Muslim to follow whatever scholarly opinion suits his desires if it goes against the evidence, or to seek fatwas from those who he thinks are going to be lenient in their fatwas.
Rather he has to be on the safe side when it comes to his religion, and ask the scholars who have the most knowledge and are most fearing of Allah.
Is it befitting for a wise man to take precautions for his physical health and go to the most skilled doctors no matter how far away they are, and spend a great deal of money on that, then take the matter of his religion lightly and not to care about it unless it coincides with his whims and desires, and to take the easiest fatwa even if it is contrary to the truth? Indeed, there are even people who – Allah forbid – ask a scholar a question, and if his fatwa does not suit their whims and desires, they will ask another, and another, until they find a person who will give them the fatwa they want!
There is no scholar who does not have some issues in which he strove to make a decision on the basis of ijtihaad but failed to reach the right answer, but he is excused for that and he will have a reward for his ijtihaad, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “If a judge passes a ruling to the best of his ability and knowledge and gets it right, he will have two rewards. If he passes a ruling to the best of his ability and knowledge but gets it wrong, he will have one reward.” (Al-Bukhaari, 7352; Muslim, 1716).
And Allah knows best.
Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: http://islamqa.com/index.php?ln=eng
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Islam Question and Answer - English - islamqa.info
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11. THE SCIENCE OF HADITH
Question:
What is the Science of Hadith?
Answer:
Allah preserved His revelation as He says :
"We have, Without doubt, sent down the message: and we will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." (Al-Hijr 15:9)
The promise is obviously fulfilled in the undisputed purity of the Qur'anic text throughout the fourteen centuries since its revelation. However, what is often forgotten by many Muslims is that the divine promise also includes, by necessity, theSunnah of the Prophet (saws), because the Sunnah is the practical example of the implementation of the Qur'anic guidance, the wisdom taught to the Prophet (saws) along with the scripture, and neither the Qur'an nor the Sunnah can be understood correctly without the other.
Allah (SWT) preserved the Sunnah by enabling the companions and those after them to memorize, write down and pass on the statements of the Prophet (saws), and the descriptions of his way, as well as to continue the blessings of practicing the Sunnah.
Later, as the purity of the knowledge of the Sunnah became threatened, Allah (SWT) caused the Muslim Ummah to produce individuals with exceptional memory skills and analytical expertise, who travelled tirelessly to collect thousands of narrations and distinguish the true words of prophetic wisdom from those corrupted by weak memories, from forgeries by unscrupulous liars, and from the statements of the large number of Ulama (scholars), the companions and those who followed their way. All of this was achieved through precise attention to the words narrated, and detailed familiarity with the biographies of the thousands of reporters of hadith.
The methodology of the expert scholars of hadith in assessing the narrations and sorting out the genuine from the mistaken and fabricated, forms the subject matter of the science of hadith. In this article a brief discussion is given of the terminology and classifications of hadith.
COMPONENTS OF HADITH
A hadith is composed of three parts (see the figure [below]):
Matn (text), isnad (chain of reporters), and taraf (the part, or the beginning sentence, of the text which refers to the sayings, actions or characteristics of the Prophet (saws), or his concurrence with others action). The authenticity of thehadith depends on the reliability of its reporters, and the linkage among them.
Classifications of Hadith
A number of classifications of hadith have been made. Five of these classifications are shown in the figure [below], and are briefly described subsequently.
Qur’an, Hadith and Sunnah
M. Rashid Hai
Qur’an is the words of Allah - Allah, `azza wa jall- and unchallengeable base of Islamic shariah. It provides the basic principles; how to worship Allah, what good deeds are to be done to please Allah and what are to be avoided to get rid of hell fire. But it is a hard fact that one can’t understand and catch the real essence of Qur’an without any support or guidance.Now the question is what sort of support or guidance is required to understand holy Qur’an. The answer is provided in Qur’an itself in which Allah says:Just as We have sent among you a messenger from yourselves reciting to you Our verses and purifying you and teaching you’ The Book’ and The Hikmah (Wisdom) and teaching you that which you did not know. (2:151)In this verse ‘The Book’ refers to the Qur’an. The question is what ‘The Hikmah’ (Wisdom) refers to in this verse.
The Hikmah (Wisdom):All the Mufassir Qur’an(exegists) and the translators are of the firm opinion that in this verse and verses like this, for example 3:164, 4:113, 62:2, ‘The Hikmah’ refers to hadithand sunnah.
Hadith, its literal meanings:The literal meanings of ‘hadith’in Arabic dictionary are; (as noun) speech, talk, conversation, report or communication and (as adjective) new, novel, modern or recent.
Hadith, its traditional meanings:Traditionally ‘hadith’ means the all the sayings, deeds of the Prophet sawand the silent approval of the deeds of his ‘sahabah’ ra(companions), meaning that Prophet did not object or disapprove to the deeds of his companions ra.
Sunnah:The literal meanings of sunnahare; law, tradition or practice. But traditionally and generally it implies to the practices and deeds of the Prophet saw
Difference between hadith and sunnah:Generally the words hadith andsunnah are used synonymously.This is not a correct impression. The wordsHadith and Sunnah have entirely different connotations, and each one holds a different status in the Shari`ah. If we assign the same meaning to both the terms, it would create a lot of complications. For a proper understanding of the science of Hadith, therefore, it is necessary to know precisely the difference between Hadith andSunnah.
The Hadith (pl. ahadith):
1 - “The term Hadith (literally: ‘a saying’ or ‘something new’) is defined as the individual-to-individual narratives ascribed to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding his sayings, actions, expressed or silent approvals and his personal description.
2 - Hadith is not an independent source of the Shariah as it does not add to the content of the Qur’an and Sunnah but merely “explains” these two, and is totally dependent on them for its survival.
3 - The ahadith help a great deal to understand the directives of the Qur’an.
4 - They are the only source through which we may approach the biography and lifestyle of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
5 - They inform us of the ‘uswa-e-hasana’ of the Prophet (peace be upon him). For example, the way he performed ablution in an ideal manner out of the Qur’anic order for ablution (5:6).
6 - They reveal to us the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) understanding and interpretation of the Qur’anic phrases.
7 - They enlighten the background in which the Qur’an was revealed. This background, which includes the geographical circumstances of the Quranic revelations, is extremely important to understand the true essence and meaning of the different Quranic directives.
8 - They inform us of the lives of the Prophet’s companions (peace be upon them all) who, undoubtedly, are the heroes of the Islamic history for committing their lives entirely to Allah’s Religion.
There may be many other reasons to embrace the science of hadith but, we believe, the above are already good enough to prove the point.
Allah swt has entitled the Qur’an as Furqan – something that distinguishes between wrong and right. Therefore, eachhadith that was ascribed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) was checked in the light of the Qur’an. No hadith is accepted which contradicted either the Qur’an or Sunnah or established facts.
The fact that the Hadith does not add to the content of the religion, preserved within the Qur’an and sunnah, but only explains it makes it very safe to utilize the hadith as, on its basis, not even a single directive of the Qur’an or practice of the sunnah may be altered.
The Sunnah:
No matter how commonly hadithand sunnah may be used as synonyms, there is a significant distinction between these terms.
1 -Unlike the hadith, the termsunnah does not refer to each saying, action, approval or the personal description of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) but only his “religious” actions and strongly instituted among his followers as an essential part of their faith.
2 - The historical record of the facts like the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) spoke Arabic, wore an Arab dress, rode the camel, kept sword etc. would come under the term hadith whereas the way he demonstrated to his followers how to offer salah(prayer), perform Hajj(pilgrimage) and keep fasts during Ramadan would come under the term sunnah – salah, hajj and fasts being the religious acts.
3 - As there is a distinction between the hadith and sunnah, there is a distinction between the Qur’anic orders and sunnahas well.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) punished the thieves and adulterers and raised sword against the deniers of the truth but none of these are sunan as they are purely the Quranic orders that the Prophet (peace be upon him) carried out. Though the sunan like salah, fasting, hajj, zakah and sacrificing of animals are also mentioned in the Qur’an but it is clear from the Qur’an itself that all of these sunan originated from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
4 - More so, sunan are related to the practical aspects of life, therefore, it does not include the basic beliefs (for example, that of oneness of Allah) mentioned in the Qur’an.
5 - Only the Qur’an and sunnahconstitute the Shariah - the Islamic law. The hadith does not add to it but merely comes in to explain the Islamic Shariahstated within the Qur’an or demonstrated through thesunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
For example, the Qur’an orders to cut off a thief’s hands (5:38); the hadith would explain the word sariq (male thief) andsariqah (female thief) used in the Qur’an and warn that these words do not apply to all the thieves but only those who fulfill certain conditions. According to the linguistic principles, the words sariq and sariqah are adjectives and denote the thoroughness in the characteristics of the verb they qualify.
6 - The sunnah enjoys an equal status to the Holy Qur’an in forming the Islamic Shariahbecause both emanate from the same source i.e. the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) who, by the order of the Almighty, conveyed each one with equal care and eagerness.
Beware; he did not convey the Book alone which leaves out many practical details butsunnah as well which shapes the practical life of a Muslim. For example, the Qur’an orders believers to offer salah but leaves out the details of how to do so. The sunnah, on the other hand, practically demonstrates of how to offer it with all its formalities. In this way, both the Qur’an and sunnah compliment each other to form a complete lifestyle.
7 - The sunan instituted by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) include the manner in which five daily, Eid and funeral prayers are offered, the mode of fasting in Ramadan, all rituals ofHajj, the rate and ceilings ofzakah, the nikah (solemnization of marriage), the circumcision of male children, saying prescribed words in the ears of the newborn, the tradition of burying the dead after bathing and wrapping in coffin cloth, beginning every deed with Allah’s name, greeting each other by sayingAssalamo’alaikum (peace be to you) and replying withWa’alaikumassalam (peace be to you too), sayingAlhamdulillah (all gratitude be to Allah) upon sneezing, slaughtering animals in a specific manner with the proclamation of Allah-o-Akbar(God is Great), shortening of nails, cleaning of mouth, nose and teeth, abstaining from intercourse during menstruation and afterbirth, trimming the moustache, removing the undesired hair and washing after urination, defecation and intercourse.
None of these establishedsunan, as claimed by some, is contrary to the Holy Qur’an.
8. The sunan are as pure and authentic as the Qur’an itself because both, the Qur’an andsunnah, have reached us through the same mode of transmission, i.e. the consensus of each generation of theUmmah.
9. No practice, whether Religious or not, can be accepted as sunnah except for those that the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself explicitly introduced as his sunnah.
To sum up, there is a clear distinction between the hadithand sunnah which must be understood. Hadith is an important “explanatory source” for the Religious understanding, as it explains the Qur’an andSunnah, but still not the “basic source” of the Religion. The basic sources, which form theShariah, are only two: (i) Qur’an (the Book) and (ii)Sunnah . A hadith may be questioned to be more or less authentic but the authenticity of the Sunnah cannot be questioned because it has come down to us through the same mode of transmission by which the Holy Qur’an has come to us, i.e. the consensus of each generation of the Ummah since the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him).In the words of Amin Ahsan Islahi (a scholar from Pakistan), the relation between the Qur’an and Sunnah is that of soul and body. In other words, the soul or the spirit of the body of Qur’an is in the sunnah of the Prophetsws, a form of its display. Both go together to complete the splendid edifice of Islam. Take away one of them, and the whole structure falls apart.
