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The Qur'an and the Sunnah
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[quote]Rejecting Hadiths Q. A friend of mine argues that the Qur’an is the complete code for human life which is guaranteed by Allah to remain intact. Since no such promise is made in respect of the Hadith, he doubts the authenticity of every Hadith, even those included in the six authentic compilations. He says that the Qur’an is, as Allah describes it, clear and easy to understand in practice. He believes that the Qur’an is sufficient to practice Islam and he rejects all Hadiths whether they relate to belief, practices or other areas. He further argues that most Muslims idolise Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). I am aggrieved by his attitude. Will you please shed light on this subject? A. Your friend is not the first to make such arguments, nor will he be the last. Over the years, many people have tried to belittle the importance of Hadith and Sunnah. They always argue that since the Qur’an is the word of Allah, which has been guaranteed to be preserved intact, then it is all that is needed by any person to lead an Islamic life. I am afraid that this is only one aspect of how Satan sometimes succeeds in misleading people away from the right Islamic path. I often wonder how these people can continue to claim to be Muslims, when they should realise that their argument defies the very basic requirement of faith. Everyone knows that to be a Muslim, one needs first of all to declare his belief that “there is no deity save Allah, and that Muhammad is his Messenger.” The fact that this is the main first essential of faith means that we have to have a very clear concept of Allah and we have to know the role of the messenger. When a person declares that he believes that Muhammad is Allah’s messenger, it implies that the person is the source from which we know Allah’s message and what He requires of us. We accept no other source whatsoever. The messenger has two main functions: Conveying the message and explaining it. The Prophet has conveyed to us the Qur’an which embodies Allah’s message. He has also conveyed to us a large number of Hadiths, which provide details of what is contained in the Qur’an. We cannot say that the Qur’an is the whole of Allah’s message and every thing else may be thrown away. The other function of the Prophet is to explain Allah’s message. This he had certainly done verbally and practically. For example, it is clear from the Qur’an that Allah requires us to believe in Him. There are numerous verses which explain to us Allah’s attributes. If one believes in the existence of Allah, and is fully aware of all His attributes mentioned in the Qur’an, would he have attained the degree of the truly faithful? The answer is that he has to evaluate his faith on the basis of the criteria set by Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) in the Hadith, which explains what is the practical meaning of having faith. Take for example, the Hadith which states: “Any one of you will not have truly attained faith unless Allah and His messenger are dearer to him than anything else, and unless his love or hate of any person is based on no reason other than his faith, and unless he hates to sink back into disbelief as much as he hates to be thrown in hell fire.” We say, then, that the Qur’an outlines clearly what is required of us in respect of believing in Allah and His messenger. This Hadith tells us of a degree of faith that must be attained if we want to be true believers. Moreover, explaining the message, it comes through the practical example the Prophet has set for us, showing us what it actually means to live as true believers. Addressing His messenger, Allah says in the Qur’an : “To you we have revealed this Reminder, so that you may make clear to mankind what has been sent down to them, and that they may give thought”. The word, “Reminder”, refers here to the Qur’an. You note that the function of explanation and clarification, which the Prophet had to do, is set clearly in the Qur’anic verse. It cannot, then, be accepted from anyone to say that he is in no need of this explanation and clarification by the Prophet and that he will deal with the Qur’an himself. It should be remembered that the Hadith has not been added by the Prophet according to his own thoughts. To say this is to betray a total lack of knowledge of the status of Hadith. It is unanimously agreed by Muslim scholars throughout the history of Islam that what the Prophet has said concerning matters of religion has been revealed to him. He expresses in his own words, the thoughts and meaning that Allah has given him. He himself adds nothing. Your friend says that Muslims idolise Prophet Muhammad.(Pbuh). He may have a point if he is referring to the practices of some Muslims who always speak of loving the Prophet and organising celebrations where they sing, praises of the Prophet, thinking that this is all they need to do in order to please Allah and His Messenger. But your friend is totally mistaken if he is referring to what scholars and Muslims who know their religion well state all the time, that following the example of the Prophet is the way to earn Allah’s pleasure. Indeed, to follow the example of the Prophet is to do what Allah has commanded us. Furthermore, it is the practical implementation of the second half of the declaration which brings any person into the fold of Islam : That is to say, the declaration that one believes in Muhammad as the last messenger of Allah. Your friend is also mistaken in his interpretation of the Qur’anic order that we must not differentiate between Allah’s prophets and messengers. In order to know what Allah means by this order, the best way is to look at the Qur’anic verses which mention this. Verse 150 of Surah 4, entitled “Women”, may be translated as follows : “Those who deny Allah and His Messengers, and those that draw a line between Allah and His Messenger , saying : ‘We believe in some but deny others,’ thus seeking a middle way - these indeed are the unbelievers. For the unbelievers we have prepared a humiliating punishment. As for those that believe in Allah and His Messengers and do not discriminate against any of them, they shall be rewarded by Allah.” These verses are clear in referring to believing in Allah’s messengers in a way which does not lead to the denial of any one of them.[/quote]
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