Authority of the Hadith.

[robocombot]

Please excuse my ignorance on this .

From what i know Muslims do not claim that the Hadith is the word of God, but rather the sayings of youre Prophet. So are the Hadith considered Holy, or the work of scholors?

It seems that the volume of material in the hadith is vast, theres loads of it! But how is it generally perceived? What authority does Hadith have over Muslims? Are all of the Hadiths 100% correct? Do some schools of Islam use some Hadith and not others?

One important question: Could someone be a Muslim and yet reject ALL the Hadith and study only Al-Quran?

Thankyou in advance.

[Amatullah]

Salam (Peace)


I believe that the Qur'an is the word of God and is the only Book that is completely authentic. God tells us in the Qur'an that we should look up to Muhammed as a role model and emulate him:

''Certainly you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and remembers Allah much.'' (33:21)

Muslims need to learn from the behaviour, actions and sayings of the Prophet because it is he who taught us how to implement the Qur'an into our lives and so yes I believe we do need hadith (recordings of his behaviour, actions, sayings, what he approved of etc).

It seems that the volume of material in the hadith is vast, theres loads of it! But how is it generally perceived? What authority does Hadith have over Muslims? Are all of the Hadiths 100% correct?

I don't hold any book besides the Qur'an to be completely flawless because all other books are the works of men. This means that I do not consider Sahih Bukhari or Al-Kafi or any other hadith book to be authentic in their entirety.

I think the scholars decide which hadith is authentic and which is not by investigating the chain of narrators to make sure there is no break in the link and they also take into account the reliability of the narrators (I am not very sure about this so I will stand to be corrected). I personally reject any hadith that contradicts the Qur'an because the latter is the Final Word.

Do some schools of Islam use some Hadith and not others?

I think there is one particular sect that does believe that the Qur'an is enough and they reject hadith.

One important question: Could someone be a Muslim and yet reject ALL the Hadith and study only Al-Quran?

This is an interesting question. A Muslim is one who truly believes that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammed was the Messenger of Allah and so I think that a person who rejects hadith but still believes in this cannot really be called a non-Muslim. After all it is for God to judge who is a true believer and who is not. Whether or not that particular person will be interpreting the Qur'an and living by it correctly is subject to debate because for instance, although the Qur'an asks us to pray it does not give us details as to how to pray (the actions, the wordings etc.) This we learn from hadith.

My thoughts anyway. Hope they helped.

Peace

Amatullah

[thipps]

Originally Posted by robocombot

Please excuse my ignorance on this .

From what i know Muslims do not claim that the Hadith is the word of God, but rather the sayings of youre Prophet. So are the Hadith considered Holy, or the work of scholors?

Hadith is not considered the Word of God per say. No. They are the recordings of the words and deeds of Prophet Mohammad(pbuh). You can check the 'science of hadith' thread for more details on how these are compiled.

It seems that the volume of material in the hadith is vast, theres loads of it! But how is it generally perceived? What authority does Hadith have over Muslims? Are all of the Hadiths 100% correct? Do some schools of Islam use some Hadith and not others?

yes, it is quite vast. The life of muslims is governed by Islam as it is a way of life. This is what we call Shari'ah. The Sunnah [way of the Prophet Mohammad(pbuh)] is the secondary source for Islamic Law. You cannot discard it.

One important question: Could someone be a Muslim and yet reject ALL the Hadith and study only Al-Quran?

Thankyou in advance.

in short, it is impossible for someone to be a (practicing) muslim without the knowledge of hadith. Why? because there are details in hadith that are not found in the Qur'an. The Qur'an gives general outlines on some issues and sometimes more detailed ones but every single detail on all issues is not there and thus, one cannot do without the hadith. The Sunnah compliments the Qur'an by explaining things in detail. Those who reject hadith outright are foolish for they cannot even know how to perform prayer. How many times do they pray each day and night? What are the conditions and details of zakaah? What is the nisaab (threshold of wealth) for paying zakaah? What is the amount that must be paid? How do they do Hajj and ‘Umrah? How many times do they circumambulate the Ka’bah? Please note that Prayer, zakaah, and hajj are the very pillars of Islam, so what to speak of other things.
besides, the Qur'an itself says to follow the Sunnah as quoted by 'Amatullah' but let me quote something more.

“Say (O Muhammad): “Obey Allaah and the Messenger (Muhammad).” But if they turn away, then Allaah does not like the disbelievers”[Quran, 3:32]

“He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad), has indeed obeyed Allaah, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a watcher over them”[Quran, 4:80]

“O you who believe! Obey Allaah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allaah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allaah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination”[Quran, 4:59]

This should be enough of a clear sample.
Al-Suyooti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his essay Miftaah al-Jannah fi Ihtijaaj bi’l-Sunnah:

Note that whoever denies that the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), whether it describes his words or deeds, so long as it meets the conditions outlined by the scholars, may be quoted as evidence, is a kaafir and has gone beyond the pale of Islam.

This is enough for now.
hope this helps.
And Allah knows best.

[Friend]

Salaamu Alyckum

Sunnah means the way of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It includes everything he said, did, and approved of. We know the Sunnah from the statements called Hadiths that have been handed down from the Companions of the Prophet.

Opposing Mohameed and changing his Sunnah is misguidance and innovation. It is threatened by Allâh with utter bereftness and punishment.

Islamic Law is taken from the Qur’an and Sunnah. The Sunnah in this sense both explains the Qur’an, and also gives additional rules and guidance. The Qur’an in many places tells us to obey the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and thus it is wrong—as some deviant sects claim—that the Qur’an is sufficient and that we do not need the Sunnah.

According to Islamic jurists, the Sunnah is second to fard. Fard means something is obligatory and it must be done; to neglect it without any excuse is a sin. The Sunnah is divided into confirmed (Sunnah mu’akkadah) and optional (Sunnah ghairmu’akkadah). The confirmed Sunnah also should not be neglected, though it is not as important as the fard. The optional Sunnah is recommended, but if someone neglects it, there is no sin or blame on that person.

For example :Sunnah Prayers refer to the additional ritual Prayers (Salah) that are recommended before or after the obligatory (fard) Prayers. It is not necessary to perform these additional Prayers, but it is highly recommended to do so. This is because we will be rewarded for imitating the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and because, on Judgment Day, those Sunnah Prayers will compensate for any obligatory Prayers that were missed or not accepted. For each of the obligatory Prayers, there is a certain number of rak‘ahs of Sunnah Prayer to be performed before and or after the obligatory ones.

Sunnah can also refer to those things that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did in order to bring himself closer to Allah, in contrast to those things that he did simply out of habit or custom. So, for example, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) slept on a simple mat out of habit or custom. We are not required to follow him in this. But he also went to sleep on his right side and advised us to do the same. Thus sleeping on the right side is a Sunnah, something he did to please Allah.

The way of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the way that should be followed by Muslims.

Allâh says, "Let those who oppose his command beware of a trial that might strike them or a painful punishment that might befall them." (24:63)

and "Whoever splits from the Messenger of Allâh after the guidance is clear to him and follows other than the path of the believers, We shall entrust him to what he has turned to." (4:114)

Allâh says, "O you who believe, obey Allâh and His Messenger ... "(8:20)

"Say: obey Allâh and obey the Messenger ... " (24:54)

"Obey Allâh and the Messenger and perhaps you will be shown mercy." (3:132)

"If you obey him, you will be guided ... " (24:54)

Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allâh ... " (4:79)

"That what the Messenger brings you and leave what he forbids you ... " (59:7)

"Whoever obeys Allâh and the Messenger is with those whom Allâh has blessed." (4:68)

"We did not send any Messenger but for him to be obeyed by the permission of Allâh." (4:63)



He made obeying His Messenger tantamount to obeying Himself, and He placed obedience to Himself alongside obedience to His Messenger. Allâh promises that doing this will result in an abundant reward and threatens a severe punishment for opposing it. He made it obligatory to obey the things that the Prophet commanded and to avoid those he prohibited.

Hadith is integral to the Qur’an, since they are inseparably linked to each other. It is impossible to understand the Qur’an without reference to Hadith. The Qur’an is the message, and the Hadith is the explanation of the message by the Messenger himself. We mention the following points to clarify the issue:



1-The Qur’an makes it abundantly clear that the function of the Messenger is not merely that of a deliveryman who simply delivers the revelation from Allah to us. Rather, he has been entrusted with the most important task of explaining and illustrating the same. This is a point mentioned in a number of verses in the Qur’an (See the Qur’an: 16: 44; 64). Therefore, Hadith explains, clarifies, and removes ambiguities about the Qur’an. Hence, once we reject the Hadith, we may never be able to figure out the whole meaning of the Qur’an.



2-Much of Islam will remain mere abstract concepts without Hadith. We would never know how to pray, fast, pay Zakah, or make pilgrimage without the illustration found in Hadith, for these acts of worship remain as abstract imperatives in the Qur’an.



3-The Qur’an tells us the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has taught not only the Book but also the wisdom (See Qur’an: 96:2; 33:34; 4:113, etc.). As Imam Shafi`i stated, the wisdom mentioned here is the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); so if we were to reject the Hadith, we would be rejecting the Qur’an itself.

4-The Qur’an tells us to obey the Messenger and abide by his decision (See the Qur’an: 4:65; 5:49, etc.). Where we do we find such decisions except in the Hadith?



5-Last but not least, the Qur’an orders the faithful to emulate the role model of the Messenger and reckons it as the only way to gain the pleasure of Allah. It is therefore imperative that we look up to his morals and behavior and emulate them in our lives. We can never do so without studying the Hadith. It is most illuminating in this respect to learn that when `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked to describe the character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), her definitive answer was, “His character was the Qur’an.” In other words, he personified the best ideals and values of the Qur’an. How could we then neglect the Hadith, which alone can lead us to the precise ways in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) exemplified the Qur’anic ideals?

Hadith at all times must be evaluated by the well established rules of validation as established by the great scholars. Such firm criteria include the following: If a certain hadith is contrary to the well established principles of the Qur’an or sound reason, it must be rejected.

[Friend]

Salaam

For your information ,Muslims established science and criteria for Hadiths to assure about their accuracy .They also classified hadiths in accordance to their status as follow .

-According to the links in the isnad, i.e. whether the chain of reporters is interrupted or uninterrupted, e.g. musnad (supported), muttasil (continuous), munqati' (broken), mu'allaq (hanging), mu'dal (perplexing) and mursal (hurried).

-According to the number of reporters involved in each stage of the isnad, e.g. mutawatir (consecutive) and ahad (isolated), the latter being divided into gharib (scarce, strange), 'aziz (rare, strong), and mashhur (famous).

-According to the manner in which the hadith has been reported, such as using the (Arabic) words 'an ("on the authority of"), haddathana ("he narrated to us"), akhbarana (- "he informed us") or sami'tu ("I heard"). In this category falls the discussion about mudallas (concealed) and musalsal (uniformly-linked) ahadith.

-According to the nature of the matn and isnad, e.g. an addition by a reliable reporter, known as ziyadatu thiqah, or opposition by a lesser authority to a more reliable one, known as shadhdh (irregular). In some cases, a text containing a vulgar expression, unreasonable remark or obviously-erroneous statement is rejected by the traditionists outright without consideration of the isnad: such a hadith is known as munkar (denounced). If an expression or statement is proved to be an addition by a reporter to the text, it is declared as mudraj (interpolated).

-According to a hidden defect found in the isnad or text of a hadith. Although this could be included in some of the previous categories, a hadith mu'allal (defective hadith) is worthy to be explained separately. The defect can be caused in many ways; e.g. two types of hadith mu'allal are known as maqlub (overturned) and mudtarib (shaky).

-According to the reliability and memory of the reporters; the final judgment on a hadith depends crucially on this factor: verdicts such as sahih (sound), hasan (good), da'if (weak) and maudu' (fabricated, forged) rest mainly upon the nature of the reporters in the isnad.

Maybe this could help you to understand how we Muslims could recognize the reality of our religion resources.you can see that the status of Quraan is different from the status of the Hadith ..we believe in Al Quraan as a perfect and absolutely saved from any corruption ,but we accept that Hadith could be that .

Thanks for your questions ,and you are welcome to ask any other question.

[Amatullah]

Salam (Peace)

I spoke to some of the people who claim that the Qur'an is enough at Paltalk in summer and interestingly enough their defense when shown all those verses where we are asked to obey God and His Apostle, is that Muhammed lived his life according to the Qur'an and they are doing the same.

Peace

Amatullah

[thipps]

Originally Posted by Amatullah

Salam (Peace)

I spoke to some of the people who claim that the Qur'an is enough at Paltalk in summer and interestingly enough their defense when shown all those verses where we are asked to obey God and His Apostle, is that Muhammed lived his life according to the Qur'an and they are doing the same.

Peace

Amatullah

Salam,
if you are in contact with such people, please take the few questions from my post and ask them those. I'd like to see what answers they give since they cant give an answer if they reject hadith. Either they will have no answer or they will show themselves to be false by allowing hadith to answer these questions. Thats how i see it. This should be an interesting exercise.
Thanks in advance.
And Allah knows best.

[Amatullah]

Salam (Peace)

No Br. Thipps, I no longer frequent Paltalk but from what I can remember, they were asked questions along those lines. The ones at Paltalk believed that whatever it is we need to know about Prayer, Alms, Fasting and Pilgrimage is all mentioned in the Book because it is perfect, complete and lacks nothing. Therefore whatever is not mentioned is not necessary. For instance with regards to Prayer, they did not believe in ritual prayer. To them prayer was any remembrance of God.

I am not certain however if these are standard beliefs among Quranites.

Peace

Amatullah

[Suflex]

Yes they do have very logical explanations and have devised a way to extract from Quran all relegious acts that are normaly derived from SUNNAH.

They also posses something called 'the blue book' which from what I understood is a translation for the numerical codes in Quran, they use it as a basis for their derivations.