Indispensability of Hadith
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Dr. Khalid Alvi
Sunnah or Hadith is the second source from which the
teachings of Islam are drawn. Hadith literally means a saying
conveyed to man, but in Muhaditheen's terminology Hadith
means sayings of the Prophet, his action or practice of his
silent approval of the action or practice. Hadith and Sunnah
are used interchangeably, but sometimes these are used
for different meanings.
To deal with the topic it is necessary to know the position of
the Prophet in Islam, because the indispensibility of Hadith
depends upon the position of the Prophet.
Analyzing the problem we can visualize three possibilities:
1. The duty of the Prophet was only to convey the message
and nothing more was required from him.
2. He had not only to convey the message but also to act
upon it and to explain it. But all that was for the specified
period and after his death Qur'an is sufficient to guide
humanity.
3. No doubt he had to convey the Divine Message but it
was also his duty to act upon it and to explain it to the
people. His actions and explanations are a source of
guidance forever. His sayings, actions, practices and
explanations are a source of light for every Muslim in every
age.
The learned men of the Muslim Millat are of the unanimous
view that only the third point is the correct assessment of the
Prophet's position in Islam. The Qur'an contains dozens of
reminders of the important position of the Prophet. For
instance the Qur'an says:
"And verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good
example for him who looketh unto Allah and the last day
and remembereth Allah much." [Al-Ahzab 31]
According to this verse, every Muslim is bound to have the
good example of the Prophet as an ideal in life. In another
verse he has been made a 'Hakam' for the Muslims by
Allah Almighty. No one remains Muslim if he does not
accept the Prophet's decisions and judgements:
"But no, by thy Lord, they can have no real faith until they
make thee judge in all disputes between them and find in
their souls no resistance against thy decisions but accept
them with the fullest conviction."[An-Nisa: 65]
While explaining the qualities of Muslims the Qur'an says:
"The answer of the believers, when summoned to Allah
and His apostle, in order that He may judge between them,
is no other than this: They say: we hear and we obey."
[An-Nur: 51]
In many places the Qur'an has given its verdict on this
issue. The Qur'an says:
"Obey Allah and obey the Messenger." [An-Nisa 59]
and
"Whatever the Messenger giveth you take it and whatever
he forbiddeth abstain from it." [Al-Hashr: 7]
Qur'an is very clear in expressing its view on the position of
the Prophet. According to the Qur'an the Prophet has four
capacities and he must be obeyed in every capacity. He is
Mu`allim wa Murabbee he is Shaari` one who explains the
Book, he is a law-giver and judge, and he is a ruler. In all
these capacities he is an ideal example for the Muslims. I
am quoting a few verses of the Holy Book just to give a hint
of this topic.
"Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He
sentamong them an apostle from among themselves
rehearsing untothem the signs of Allah, sanctifying them in
scripture andwisdom while, before that, they had been in
manifest error." [Al-Imran: 164]
"And We have sent down unto thee the Message that thou
mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for
them."[An-Nahl: 44]
"For he commands them what is just and forbids them what
isevil; he allows them as lawful what is good and pure
andprohibits them from what is bad and impure. He
releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes
that are upon them." [Al-Araf: 157]
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the apostle, and
those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in
anything amonst yourselves refer it to Allah and His Apostle,
if you believe in Allah and the last day." [An-Nisa: 59]
"It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman when a
matterhas been decided by Allah and His apostle to have
any optionabout their decision. If any one disobeys Allah
and His apostle, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path."
[Al-Ahzab: 36]
In all these verses, the Qur'an has explained various
aspects of the Prophets personality. One can judge the
importance of the Prophet from these verses. I am
reminded of another important verse of the Qur'an, which is
actually a verdict against those who do not believe in Hadith
as an authentic source of law:
"If any one contends with the Prophet even after guidance
hasbeen plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other
than that becoming to men of faith, We shall leave him in
the path he has chosen and land him in Hell, what an evil
refuge." [An-Nisa: 110]
The Qur'an while pressing the Muslims to obey the
Prophet, goes a step further when it announces that the
Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is above
all the limitations of time and space. He is the last Prophet
and is a Messenger of Allah for the whole of humanity for all
time to come.
Hadith is nothing but a reflection of the personality of the
Prophet, who is to be obeyed at every cost.
Any student of the Qur'an will see that the Holy Book
generally deals with the broad principles or essentials of
religion, going into details in very rare cases. The details
were generously supplied by the Prophet himself, either by
showing in his practice how an injunction shall be carried
out, or by giving an explanation in words. The Sunnah or
Hadith of the Holy Prophet was not, as is generally
supposed, a thing of which the need may have been felt
only after his death, for it was very much needed in his
lifetime. The two most important religious institutions of Islam
are prayer and zakat; yet when the injunction relating to
prayer and zakat were delivered, and they were repeatedly
revealed in both Mecca and Madina, no details were
supplied. Keep up prayers (aqimoo as-salaah the Qur'anic
injunction and it was the Prophet himself who by his own
actions gave details of the prayer and said: (Salloo kamaa
ra'aytamoonee usaallee) "Pray as you see me praying."
Payment of zakah is again an injunction frequently repeated
in the Qur'an yet it was the Prophet (peace be upon him)
who gave the rules and regulations for its payment and
collection. These are but two example; but since Islam
covers the entire sphere of human activities, hundreds of
points had to be explained by the Prophet (peace be upon
him) by his example in action and in words.
The Ulama have discussed the question of Hadith in detail
as a "wahyun khafee" and prophetic wisdom. I do not want
to go into the details, but one thing must be stated clearly
that there were cases when the Prophet, not having
received a revelation, made a personal effort to formulate
opinion through his own wisdom. Either it was corrected by
revelation or it was approved. The importance of the
Sunnah even as a second source of Islam was a settled
issue for the Companions of the Prophet. I quote only one
of the many examples: that of Mu`az ibn Jabal who said to
the Prophet that he would decide according to the Sunnah
if he did not find the solution of a problem in the Book. To
quote Dr. Hamidullah:
"The importance of Hadith is increased for the Muslim by
the fact that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
not only taught, but took the opportunity of putting his
teachings into practice in all the important affairs of life. He
lived for twenty three years after his appointment as the
Messenger of Allah. He endowed his community with a
religion, which he scrupulously practiced himself. He
founded a state, which he administered as the supreme
head, maintaining internal peace and order, heading
armies for external defense, judging and deciding the
litigations of his subjects, punishing the criminals and
legislating in all walks of life. He married and left a model of
family life. Another important fact is that he did not declare
himself to be above the ordinary law which he imposed on
others. His practice was not mere private conduct, but a
detailed interpretation and application of his teachings."
(Introduction to Islam page 23)
The man, therefore, who embraced Islam stood in need of
both the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Actually Hadith is so
important that without it one cannot fully understand the Holy
Book and Islam or be able to apply it to one's life and
practice.
Courtesy Of: Islaam.com
