Indispensability of Hadith
by Dr. Khalid Alvi
The Place of Hadith in Islam, ©
1977 MSA
American Trust Publications
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 indispensability 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
option about 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.
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