Indispensability of Hadith
Creator: Dr. Khalid Alvi
Date: 2006-07-02
Format: text
Identifier: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=232
Language: en
Publisher: American Trust Publications
Rights: © 1977 MSA
Source: The Place of Hadith in Islam
Subject: hadith
Title: Indispensability of Hadith
Created on: Sun Jul 02 20:02:27 -0400 2006
Updated on: Mon Sep 25 13:29:58 -0400 2006
Version: 3
Abstract: ... ery 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 suppli... [Full Article...]
