Does the Quran refer to follow the man-written Hadith?

Is the Quranic commandment on obeying the Prophet (S), a reference to accepting the unconfirmed narrations attributed to him at random by so-called companions?

Here are some verses that are perpetually taken as a standard excuse for adhering to the extra-Quranic literature commonly known as "Hadith."

"And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it)." 59:7

"Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." 3:31

"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." 33:21

First off, let's clear up the misunderstanding with regard to Verse 59:7. When Allah tells the people to take whatever the Prophet gives them and abstain from whatever he forbids them, the reference is NOT to the writings of the future Persian imams coming to Arabia from Bokhara and nearby regions. The inaccuracy of such an opinion by misinterpreting this verse out of context is so glaring that it almost sounds like a joke! The truth is, Verse 59:7 is a portion of a much larger Verse of Surah Al-Hashr. The theme of the entire Verse is the distribution of spoils of war which is intended for the needy and not for greedy. God Almighty tells the recipients of the spoils to accept humbly whatever is given to them as their share by the Messenger and abstain from whatever is not given to them.

Concerning Verses 3:31 and 33:21, these have NO connections with future man-written Hadiths either, and nor do these verses command us to follow those Hadiths. It must be understood that all Divine commandments in the Quran to obey the Prophet (S) are directed to the contemporaries of the Prophet, those who lived during the lifetime of the Prophet (S). So, does this mean that Allah's guidance was only for them? Not at all. Allah's guidance through the Prophet (S) was for entire humanity and for all times to come. We only need to logically analyse this point to understand the reality.

The era of the Prophet (S) was the beginning of Islam. Also, those who lived during the lifetime of the Prophet could see and meet him in person for advise and guidelines on Quranic dictates.

Most of those pagans and bedouins of this period who were fresh converts to Islam weren't educated. They could barely read or write and were dependent on the practical demonstrations by the Prophet for right spiritual and moral conduct. Thus, Allah tells them that ".. in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example .."

The next very important aspect is that the Quran was still in the process of being revealed during that era. The already revealed portions were written and carefully preserved but hadn't yet been compiled and circulated in the form of a Book as we find it at present. Thus, the new Muslims of Medinah could not have easy recourse to the Qruan as we have today. They could acquire authentic Quranic instructions only from the Prophet, directly and personally. Having said this, the Prophet's practical example for his contemporaries to follow was based strictly on the Quran and NOT on any other source. Needless to say, the man-written books of Bukhari etc. had not even emerged at that time. These unfounded narrations and compilations with the title of "Hadith" began their widespread destruction more than 150 years after the passing away of the Prophet (S).

The Prophet (S) passed away approximately 10 years after living in Medinah. By that time the Prophet's mission was successfully finished and the revelations of the Glorious Quran were completed. The compilation of the Divine Words had begun, and was officially completed under the supervision of the 2nd and 3rd righteous Caliphs approximately two decades after the Prophet's death.

Coming to our present situation, the Prophet (S) is no longer amongst us. Though his absense is hurtful and traumatizing beyond words, unfortunately we cannot bring him back. Therefore we cannot get the Quranic instructions from the Prophet in person as did his contemporaries. However, fortunately for us, that's not a problem at all. As ordained by Allah, The Almighty, the very source of the Prophet's instructions is very much available, intact, compiled and fully original. The Glorious Quran is in the midst of us, to be studied, understood and followed. Millions of copies have been published of the original in Arabic, and this publication will be a continuous process, God Willing. The original has also been translated into dozens of different languages, the publications of which will be a permanent process too.

Simply and logically put, if we want to follow the Prophet (S) we need to seek information from the Quran, from which the Prophet himself sought guidance and conveyed to his people during his lifetime. In the absense of the Prophet (S), the only method by which we can adhere to the Truth is to tightly grasp the Final Divine Message without any distractions from sectarian tales, slanderous gossips and impertinent narrations by controversial personalities.

Following the Quran is automatically an indication of following the Prophet, while following the man-written Hadith (or any other source) is no guarantee for following the Quran nor the Prophet.

God Almighty has made it ample clear in His Final Message that obedience to the Prophet (S) is subject to the Prophet's obedience to the Quran. Hence, He says in Surah Al-Haqqah (The Reality): "And if he had invented false sayings concerning Us, We assuredly had taken him by the right hand And then severed his life-artery, And not one of you could have held Us off from him." 69:44-47

The only true Sunnah can be obtained from no other source except the Glorious Quran. The man-written stories dubbed as "Hadiths" (which are basically the copy-cat versions of the altered Old and New Testaments), are only the "sunnah" of the persons who have narrated or written them. They have no relevance in the life of a true believer, just as they had no relevance in the life of the Prophet (S). But if we fail to be firm and allow ourselves to get carried away by the superficial rhetorics of other humans, we only end up hurting ourselves on the Day of Judgment. This was precisely the blunder made by the People of the Book. Let's not repeat history. If we refuse to deviate and remain stedfast, focused only on the Final Message, the "Criterion" (25:1), our soul will thank our mind for its wisdom on the Day of Judgment. That's definite.

Last but not least, the Noble Quran is a STANDALONE Book. It's completed and perfected, and independent of all human writings. It does NOT require any other piece of literature for its explanation. This has been confirmed by the Divine Power Himself in one of the last revelations of this Great Book. It was revealed to the beloved Final Messenger only weeks before his death.

"This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion al-Islam. " 5:3

Comments

  1. books written by bukhary and company suggest that Prophet disobeyed Glorious Quran , and propagates the masses the same.Allah Condemns any other hadith but the Best Hadith i;e Al-Quran 39:23

    Muhammed Kamal

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  2. Allah sw and Prophet pbuh clearly and in an unambiguous terms made it clear to follow the Quran only. for example in following verses of holy quran it is clear that Allah sw and Prophet pbuh has ordained to follow Quran Only. Pickthall: 7:3 (Saying): Follow that which is sent down unto you from your Lord, and follow no protecting friends beside Him. Little do ye recollect! 6:50 Pickthall Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): I say not unto you (that) I possess the treasures of Allah, nor that I have knowledge of the Unseen; and I say not unto you: Lo! I am an angel. I follow only( Wahee/Quran) that which is inspired in me. Say: Are the blind man and the seer equal? Will ye not then take thought?

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