Indispensability
of Hadith
Dr. Khalid Alvi
The Place of Hadith in Islam
American Trust Publications
© 1977 MSA
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.