Indispensability of Hadith

  
      
    
    bismilla.gif (1939 bytes)Indispensability
    of Hadith
    Dr.
    Khalid Alvi
    The Place of Hadith in Islam
    American Trust Publications
    © 1977 MSA
    
    PurpleLine_with_quranbkg.gif (856 bytes)
    
  
  
    
    
    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.