Preface
Hadīth is next only to Qur'ān as a source of Islamic laws and proofs. The term Hadīth applies to the words and acts of Allāh's Messenger ﷺ as well as his tacit approvals called Taqrīr. The latter refers to acts done in his presence but he did not disapprove of them, his silence indicating his approval. All these three categories of Aḥādīth are variously known as (1) Khabar, (2) Athar, (3) Hadīth and (4) Sunnah. (All these words have already been mentioned under the technical terms employed by Hadīth scholars).
In contradistinction with Khabar and Athar, the words Hadīth and Sunnah are widely popular, so much so, that a mere mention of any of these two words, inevitably brings to mind the words, acts and tacit approvals of Allāh's Messenger ﷺ. No other thought comes to our mind except the foregoing at the mention of the word Hadīth or Sunnah. Yes, of course, some people have made a distinction between Hadīth and Sunnah, advancing as argument the words of some scholars, but, in fact, this distinction is not right. The Hadīth scholars make no distinction between the two. According to them, Hadīth and Sunnah are synonymous terms. Similarly, taking Sunnah as referring to the Prophet's habits, modes of behavior and manners and thereby denying their legal authority is equally wrong. It is, in fact, a deception, a concealed escape route leading to the rejection of Aḥādīth. Again, in the same way, considering only the acts of the Prophet ﷺ that he did persistently and uninterruptedly as binding is, in fact, a rejection of a vast number of Aḥādīth. Those who say so have, in deed, allied themselves with the rejecters of Aḥādīth. Moreover, rejecting a Hadīth on the ground that it is in conflict with Qur'ān and entrapping people into believing so, is not the way befitting a Muslim. That is the way of the crooked, the sectarians and the dissenters who reject a lot of Aḥādīth on the seemingly attractive plea of being in disharmony with Qur'ān.
Two centuries after the advent of Islam, the Mutazilites (Mu'tazilah)[1] rejected some Aḥādīth. Their purpose was to justify their wrong and misleading beliefs. Likewise, about a century and a half ago, the naturalists, too, criticized the canonical authority of Aḥādīth, their purpose being no more than to affirm naturalism and reinterpret Qur'ān according to their own desires and whims. It is the same group of naturalists who, impressed in our times by the 'rare research works' of the Orientalists and charmed by the
[1] A medieval theological sect that maintained that nothing but eternity could be asserted regarding Allāh, that the eternal nature of the Qur'ān was questionable, and that humans have free will.
wizards of the West and their civilization, are working in an organized way to alienate the Muslims from their own culture and Islamic values and traditions and are moulding them according to modern civilization.
Anyhow, the term Hadīth or Sunnah applies to whatever the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said, did, or gave his tacit consent to. This, like Qur'ān, is an independent, distinct and reliable source of faith and law (Shari'ah). To benefit by Hadīth and rely on it in giving legal rulings, we need to know the following:
Things worthy to note
1. The faith revealed by Allāh is Islam and only Islam. "Truly, the religion with Allāh (is) Islam."[1] "And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him and he will be one of the losers in the Hereafter."[2] Allāh commanded the believers to hold fast to the religion and forbade them to divide and fall apart: "And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allāh, and be not divided among yourselves."[3] Allāh also warned us through His Messenger ﷺ: "And (He commands you, saying): This is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path."[4]
2. Since Qur'ān has warned us, in several Verses, against separation and disunion, which means only dissenting and dividing up into sects, and since the Prophet ﷺ has commanded us to follow one course only and condemned other courses as wrong, it naturally follows, therefore, that the True Path can only be one, not many. How can many paths be true at one and the same time? It is not possible, neither by reason nor by tradition. Qur'ān declares: "After the Truth, what else can there be except error?"[5]
3. What is this religion of Islam or the Straight Path? Where is it to be found? It consists of two things: Qur'ān and the Hadīth of the Prophet ﷺ. Allāh's Messenger ﷺ said: "I am leaving to you two things. You will not go astray as long as you cling to them: the Book of Allāh and the Sunnah of His Prophet."[6]
4. This religion, unlike other religions, is not unguarded. It is secure from tampering. Since this religion is final and the only way of deliverance for mankind till the Judgment Day, Allāh has undertaken the responsibility of
[1] Āl 'Imrān 3:19.
[2] Āl 'Imrān 3:85.
[3] Āl 'Imrān 3:103.
[4] Al-An'ām 6:153.
[5] Yunus 10:32.
[6] Muwattā' Imām Mālik: 3.
guarding it. He said: “Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Reminder and surely We will guard it.”[1] The intended meaning of the Reminder is Qur’ān that is guarded and made secure. It remained unchanged and will remain ever so in future. Since it was impossible to understand it and act by it without Aḥādīth, the safeguarding of it implies the safeguarding of Hadīth also. Therefore, in order to safeguard the Aḥādīth, Allāh created a group of Hadīth scholars who took pains to safeguard the Aḥādīth, separating the genuine from the spurious. Hence, Qur’ān and Sunnah are the only two basic sources of religion. However, to understand them correctly, the way of the Prophet’s Companions and the righteous predecessors is an indispensable aid.
5. None of the founders of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence ever claimed that their ruling was final. On the contrary, they acknowledged they may have erred and, hence, advised their followers to ignore their ruling in case a sound, authentic Hadīth is ever found contradicting their ruling. Moreover, they are known to have recanted some of their opinions. In case a Hadīth was found later on contradicting the ruling of some jurist, his students are reported to have declared that the Hadīth in question had remained unknown to their Imām (the jurist) and that he would have surely recanted his ruling if only he had known it. It should be noted that Aḥādīth were collected, recorded and examined long after the founders of the schools had gone. For example, the Sound Six (Sīḥāh Sittah) and other books of Aḥādīth were compiled later on. But, no doubt, those Imāms of jurisprudence were excusable for their errors. Hopefully, they may be rather rewarded because their intent was good. Anyhow, now that Aḥādīth have been collected and recorded, insistence on a particular legal ruling and rejecting a Hadīth on different pleas is quite unjustified.
6. The students of the Imāms of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) disagreed with their own teachers and mentors on some issues, but none blamed or rebuked them for having done so, but rather praised them for their truth and scholarly ability. So it is no error or sin if today someone disagrees with the learned Imāms of Islamic jurisprudence. He deserves praise, rather than condemnation.
Our Actions and Day of Accounting
We, too, are not exempt from what we have said earlier. Our instructions to others are equally binding on us as on them. We call Allāh as witness that we have been fair in our evaluation of Aḥādīth. While deciding the soundness or weakness of a Hadīth, we never let ourselves be swayed by bias for any particular sect, party or denomination or mental reservations, or preconceived
[1] Al-Hijr 15:9.
notions or circumstances. We have been completely fair, just and honest in our evaluation of Aḥādīth. We have tried to be completely neutral. We have kept our inquiries untainted with prejudice. Our research is purely scientific. We followed only the accepted principles of Ḥadīth evaluation. Only then did we decide a case or give a ruling as to which course is right or preferable. Twisting or distorting a Ḥadīth, or wriggling out of it, or stretching it in an attempt to arrive at far-fetched meanings, dubbing a Sound Ḥadīth as Weak or a Weak one as Sound, declaring without proof a Ḥadīth as abrogated or abrogating — all these things we believe to be fraud, deception, and concealment of truth. We seek Allāh's refuge from these trickeries. Of course, we may have erred in applying the principles of Ḥadīth evaluation, or we may have erred for lack of access to information, or we may have misunderstood something — and we will be grateful to those who point out our errors and we pledge to correct them forthwith — but, by grace of Allāh, we remained honest and fair throughout our research work, there being no taint of bias for or prejudice against any school of thought, or party, or sect, or denomination, nor self motive or desire for profit. Allāh is the Warden over what we say.