Question about the hadith in Islam?

[Kouyate42]

I have a question for any Muslims here on CAF and indeed to anyone who knows about Islam.

  My understanding is that the majority of Muslims, if not all, accept that there is Qur'an, the holy book given to the Prophet, and then Hadeeth, collections of what the Prophet said, did and approved/disapproved of. Belief and using both of these as guidance is a mandatory part of Islam.

So why, if this is the case, is there some evidence, iat least from my reading of the Qur’an, that following such Hadeeth is actually against what the Qur’an says? I quote the following verses as evidence:

Qur’an as being a complete book:

Surah Al-Nahl, verse 89.
‘’…and we have sent to you a book FULLY-DETAILED’’.

Living by the Quran alone:

Surah Al-Anaam, verse 114:

Shall I seek other than Allah for judge, when He it is Who hath revealed unto you (this) Scripture, fully explained? Those unto whom We gave the Scripture (aforetime) know that it is revealed from thy Lord in truth.

Allah tells believers that He has stated what is banned and what is allowed:

Surah 6, verse 119 as example:

How should ye not eat of that over which the name of Allah hath been mentioned, when He hath explained unto you that which is forbidden unto you unless ye are compelled thereto. But lo! many are led astray by their own lusts through ignorance. Lo! thy Lord, He is Best Aware of the transgressors.

Allah is displeased at anything which is banned without Qur’anic justification.

Surah 7, verse 32:
“Say, “Who prohibited the nice things God has created for His creatures, and the good provisions?” Say,” such provisions are to be enjoyed in THIS life by those who BELIEVE. Moreover, the good provisions will be exclusively theirs on the Day of resurrection." We thus explain the revelations for people who know."

I can also quote other verses if needed, but these will suffice to start. If this is the case that the Qur’an is meant to be fully-detailed and the only guide for believers, why do Muslims still accept the Hadeeth as a second guidance? Surely this goes against Quran?

 

[hamba2han]

"And obey Allah and the Messenger, that ye may obtain mercy." … [Qur’an 3:132]

The Lord made the obedience of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) an obedience to Him, and following the Prophet (pbuh) an indication of the love of Allah:
**
“He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah.”** … [Qur’an 4:80]
**
“Say: If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you sins.”** … [Qur’an 3:31]

And so, without referring to the ahadith, how are Muslims going to follow and obey the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as commanded by Allah in the Qur’an?

Think of the Qur’an as the map to guide us through the journey of life and think of the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the accompanying legend by which to correctly read this map.

This means that reading the Qur’an alone will not be enough to truly understand the Message of Islam because we will also need to refer to the Sunnah in order to not misinterpret the Qur’an.

Muslims therefore must follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and not rely entirely on the Qur’an alone…

 

[Kouyate42]

Thank you for your answer, that was very helpful.

I must ask though why there seem to be in the collections of hadith certain hadith which seem contradictory to the Qur’an.

 

[hamba2han]

Thank you for your answer, that was very helpful.

I must ask though why there seem to be in the collections of hadith certain hadith which seem contradictory to the Qur’an.

No authentic hadith can contradict the Qur’an and in the event that there appears to be contradiction, then it could be that either the particular hadith is fabricated or there will exist other authentic ahadith which will explain the circumstances of these seeming contradictions with the Qur’an.

In fact, generally speaking, no authentic hadith can contradict another authentic hadith unless there exist yet other authentic ahadith which will explain the seeming discrepancies between them.

The ahadith (plural of hadith) are generally categorized as being either sound, good or weak according to a methodology known as the Science of Hadith and if you wish to learn more about this, I would suggest that you visit this website.