Enjoy the copy-paste that made me understand many things :~)
**Summary of Hadith Rejecters’ Claims **
No 1.
We, Quranists (Ahle Quran), do not make a distinction between obeying Allah and obeying His Messenger, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Anyone who obeys the Qur’an has no other option but to obey the Messenger, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, too. Had we been living with him, we would have no hesitation in blindly following his orders. We do make a distinction but that is between Allah and Hadith collectors like Bukhari, Muslim, Nisai, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud. We accept Allah’s Word that He has protected the Quran from corruption, but why should we accept the words of these hadith collectors? Are they as infallible as Allah?
No 2.
Qur’an is sufficient and does not need any further explanation.
No 3.
Hadith is the same as the gospels of Christianity. Indeed the time span between death of Messenger Muhammad, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and the compilation of the Sahihs was almost the same as that between the departure of Jesus, Alayhis salam, and compilation of the Bible. How can Muslims reject one but accept the other?
No 4.
Dr. Maurice Bucaille finds that the Saheeh is as unscientific as the Bible.
No 5.
The Messenger, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, may have elaborated on items like mode of salaah. Such hadith is probably from the Messenger, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and should be obeyed. But what about the hadith that contradict the Qur’an.
No 6.
The root cause of Muslim decay is their reverence for the hadith.
No 7.
Allah has protected only the Qur’an – not Islam – from corruption.
No 8.
Allah expects from His slaves exclusive servitude. When Sunnis talk of Quran and Sunnah, the Qur’an is undermined for its exclusivity is lost.
**“If anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger he is indeed on a clearly wrong path.” **[Al-Ahzab, 33:36]
“He that obeys Allah and His Messenger has already attained the great victory.” [Al-Ahzab, 33:71].
*For the past fourteen centuries Qur´an and Sunnah have been the twin undisputed sources of Guidance for Muslims. In every generation, the Muslims devoted the best of their minds and talents to this study. They learned both the words and meanings of the Glorious Qur´an through the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and made an unprecedented effort in preserving them for the next generation. The result: The development of the marvellous – and unparalleled – science of Hadith, one of the brightest aspects of Muslim history. *
What does it mean to believe in a Prophet except to pledge to follow him? And so the teachings of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, have always guided this Ummah. Nobody, in his right mind, could or did question this practice. Then something happened. During the colonial period, when most of the Muslim world came under the subjugation of the West, some “scholars” arose in places like Egypt (Taha Hussein), India (Abdullah Chakralawi and Ghulam Ahmed Parwez), and Turkey (Zia Gogelup), who began questioning the authenticity and relevance of Hadith. It was not that some genius had found flaws in the Hadith study that had eluded the entire ummah for more than fourteen centuries. It was simply that the pressures from the dominant Western civilization to conform were too strong for them to withstand. They buckled. Prophetic teachings and life example – Hadith – was the obstacle in this process and so it became the target.
Another factor helped them. Today most Muslims, including the vast majority of the western-educated Muslims, have meagre knowledge of Hadith, having spent no time in studying even the fundamentals of this vast subject. How many know the difference between Sahih and Hasan, or between Maudou’ and Dhaif? The certification process used in Hadith transmission? Names of any Hadith book produced in the first century of Hijrah, or the number of such books? A majority probably would not be able to name even the six principal Hadith books (Sihah Sittah) or know anything about the history of their compilation. Obviously such atmosphere provides a fertile ground for sowing suspicions and doubts.
They call themselves as ahle-Qur’an or Quranists. This is misleading. For their distinction is not in affirming the Qur’an, but in rejecting the Hadith. The ideas of munkireen-e-hadith evolve into three mutually contradictory strains.
The first group holds that the task of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, was only to deliver the Qur’an. We are to follow only the Qur’an and nothing else, as were the Companions. Further, Hadith is not needed to understand the Qur’an, which is sufficient for providing guidance.
The second group holds that the Companions were required to follow the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, but we are not.
The third group holds that, in theory, we also have to follow the Hadith but we did not receive Ahaadith through authentic sources and therefore we have to reject all Ahaadith collections!
Internal contradictions are a hallmark of false ideologies. How can anyone hold the first position yet profess belief in Qur’an while it says: “And We have sent down unto You the Message so that you may explain clearly to men what is sent for them.” [An-Nahal, 16:44]. And this: “Allah did confer a great favour on the Believers when He sent among them a Messenger from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs (Verses) of Allah, purifying them, instructing them in Scripture, and teaching them Wisdom. While before that they were in manifest error.” [A’ale Imran 3:164].
How can anyone hold the second position (limiting the Prophethood to 23 years) yet profess belief in Qur’an, while it says: “We did not send you except as Mercy for all creatures.” [Al-Anbia, 21:107] And, “We have not sent you except as a Messenger to all mankind, giving them glad tidings and warning them against sin.” [Saba, 34:28]
The third position seems to have avoided these obvious pitfalls, yet in reality it is no different. Consider claim Nos 1, 2, 5, and 8 above in the summary of Hadith rejecters’ claims. So Hadith undermines Qur’an’s exclusivity, yet would have been followed blindly at the time of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Ahaadith cannot be followed because they are not reliable, yet can be followed for ritual prayers.
**Salaah And Hadith Rejecters: **
But we don’t need a favour for Hadith about salaah (coming from the same books and the same narrators who are declared as unreliable). We need an answer to this question: If the Qur’an is the only authentic source of Guidance, why did it never explain how to offer salaah, although it repeatedly talks about its importance, associating it with eternal success and failure? What would we think of a communication that repeatedly emphasizes a certain act but never explains how to perform it? There are only two possibilities. Either it is a terrible omission (and in that case it cannot be from Allah) or another source for the how-to information is provided and it is a terrible mistake for any recipient to ignore that.
(Recently some Hadith rejecters have realized the difficulty of their position on salaah. But they have made a claim that is even more ludicrous, namely that the Qur’an gives details on how to offer salaah. **“A careful reading of the Koran reveals that we are to get our Salaah from the Masjid-el Haraam [the continuous practice at Mecca since the time of Abraham],” says one proponent, “specifically the ‘place of Abraham (maqaam e Ibraheem).’” **Let us leave aside all the practical questions about such a fluid answer. Whose Salaah? When? Are we to follow anyone and everyone we find praying at Maqame Ibrahim? How are those offering salaah there are to determine proper way of offering Salaah? How do you resolve their differences? In his enthusiasm in proposing this innovative solution, this proponent even forgot that the Qur’an says the following about the salaah of mushrikeen at the Masjid-el Haraam: “Their prayer at the House of Allah is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands. (Its only answer can be), ‘Taste the chastisement because you blasphemed.’” [Al-Anfal 8:35] )
**The Reliability of Resources: **
To accept one and reject the other source on the basis of reliability (statement No 3) also defies reason, unless we received the Qur’an directly from Allah. But we have received both Qur’an and Hadith through the same channels. Same people transmitted this as the Word of Allah, and that as the word of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi was sallam. Even the verse claiming that Qur’an will be protected came to us through the same people. Through what logic can anyone declare that the channels are reliable for Qur’an and unreliable for Hadith? On the contrary the Quranic promise of protection must apply to Hadith as well for there is no point in protecting the words but not the meanings of the Qur’an.
–
contd.
