Understanding the Qur'an [Split discussion]

Society Religion & Philosophy
41

My apologies, looks like I have offended too many people.

My aim on this forum is to exchange what I believe to be correct with what others believe to be correct. In this process, we may end up liking each others points of views or completely disagree. This is how scholarly discussions take place. I can also copy paste chunks of data from around the web, but I think we should keep the discussion clean. In lieu of this rule, I have neither read any of the copy/pasted materials nor intend to. Because it ends up in nothing but hatred. My sincere request to all the posters that lets put forward everything in our own words and enjoy the discussion.

If this results in offending people, I will be more than happy to stop posting and stay out. However, I do not think that that is the correct approach towards solving our religious issues.

One thing that I will suggest to everyone is not to label anyone belonging to a sect. I have not claimed any such thing, and no one should label it on me either. I think we should work together towards solving our problems as just Muslims, assuming everyone has the best intentions to find the truth. I have the intention to find the truth, please do not doubt my honesty. Doubt my understanding, assume I have a bad brain, I cannot think properly or I am stupid, but not my intention.

My question to everyone of us is, how do we know what we believe in is correct? Because we were born in that faith? Or because all our lives we have believed in it?

If that is the reason, I obviously do not want to discuss further. My beliefs, however, are not based on this. My beliefs are only based on reason, along with my intention to find the truth. I assume the same of everyone. Many a times, I have found my beliefs were incorrect, and I changed them. That can happen in the future, and I will change them. I will not continue to profess my beliefs only because I adhere to them. Rather, I'll adhere to the that which I believe Allah wants me to do.

I do not understand where did I say that Hadith is not important. I do not understand where did I say that Hadith should not be followed today either. And where have I said that one should not follow the Prophet (sws). I want to follow him. I follow Hadith as well. But I suggest that Allah has commanded us to use intellect, we should not follow it blindly. Neither should we be blind in our effort to understand the message of the Lord of the Worlds.

Having said that, the problem is exactly this:

"Mr. OIqbal, as for not praying after Asr is concerned, maybe it was meant solely for the believers, because we know that the Prophets' actions were different than the followers..."

"Maybe" No one knows the correct verdict from the Hadith. Let us not be blind. In my earlier post, I also suggested the same thing that for a time, we keep the Hadith on the side until we understand it. It does not come with any explanation whatsoever. We have no way of figuring it out. This is just one example.

Please help me understand one more thing. I do not know, I found this out. I have thought about it and for the time being put it aside as I say, but I want to understand it. This is a genuine question:

There are many Ahadith narrated in Sahih Muslim by Ibn-e-Shihab Zuhri.

However, Ibn Rajab records the following opinion of Imam Bukhari:

"Zuhri would narrate Ahadith and on most occasions would insert sentences from his own self. Some of these would be Mursal and some of them would be his own."

In addition:

Rabi‘ah would say to Ibn Shihab: My situation is totally different from you. Whatever I say, I say it from my own self and you say it on the authority of the Prophet (sws) and so you must be careful, and it is not befitting for a person to waste himself [like this]. (Bukhari, Tacrikhu’l-Kabir, vol. 3, [Beirut: Daru’l-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah], pp. 286-7)

And there are many other reports about him. We have to figure out what to do. We do not have a doubt that Prophet (sws)'s Ahadith must be accepted. They must be, and there is no doubt about it. But I do not want to wrongly accept something which the Hadith scholars themselves think is incorrect. If I did not know these reports about Ibn-e-Shihab Zuhri, I would accept them, but now that I know, I find it hard to accept this particular hadith. The rest of the Ahadith, I assume they are correct until they are also proven to be wrong, either because the chain of narrators is weak, or because they conflict with Qur'an etc.

However, in this quest, I am inclined to believe that Hadith cannot be blindly accepted and therefore cannot be used as a source to accept Qur'an. Rather, it supplements Qur'an and both go together, while Qur'an obviously overrules the Hadith. This is what I believe to be correct as of today.

My request once again is to lets be soft towards each other and work like real brothers and sisters.

I hope this thread will become better.

Best Regards

42

^^ First of all, you did not offend anyone, not me at least. I for one am happy for such a learned and knowledgable person like yourself to have joined GupShup and it would be a sad loss to us were you to leave it on account of some ill-formed replies. If it was my reply that offended you, I apologise.

The reason I inserted the maybe was because I am not to big fan of cut and pastes myself, however sometimes they become necessity as not everyone is as good at forming and explaining their opinions as yourself, hence the need for cut and pastes.

As far as Ibn-e-Shihab Zuhri is concerned, it should be noted that the compilers of Ahadith themselves have pointed out the fallibility of Ahadith quoted by him. That in itself speaks volumes about the conditions which have been placed upon the Hadithaanis and their narrations.

But to tell you the truth, Ibn-e-Shihab Zuhri was renowned for his memory amongst a couple of other Ashabas. And he was one of a few Sahabas who publicly proclaimed that once they acquired something to their memory, they never forgot it. And a person with such a sharp memory and that too being an Ashaba who knows the wrath of Allah :swt: which befalls a liar in our faith would resort to this?

In fact what is strange is that you quote a book and yourself believe that Dar Ibn al-Jawzi, from which Zuhri’s fallibility regarding Ahadith is taken, is itself printed in 1996.

I will have to look into this brother Iqbal…

43

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Anwaar Qureshi: *
**Protection of Qur'an: *

To say that Allah promised to protect only Qur'an but not Islam (Claim No 7) is being as ridiculous as one can get. Let's ignore the obvious question regarding the point of this Heavenly act. The question is if Islam has been corrupted and its true teachings have been lost, how can anyone claim to be its follower? Moreover, Qur'an says: *"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost" * [A'al-e-Imran, 3:85]. How are we to follow the religion acceptable to Allah if it was not to be protected?

*Were Ahaadith Written Down for the First Time in the Third Century of Hijrah? *

The above proves that Ahaadith must have been protected.
[/quote]

I disagree. The above paragraph suggests that
Islam = Ahadith
Since Islam is alive and protected, "Ahadith" must be protected as well. This equation leaves out Quran. How can we claim that Islam is alive due to "Ahadith" and not due to "Quran". He didn't take Quran into consideration while talking about "survival of Islam". Above "proof" is not sufficient and inconclusive.

[quote]
One manuscript from the first century was discovered in this century and published by Dr. Hamidullah. It is Sahifah Hammam ibn Munabbah, who was a disciple of Abu Hurairah, Radi-Allahu unhu. It contains 138 ahadith. Muhaddithin knew that the Ahaadith of this Sahifah had been absorbed into Musnad Ahmad and Muslim collections, which have been published continuously since their third century debut. After the discovery of the original manuscript it was naturally compared with the Ahaadith in Muslim and Musnad Ahmad that were thought to have come from that Sahifah. And what did they find? There was not an iota of difference between the two. Similarly Mussanaf of Abd al-Razzaq is extant and has been published. As has been Mu'ammar ibn Rashid's al-Jami. These recently discovered original manuscripts bear out the Sihah Sittah. The recent appearance of these original manuscripts should bring the most sceptical into the fold of believers.
[/quote]

This is interesting. When did they discover these manuscripts? Are these "Sahifa", "manuscripts" available in printed format today?

44

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Changez_like: *

I disagree. The above paragraph suggests that
Islam = Ahadith
Since Islam is alive and protected, "Ahadith" must be protected as well. This equation leaves out Quran. How can we claim that Islam is alive due to "Ahadith" and not due to "Quran". He didn't take Quran into consideration while talking about "survival of Islam". Above "proof" is not sufficient and inconclusive.

[/QUOTE]
interesting.. i will love to hear a complete proof then:)

45

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Ibn Sadique: *
**NesCio - * I have quoted a few Ayahs of Qur'an; could you please explain as to how you understand the parts i have put in Bold ?

.
[/QUOTE]

^^ me too looking forward to hear from Nescio on this... and DEFINATLEY .from. PA

-Salman

46

Thank you Lajawab for your message.

You are correct, the reference to the texts is from the twentieth century text. However, the authors have quoted remarks of older scholars such as Bukhari. Nevertheless, It is a khabar-e-Ahad so it may turn out to be incorrect, but my suggestion was that there can be issues with Hadith and Hadith scholars today are pointing them out after consolidating and analyzing the information available to them.

Consider the following two Ahadith:

(Sahih Bukhari, Book 72, No 838)
Narrated 'Aisha:
Allah's Apostle returned from a journey when I had placed a curtain of mine having pictures over (the door of) a chamber of mine. When Allah's Apostle saw it, he tore it and said, "The people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be those who try to make the like of Allah's creations." So we turned it (i.e., the curtain) into one or two cushions.

(Sahih Bukhari, Book 72, No 840)
Narrated 'Aisha :
I purchased a cushion with pictures on it. The Prophet (came and) stood at the door but did not enter. I said (to him), "I repent to Allah for what (the guilt) I have done." He said, "What is this cushion?" I said, "It is for you to sit on and recline on." He said, "The makers of these pictures will be punished on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said to them, 'Make alive what you have created.' Moreover, the angels do not enter a house where there are pictures.'"

In one Hadith Hazrat Aisha has cushions with pictures on it, which is considered fine, while in the second Hadith this is not accepted.

This is not an effort to suggest anything negative about Hadith. This is one of the examples where it is difficult to resolve Ahadith due to lack of information, our inability to know the context and find out the actual meaning of the Hadith and to derive a conclusive ruling from it. This is similar to the Ahadith where one Hadith suggested that it is forbidden to offer prayers after Asr, while the other Hadith suggested that Prophet (sws) did that in his wife's chamber.

It is for this reason that older scholars, for instance Imam Abu Hanifah, derived rulings from Qur'an, Sunnah and then Hadith. In many areas, they decided to not take the ruling from Hadith because Qur'an or the Sunnah of the Rasool (sws) suggested otherwise. Similarly, sometimes when Imam Malik rejected some Ahadith, he used to suggest the reason to be that the Sunnah of the Prophet (sws) was otherwise.

I do concede the possibility that my stance here may turn out to be incorrect. Nonetheless, unless strong reasoning is provided to the contrary, I think the best way to approach religion is to understand Qur'an and Sunnah, and then resolve Hadith against it. Many a times I have found that Hadith helps in understanding Qur'an and it also helps in resolving issues in Qur'anic understanding, but Hadith cannot be accepted blindly and cannot be taken to change the meaning of Qur'an itself. It is an amazing source of knowledge and explains numerous concepts very well, understanding which would be very difficult otherwise.

Comments are welcome. I know there will be differences of opinion, and it is my hope that we discuss them in an Islamic manner.

Best regards to all, and wishing everyone a very happy Eid.

Allah Hafiz

47

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Ibn Sadique: *
**NesCio - * I have quoted a few Ayahs of Qur'an; could you please explain as to how you understand the parts i have put in Bold ?

Allah says: And we have revealed unto you the Remembrance (the Qur'an) so that you may explain to mankind that which has been revealed for them, and that perhaps they may reflect. (Qur'an 16:44)

Allah showed great kindness to the believers whom He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His Signs to them and purify them and teach ** them the Book **and Wisdom , even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Surat al- Imran, 164)

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. (Qur'an 4:65)

Do agree that apart from just delivering the Qur'an; Prophet (saw) taught it too, as was required?

In the second Ayah quoted above, Prophet (saw) apart from teaching the Book is instructed to teach WISDOM; now please tell me what do you understand by Wisdom that the Prophet (saw) taught besides the Quran? Where is this Wisdom recorded?

In the third Ayah quoted above, are we not commanded by Allah (swt) to offer no resistance to the decisions of the Prophet (saw)? Where are the decisions record?

BTW, I don't think you have fully answered brother Lajawab .
[/QUOTE]

In these Ayah the emphasis is on the Prophet as a teacher/explainer/tutor along with his being a messenger, let's explore the example of someone being a teacher then:

if you take a teacher from school. Indeed he explains you the subject matter (like math formulas etc), indeed he give you hints and tips to tackle certain problems in certain ways. HOWEVER, the essence of all he teaches is recorded in the math course book (in this analogy the Qur'an). Moreover, the sign of a bright student is not that of someone who blindly learns the examples of his teacher by heart (since they are mere examples and examples don't come back during the test), it is one who takes the book as basis and from within himself uses this book to explore new solutions to the problems at hand. Solutions that fit in well in the formulas. And he only takes the formulas of the teacher as informal reference, not as something to follow blindly. Indeed, the background against which we shud give our test has changed drastically over the course of years: from pre-medievel to post-modernism. And often you will see that examples age as well, but the textbook (the formulas/ the subject matter) remains as it is

As for the wisdom part. Of course, your maths teacher teaches you wisdom as well. as far as the 'book' in the ayah goes it is meant the literal text, the 'wisdom' might be the 'example' he gives, but then again as I've mentioned the bright student is the one who explores solutions using his insight and the basic text. Anyhow, on the other hand one can justifiably argue that the wisdom is also concealed in the Book as well. This is a figure of speech called tautology.

Remains the issue of accepting the Prophet as judge in disputes: Don't you think that the Prophet will base his decisions on the Qur'an? Or do you think that his decision will be something different than what the Quran states and such requires people to write these down?

48

I am so thankful to gupistan for having this Smiley face…

" :smack2:

Quite usefull of an icon when needed… !!!

49

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by NeSCio: *

In these Ayah the emphasis is on the Prophet as a teacher/explainer/tutor along with his being a messenger, let's explore the example of someone being a teacher then:

if you take a teacher from school. Indeed he explains you the subject matter (like math formulas etc), indeed he give you hints and tips to tackle certain problems in certain ways. HOWEVER, the essence of all he teaches is recorded in the math course book (in this analogy the Qur'an). Moreover, the sign of a bright student is not that of someone who blindly learns the examples of his teacher by heart (since they are mere examples and examples don't come back during the test), it is one who takes the book as basis and from within himself uses this book to explore new solutions to the problems at hand. Solutions that fit in well in the formulas. And he only takes the formulas of the teacher as informal reference, not as something to follow blindly. Indeed, the background against which we shud give our test has changed drastically over the course of years: from pre-medievel to post-modernism. And often you will see that examples age as well, but the textbook (the formulas/ the subject matter) remains as it is

As for the wisdom part. Of course, your maths teacher teaches you wisdom as well. as far as the 'book' in the ayah goes it is meant the literal text, the 'wisdom' might be the 'example' he gives, but then again as I've mentioned the bright student is the one who explores solutions using his insight and the basic text. Anyhow, on the other hand one can justifiably argue that the wisdom is also concealed in the Book as well. This is a figure of speech called tautology.

Remains the issue of accepting the Prophet as judge in disputes: Don't you think that the Prophet will base his decisions on the Qur'an? Or do you think that his decision will be something different than what the Quran states and such requires people to write these down?
[/QUOTE]

NeSCio What a flawed analogy!

I shall respond to your above post soon but for time being the following hadith should suffice. ( Even though you may not take it for any relevance.)

Hazrat Aisha (ra) reports: “The Prophet (Pbuh) did something and indicated that it is permissible. Some people, however, felt that they should not do it. This was communicated to the Prophet (Pbuh). He spoke, starting with praising Allah, before saying: “What is the matter with certain people who feel that they are above doing something which I have done? *By Allah, I know Allah better than them and I fear Him most.” * (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Al-Nissai).

50

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Ibn Sadique: *

NeSCio What a flawed analogy!

I shall respond to your above post soon but for time being the following hadith should suffice. ( Even though you may not take it for any relevance.)

Hazrat Aisha (ra) reports: “The Prophet (Pbuh) did something and indicated that it is permissible. Some people, however, felt that they should not do it. This was communicated to the Prophet (Pbuh). He spoke, starting with praising Allah, before saying: “What is the matter with certain people who feel that they are above doing something which I have done? *By Allah, I know Allah better than them and I fear Him most.” * (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Al-Nissai).
[/QUOTE]

*Sadique brother, make sure you have the DATE, THE EXACT TIME, THE HISTORY OF THE HADIATH, BOOKS FROM WHERE YOU QUOTED THIS HADIATH AND THE LIST OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO CONFIRMED THIS HADIATH TO BE AUTHENTIC, READY; because i bet soon you will be asked by couple of people for all this. And when you will provide all the info needed they will still deny it. *

May Allah guide us All . ( and yea I know I need the most with my posts :) )
-Salman

51

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Ibn Sadique: *
Allah says: And we have revealed unto you the Remembrance (the Qur'an) **so that you may explain to mankind that which has been revealed for them,* and that perhaps they may reflect. (Qur'an 16:44)
[/quote]

Context please.. ALWAYS.

Read in conjunction with 16:43 and the answer is clear.. Allah is talking about how the people should realize that this is another reminder that the Prophet is conveying and previously reminders have been given to men just like now.. the emphasis is on conveying this concept not the Book itself.

[quote]
Allah showed great kindness to the believers whom He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His Signs to them and purify them and teach ** them the Book **and Wisdom , even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Surat al- Imran, 164)
[/quote]

[3:79] It is not meet for a mortal that Allah should give him the Book and the wisdom and prophethood, then he should say to men: Be my servants rather than Allah's; but rather (he would say): Be worshippers of the Lord because of your teaching the Book and your reading (it yourselves).

PakistaniAbroad: Guess we know where the Wisdom is now don't we :)

[quote]
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. (Qur'an 4:65)
[/quote]

Context again.. it's talking about hypocrites and how they were to be dealt with..a special case or sure and certainly no one could have attained belief if they didn't obey the Prophet and come to what Allah had revealed... now how does this suddenly transform into obeying everything written in six books of a certain sect??

52

Proof of the importance of the Sunnah

(1) The Qur’aan speaks of the importance of the Sunnah, for example:

(a) Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allaah . . .” [al-Nisaa’ 4:80] Allaah described obedience to the Prophet (peace be upon him) as being a part of obedience to Him. Then He made a connection between obedience to Him and obedience to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “O you who believe! Obey Allaah and obey the Messenger . . .” [al-Nisaa’ 4:59]

(b) Allaah warns us not to go against the Prophet (peace be upon him), and states that whoever disobeys him will be doomed to eternal Hell. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . And let those who oppose the Messenger’s commandment beware, lest some fitnah (trial, affliction, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.” [al-Nur 24:63]

(c) Allaah has made obedience to His Prophet a religious duty; resisting or opposing it is a sign of hypocrisy: “”But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you [Muhammad] judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” [al-Nisaa’ 4:65]

(d) Allaah commands His slaves to respond to Him and His Messenger: “O you who believe! Answer Allaah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he calls you to that which will give you life . . .” [al-Anfaal 8:24]

(e) Allaah also commands His slaves to refer all disputes to him: “. . . (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allaah and His Messenger . . .” [al-Nisaa’ 4:59]

(2) The Sunnah itself indicates the importance of the Sunnah. For example:

(a) Al-Tirmidhi reported from Abu Raafi’ and others that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “I do not want to see any one of you reclining on his couch and, when he hears of my instructions or prohibitions, saying ‘I don’t accept it; we didn’t find any such thing in the Book of Allaah.’” Abu ‘Eesaa said: This is a saheeh hasan hadeeth. (See Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Shaakir edition, no. 2663).

Al-’Irbaad ibn Saariyah, may Allaah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Would any of you think, reclining on his couch, that Allaah would only describe what is forbidden in the Qur’aan? I tell you, by Allaah, that I have warned and commanded and prohibited things that are as important as what is in the Qur’aan, if not more so.” (Reported by Abu Dawud, Kitaab al-Khiraj wa’l-imaarah wa’l-fay’).

(b) Abu Dawud also reported from al-’Irbaad ibn Saariyah, may Allaah be pleased with him, that “the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) led us in prayer one day, then he turned to us and exhorted us strongly . . . (he said), ‘Pay attention to my sunnah (way) and the way of the Rightly-guided Khaleefahs after me, adhere to it and hold fast to it.’” (Saheeh Abi Dawud, Kitaab al-Sunnah).

(3) The scholars’ consensus (ijmaa’) affirming the importance of the Sunnah.

Al-Shaafi’i, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: “I do not know of anyone among the Sahaabah and Taabi’een who narrated a report from the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) without accepting it, adhering to it and affirming that this was sunnah. Those who came after the Taabi’een, and those whom we met did likewise: they all accepted the reports and took them to be sunnah, praising those who followed them and criticizing those who went against them. Whoever deviated from this path would be regarded by us as having deviated from the way of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the scholars who followed them, and would be considered as one of the ignorant.

(4) Common sense indicates the importance of the Sunnah.

The fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allaah indicates that we must believe everything he said and obey every command he gave. It goes without saying that he has told us things and given instructions in addition to what is in the Qur’aan. It is futile to make a distinction between the Sunnah and the Qur’aan when it comes to adhering to it and responding to it. It is obligatory to believe in what he has told us, and to obey his instructions.

The ruling concerning those who deny the importance of the Sunnah is that they are kaafirs, because they deny and reject a well-known and undeniable part of the religion.

As regards your second question, about whether a Muslim is required to follow a particular madhhab, the answer is that he does not have to. For the average “rank and file” Muslim, his madhhab is that of his mufti or the scholar whom he consults for religious verdicts; he must ask those pious scholars whom he trusts for opinions when necessary. If a person has enough knowledge to distinguish which evidence and opinion is stronger, then he must follow the scholarly opinion which has the strongest support from the Qur’an and Sunnah. It is acceptable for a Muslim to follow one of the four well-known madhhabs, on the condition that he understands that the truth in any given issue may lie with another madhhab, in which case he must ignore his own madhhab’s opinion and follow the truth. The Muslim’s aim is to follow the truth that is in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah. The madhhabs of fiqh are only a means of reaching ahkaam (rules) based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah, they are not Qur’aan and Sunnah.

We ask Allaah to show us the truth and help us to follow it, and to show us falsehood and help us to avoid it. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)

53

Praise be to Allaah.

Some people have started to claim that the Sunnah is not a source of legislation. They call themselves “al-Qur’aaniyyeen” and say that we have the Qur’aan, so we take as halaal whatever it allows and take as haraam whatever it forbids. The Sunnah, according to their claims, is full of fabricated ahaadeeth falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They are the successors of other people about whom the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us. Ahmad, Abu Dawood and al-Haakim reported with a saheeh isnaad from al-Miqdaam that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Soon there will be a time when a man will be reclining on his couch, narrating a hadeeth from me, and he will say, ‘Between us and you is the Book of Allaah: what it says is halaal, we take as halaal, and what it says is haraam, we take as haraam.’ But listen! Whatever the Messenger of Allaah forbids is like what Allaah forbids.” (Al-Fath al-Kabeer, 3/438. Al-Tirmidhi reported it with different wording, and said that it is hasan saheeh. Sunan al-Tirmidhi bi Sharh Ibn al-‘Arabi, al-Saawi edn., 10/132). The name al-Qur’aaniyyeen does not befit these people, because the Qur’aan tells us, in almost one hundred aayahs, to obey the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Obedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is considered in the Qur’aan to be a part of obedience to Allaah, may He be glorified. “He who obeys the Messenger, has indeed obeyed Allaah, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a watcher over them.” [al-Nisa’ 4:80 – interpretation of the meaning]. The Qur’aan, which they claim to follow, denies the faith of the one who refuses to obey the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and does not accept his ruling: “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” [al-Nisa’ 4:65 – interpretation of the meaning]

Their suggestion that the Sunnah is “contaminated” with fabricated ahaadeeth is not valid, because the scholars of this ummah took the utmost care to purify the Sunnah from all alien elements. If they had any doubts about the truthfulness of any narrator, or there was the slightest possibility that he could have forgotten something, this would be sufficient grounds for rejecting a hadeeth. Even the enemies of this ummah have stated that no other nation has paid so much attention to examining its reports and their narrators, especially in the case of reports narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

For it to be obligatory to follow a hadeeth, it is sufficient for it to be known that it is a saheeh (authentic, sound) hadeeth narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was content to convey his message by sending just one of his Companions, which proves that the hadeeth reported by one trustworthy person must be followed.

Moreover, we would ask these people: where are the aayaat which tell us how to pray, or which tell us that the obligatory prayers are five times daily, or which tell us about the nisaab on various kinds of wealth for the purpose of zakaah, or about the details of the rituals of Hajj, and other rulings which we can only know from the Sunnah?

Al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 1/44

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)

54

I raised that question to PA and Nescio in a thread of mine, and I never saw them again on that thread. I know, I know, people happen to un read stuff time to time.. :wave:

55

"They say, We believe in Allah and in the apostle, and we obey; but even after that, some of them turn away; they are not (really) Believers. When they are summoned to Allah and His apostle, in order that He may judge between them, behold some of them decline (to come)....The answer of the Believers, when summoned to Allah and His Messenger, in order that He may judge between them, is no other than this: they say, "We hear and we obey"; it is such as these that will attain felicity." [Qur’aan 24:47-51]

56

A very strong indicator of the obligation upon us to follow the Sunnah can be found in this aayah:

"...And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam)) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it) , and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment." [Qur’aan 59:7] Allah has also made the obedience of Rasoolullaah (sallallaahualayhi wa sallam) in conjunction with the obedience to Him:

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

"He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah." [Qur’aan 4:80]

"Say: If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you sins." [Qur’aan 3:31]

Then let those beware who withstand the Messenger’s order, lest some trial befall them, or a grievous penalty be inflicted on them." [Qur’aan 24:63]

Not only that, but Allah (subhaanahu wa taaalaa) told us that disobeying Rasoolullaah (sallallaahualayhi wa sallam) is Kufr (disbelief): "Say: Obey Allah and His Messenger.: But if they turn back, Allah loveth not those who reject Faith." [Qur’aan 3:32]

"It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path." [Qur’aan 33:36]

57

"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.

58

Assalamu Alaykum,

I will request the admins to consider that discussion forums should be kept for discussions and messages from individuals, and not for copying/pasting web-pages which can otherwise be provided through urls as well.

I will also say that let us all make use of the discussion forums for exchanging our points of views in our own words, not in the words of others.

Thanks.

59

not all the links are read... and that is the fact..
-Salman

60

All the posts are not read either and that is a fact too.

We do not force anyone to read anything, we just present what we believe to be right. I have not read anything copy/pasted and posted. I have the ability to go to the search engines and search on the topics and read various points of views. Everyone who is using Internet and coming to this discussion forum to share their thoughts has that ability.

I will say that a discussion forum is better utilized for discussions and exchanging our own views and thoughts.

Thanks