Criticism of Hadith and Sunnah
by Haroon Saadiq In one of the e-mails it was observed that a Munkir (one who denies) of Hadith and Sunnah was debating on the issue of "Intercession". While doing that he went to the extent of negating and denying the concept of Hadith and Sunnah as it will be obvious in his criticism below.
Criticism By A Munkir 1 Of Hadith And Sunnah
Please read this carefully. It may be just a matter of a little misunderstanding ... Hadith and Sunnah are Shakey at best. Some are what I consider idle talk, others are weak, others are highly questionable. If you live by Quran (Which was the only thing The Prophet Muhammad was to recite, bring or give to us), you cannot go wrong. Please read the following information. Feel free to publish this. The Problem is that Muslims have deserted The Quran ... Prefer to follow hearsay (Hadith and Sunnah). Anything -- I repeat -- Anything -- Hadith, Sunnah, or anything else that does not agree with Quran is false. Some Hadith and Sunnah do agree with Quran. But the sole mission of The Prophet Muhammad was to deliver Quran. He was also to live by it. The rules for him are the same as for all of us. Hadith and Sunnah were not until many years after the death of the Prophet. These are the words of humans -- Not Allah. Which of these would you like to depend on for your soul salvation??? I trust Allah instead of men who wrote Hadith or Sunnah ... Scholars are men ... educated but mislead and wrong. But you may believe as you wish. There is no compulsion in religion. The best "Hadith" for me is Quran Alone.
I think I've said enough. I just want you to understand the "Real Truth" of Quran and Recognize the Hadith for what it is -- Opinion and Hearsay -- None of which is first-hand information. Hope to hear from you soon. Please send that E-mail to me. I will surely read it and respond more, if necessary. But you have my opinion. The bottom line with me is "If Allah says it, I believe it. If anyone else says other than what Allah says, I dont Put any stock in it." Our religion was meant to be easy and uncomplicated. With the help of men, it has been contaminated ... At least for those not wise enough to stick to Allah's words. And never desert The Quran for other writings. Even a scholar is not as smart as Allah ... Who gave him that brain in the first place ... which he is using to abrogate Quran. They will never succeed.
By
Mr. XYZ
Response To The Criticism
There is no use asking for the solution of quadratic equations from someone who does not even know how to count uptil 10.2
So the Basics first.
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle, and those charged with authority among you, if you differ in anything among yourselves refer it to Allah and His apostle, if you do believe in Allah and the last day, that is best and most suitable for final determination" [Al-Nisa 59]
This is just one example quoted from the Quran which asks Muslims to obey the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), there are other numerous examples like these in the Quran. To this Mr.XYZ has replied:
"OBEY " -- NOT "FOLLOW"
Well this answer gives a clue that Mr.XYZ is not much familiar with the arabic language and especially Quranic Arabic. Rather than going into the details of the words Obey (ta 'a) and Follow (tab 'a) I cut it short and give another example that will Insha Allah make it clear that one is to OBEY and FOLLOW the Prophet.
" Say, If you love Allah, FOLLOW ME (i.e. to follow Muhmmad peace be upon him); Allah will love you, and grant you protection from your sins. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful " [Al-Imran 31]
The word used here is "ITTIBA" which means to follow. Anyone knowing a little bit of Arabic can easily understand this. For those who read only translations, can refer to Surah Al-Naziat to comprehend the meaning of the word "ITTIBA"
" The day when the quaking one shall quake,
the consequence will FOLLOW it " [Al-Naziat 6,7]
Thus it is clear from the Quran that one is to obey and follow the Prophet.
In his e-mail reply Mr.XYZ says:
The Propet was given The Quran. It was his only duty -- To deliver Quran... He was also to live by it "Alone"
However we find in the Quran:
" Certainly Allah conferred a favour on the believers when He raised among them a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His Messages and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the Wisdom, although before that they were surely in manifest error " [3:164]
This verse points out two things. First the recitation of the Book i.e The Quran and the Second being the "Hikmah" i.e. The Wisdom and Teachings by which one understands and follows The Quran. And Allah says He raised a Messenger for performing these two duties. So the duty of the Prophet other than delivering the Quran was also to explain its meanings and to teach how one should follow it. And if the Sunnah or Ahaadith of the Prophet are set aside then from Where? is one supposed to get the answers regarding the "Hikmah" or Wisdom of The Quran. Is it from, what every Tom Dick and Harry thinks!
And then Mr.XYZ says,
Regarding this the Prophet said:
" Remember I’ve been given another thing (i.e. the hadith, the hikmah) in addition to Quran. He also warned to be aware of the time when some people would say that Quran is enough for them, but the truth would be that anything which Allah’s apostle holds haram for you would be the same as if Allah has held that thing haram for you " [Abu Dawood]
Also in The Quran we find,
" Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever He forbids you of, abstain from it; and fear Allah " [59:7]
Now if someone says that this is a hadith and i dont believe it, then he should be asked, Why do you believe that so and so is your father? What proof have you got? Is it just because your mother or your relatives say that? Cannot they tell lies? If you can trust your mother or relatives then why cannot you trust the companions of the Prophets who narrated the ahaadith? The worth of those companions is much more than your mother or your relatives. Their worth as mentioned in the Quran is:
" Their (companions of the Prophet) reward is with their Lord, Gardens of perpetuity wherein flow rivers, abiding therein for ever. Allah is well pleased with them (companions of the Prophet) and they (companions of the Prophet) are well pleased with Him (Allah). That is for him who fears his Lord " [98:8]
If the narrations of ahadith are not trustworthy then what criteria do these Munkirs (one who denies) of Ahaadith follow to detach the text of The Holy Quran from the Ahaadith. Who told them? The Prophet in his life time did not only recite the Holy Quran. He talked about all matters. So if these narrations are not valid then what makes these people say that,
" This is Quran and This is Hadith "
What made them identify? How did Quran reach them?
Besides the issue that many ahaadith were written after Prophet's time (which does not necessarily prove their falsification), One must clearly know that they were also written during the Prophet's time.
If the narrations of ahadith are not trustworthy then who told them about the order of Surahs in The Holy Quran?
If the narrations of ahadith are not trustworthy then who told them about the various "Qir'ats" (types of recitation) of The Holy Quran? What made them choose the type of recitation by which they recite the Holy Quran now a days? What Basis?
By denying the hadith, now their prayers are not the prayers of the Prophet. And this group becomes the worst in the list of other deviated groups. They cannot show the method of Salat, Hajj, the issues of Zakat, and other issues pertaining to religion. Infact the list is so long that it is almost impossible to mention it here.
So upon what pillars do they establish their "Deen" on? On thinking of their own?! Quran does not mention the method of praying, how is one supposed to know? Just think his own way out? or is some Munkir of Ahaadith and Sunnah going to tell how to pray? Are they more trustworthy or the companions of the Prophet who narrated the Ahaadith? And the Tabayeen and Taba Tabayeen, May Allah be pleased with them all.
Mr.XYZ says,
But almost every masjid is full of Muslims every Friday who are lead by an Imam who associates the Prophet with Allah in the Shahaada and Salaat (Prayers)
How ignorant can one be. One who does not even know the meaning of Shahaadah.
What is Shahadah? The Shahadah is a declaration that there is no one to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah. What is so anti-Islamic about it? What association between Allah and Muhammad(s.a.w) do we find in the Shahadah? Just that Muhammad (s.a.w) is Allah's Messenger, Is it not true? Do the Munkirs of Ahaadith deny that Muhmmad (s.a.w.) is the Messenger of Allah?
And Mr.XYZ says,
Most Muslims make the Prophet Muhammad a "Partner" and deny it. You add to the shahaada and mention him in your Salaat
Now if someone declares that Muhmmad (s.a.w.) is the Messenger of Allah (which even the Munkirs of Ahaadith declare) then how does this mean that he is making Muhammad (s.a.w) a partner with Allah?
To comprehend all this, do we require a long explanation or just common sense? It is surprising how these people call for Salaat (Prayers). Since the Azaan (Call to prayers) includes this Shahadah which they deny.
Mr.XYZ states:
If he (i.e. Muhammad s.a.w.) were here today and spoke against Hadith and Sunnah ...
This statement gives an indication that he does not know what Hadith and Sunnah actually means. If Prophet was here today then Why would he speak against Hadith and Sunnah? which are his own words and actions. How Silly!
Why did the great companions of the Prophet like Abu Bakar, Umar, Usman, Ali etc... talk about hadith and Sunnah when they learnt Islam directly from the Prophet when he was alive and present amongst them? Do these Munkirs of Ahaadith know more about Islam or the great companions of the Prophet?
Mr.XYZ says:
If we all prayed like the Prophet, we would not add ayats (verses) to our Salaat (prayers) or mention him in our Shahaada. The Prophet did not do this.
If Prophet did not do this then what did he do? How did he pray? Quran does not mention this. Then how do these Munkirs of Ahaadith know what the Prayers of the Prophet were like?
One of the factors behind all this is that it is an attempt by the adversaries of Islam to deviate the Muslims from their Book. Sometimes they raise up people like Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani who claims that he is a prophet, and sometimes they give birth to people who lay the foundations of disbelief that Hadith and Sunnah has got nothing to do with Islam.
These Munkirs of Ahaadith say that Hadith and Sunnah are Innovations, Crutch and Augmentaion 3 not knowing that Hadith and Sunnah were always there, from the Prophet's time right uptil now and Insha Allah will remain uptil the day of resurrection. And the reality is that these Munkirs of Ahaadith are themselves latecomers, innovated and deviated.
May Allah protect all of us from falling into the trap of the Devil
1 Munkir is one who denies.
2 Referring to his debate about "Intercession". One needs to clear his basics first before advancing into complex issues.
3 These words were used by Mr.XYZ in his e-mail.
