Why do we need the example of Muhammad, hadeeth etc. if the Qur'an is perfect?

[Ibrahim_K]

Salaam aleikum,

For some time I have been wondering the purpose of the example of Muhammad. If the Qur'an is complete and perfect, why do we need this?

[Ibrahim_K]

I mean hadith and sunnah.

[Alpha Dude]

Wa alaykum salam,

Simple answer: Allah told us to obey Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the Qur'aan.

Don't fall for the tricks of ahadith deniers. Those foolish modernist muslims have adopted an unfortunate and baseless stance. They are small in number.

[marwen]

Salaam aleikum,

For some time I have been wondering the purpose of the example of Muhammad. If the Qur'an is complete and perfect, why do we need this?

Quran is complete and perfect, but not every one can understand it / interpret it correctly. Only The prophet Peace and Blessing Upon Him can content with the quran only because he has revelation to help him understand it.

But us, we should follow the Prophet Muhammad Peace and Blessing Upon Him i.e Sunnah, because we can't understand precisely the meaning of every verse in the quran. Example :
The quran says : [Al Baqara : 43] : "وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ"
"And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship)."

This verse shows that we must do prayer in the correct way. But How to do it correctly ? we can't understand it without looking in the sunnah (5 prayers per day, how to do every raka'at, etc.)

Sunnah is the explanation + the application of the qur'an.

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[syed_z]

Asalaam O Alaikum....


Good question ... thanks !


Well... theres a saying "Actions Speak Louder than Words"... if you try understanding the Life of Prophet Muhammad (Saw) as an example for us to follow, under the light of the above words... then it makes perfect sense....


Also ... theres a Famous Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw) in which he said...


"From Adam to me Allah (swt) sent 124000 Prophets and 313 Messengers" (Musnad Ahmed 21257)


The Prophets came to guide their nations, wherever Allah (swt) sent them on planet earth, BUT the Messengers were sent along with Books (Scriptures), this is the difference between Prophet and a Messenger..... so basically there were more Prophets than Books! Why ?

It is because we need living examples in the society more than "just words". There were many Prophets sent without the book is what explains us that Prophethood is the main source of guidance.

Without the Prophet Hood the Books are NOT as effective... which makes sense... because Actions DOES speak louder than words...

We certainly need principles and rules to guide our thoughts and action but we also need real life examples... and so there fore we can understand the Wisdom of Allah (swt) behind these words of the Prophet (saw) in Hadith mentioned above, as to why Allah (Swt) sent more Prophets and less Scriptures...

Salaam..

[AhmadibnNasroon]

Its important to understand that revelation in Islam is not just one thing, (the Quran), but both the Quran and Sunnah of our beloved Messenger Muhammad sallallaahu alayhi'wa'salam.

Allah says in Surah al Baqarah

151. Similarly (to complete My Blessings on you) We have sent among you a Messenger (Muhammad SAW) of your own, reciting to you Our Verses (the Qur'ân) and sanctifying you, and teaching you the Book (the Qur'ân) and the Hikmah (i.e. Sunnah, Islâmic laws and Fiqh - jurisprudence), and teaching you that which you used not to know.

So Allah taught the Prophet both the Qur'an and the hikmah (i.e., the Sunnah). So revelation was two things.

As Muslims we are obliged to obey the Messenger. Allah says

59. O you who believe! Obey Allâh and obey the Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allâh and His Messenger (SAW), if you believe in Allâh and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination. - a'Nisaa:59

7. ...And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)[] , and fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is Severe in punishment. - Surah Hashr: 7

31. Say (O Muhammad SAW to mankind): "If you (really) love Allâh then follow me (i.e. accept Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur'ân and the Sunnah), Allâh will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." - ali Imran: 31

80. He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad SAW), has indeed obeyed Allâh, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (O Muhammad SAW) as a watcher over them. - a'Nisaa: 80

So through these numerous ayat we can see that following the Sunnah is an obligation upon us as Muslims. The Qur'an tells us to pray, fast, pay charity, go to hajj, but how? How do we know these things without the Sunnah of the Messenger sallallaahu alayhi'wa'salam?

The only way to access all of these teachings are through the hadeeth. We must also realize that the Qur'an IS a hadeeth. With the highest chain of narration. So those who reject hadeeth are themselves rejecting the Qur'an. The term hadeeth is mentioned 23 times in the Qur'an and both Allah and His Messenger refer to the Qur'an as a hadeeth.

Allah says in Surah al Qalam

44. Then leave Me Alone with such as belie this hadeeth

And from the hadeeth related by Jaabir ibn Abdillah that the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu alayhi'wa'salam said

“Indeed, the best form of communication is the Book of Allaah…” - Saheeh Muslim, Musnad Imam Ahmad

The problem with many is that they understand revelation to only be the Qur'an but dont even understand how the Qur'an was revealed and documented. Our deen is comprised of BOTH the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Hope this helps, wallaahu' 3lam

[Ali_slave of Allah]

Qur'an is a perfect and complete book. and the Hadeeths is from the perfection of the Qur'an because Allaah told us in the Qur'aan to obey the Messenger of Allaah salallahu alayhi wasallam.

e.g if i tell you, i will give you a perfect advice if you follow it, you will be successful in life. and then in the advice i say " listen and obey your teacher" and i finish with that. just one sentence. My advice really is perfect. e.g if you want to be a doctor, listen to your teacher, and obey him in everything he says, you will be really succesful.

However if you say " i am just going to stick to the letter of advice " and i won't listen or obey the teacher, my letter would be not be beneficial to you in that case, because you failed to act upon what i advised you with in my letter; which was listening and obeying the teacher. however if you took followed my advice, you would be indeed successful.

Thats how the Qur'aan is. The Qur'aan is perfect and the Sunnah is part of it's perfection. The Qur'aan would be of no benefit if such a person says " i am not going to follow the sunnah (hadeeths) " because Allaah told and commanded you in that perfect and beneficial book to follow the sunnah for verily it is an explanation of that which is in the Qur'aan. So the Qur'an will be of no benefit to the one who rejects hadeeth Just like the beneficial letter and advice won't be of any use if the person says i am not going to listen to any teacher and i will not obey them.

So When Allaah revealed the Qur'an, he sent down the sunnah with the Qur'aan. The Sunnah is the explanation of the Qur'aan.

[Ibrahim_K]

Qur'an is a perfect and complete book. and the Hadeeths is from the perfection of the Qur'an because Allaah told us in the Qur'aan to obey the Messenger of Allaah salallahu alayhi wasallam.

e.g if i tell you, i will give you a perfect advice if you follow it, you will be successful in life. and then in the advice i say " listen and obey your teacher" and i finish with that. just one sentence. My advice really is perfect. e.g if you want to be a doctor, listen to your teacher, and obey him in everything he says, you will be really succesful.

However if you say " i am just going to stick to the letter of advice " and i won't listen or obey the teacher, my letter would be not be beneficial to you in that case, because you failed to act upon what i advised you with in my letter; which was listening and obeying the teacher. however if you took followed my advice, you would be indeed successful.

Thats how the Qur'aan is. The Qur'aan is perfect and the Sunnah is part of it's perfection. The Qur'aan would be of no benefit if such a person says " i am not going to follow the sunnah (hadeeths) " because Allaah told and commanded you in that perfect and beneficial book to follow the sunnah for verily it is an explanation of that which is in the Qur'aan. So the Qur'an will be of no benefit to the one who rejects hadeeth Just like the beneficial letter and advice won't be of any use if the person says i am not going to listen to any teacher and i will not obey them.

So When Allaah revealed the Qur'an, he sent down the sunnah with the Qur'aan. The Sunnah is the explanation of the Qur'aan.

Salam aleykum,

Is it realistic to consider ahadith and sunnah perfect since it has been a long time since Muhammad lived? We also have to remember that Muhammad was a part of a beduin cultural structure and of course this colored his way of living. You can also see a discourse in the Qur'an depending on the current struggles and oppression Muhammad and his followers suffered. In judaism the ravs (rabbis) have altered the religion and went astray from the plain meaning of Tanach. Christianity was a bna'i noach and jewish movement, and today it's a world religion where Isa is considered God. For example, it says in the Qur'an that there are 3 daily prayers, yet most muslims stick to 5 daily prayers. Isn't this also a baseless stanse?

[Alpha Dude]

Is it realistic to consider ahadith and sunnah perfect since it has been a long time since Muhammad lived?

There are a couple of issues here:

1. We get rewarded for following the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (when we do it with the intention of love/honour). Any muslim that wants to see certain sunnahs abandoned needs to do some serious reflection.
2. We are told in the Quraan to obey the Prophet, peace be upon him. How else is this to be done except through the narrations that we have of him?
3. Everything the Prophet peace be upon him said, concerning religion and the way we are to live our lives has a divine wisdom behind it. Allah has said that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, does not speak out of his own desire.
4. Early scholars formulated a science and rigid methodology of ahadith authentication. Narrations were not just passed on willy nilly.

It is only plain ignorance to assume that ahadith are not required. Many ahadith deniers are totally misguided. Stick with traditional understanding.

Fiqh (islamic jurisprudence) accounts for changing circumstances so don't just assume it's all based on backward culture.

[Muhammad]

Wa Alaykum Assalaam,

Is it realistic to consider ahadith and sunnah perfect since it has been a long time since Muhammad lived?

This is not a valid argument to cast doubt on the hadeeth because the Qur'an was also revealed at the time of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). So this argument would suggest a person has a problem with both the Qur'an and Hadeeth, as both were revealed in the lifetime of the same person.

Perhaps it would be worth getting hold of some books on this topic and they will explain the importance of the hadeeth/sunnah and how they have been transmitted to us.

See:
http://www.kalamullah.com/hadith.html
http://www.abdurrahman.org/ - Hadith section

[syed_z]

For example, it says in the Qur'an that there are 3 daily prayers, yet most muslims stick to 5 daily prayers. Isn't this also a baseless stanse?

Incorrect!


(30:17) So glorify Allah in the evening and the morning.

(30:18) His is all praise in the heavens and in the earth; (and glorify Him) in the afternoon and when the sun begins to decline.


The Quran mentions here the 5 times prayer... rather all the Classical and famous Muslim Quran commentators have agreed that these Verses refer to 5 times prayer....

also the "evening" word includes Maghreb (Sunset) and Isha (Night time)

also there is a Comment on these Verses by the great commentator Companion of Muhammad (Saw) ... Abdullah Ibn Abbass (r.a)... who commented on these Verses that they refer to 5 times prayer...


You should also know that Literature in Islam, like the Hadith Literature, the equivalent of which is NOT to be found in any Religion in the World...

Watch out for Ahle Quran, they are introducing Innovations in Islam...


i can also prove you that Hadith is the SAME and EXACT the way it was when 1st was being written at the time of Muhammad (Saw)...

[Ibrahim_K]

Asalamu aleykum,

None of you really answered my main question: is this a religious or cultural jurisprudence?

[Salahudeen]

^It's religious since Allah tells us in the Qur'an to follow the Messenger and his sunnah. Why would Allah tell us to follow something that wasn't part of the religion? Why would Allah tell us to follow something that hasn't being preserved according to you? Would Allah tell us to grow wings and fly? obviously not because this is impossible, so why would Allah command us to follow the sunnah of the messenger if it wasn't possible to do?

Also the hadith were written down in the time of the prophet pbuh, and they were brought to us by the same people who brought Qur'an so you may aswell doubt the Qur'an also if you're going to doubt the hadiths.

The sahabba started writing down hadiths during the life time of the prophet pbuh, they would write everything he said, even his jokes they would right down because there was truth in them.

A companion asked the prophet pbuh "Shall I even write down your jokes rasoolallah? the messenger pbuh said "Yes for verily even in my jokes I speak the truth"

Don't be influenced by the modernist movement who wish to change Islam according to todays world, the religion of Allah does not need changing. When you try to change something you're implying that it's not perfect. Also how do you pray without the hadiths?

The Qur'an tells us to pray so how do we pray bro without the hadith? do we invent our own way of praying?

[aadil77]

The example of the prophet is part of Allah's revelation to the believers, there are many things we cannot understand by simply following a divine text alone, thats why prophets were sent to create an example for their people and explain the revelations given to them

[Alpha Dude]

Asalamu aleykum,

None of you really answered my main question: is this a religious or cultural jurisprudence?

With all due respect, you don't seem to be reading properly. Or you are reading but you're blinded by your preconceptions and unwilling to accept what's written.

We are told in the Quraan to obey the Prophet, peace be upon him. How else is this to be done except through the narrations that we have of him?

If the Quraan tells us something, it can hardly be a matter related to cultural jurisprudence.

[ruk]

In the Name of Allah (The Glorified and Exalted).


As Muslims, after the name of the Prophet, we say "peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."


Yes, we must follow the Sunnah, which is found in the Six Books of hadith. The hadith help us to pray properly, because they tell us the positions and what should be said. The hadith also tell us how to perform the rites for the pilgrimage, how to determine zakat (obligatory charity), and various other practices important for our religion. They must be followed.

Learn more about Islam:

1) islamreligion (dot) com
2) thedeenshow (dot) com
3) islamqa (dot) com

[Seek]

Brother Azrael,

Don't worry, and take it slowly.. The first word that have been taught from the glorious Quran to Mohammed (peace be upon him) is : "Read!"

So I will tell you the same word that Jebriel told Mohammed, read and you will find the truth. You will find it, trust me. its right here.

I'm not here to preach and waste your time, I'm here to remind you, from the glorious Quran chapter 88 verse 20:

"So remind them (O Muhammad (SAW)) — you are only a one who reminds. (21) You are not a dictator over them"

May Allah help you brother.

[ebuhadha]

Wa alaykum salam,

Simple answer: Allah told us to obey Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the Qur'aan.

Don't fall for the tricks of ahadith deniers. Those foolish modernist muslims have adopted an unfortunate and baseless stance. They are small in number.

^^It could not be said better!!!

BarakAllahu fike ja ehi!