Views on Hadeeth

[Truth_B_Told]

Salaam everyone, i'm new to this forum and would like to know what you all think about the importance of hadeeth in Islam.

I personally believe that we can take them as a broad reference for historical events but can't base our religion on what is stated in the hadeeth since I think that the message of Quran is what the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) meant to bring to this world, hence all of what constitutes Islam can be found within the Quran itself. My primary aversion to hadeeth is the fact that they were written down many years after the death of the Prophet (PBUH) and contain things that seem to be in contradiction to what is stated by Allah (SWT) in the Quran.

[Insaanah]

Salaam everyone, i'm new to this forum and would like to know what you all think about the importance of hadeeth in Islam.

Of paramount importance. The Qur'an and sunnah (sayings, actions, doings etc) of the Prophet :saws: (which is recorded in the hadeeth) are the two sources of our religion.

I personally believe that we can take them as a broad reference for historical events but can't base our religion on what is stated in the hadeeth since I think that the message of Quran is what the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) meant to bring to this world, hence all of what constitutes Islam can be found within the Quran itself.

So how would you know how to pray? The command to pray is the Qur'an, but the details of how many raka'aat for each prayer etc are in the ahadeeth. How would you know how much zakaat to give? Again the command is in the Qur'an, but how much to give is in the ahadeeth. Many other religious injunctions are in the ahadeeth.

If you reject the ahadeeth, then in reality you're rejecting the Qur'an as well, because in the Qur'an Allah tells you to obey the Messenger :saws:, but the Qur'an is Allahs word, the ahadeeth were spoken by the Prophet :saws:

"Say: If you really love Allah, follow me. Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is forgiving, Merciful" (3:31)

"Say: Obey Allah and obey the messenger. But if they turn away, Allah loves not the disbelievers." (3:32)

"Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, know ye that it is Our Messenger’s duty to proclaim (the Message) in the clearest manner." (5: 92).

"O ye who believe! obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is best, and most suitable for final determination." (4: 59).

Say: “Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger: but if ye turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and ye for that placed on you. If ye obey him, ye shall be on right guidance.(24: 54).

"And whoever obeys Allâh and His Messenger, Allâh shall admit him in the Gardens underneath which rivers flow." (4:13)

"And whoever obeys Allâh and His Messenger, he has won a great success." (33:71)

You can't say “that is not evidence for following his sunnah, obeying the prophet :saws: means obeying what is in Quran that he came with from Allah”

That is incorrect, becasue the Quran is Allah’s words not the Prophets :saws: words, so obeying what is in the Quran is obeying Allah ‘azza wa jal.

It can’t mean obeying the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) because it is not his words, so it is not his commands.

Also, where in the Qur'an does it tell you the specifics of how to pray, how many raka'ahs? How much zakat to give? Nowhere. That's in the ahadeeth. So are the ahadeeth rejectors going to make up their own method to pray, and give how much zakat they personally deem fit?

Also, look at this:

And whoever obeys the Messenger, thereby obeys Allâh. (4:80)

1. Allah has commanded us in Quran to obey the Messenger, so obeying him would be obeying Allah’s command

2. The Prophet’s :saws: teachings are not from himself, but from Allah, He is the one who taught him to teach the believers, so obeying the Prophet’s teachings would be obeying Allah.

3. The only way you can obey the Messenger :saws: is by what he said and did, which is in the ahadeeth. If you do not believe in the ahadeeth and reject it, then you are rejecting Allah's command in the Qur'aan to obey him and thus have, in reality, rejected the Qur'aan too.

[Masriya]

Asalamu Alaikum

Please view the forum on Hadeeth which explains the authenticity of hadeeth, how ahadeeth were collected, and the importance of hadeeth.

I will try to answer your objections on hadeeth:

My primary aversion to hadeeth is the fact that they were written down many years after the death of the Prophet (PBUH) and contain things that seem to be in contradiction to what is stated by Allah (SWT) in the Quran.

Please read the post in the Hadeeth forum "Hadith and its authenticity"
Ahadeeth that contradict Quran are not considered as authentic.

all of what constitutes Islam can be found within the Quran itself.

Ahadeeth are important and are used as a source of religion with the Quran; they may be classified as follows:
1- Ahadeeth that describe forms of worship and fiqh (islamic doctrines):
- Prayers and how to pray, extra prayers or Nawafel that the Prophet (PBUH) prayed,
- Zakat and how to calculate and pay it,
- Sawm (fasting) who can't fast and who has an excuse, what they should do for kadaa after Ramadan, fast the days they didn't fast or feed the poor or do both. The Sunna fasting (extra fasting not in Ramadan that is not compulsory) e.g every Mon and Thurs.
- Haj: all the details of performing Haj
- Tahara or Purification when and how a person should bathe for purification; wudu or ablution and all the extra steps in Sunna. As well as Nagasa or impurity and what causes it.
- Details in other matters as marriage, divorce, funerals, food, clothing, punishments for crimes in islam, and many more.
If some of the mentioned above are described in the Quran, they are detailed in the ahadeeth.
2-Ahadeeth also further explain some verses of the Quran.
3- Ahadeeth that teach good qualities and good manners that are not just good advice, but must be followed by muslims; and they also show us how the Prophet (PBUH) acted in different situations during his life.
Even in the Quran Allah tells us to follow in the path of the Prophet (PBUH) and imitate his actions:

"Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in God and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of God" (033.021)

I only wrote some of what ahadeeth handle; the Science of Hadeeth is vast in its amount, and many scholars have collected the authentic ahadeeth in books and have managed to exclude nonauthentic ahadeeth; it is a very accurate process.
I hope this is useful, but you can read more in the Hadeeth forum.

Salaam