Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

What is the connection between the Holy Quran and Hadith, Allah himself tells that Holy Quran is the proper guidance and if anybody wants to do any changes in that ,they can't do as it is protected by Me(Allah),but there is nothing about hadith,if i am not mistaken hadith was written after250 or 300 years the death of Mohd(SAWs).And i have gone through some of the hadiths about Aisha(PBUH) wife of Mohd(SAWS) which are written in such a shamelesss manner and a person having a logical mind will never digest it.

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Answer:

What is the connection between the Holy Quran and Hadith?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Throughout time, Allah Subhanah in His Divine Wisdom has sent Books as a guidance for mankind to follow. The ones mentioned in the Holy Quran by name are Saheefas, Zuboor, Ingeel (Gospel), Tauraah, and the Holy Quran. Allah did not send any of His Books on its own, but the All Wise also sent a Messenger to act according to all the theories of His Books and show their people in practical manners how to follow the Guidance of Allah Subhanah. Thus the Holy Quran was revealed and Allah appointed Mohamed ibn Abdullah (saws) as His Messenger and a Prophet. The Prophet (saws) lived his whole life exactly according to the principles and commandments of the Holy Quran, and gave us a practical example of how to follow Allah’s Guidance.

Whatever the Prophet (saws) said, and whatever he did are known as his Sunnah, which means The Prophet (saws) way. Hadith is the name given to the record of writing down the Prophet’s (saws) Sunnah by somebody. It is true that the hadiths were only recorded in writing, about 120 years after the death of the Prophet (saws).

What concerns us first and foremost is the guidance and the teachings in the Holy Quran. There is absolutely no doubt in the mind of any mu’min that these are the very words of Allah Subhanah. The Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) is the way he followed the commandments of the Holy Quran in a practical way and showed his companions and believers to act accordingly. To follow the way and example of the Prophet (saws) is a commandment of the Holy Quran

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Al Ahzaab verse 21: There is indeed the best example or model for you (to follow) in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person who looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.

For example: The Quran says ‘establish Prayer’, but does not give other details of the number of rakah, etc. This the Prophet (saws) showed us practically by praying five times a day for a number of years in front of thousands of believers. He prayed two rakahs for fajr, three for ‘magrib’, and four for ‘zuhr’, ‘asr’ and ‘isha’. This is how the Prophet (saws) established the Prayer commandment of the Holy Quran practically. And that is known as His Sunnah. Another example is that the Prophet (saws) kept a beard, and instructed the believers to grow a beard. Thus keeping a beard is regarded as Prophet Mohamed (saws) Sunnah. In other words, Sunnah is the way of the Prophet Mohamed (saws).

The Sunnah is something that the believers followed immediately after the Prophet (saws) did or said something himself. They did not wait for a 120 years for the hadith to be recorded and then started doing it, but rather as soon the Prophet (saws) did it, they started following it as his way or Sunnah. The Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) was followed by the believers from the first day of the Prophet’s mission.

The Hadith is only a record of the acts or words of the Prophet (saws), written down by some muslims 120 years after the Prophet’s (saws) death, for reference to future generations. The reason we pray the five prayers or the 3 rakahs of magrib prayers today, is not because they are recorded in the hadiths of Qadi Noaman or Bukhari or Muslim, but because hundreds of thousands of the believers saw the way or Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) and followed it. And this Sunnah or way of the Prophet (saws) was being followed by all the believers, who narrated to their next generation and they to the next. The Sunnah was followed when the Prophet (saws) was alive, and will be followed, Insha Allah, until the end of time.

The original laws and commandments are all in the Holy Quran for the guidance of mankind. The Sunnah or way of the Prophet (saws) is exactly according to the teachings of the Holy Quran. And the Hadiths are just a record of these ways written by man some 120 years after the death of the Prophet (saws) as reference for future generations.

Because the hadiths were recorded by man, they are prone to error. Not every hadith recorded is genuine. In fact a lot of them are fabrications and may have been recorded by people with political or material bias. Some might say the Prophet (saws) said or did this act, which, he (saws) might never have done or said! But a lot of the hadiths are genuine, and the Prophet (saws) did say and do these things, and these are the ones we have to follow. It is said that Bukhari collected in excess of 300,000 hadiths, but only 7500 were considered authentic by him and recorded in his volumes of Sahih Bukhari. So, how can we gauge which hadiths are genuine and which ones are fabrications?

There are a few rules, if followed, one can easily realize if the hadith is genuine or not. If any hadith is directly against any commandment or statement of the Holy Quran, it will be immediately rejected. Simply because, it is inconceivable that the Prophet (saws) did or said anything against the Holy Quran. His whole life was a practical example of following the Quran, and Allah Himself certifies in the Holy Quran that the Prophet (saws) is a good example to follow for anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day. If any hadith is directly against any established Sunnah of the Prophet (saws), it will be rejected. For example, if one hadith says the Prophet (saws) prayed four rakahs for ‘magrib’ prayers, it will not be accepted. If any hadith goes against the foundation of Islam, it will not be accepted. For example, if one hadith says that the Prophet (saws) went to an idol or grave and invoked it, it is against the basic foundation of Tauheed or worship and invocation of one-God, and will thus be rejected. It would just be inconceivable for the Prophet (saws) to do such an act! If any hadith is against basic commonsense, it will not be accepted. For example if one hadith says that a man talked to a tree and the tree started walking! This sort of things are absolutely against basic common sense, and will be rejected.

A lot of unscrupulous people wrote a lot of slander and false statements and said the Prophet (saws) said or did this. These people might have had any number of agendas, be it political, material, or otherwise. If one wrote that the Prophet (saws) said this or that, it does not mean by any means that the Prophet (saws) actually said or did those things. Thus what you might have read about Aisha (wife of the Prophet (saws)) in some recording, might have been absolutely false and dedicated to the Prophet (saws), even though he might never have said or done the act. If the saying or act goes against any of the four principles or laws laid above, chances are that the hadith is a fabrication and should be rejected. It would be inconceivable for the wife of our beloved Prophet (saws) to be shameless! By saying that, the person who wrote it and the person who believes it, has not only reviled the wife of our Prophet (saws), but the Prophet (saws) himself! Is it possible for a Prophet (saws) who was sent by Allah to guide all of mankind till the end of time, could not even guide his wives and/or his closest companions?? What kind of leadership could we expect from our Prophet (saws), some of whose wives and closest companions were all hypocrites?? May Allah curse and take full retribution from the people who recorded or fabricated slander in the name of hadiths and mis-guided people to their own agendas. May Allah also curse and take full retribution from the people who look for these hadiths in pursuit to slander some of the wives and closest companions of the Prophet (saws).

Thus in conclusion, the genuine hadiths are a record of the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws), and the false hadiths are the work of unscrupulous people in pursuit of their own agendas.

May Allah guide us to understand the wisdom and teachings of the Holy Quran, so that we can determine and follow the genuine hadiths, and reject the slander of the fabricated ones. May Allah guide you and us to follow the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Mohamed (saws), which was exactly in conformity with each and every verse revealed by Allah Himself in the Holy Quran.

May Allah guide you and us all to the Siraat al-Mustaqeem

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan