The Authority and Importance of the Sunnah

[Mujahid Mohammed]

Asalamu alaikum to my brothers and sisters and elders in Islam, and Hello and Greetings to all who seek the Truth.

I am posting this because as of late. I am seeing an increasing number of muslims who do not accept the Sunnah of the Messenger Muhammed(pbuh). For they say all they need is the Quran as a guide to illustrate to them all the actions required in their religion. Neglecting the fact that the Quran states in many verses for us to obey the man whom he had chosen to give the Final Revalation al Quran to the world as a mercy and warning for all mankind.

I will be taking a chapter from an excellent book detailing the CLEAR EVIDENCE that supports the neccessity of following the Sunnah of our beloved Messenger Muhammed (pbuh) Now this book goes into detail first explaining what the Sunnah is. But many of us already know what the sunnah is. It is the path or way of the Messenger illustrating to us as Muslims how the messenger interpreted the Quran from his actions.

PLEASE SAVE ALL YOUR RESPONSES UNTIL I HAVE FINISHED POSTING THE WHOLE CHAPTER AND GIVEN ALL THE EVIDENCE, JAZAKALLAHU KHAIRON

A'ishah was once asked how did the Messenger give his dawah, she replied he was a living embodiment of Quran.

The Prophet himself said "whoever turns away from my sunnah [my way] is not from me." recorded in Bukhari and Muslim

The Prophet also said, " certainly, the one who will live among you will see lots of differences. so stick to my sunnah and the sunnah of the right-principled and rightly guided successors. Bite onto that with your molar teeth. And avoid newly-introduced matters. Verily, every heresy is a going astray. (Ahmed, Abu Dawood, tirmidhi and others)

There are many hadeeth talking about this but since there are muslims out there who do not accept the speech of the Messenger for whatever reason these evidences may not be enough.

so since they only follow the Qur'an let us see what the Qur'an says.

Chapter Two: Proofs Establishing the Authority and Importance of the Sunnah

INTRODUCTION

The proofs concerning the importance of the sunnah may be divided into four categories: Proofs from the Quran, proofs from the Sunnah itself, corroborating evidence in the statements of the Companions of the Prophet, and conclusions of the leading scholars of Islam.

Obviously, if somebody denies the importance of the sunnah in toto, hadith cannot be used as arguments to prove the importance of the sunnah. Instead, one must derive some proof from the Quran itself concerning the position of the sunnah in Islam. there exist many verses in the Quran that point to the importance of the sunnah. In fact, many verses give a clear indication that it is obligatory for a person who believes in Allah to follow the sunnah. Many of these verses are so emphatic that no conscientious person can deny their implications concerning the authority and importance of the sunnah. The first section of this chapter shall be a discussion of the only some of the relevant Quranic verses.

THE QURANIC VERSES RELATED TO THE SUNNAH OF THE PROPHET (PEACE BE UPON HIM)

The Quran points to the importance and necessity of the sunnah of the Prophet in numerous places. Indeed, they are so numerous that they can be easily broken down into seperated categories or types of command for following the sunnah. These different verses, therefore, will be discussed under their appropriate subheadings.

OBEDIENCE TO THE PROPHET (PEACE BE UPON HIM) IS OBEDIENCE TO ALLAH

Allah revealed to His Prophet, "Whoever obeys the Messenger verily obeys Allah, but if they turn away, We have not sent you to watch over their (evil deeds)"
(Surah Nissa 80)

In this verse, Allah clearly states that obedience to the Messenger is nothing less than obedience to Allah. The verse is so clear it cannot be constructed in any other manner.

In the Sahih of Al - Bukhari and Muslim it is recorded that he Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah. Whoever disobeys me, disobeys Allah. Not following the sunnah or the command of the Prophet is exactly the same as not following the commands of Allah. Ibn Kathir noted that it is the Prophets job only to convey the message and it is up to each person to accept or reject his message. The one who follows his message will be saved. Henve, whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger is guided; whoever disobeys Allah and His Messeger harms no one except himself (from the Tafsir of Ismaeel Ibn Katheer p. 345) Al-Shaukaani points out that this verse proves that anything that comes from the Messenger (pbuh) actually originated with Allah.

In another verse, Allah describes the swearing of allegiance to the Prophet as swearing allegiance to Himself in the following verse, "Lo those who swear allegiance to you (Muhammed), swear allegiance only unto Allah. The Hand of Allah is above their hands. So whosoever breaks his oath, breaks it only to his soul's hurt; while whosoever keeps his covenant with Allah, on him will He bestow immense reward" (Al-Fath 10). Allah describes the making of an oath of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) as being the same as swearing allegiance to Allah. This clearly implies that obeying the Messenger (pbuh) is the same as obeying Allah.

ALLAH ORDERS OBEDIENCE TO THE PROPHET(PEACE BE UPON HIM) AND WARNS AGAINST DISOBEYING HIM

Allah says in the Quran "O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you dispute over any matter, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you are actually believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is better for you and more seemly in the end" (al-Nissa 59) Many important points may be deduced from this one verse of the Quran. First, it must be noted that Allah EXPLICITLY uses the command "TO OBEY" (Ar,.ateeu) not only for Himself but also for the Messenger, that is,"OBEY ALLAH and OBEY THE MESSENGER." (The same verb or command does not directly precede "those in authority among you"). This establishes the Messenger of Allah as an independent object of obedience while obedience to anyone esle is conditional upon consistency with the Quran or sunnah.

Second, this implies that obedience to the Messenger is, in sense, something different than obedience to Allah. It is true that obedience to the Messenger of Allah is obedience to Allah. What is meant here is that obendience to the Messenger differs from simply obeying the Messeger in what he has conveyed from the word of Allah or the Quran. (this closes the door to the argument that some have tried to use which claims that obeying the Messenger only means obeying him in what he has conveyed from Allah as part of the Quran)

Third, Muslims are commanded to take any dispute they may have to only two arbiters: Allah and His Messeger Muhammed (pbuh). The Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) and later scholars have understood "refer it to Allah" to mean "to refer it to the Book of Allah." And referring the matter to the Messenger of Allah means to refer it directly to him during his lifetime and to his sunnah after his death. Note also that the two, the Book of Allah and the sunnah of the Messenger, are placed together here and the verse does not say, "refer the matter to Allah and then to the Messenger of Allah." nor does it say, "refer the matter to Allah and if you do not find the answer there, refer the matter to the Messenger."

Fourth, Allah states that the true believers are the ones who refer their disputes not only to Allah but to Allah AND His Messenger (pbuh).

Fifth, the believer knows that the important life is that of the Hereafter. it is better in the end(that is, in the Hereafter), when the person must face Allah, for the believer to refer any dispute to both Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) and to not deny the position of the sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh).

Sixth, one should realize that this verse refers to all types of disputes, whether concerning matters of worship, business or other worldly affairs. Some scholars mention that this verse was revealed with respect to some of the deputies of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Before the time of the Prophet, the Arabs had no real idea of governmental authority and, hence this led to disputes concerning which, Allah states, the solution was to refer the matter to Allah and His Messenger (pbuh).

Ibn al -Qayym noted about the phrase, if you dispute about anything," that the arabic phrase is a word in the indefinite,"anything" being used as part of a condition. this implies generality. In other words, it refers to anything that the Muslims may dispute about concerning their religion, whether it be a small matter or a large matter. They must refer that matter to the Book and the Sunnah. this implies that the solution for that matter - any matter - must be found in the Quran and Sunnah. It would be an impossibility for Allah to order the Muslims to refer the Matter to these two sources while the resolution to their dispute is not found therein.

 

[Mujahid Mohammed]

Finally, Ibn Al - Qayyim also noted that Allah says in this verse, "refer it to Allah and His Messenger," and He did not say, "refer it Allah and to His Messenger." (in other words, the word (arabic script) "to" is used only once.) He says that such is the case because whatever Allah decides is exactly the decision of the Messenger of Allah. And whatever the Messenger of Allah decides is exactly the decision of Allah. Hence, when Muslims dispute over a matter and take it back to Allah(His book), they are in essence taking it back to the Messenger (pbuh). And when they take it back to the Messenger, they have in fact taken it back to Allah. This is one of the very subtle and intricate points that one can find in the Quran.

Allah says in another verse, "Obey Allah and the Messenger that you may attain mercy" (al-Imraan 132). In this verse, Allah states that the Mercy in the next life will be showered upon those who obeyed Allah and His Messenger (pbu).

It should be noted that the same words, "obey Allah and the Messenger." also occur in Al - Imraan 32. Furthermore, the phrase, "obey Allah and His Messenger, " occurs four times in the Quran (Al-Anfaal 1, Al-Anfaal 20, al-Anfaal 46 and al Mujaadalah 13) For example, Allah says, "O you who believe! Obey Allah and His Messenger, and turn not away from him while you hear (what he spoke)" (al Anfaal 20). Ibn Kathir said that the last part of that verse means, "That is, after you know what it is that he is calling you to." In other words, once a Muslim knows what the Prophet (pbuh)has said, it is not acceptale for him to turn away from it or to ignore it.

Finally, the phrase, "obey Allah and obey the Messenger" occur an additional five times in the Quran (al Nissa 59, al- Maaidah 92, al-Noor 54, Muhammed 33 and al Taghaabun 12) An example using this phrase is found in the verse, "Say: Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and you for that placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on right guidance. The Messenger's duty is only to preach the clear (Message)" (al-Noor 54)

Another example of using this expression is, "O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not make you deeds vain" (Muhammed 33). Al Qurtubi quotes Muqaatil as explaining this verse by saying, "If you disobey the Messenger, you have rendered you deeds vain."

hence in 9 verses of the Quran, Allah clearly commands obedience not only to Himself but also to His Messenger (pbuh). Many of these verses are explicitly addressed to the believers, "O you who believe." This means that the command to obey and follow the Messenger (pbuh) was not just restricted to the Prophet's lifetime and to his Companions. Instead, the command is addressed to everyone who claims to be a believer. If a person today says that he does not have to follow the Prophet because obedience to the Prophet was only required while he was alive, in essence, he is saying about himself that he is not from "those who believe", whom Allah is addressing in these verses. If he is not from "those who believe," he must be from the disbelievers.

Al-Salafi and Usmani note that there is no place in the Quran in which Allah orders obedience to Himself except that obedience to the Messenger is explicitly mentioned in conjunction with obedience to Allah. similarly, Allah does not warn about disobeying Himself without also mentioning a warning about disobedience to the Messenger (pbuh). what this implies is that there can be not real obedience to allah unless it is via obedience to the Messenger (pbuh) - in other words, via the path and guidance that Allah revealed to the Prophet. In fact, this is the only way by which one knows how to worship and obey Allah.

Although there is no verse in which Allah commands obedience to Himself without mentioning obedience to the Messenger (pbuh), one can find verses in which Allah obliges obedience to the Messenger without mentioning obedience to Himself. Thus, the door is closed to any possible confusion of whether the Messenger(pbuh) himself must be obeyed. For example, one finds in Surah Noor: "so establish regular prayer and give the zakaat; and obey the Messenger, that you may recieve mercy (al Noor 56).

Allah also says, "If anyone contends with the Messenger even after the guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than that of the believers, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell, what an evil refuge: (Nissa 115).

Usami explains this phenomenon of always mentioning the obedience to the Messenger while only sometimes mentioning obedience to Allah:

The reason for so much stress upon "the obedience of the Prophet" is that "obedience to Allah" cannot be carried out except through "obedience of the Prophet." Allah does not address each and every individual to tell him what He requires from him...The obedience of the Prophet (pbuh) represents the obedience of Allah and the reference to the former always includes the latter. that is why the Holy Quran in some verses deemed it sufficient to refer to the obedience of the Messenger only, for the practical way to obey Allah is only to obey the Messenger. On the contrary the Holy Quran did not deem it sufficient to refer to the "obedience of Allah" without referring to the "obedience to the Messenger," to remove even the remotest excuse for ignoring the "obedience of the Prophet" and to leave no doubt whatsoever in the fact that the "obedience of Allah" is not complete unless the "obedience of the Prophet" is fully observed with all its implications.

The emphasis that Allah has given to this command is clear from its repetitions. No Muslim should have any doubt in his mind that it is obligatory upon him to obey and follow the Prophet (pbuh). this aspect is further emphasized by the numerous verses (al Nissa 13, al Nissa 69, al Noor 52, al Ahzaab 71, al Fath 17) in which Allah describes the reward that will come to those who obey both Allah and the Messenger. For example Allah says, "Those who obey Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to Gardens with rivers flowing beneath, to abide therein (forever) and that will be the supreme achievment" (al-Nissa 13) Allah also says "All who obey Allah and the Messenger are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah, of the Prophets, the sincere, the martyrs, and the righteous. Ah! What a beautiful fellowship" (al-Nissa 69)

Furthermore, part of the description of the true believers is that they obey Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). these are the people who can look forward to Allah's mercy. The Lord says, "the believers, men and women, are protectors one of another. they enjoin what is right and forbid what is evil. they establish the prayers, give the zakaat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His Mercy, for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise" (al-Taubah 71). However, in addition to that, in three places in the Quran (al-Nissa 14, al-Ahzaab 36 and al-Jinn 23), Allah describes the negative and fatal results of deciding to disobey Allah or His Messenger (pbuh). Al-Salafi notes that specifically mentioning the negative results of disobeying the Prophet (pbuh) leaves a stronger impact then what is simply understood from the command to obey the Prophet (pbuh). Among such verses is, "For any who disobeys Allah and His Messenger, for them is Hell: they shall dwell therein forever" (al-Jinn 23).

One also finds verses specifically describally describing the plight and remorse of those who refused to follow and obey the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Allah says, "The Day that their faces will be turned upside down in the Fire, they will say: 'Woe to us! Would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger" (al-Ahzaab 66) Another verse reads, "On that day those who reject faith and disobey the Messenger will wish that the earth were made one with them (so they may escape the punishment). but never will they hide a single fact from Allah" (al-Nissa 42). Just conspiring or discussing intentional disobedience of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is forbidden and a sin: "O you who believe! When you hold secret counsel, do it not for iniquity and hostility, and disobedience to the Messenger; but do it for righteousness and self-restraint; and fear Allah, to whom you shall be brought back" (al-Mujaadalah 9).

After all of the above, it seems a logical conclusion that only a hypocrite or one whose faith is truly diseased would turn away from what the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, commanded or instituted. Indeed, Allah describes the turning away from what Allah has revealed and what the Messenger of Allah has presented to be a characteristic of the hypocrites. Surah Nissa 61 reads "When it is said to them, 'Come to what Allah has revealed, and to the Messenger,' you see the hypocrites avert their faces from you in disgust."

 

[Mujahid Mohammed]

Allah has stated another warning for those who insist on going against the orders and commands that come from His Messenger (pbuh): "Let those who oppose the orders beware lest a calamity or painful punishment should befall them" (al-Nur 63). Al-Qurtubi said that jurists point to this verse as a proof that it is obligatory to follow the commands and orders that come from Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). In this verse Allah has given a warning to anyone who decides not to follow His Prophet's commands that a punishment shall befall them.

In yet other verses, Allah says, "Remember your Lord inspired the angels (with the message), 'I am with you. Give firmness to the believers. I will strike terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. Smite above their necks and smite all their fingertips off them.' this because they defied and disobeyed Allah and His Messenger: if any defy and disobey Allah and His Messenger, Allah is strict in punishment" (al-Anfaal 12-13)

ACCEPTING THE PROPHET'S DECISIONS AND RULINGS IS PART OF FAITH

Allah states in the Quran, "But no, by your Lord, they will not actually believe until they make you the judge of what is in dispute between them and find within themselves no dislike of that which you decide and they submit will full submision" (al-Nissa 65). The occasion for the revelation of this verse - or, at least , a case that it explicitly applies to is recorded in Sahih al Bukhari as: al Zubair quarreled with a man from the Ansar because of a natural mountain stream at al-Harra. the Prophet (pbuh) said, "O Zubair, irrigate your land andthen let the water flow to your neighbor." The Ansaar said,"O Allah's Apostle,(is this because) he is your cousin?" At that the Prophets face became red(with anger) and he said, "Zubair, irrigate you land and then withhold the water until it fills the land up to the walls and then let it flow to your neighbor." So the Prophet enabled al-Zubair to take his full right after the Ansari ahd provoked his anger. The Propeht (pbuh) had previously givne an order that was in favor of both of them. Al-Zubair said, "I do not think that this verse, 'No, by your Lord....(al Nissa 65, quoted above)', was revealed except on this occasion."

Al Shaukaani points out that one's belief is not perfected until one completely accepts the Messenger of Allah as the decider of affairs. By the word haraj (translated as 'dislike') is meant, according to some authorities, doubt concerning any decision made y the Prophet; others say that is means "sins" - by finding in their hearts the desire to reject the decision made by the Prophet (pbuh). The last part of the verse means that the true Muslim will have no doubt concerning what the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and his way of life, his sunnah.

Another point that deserves attention is that Allah begins this verse by swearing. This is fairly common in the Quran, but in this particular instance allah swears by the Lord of the Prophet. This swearing is much greater than any other found in the Quran, and it is after this great swearing that Allah informs the believers that itis necessary for them to completely accept the authority of the Prophet. in commenting on this verse, Ibn Katheer quotes a hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) which emphasizes what this verse implies, "None of you truly believes until his desires are subservient to what I have come with."

Allah also revealed " It does not become a believing man or believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter that they should (after that) claim any say in their affair; and whoever is disobedeint to Allah and His Messenger has certainly gone astay in manifest error" (al-Ahzaab 36) If Allah or His Messenger has made a decision on any matter, then the believer has no choice but to submit himself to the decrees of Allah and His Messenger (pbuh)

Al-Suyooti has recorded the occasion for the revelation of this verse: Qataadah narrated that the Messenger of Allah asked Zainab to marry Zaid, but instead she wished to marry the Prophet himself. Therefore, she refused to accept the Prophet's choice. The verse was then revealed, and she became pleased and submitted to the Prophet's decision. This was also narrated through a couple of chains on the authority of Ibn Abbas. Ibn katheer stated a number of authorities who mentioned this incident as the occasion behind the revelation of this verse. If these narrations are correct, a couple of points should be noted with respect to this verse. first, it was revealed in connection with a decision made by the Prophet. No Quranic commandment had been revealed about this request of the Prophet (pbuh); yet Allah describes the Prophet's decision as coming from both Allah and His Messenger, "when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter. This clearly proves that the Prophets commands were not from himself but were inspired by Allah. Second, and even more profound, is that this verse ws revealed with respect to marriage and the personal desires of the heart. Allah states that even in these delicate matters on must completely submit to the commands of Alllah and His Messenger. Thus the obedience to the Messenger must permiate even the most private aspects of our lives.

I APOLOGIZE BUT NOW I HAVE TO GO TO THE PRAYER AND PICK UP THE LITTLE MUJAHIDS AND FULFILL THEIR RIGHTS THEY HAVE ON ME. I WILL FINISH INSHA ALLAH TOMORROW AND I THANK EVERYONE FOR SAVING THE RESPONSES TILL THE END OF THE POST. I WILL EDIT THIS TOMORROW AND CONTINUE WHERE I LEFT OFF AS I DID EARLIER JAZAKALLAHU KHAIRON.

 

[Mujahid Mohammed]

Allah calls people to be judged by Himself and by His Messenger (pbuh). It is one of the signs of a diseased heart for one not to accept what Allah or His Messenger (pbuh) have ordered or decided Allah says, "When they are summoned to Allah and His Messenger, in order that he [the Prophet ] may judge between them, behold, some of them decline (to come). But if the right is on their side, they come to him with all submissions. Is it that there is a diseasein their hearts? Or do they douby, or are they in fear, that Allah and His Messenger will deal unjustly with them? Nay, it is they themselves who do wrong. 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 who will attain felicity. It is such as obey Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah and do right, who will win (in the end)" (al-Nur 48-52).

Verse seven of Surah Hashir states, "Whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids for you, abstain from it. And be aware of Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment." This verse was revealed specifically with respect to the spoils of war. In other words, "what the Messenger gives you of the spoils , take it; and what he does not give you of the spoils abstain from it." NO SCHOLAR HAS ARGUED THAT THIS VERSE PERTAINS ONLY TO THE SPOILS OF WAR. Ibn Juraij said that its meaning is general, that whatever the Messenger orders you to do, you must do; and whatever he shuns for you, you must also shun. Al-Shaukaani said that the wording of the verse is general and the occasion behind the revelation does not confine the ruling of the verse. He said that the verse has a general application and applies to all of the regulations, commands or prohibitions that come from the Prophet (pbuh). This verse contains a warning, "And be aware of Allah." This a clear warning to those who do not respect the limits laid down by the Prophet. And Allah ends the verse with, "And Allah is certainly severe in punishment." This, notes Shawaat, is an implication that the one who does not abide by what the Prophet says becomes a disbeliever because such a threatened punishment could only be for disbelievers.

FOLOWING THE MESSSENGER(PEACE BE UPON HIM) IS A KEY TO ALLAH'S LOVE, REAL LIFE AND GUIDANCE

Another verse in the Quran states, "Say (O Muhammed): If you truly love Allah then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive your sins. Allah is the Forgiving, the Merciful" (al-Imraan 31) the one who truly loves Allah will seek to find the actions that will lead Allah to love him. According to this verse, in order to gain Allah's love one need only follow and obey the Messenger (pbuh)and then Allah will love him and forgive his sins. Al-shaukaani wrote that "to love Allah" implies to desire to obey Allah completely and to do anything that Allah orders. he quoted Al-Azhaari, who said, "the love of Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) by a human (lit., slave) means (that the human) obeys the two completely and follows them in his actions." ibn Kathir adds that this verse makes it a fact that anyone who claims to love Allah yet refuses to obey or follow the Messenger (pbuh) is a liar.

One can also find the following verse in the Quran, "O you who believe, respond to Allah and His Messenger when they call you to that which gives you life" (Al-anfaal 24) Al-shaukaani commented that "to respond to" means "to obey" Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) when they make a command. The Shariah, which is embodied in the Quran and Sunnah, are the proclamations of Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). it is this Shariah that gives true meaning and true life to this worldly existence. Ignoring or not responding to this call and guidance is, in fact, a type of death. Al-Shaukaani pointed out that this verse proves that it is obligatory for very Muslim to obey any command (that is, call) that hears from Allah or His Messenger, even if the command should go against his own desires, opinion or against popular opinion. the manner in which one should respond to the commands of Allah or His Prophet (pbuh) has been exemplified in the story of Abu Saeed ibn Mualla, as recorded by al-Bukhari. While Abu Saeed was praying, the Prophet summoned him, but he did not respond until he had finished the prayer. Upon finally coming to the Prophet, the Messenger of Allah recited the above verse to him showing his behaviour towards the call of the Prophet was incorrect.

Furthermore, it is by truly believing in the Prophet and by following him that one can hope to be guided. Allah makes this point in the verse, "Say, O mankind! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He. It is He who gives oth life and death. so believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, who believed in Allah and His Words. Follow him that you may be guided" (al-Araaf 158). Note that in this verse there is an indication as to why the Prophet (pbuh) should be followed. Allah describes him as "the unlettered prophet". In other words, the wonderful guidance that he was conveying was not from his own study and research. On the contrary, it could have only come from allah as as inspiration to him.

THE REVEALING OF THE HIKMAH

Allah has stated, "Allah has clearly shown grace to the believers by sending unto them a Messenger of their own who recites unto them His revelations, and causes them to grow and teaches them the Book and the Hikmah, although before they were in flagrant errot" (al-Imraan 164) this is a beautiful verse from which may be derived many important points, but, unfortunately, the discussion here will ahve to be quite brief. One important phrase of this verse is, "he teaches them the Book and the Hikmah." What, in addition to the Book or the Quran, was also revealed to the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)? Allah says, "Allah has revealed to you the Book and the Hikmah and taught you what you knew not (before): and great is the Grace of Allah unto you" (al-Nissa 113). Allah also says, Solemnly recall Allah's favors on you, and the fact that He sent down to you the Book and the Hikmah for your instruction. And fear Allah, and know that Allah is well-acquainted with all things" (al-Baqarah 231)

Al-Salafi notes that at not time is the word hikmah used for the Book or the word Book used for the hikmah. They are two seperate and distinct entities. Again, the question that flows directly from these verse and this fact is: what else was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh)? The answer can only be the sunnah. It is part of the blessing upon the believers that the Prophet taught them both the book (the Quran) and the Hikmah (the sunnah).

Commenting on the place of the sunnah, Imam Al-Shafi'ee recorded the following verses: "[Abraham said,] 'O our Lord! Raise up in their midst a Messenger from among them who shall recite nto them Your revelations and shall instruct them in the scripture and in the Hikmah and shall make them grow in purity"
(al-Baqarah 129)

Even as We have sent unto you a messenger from among you who recites to you Our revelations and causes you to grow, and teaches you the scripture and the Hikmah and teachesyou what which you knew not" (Al-Baqarah 151)

"He it is who has sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own to recite to them His revelations and to make them grow. And to teach them the Book and the Hikmah, though heretofore they were indeed in error manifest" (al-jumah 2)

"Remember Allah's grace upon you and that which He has revealed unto you of the Book and the Hikmah, whereby he does exhort you" (al-Baqarah 231)

"And recite that which is rehearsed in your houses of the revelations of Allah and the Hikmah" (al-Ahzaab 34).

After quoting these verses, Ash-shafi'ee wrote, So Go mentioned His Book - which is the Quran - and the Hikmah, and I have heard tht those who are learned in the Quran - whom I approve - hold that Hikmah is the sunnah of the Apostle of Allah. This is like what [God Himself] said; but Allah knows best! for the Quran is mentioned first, followed by Hikmah, then Allah mentioned His favor to mankind by teaching them the Quran and the Hikmah. So it is not permissible for Hikmah to be called here anything save the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. For Hikmah is closely linked to the Book of God, and God has imposed the duty of obedience to His Apostle, and imposed on men the obligation to obey his orders. So it is not permissible to regard anything as a duty save that set forth in the Quran and the Sunnah of His Apostle. for Allah, as we have just stated prescribed that the belief in His Apostle shall be associated with beleif in Him.

Now the book goes on to state many other verses that support the authority of Muhammed, how his example should be followed. And Allah how Allah guided the Messenger and nothing he said was in Error. But I will finish this post with the Conclusion from this chapter.

 

[Mujahid Mohammed]

CONCLUSIONS FROM THE QURANIC VERSES

Through numerous means, Allah has clearly established and emphasized the importance of following the sunnah of the Prophet. Allah has done this by ordering OBEDIENCE to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and prohibiting disobedience to him. He has also done so by givning tidings of the positive results of obeying the Messenger (pbuh) while at the same time intimidating and warning those who would consider disobeying the Prophet (pbuh)

Before continuing on to discuss some of the hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) what one must conclude from the above verses should be stated. Based solely on the texts of the Quran, one may conclude:

A. It is Allah Himself who has ordered the Muslims to follow and to obey the Propeht Muhammmed (pbuh). this notion was not an innovation of later jurists, nor is it something open to debate or discussion.

B. If anyone claims to follow the Quran, then he must also follow the sunnah of the Prophet(pbuh), as it is the Quran itself that orders the Muslims to follow the Prophet (pbuh). therefore, it is inconsistent to claim to follow the Quran while denying one obligation to follow the sunnah.

C. Allah has stated SEVERE WARNINGS AND PUNISHMENTS FOR ANYONE WHO REFUSES TO FOLLOW THE MESSENGER (PBUH); on the other hand, Allah has promised guidance mercy ant forgiveness for those who do follow the way of the Prophet (pbuh).

VERSES USED AS ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE AUTHORITY OF THE SUNNAH

Before concluding this section discussing the importance of the sunnah in light of the Quran, it is imperative to discuss those verses that are quoted as Quranic evidence against the authority of the sunnah. Form the above, it should already be clear to the reader that the place of the sunnah is definitively established by numerous verses of the Quran. The only thing that could possibly stand up to those verses would be something that is as clearly definitive in this repudiation of the importance of the sunnah. Subjective conclusions from some verses certainly would not be sufficient to deny what all of the above verses have established. Those who argue against the sunnah cannot offer any such clear cut verses of the Quran. Instead, they can only refer to a couple of verses that could possibly support their position. The only verses that they can offer in support of their contention are the following.

One verse quoted as an argument against the authority of the sunnah is "Nothing have We omitted from the book (al -Anaam 38). A second verse quoted is

"We have sent down to you a book explaining all things" (al-Nahl 89)

The argument from these verses is that all necessary guidance is contained in the book, the Quran, itself. In fact, everything has been explained with clarity and detail. there is no need to turn to any other source, as that would imply that something is missing from the Quran - thus contradicting what these verse state. Anything other than the Quran must, therefore, be superfluous, not meant to be followed by the Muslims and certainly not a source in Islamic Law.

The response to this argument is rather straightforward. for example, the verse from Surah Al - Anaam has to read in its entirety to get a better understanding of what exactly the verse is referring to. the entire verse read,

"there is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies with its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end." One interpretation of this verse isthat the mentioned "book" is not in reference to the Quran, but it refers to the preserved tablet that has recorded on it everything that will occur until the Day of Judgment. (on the authority of Ibn Abbas one of the companions and uncle of the Prophet) In other words that tablet has all of the lives and sustenance of all of the creatures recorded onit, and nothing has been left out of that book. According to this interpretation, the meaning of this verse is very much similar to another verse which states, There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance depends on Allah: he knows the time and place of its definite abode and its temporary deposit: all is in a clear book" (Hud 6)

However, a second, although less plausible, interpretatin given for this verse is that "the book" refers to the Quran. Even if this interpretation is accepted, it doesn not necessarily imply that the sunnah is not an authority and obligatory upon Muslims to follow. As shall be demonstrated in the next chapter, it must be admitted that the details concerning the prayer, zakat, fasts and others acts of the SHARIAH are not all spelled out in the Quran. hence in order for this interpretation to be accurate given the reality of the situation, it must mean the following, as Ibn al-Jauzi explained it, "It is a general statment that has a particular intent behind it. The meaning therefore is: We have not omitted anything which you would be in need of except that it has been made clear in the book, either by clear text, undetailed statement or indication." In other words, everythingis mentioned in the Book in either direct detail or by reference to the source where the necessary detail can be found. Hence, the book itself does not contain the details of the prayers, fasts and so forth, but the book points the believer to where those details can be found: The sunnah of the Prophet(pbuh). When understood in this manner, this verse is not an argument against the authority of the sunnah but it is another verse indicating the indispensability of the sunnah itself.

As noted, a second verse quoted as an argument against the authority of the sunnah is: "We have sent down to you a book explaining all things" (al - Nahl 89). commenting on this verse, Ibn kathir noted that the Quran contains all of the beneficial knowledge of what has passed and what will occur, what is lawful and what is unlawful, and what humans need for their well being in both this life and the Hereafter. There is no question that such is the case. The question is only related to the manner by which Allah does so in the Quran. It is obvious that Allah does not do that by spelling out all the details of worship, law and life in the Quran itself. Instead, the Quran points the believer to all that is needed to be truly guided. Included in this is the sunnah itself as well as other aspects, such as contemplating creation and so forth. Again this verse cannot be used as an argument against the authority of the sunnah because its implication is that the Quran clarifies all that one needs in one's life and part of what is needed in one's life is adhereance to the sunnah of the messenger of Allah. As was demonstrated earlier in this chapter, it is the Book itself that makes this fact abundantly clear.

 

[Mujahid Mohammed]

Well as the author stated it is clear from the Quran that following the Messenger is OBLIGATORY and what is meant by following the Messenger is adhereing to his commands and orders. And to also interpret the laws and principles he has instituted through his and his companions understanding. Why? The companions obeyed. They hear and they obey is one of the qualities of a believer. Many times they did not ask why or say well I do not understand. they just obeyed not only Allah but also the Messenger (pbuh). My dear respected brothers in Islam many of you claim that they do not need the sunnah and only the Quran and feel this is sufficient in fulfilling the rights of the relgion. Truly if we are believers and we obey Allah then we must as the shahadah accept Muhammed and the Last and Final Messenger. He was sent to show us the way the path to get us to Jannah. So please stop trying to justify the rejecting of some known principles and laws in Islam because you feel you should not have to do that or what you are doing is sufficient. The Prophet (pbuh) and his companions are the criterion or measure of obedience we should judge by. We are to do as they do with no question. You have the evidence it is clear now what the fate of those who reject the sunnah of the Messenger will be. It is your choice. you have the choice to do it or not. But do not spread misguidance and say Oh No we do not have to do that or this is what I think. Be humble enough to say I may not agree with the rule but Allah and His Messenger know best. And I am not intelligent enough to argue with the One Who knows all the His Messenger who He chose as a vessel and living example of the Message. I pray to Allah (swt) that this gives some of my brothers and sisters guidance and to stop following their vain desires and using their limited intellect to derive unfactual rulings from the Quran. for Muhammed was the closest to Allah and Allah gave him the authority to rule by not only His book but also his example.

Please follow the sunnah. This is what is one of the major reasons we as muslims are divided for many have left the sunnah of the Messenger.

I thank everyone for their patience in allowing me to post everything. And I look forward to any and all responses from my brothers and sisters and to any non muslims who feel they would like to comment or add anything.

JAZAKALLAHU KHAIRON.

One last thing the book further goes on into statements of the Messenger himself that ignoring his commands is a sin and you will be a disbeliever but since many do not accept his sunnah I only put the statement from the Quran itself but if you would like me to continue with examples from the sunnah please let me know. Insha Allah.

Asalamu alaikum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatuh.

 

[TashaN]

Walikum Alsalam, Mash' Allah brother Mujahid, wonderful thread. Usually i don't respond to such a a great thread at once when i have only short time browsing the internet so "God willing" i'll come back to participate.

 

[Mujahid Mohammed]

Walikum Alsalam, Mash' Allah brother Mujahid, wonderful thread. Usually i don't respond to such a a great thread at once when i have only short time browsing the internet so "God willing" i'll come back to participate.

Alhumdulilah, shurkun but it is all from Allah and His beloved Rasul. I am still waiting for all those who object to respond. Good thing I am not holding my breath.

 

[TashaN]

Alsalam Alikum brothers and sisters.

After listing the evidences from the Quran and Sunnah by brother Mujahid in details, which prove that we must follow the Sunnah and example of the prophet without hesitation, I would like to go into a deeper discussion in order to know why there are people who deny the hadiths. Don't you all wants to know?

Don't you want to know if this is somthing new in the Ummah or just a development of old thoughts in the past?

Don't you want to know if there is only few Muslims who believe so or there is alot of Muslim brothers and sisters out there who deny the hadith?

In order to answer and understand all these questions and many others, we have to look into the history and compare it to our present time.

I have seen alot of these discussion lately in the arabic world through arabic newspapers, it's about some people who claim to be scholars who deny the hadiths and wants only to depend in the Quran. Also, i found a very good book in arabic by a Muslim scholar in respond to another Muslim brother who claim that there is no need for the hadiths. It's an old book which made me realise that this is not somthing new to the Muslim Ummah.

"Hadith Denial" is not somthing new and some people have even more evidences than these presented by Mila or Laila "to be specific" about rejecting the hadith and other scholars responded to that in details.

I would like to start with this beautiful hadith which decribes how some Muslims in the Ummah will come in the later days and reject the teaching of the Messenger of God, Mohammed "peace be upon him" who doesn't speak of himself but from a revelation which was sent down to him whether it was the Quran (the literal words of God and the miracle of the miracles), Hadith (which is a revelation but in the word of prophet Mohammed to explain for simple people essentail issues about Islam and how to apply the Quran in their daily life in deetails), or the Qudsi Hadith, which is the word of God (not in the Quran but rather, words of God told to prophet Mohammed in seceral occasions).

According to a narration by Miqdaad bin Ma`dikarb, the holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said,"Know that the Qur`aan has been revealed to me and its analogue (the Hadith) also. Be alert! There will come a time when you will come across a well-fed and healthy person sitting on his couch and reclining on a pillow saying, 'O people! Hold fast unto the Qur`aan. Whatever is prohibited in it you should accept as prohibited and whatever has been allowed therein, consider permissible;' (the Ahaadith are not at all trustworthy), although it is a fact that the Prophet of God (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) also has prohibited many things in the tradition, just as God has done in the Qur`aan. see that the flesh of the domestic *** is prohibited; so is that of animals with incisors (carnivorous). It is not lawful to pick up even a stray trifle of a non-believing ally from the roadside unless its owner relinquishes his claim upon it after you have informed him, etc. (Abu Dawud).

I believe that this is a clear hadith which prove for us that this would happen anyway because Prophet Mohammed warned us about it already so we shouldn't be surprised brothers and sisters.

In order to overcome this problem we have to go deep as i said before to understand this thoughts and the mentality of this who deny the hadiths of Prophet Mohammed.

This Hadith has also disclosed the raison d`etre behind negation of the Hadith also. This would be the result of being well-fed and opulent because freedom from want and poverty would lead to skepticism about religion.

The Qur`aan has said, 'Nay, but verily man is rebellious, that he thinketh himself is independent.' (Qur`aan 96:6-7).

A little of though will show that the fabricators of Ahaadith follow the footsteps of the Raafidhis (Deserters) who fabricated thousands of Ahaadith to show that the Qur`aan has been interpolated while the negators of the Ahaadith are like the Khaarijites who, claiming to profess the Qur`aan, denied the Hadith.

If you want to know the thoughts of the Raafidhis and the Khaarijites in details please tell me about it and i'll try to find some sources and sites about them but no need for that at the moments because we will talk about the modern thoughts in denying the hadiths and some other teaching in Islam.

I was hearing alot about those who claim to be Muslim Progressive or those who call for the Re-formulations of Islam and i found a very good article which describe why those people wants to get rid of the hadiths.

I believe that there is some movements behind this but not all those who call for denying the hadith are direct members in these thoughts but they might be affected by it because they want to follow their desires and which is most comfortable to them (Read: DESIRES AS A GOD by sister fullyveiled muslimah) vbmenu_register("postmenu_631254", true); , or maybe it's just the ignorance and the little knowledge about the Islamic dogma or "Aqida".

I'll post in my next post this important article.

 

[TashaN]

Foolish Re-Formulation of Islam​

Some Muslims and non-Muslims call for a "modern" "re-formulation" of Islam in hopes of ridding the world of the Wahhabis, Ikhwan, Salafis, Qa'idah, Taliban, and similar movements. The claim is that these movements are products of traditional Islam and its failings in the modern world. A misleading claim, since each of these was or is a modern re-formulation diverging from orthodox(*) methodology, creed, and law.

(*) While the Sunnis and Shi`i do differ over what orthodoxy is, both do agree that there is such a thing as orthodoxy and heterodoxy.

While orthodox methodology, creed, and law have superficial importance for the non-Muslims (because their goal is to remove from Islam all aspects feared or presumed incompatible with Western philosophy and economics - so authenticity is of no consequence), they are central to the preservation and application of Islam.

Unfortunately, many of the modern re-formulation movements abandon orthodox methodology, which leads to abandoning orthodox creed and law.

One of the components of "re-formulation" has been to abandon hadith. An extreme argument calls for abandoning hadith on the pretext that the hadith corpus is of questionable authenticity. They never bring up anything that the scholars of hadith have not themselves mentioned and answered centuries ago. What these hadith deniers fail to realize is that their arguments concerning hadith apply to all transmitted knowledge: Prophetic narrations, historical accounts, language, poetry, and even the Qur'an itself.

A less extreme form of hadith denial exists in those who accept hadiths in principle, but feel free to arbitrarily select and reject individual hadiths. Rejection here returns to the hadith contents, not problems within chains of transmission. The latter is the method of those who use evidence to arrive at conclusions; the former is the method of those who use prejudices to arrive at evidence - a notion totally at odds with all forms of scholarship.

Whereas the extreme version is hadith rejection in principle on grounds that the mechanism cannot produce acceptable answers, the less extreme version leads to hadith rejection in practice on the grounds that the mechanism produces answers that are not acceptable to their prejudices.
In addition to abandoning hadith, many of the modern re-formulation movements abandon the traditional methodology for examining, interpreting and working with evidence, and what qualifications and requisite knowledge one must have in order to do so.

One of the principles of this detailed methodology is that before making any judgment, one must do one's best to take into account all evidence one a given matter. These principles do not include that one mention only the evidence supporting their case, initially ignoring - and if caught: dismissing - any and all conflicting evidence.

These re-formers begin with one assumption that the previous generations had an incorrect or partial understanding of things. To this they add a second: That they will not fall prey to the same.

Evidence for the first assumption include hadiths concerning strife and trials: that each subsequent generation is inferior, that Islam will fragment into sects, that some Muslims will fall into the ways of the Pharisees before them, and others. This assumption of theirs ignores the fact that there will always be a group of Muslims who remain steadfast on the pure Shari`a and that there are scholars in each generation who will renew the Shari`a.

When they do acknowledge this evidence, they claim that that they are the ones who are steadfast on the Shari`a, that they are the renew-ers of the faith mentioned above, and that they are the ones to usher back "the stranger" announced in the hadiths that just as Islam came as a stranger, some day it will return as a stranger. Perhaps they fail to realize that their understanding of the Shari`a is incompatible with the understanding passed through the Prophet

(God bless him and give him peace), though his Companions (God be pleased with them on and all), through the next generation, and so on - so they cannot renew that which they know not; and that their claim of ushering in "the stranger" is wishful thinking and pure arrogance.

As for their second assumption, that they somehow will not fall prey to what they accuse of their predecessors: There is no evidence to support them in this. Indeed, the evidence they cite against the previous generations of scholars more appropriately applies to them, and with greater weight.

For more information on the topic, see `Abd al-Hakim Murad's excellent article Understanding the Four Madhhabs: The Problem of Anti-Madhhabism.

And God knows best, and He alone grants success.

Source for this article:
Foolish Re-Formulation of Islam

Another link for more information about the NEGATORS OF THE HADITH please read in here:
Madrasa In'aamiyyah, Camperdownhttp://www.alinaam.org.za/dhadith/nhadith.htm