Tafsir & Hadith

[Marco19]

Al-Salam Alaykum,

Dear friends, i have a few basic questions about the Tafasir and Ahadith from Ahmadiyya POV.

1- Did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad asked 2nd Khalifa to write the books of Tafsir?
2- Are they inspired by Allah?
3- Do they replace the other Books of Tafsir? in a way are they the only authentic Tafsir books?
4- Is there any significance to be titled as "kabir"?

I have some other questions about Hadith, but let me stop here and start with Tafsir first, to not mix the themes

 

[seeking4truth]

Tafsir are commentaries on the Holy Quran as far as I understand and are therefor the opinion of the writer. The Holy Quran frequently asks its readers to ponder and to think about its meaning and all Muslims should be doing that daily.

Each set of Tafsir are opinions and it is up to you through your own thought and prayer to consider which are beneficial in your understanding of Allah's message to you.

All Tafsir reflect the understanding of the author, they can only 'replace' each other in that you accept or reject their explanations.
The commentaries are only as inspired by Allah as the author was - you must judge.

Kabir mean big, great as far as I know.

 

[Rational_Mind]

1- Did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad asked 2nd Khalifa to write the books of Tafsir?
I am not sure about this. I will look into it. I know about some related incidents but I will clarify them before posing.
2- Are they inspired by Allah?
Quran teaches that all knowledge comes from Allah (swt). So especially we can expect to have deeper meanings that Allah (swt) chooses to reveal to the more righteous as was in the case of prior Reformers as well who came to eradicate misinterpretations.
3- Do they replace the other Books of Tafsir? in a way are they the only authentic Tafsir books?
-No, because they also refer to other Tafsir that have a different or same opinion on the interpretation of the verse.
4- Is there any significance to be titled as "kabir"?
-There is also Tafsir Sageer, as in small. So it is just reference to the depth you want to go.

We are encouraged to look into the views of other Muslims. In fact you will find that an average Ahmadi knows more about the differing views and beliefs of Orthodox Muslims. The Tafsir's also dwell into different interpretations that are also valid given in the past but also in some case corrects interpretations that feel are contradictory to the Holy Quran.

 

[Marco19]

Salam Rational Mind,

what comes to Hadith i have the following questions:

1- Do you believe/read the Hadith the same way as the Sunni does? i mean by measuring the Isnad?
2- What do you think of the concept of "Hadith Qudsi", in other words are they direct words of Allah/revelation?
3- Do you read/accept others Hadith, like Shiaa and Ibadiya?
4- Do you have your own compilation book, or recommended from Khalifas?

Thanks in advance

 

[Rational_Mind]

1- Do you believe/read the Hadith the same way as the Sunni does? i mean by measuring the Isnad?
There is a strong similarity in how the general authenticity of Hadith is studied. So in general yes we do apply logical methods in testing Hadith, such as the chains of narrators, the truthfulness of the narrator, factual possibility of the incident narrated, whether the number of reports make sense in reference to the incident, etc. Also Sunnah (the practice) is more preserved than Hadith. So Quran >>>>>> Sunah > Hadith. If Hadith contradicts practice then we abandon it.

An important aspect where we differ is that we are very strict in abandoning any Hadith no matter how authentic it is reported to be, no matter who narrated it, if it is contradictory to the Quran. And we openly accept any Hadith that is however weak if it is shown to be perfectly in line with the Holy Quran. This simple test proves to be very helpful for any layman. And it is the most logical if we take the Holy Quran as the infallible scripture. It is unfortunate that this simple test is rejected by people who do not accept Hadith as it is very very straightforward and logical.

It is truly unfortunate that many Muslims have taken certain Sahih Hadith that contradict the Quran and caused a distaste for Hadith to other fellow Muslims who on this basis have rejected the Hadith altogether. In fact, mainstream Muslims have ignored the warning of the compilers of Hadith who themselves said to abandon it in an instant if you find it later to be contradictory. I have yet to find this practice dominant in mainstream Islam. This is also the case of the founders of the four Madhabs who taught to let you of anything they taught if later found to be contradictory to the Holy Quran. The fact is that all the Hadith that Ahle Quran Muslims don't like are purely because they are either contradict the Quran or are simply misunderstood by mainstream Muslims. So if the simple test above was accepted at heart it would put an end to the falsehood in "death for apostasy, stoning for adultery, etc..." and many other misconceptions.

More info and sayings of the Promised Messiah (as) on testing of Hadith: Authenticity-of-Hadith.pptx

Also note that certain revelations that were recorded by the Promised Messiah (as) clarified some Hadith to be unauthentic. As Allah (swt) revealed to him. So if one accepts his claim to be true then such Hadith on this standard must be rejected as a clarification by Allah (swt).

2- What do you think of the concept of "Hadith Qudsi", in other words are they direct words of Allah/revelation?

We know that Allah (swt) was directly revealing to the Holy Prophet (saw) everyday. Not all revelations were mean't to be the part of the Holy Quran. So yes we accept that there were other revelations vouchsafed to the Holy Prophet (saw) that have been narrated in the Hadith. Again, the same test above must apply as it was not memorized and written down in the same fashion as the Holy Quran and neither did Allah (swt) make any promise to preserve and protect those.

3- Do you read/accept others Hadith, like Shiaa and Ibadiya?

We accept the six Sahih books as most authentic. But I have seen Shia Hadith books referenced, again I am sure the same above test applies.

4- Do you have your own compilation book, or recommended from Khalifas?

There are translations and commentaries on the Sahih books. We do not have our own compilation but we have published copies of Sahih books ourselves but they are the same Arabic text as the ones you would find among mainstream Muslim. Unfortunately I think they are mainly translated in Urdu, not sure if to expect an English translation, although I am eager to look for one.
But there are compilations of various Hadith from various books for layman reading in English. Here is the book 40 Gems of Beauty by the Khalifatul Masih II

 

[DawudTalut]

Peace be on everyone.
1- Here is a typo error, Plz note 40 Gems of Beauty is not by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II, it is by his esteemed brother.

2- Here are more books of ahadith too.