Author: Obaidullah Nimruzi
The scholarly biography of Imam Tirmidhi (MAMOH)
(Part 16)
The Second argument of Hadith Deniers: The Guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is Proof Only for the Companions.
The Hadith Deniers say that the Guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was Proof Only for the Companions and is not a Proof for Muslims after them. According to this view, Hadith is obligatory only for the descendants of the Companions and after that, the proof of these Hadiths for Muslims is nullified.
Answer: This view is clearly incorrect, in a way that it does not require proof. This view is in fact limiting the mission of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the time of the Companions, while the verses of the Quran clearly show that the mission of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was for all people until the Day of Judgment:
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Verse 158 of Surah Al-A’raf: «یَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا»“O mankind! Indeed, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all,” which indicates the generality of the mission of the Prophet (peace be upon him) for all people from the beginning to the end of history.
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Verse 28 of Surah Saba:«وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا» “And We have not sent you except as a bearer of good news and a warner to all mankind,” which states that the mission of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is for all mankind until the Day of Resurrection.
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Verse 107 of Surah Al-Anbiya:«وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالمِينَ» “And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds,” which states that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent to all of the worlds.
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Verse 1 of Surah Al-Furqan:«تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا» “Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion (Quran) to His servant, that he may be a warner to the worlds.” This indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent as a warner to all mankind, from the beginning of history until the Day of Judgment.
Therefore, according to the verses of the Qur’an, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is not only a proof for the Companions but also for all mankind, including Muslims after that period.
The third theory of the Hadith deniers: Hadiths are not a proof for mankind.
The Hadith deniers state that the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has been a proof for mankind throughout history, but it is not a proof for us, contemporary Muslims. Thus, the hadiths that have reached us are not reliable in their view and we are not obliged to accept them.
Answer:
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Trust in the means of transmission of hadith: Hadiths have reached us through the same means that the Quran has been transmitted to us. If the means of transmission of hadith are not reliable, the same problems must also affect the Quran, because the Quran has also reached us through the same means; therefore, if there are problems in transmitting hadith through existing methods, the same problems must also affect the Quran.
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Guarantee of preservation of the Quran: The deniers of hadith point out that the Holy Quran has a guarantee of preservation, such as the verse:
«إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ»“Indeed, we have sent down the reminder and indeed, we are its guardians,” but there is no such guarantee in the case of hadith.
First answer: Their problem is that if you believe that the means of transmission of Hadith are unreliable, how can you guarantee that the verse: «إِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ» “Indeed, we are the Preservers” has also reached us through the same means and that no changes or additions have been made to it? If you do not trust these means, then you should not accept any of the verses of the Quran.
Second answer: The verse: «إِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ» “Indeed, we are the Preservers” does not only guarantee the preservation of the words of the Quran but also emphasizes the preservation of its meanings. The meanings of the Quran are also explained in the Hadiths; therefore, the preservation of the meanings of the Quran is also indirectly guaranteed through the Hadiths.
Third answer: If we accept that the hadiths are obligatory, we implicitly conclude that these hadiths will be preserved until the Day of Judgment, because otherwise, Allah would not have taken on the responsibility of preserving the hadiths that are obligatory, and obliging servants to do something that cannot be preserved clearly contradicts the verse: «لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّٰهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا» “Allah does not burden a soul except to its capacity.” Therefore, the conclusion that Allah has not provided any means to preserve the hadiths that are obligatory is incorrect.
Arguments of Hadith Deniers about Ahad News:
The Hadith Deniers state that Ahad News (narrations narrated by one or more people) are considered as a guess by the scholars of Hadith and that following a guess is prohibited according to the Quran, because the Quran says:
«إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا» “They follow nothing but a guess, and indeed a guess does not add anything to the truth.”
Answer: This argument is also incorrect. In Arabic, the word “guess” is used in three meanings:
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Estimation: A guess means an unfounded guess.
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Doubt: Doubt that is more likely to be true.
- Certainty:
In cases such as the following verses, guess is used in the sense of absolute certainty «الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُوا رَبِّهِمْ وَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ» “Those who are certain that they are meeting their Lord and that they are returning to Him”
«قَالَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُوا اللَّهِ»
“Those who are certain they are meeting Allah”
«وَظَنَّ دَاوُدُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّاهُ»
“Dawood’s warning is not a fitnah”.
In these verses, “guess” means certainty and definite knowledge; Therefore, in the verse
إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ» the meaning of “guess” is doubt and not certain knowledge. Consequently, authentically of Ahmad Hadiths should be accepted and considered as evidence, not avoided because they are doubtful.
Finally, all these answers show that the deniers of hadith intend to question the authenticity of hadiths by presenting false arguments; but the verses of the Quran and the principles of jurisprudence clearly state that hadiths are evidence and obligatory to follow as explanations and clarifications of the Quran.
Continues…
