Sunday, January 3, 2016

Are Ahadith also Divine Revelation (Wahi)?

In an ongoing email debate, on which I was copied, on the validity of Hadith collection, I asked: 

The Quran confirms that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and indeed in him is a beautiful pattern of conduct for us. Allah sent human Prophets and Messengers to us so that we know that it is humanly possible to reach a high level of piety. 
If you take 53:3,4 to mean that everything that the Prophet ever said was divine revelation, then why does 33:1,2 instruct the Prophet to not to hearken to the unbelievers (kafireen and munafiqeen), and advises to follow that which comes to him by revelation, and then in 33:37 specifically quotes his advice and narrates his hesitance regarding a command of Allah, out of fear of what the people might say?  

The pro-hadith debater responded: 
33:1,2 and 33:37 were for the education of the ummah and these aayaat do not mean he was'nt doing under the wahi. All verbal instructions, teachings of halal and haram, methods of conducting prayers etc that Rasoolullah Sallallahu A'laihi wa Sallam gave are all all Hadees and what he practically did are sunnah and both were under wahi and hence revelations. You can't deny whatever is recorded in Hadees books isn't revelation and hence to find an excuse to deny them totally. If you deny, then it is most likely that you deny everything even Quran, then what deen is left with the hadees deniers, like that of ... ??
I know that some of the hadees were invented, that doesn't mean you deny every hadees. The hadees you doubt to be fake, present it to Quran, if it goes against it, it is false otherwise not. TOTAL REJECTORS OF HADEES LOSE THEIR DEEN TOTALLY.

My Response: I am not denying all the Hadith collection. Prophets and Messengers were our greatest teachers. The scholars who compiled the Hadith and those who tried to explain the Quran put in a lot of effort. They have left us a rich legacy. May Allah accept and reward their efforts. 
However, we cannot shun our responsibility to study and understand the Quran according to the best of our abilities. We can study the works of past scholars, but we cannot let our beliefs tell us what to read in the Quran. Rather, we have to allow the Quran to guide us and shape our faith and beliefs! 
You state that 33:1,2 and 33:37 are for the education of the Ummah. Do you mean to state that Allah is informing us about what the Prophet feared and stated, or do you mean that the Prophet never feared the people and/or never advised as quoted? 
The pro-hadith debater quotes and questions: 
QUOTE:we have to allow the Quran to guide us and shape our faith and beliefs!
UNQUOTE:Provided you research under proper scholars, and the scholar you are associated with, we readers found many defects in his understanding of Quran.So how do you think Quran would guide you and shape your faith and beliefs?? 

My Response: You assume that since I shared an article of a religious scholar, a few weeks after I started being copied in this email list and was horrified to find Muslims fighting each other, to dissuade you all from declaring each other kafirs. 
I'm not studying under any scholar. I listen to and have taken short courses in Arabic grammar with various scholars, but I'm not studying religion with them. However, I do respect and esteem all those who have helped me come closer to the Quran. 
What you refer to as defects are differences in understanding and levels of comprehension. As Muslims, we are ordered to cooperate and be united. Differences in comprehension are to be discussed with an aim to understand better, and help each other along the path. We can learn from all while exercising our own minds as to what we find convincing and what does not or no longer persuades us. 
If you are referring to my emails and blogs as defective, please note that the responsibility is solely mine. No religious scholar or scientist is assisting me or endorsing my writings. I simply share my understanding and findings. If you do not find them useful, that's okay. 
Just for the record, my study is focused on the Quran. I try to understand the verses of the Quran by comparing related verses across the text, and look up scientific findings relevant to the claims in the Quran. The more I search, the more amazing it gets! 
I focus on the Quran because I'm convinced that the Arabic text is original and complete. I do not study the Hadith as such. However, while trying to understand right and left orientation mentioned in the Quran (signsandscience.blogspot.com/2015/03/orientation-right-or-left.html), I came to the humble realisation that just because I do not understand the rationale of some ahadith does not mean that it's wrong, I still have much to learn. 

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