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Usool Al-Hadeeth by Sh Yasir
Qadhi Part 2
Posted by: ilmseeker | July 23, 2008 Fourth Proof: The verses in the Quran that prove to us that we
must follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). There are between 50 and 70
verses concerning following the Sunnah. We will categorize and break them down
into 7 categories: Type 1: Those verses in the Quran are those that
tell the Muslims to believe in the Prophet (pbuh). Verses which are about
belief in the Messenger, for example: Say oh mankind, I am the
messenger of Allah sent to all of you. So therefore believe in Allah and
His messenger. What is the meaning of
“Muhammadur Rasullah”? When Allah says have emaan in the Prophet (pbuh), what
does it mean? It means that whatever the Prophet (pbuh) says, we must believe
it. When the Prophet (pbuh) tells us to do something, if we have emaan that
this man is the messenger of Allah, then that emaan will necessitate to do it
and follow up what he says. And the more we obey the Prophet (pbuh), the more
emaan we have. The less we obey the Prophet (pbuh) then the less emaan we have. Type 2: The verses that describe the Prophet
(pbuh) as the explainer of the Quran. The Prophet’s (pbuh) main and primary
role was to explain the Quran. If Allah sent him to explain the Quran then it
follows that we must obey and believe him in that explanation. Allah (swt)
says: We have revealed this remembrance
that you may make clear to people what has been revealed to them. (Surah
An-Nahl: 44) Type 3: The verses that show Allah (swt)
revealed something along with the Quran. Along with the Quran Allah (swt)
revealed something. Allah (swt) mentions this something else as “hikmah” or
wisdom. This shows us that there is more than the Quran, if someone were to say
what is this hikmah? Then we would only be able to think of the Sunnah, the
Sunnah is the only other thing other than the Quran that we have to follow. Allah has revealed upon you the
Kitaab (Quran) and the wisdom So the Prophet (pbuh) has
received inspiration not only of the Quran but also of the Sunnah. Imam
Ash-Shafiee said that the hikmah that has been referred to in these verses is
the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). The fact that Allah mentions that He has
revealed something along with the Quran shows us that the Sunnah is part of
Islam. Type 4: The verses that explicitly and clearly
mention that obedience to the Prophet (pbuh) is obligatory. There are at least
50 of these verses. Allah says: مَّنْ
يُطِعِ
الرَّسُولَ
فَقَدْ
أَطَاعَ اللّهَ Whoever obeys the Prophet has
indeed obeyed Allah If we obey the Prophet (pbuh)
then we’re obeying Allah. In at least 10 -15 verses Allah
says: أَطِيعُواْ
اللّهَ
وَالرَّسُولَ Allah (swt) says: “Nay by your Lord, they do not
believe until they make you (Muhammad) to be a judge amongst them. Then after
you have judged they don’t find any constraint or difficulty by your judgment.
And they submit totally to your decision. In this verse Allah negates emaan
from everyone until we make the Prophet (pbuh) a judge in matters or problems.
Then afterwards we should accept willingly and openly and we don’t have a
problem with the judgment. If you have a feeling of discontent and you think
the judgment is unfair then Allah is saying we don’t have emaan. This is the
most explicit verse because Allah has said you don’t have emaan until we make
the Prophet (pbuh) our judge. Whatever difficulty or situation arises we should
go back to the Prophet (pbuh) and find out what he said, we should have no
problems with what he said and we should follow it. Type 5: The verses that mention obedience to the
Prophet (pbuh) is in fact a sign of truly loving Allah (swt), if we love Allah
(swt), then we must follow the Prophet (pbuh). Allah says in the Quran: “Say, if you truly love Allah,
follow me, Allah will love you.” (Surah Al-Imraan: 31) If we truly love Allah the
Prophet (pbuh) says to follow him. If we claim that we love Allah then we must
follow the Prophet (pbuh). If we follow the Prophet (pbuh) then Allah will love
us. To follow the Sunnah will make Allah love us. This proves beyond a shadow
of a doubt that the Sunnah is an integral part of Islam. Type 6: The verses that show the status of the
Prophet (pbuh) and the etiquette that he must be shown. Allah says: “Oh you who believe, do not go
forward beyond Allah and His Messenger.” (Surah Hujraat: 1) Ibn Abbas said this ayah means
that we should not put our statement above their statements and we don’t put
our understanding above their understanding. Whatever Allah and the Prophet
(pbuh) have said, we must accept it without putting our own words and speech
above it. Allah says: “Oh you believe! Do not raise
your voice above the Prophet’s voice” (Surah Hujraat: 2) If we are not allowed to raise
our voice above the Prophet’s then we are not allowed to raise our opinions
above his. We are prohibited from speaking loudly to the Prophet (pbuh). When
this verse was revealed some of the Sahaba would only speak in whispers, so
much so that other people had trouble hearing them. If we are not allowed to
raise our voices above the Prophet then what is the status of the person who
raises their own intellect and desires above the Quran and Sunnah. Type 7: These verses are miscellaneous verses
which don’t fall into a specific category. For example, Allah says: “Verily Oh Muhammad you guide
them (mankind) to the straight path” The Prophet (pbuh) has been
described as the shining light, the guider, the one who takes out of darkness
into the light, all of these descriptions show us that status of the Prophet
(pbuh) and show us that obedience to him is obligatory. 1. The fact that the Prophet
himself mentioned that he has been given something along with the Quran; this
is the hikmah that Allah refers to. The Prophet says: “Verily I have been given the
Quran and something like it.” This hadeeth means that the
Sunnah is equivalent to the Quran in legal weight. The fact that he is telling
us that he has been inspired more than the Quran, the Sunnah is also in
inspiration from Allah in general. 2. The fact that it is obligatory
to obey the Prophet (pbuh). The Prophet In other words the Prophet (pbuh)
is describing the exact situation we’re living in today. This is a clear
explicit proof that the Sunnah is equivalent to the Quran in its weight. 3. The fact that the Prophet
(pbuh) commanded the Sahaba to preserve his Sunnah and he forbade them from
lying about him. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “May Allah brighten the face of
someone who hears my hadeeth, memorizes it and then passes it on to someone
else.” The most narrated hadeeth and has
the most chains. Out of all the hundreds and thousands of ahadeeth the most
hadeeth that has the most chains is when the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever lies about me will find
his place in the fire of hell.” This hadeeth has over 70 or 80
chains and it is found in all the collections of ahadeeth ever written. It is
of the miracles of Allah that He made this hadeeth the most widely narrated
hadeeth to show us the dangers of fabricating ahadeeth about the Prophet
(pbuh). Sixth Proof: Common sense and a practical view point.
A common sense tells us that we must follow the Sunnah. Allah says in the
Quran: وَأَقَامُواْ
الصَّلاَةَ Does Allah mention how many times
we have to pray? Does Allah mention we have to pray the number of rakaat for
each salah? Does Allah mention the different postures of salah and that we must
recite Al-Fatiha? Nothing of this is mentioned in the Quran. It is not possible
to follow the Quran except by turning to the Sunnah. Likewise Allah says in the
Quran to give zakah, but no where in the Quran does it tell us how much to give
or how often to give. We will not find in the Quran any chapter of fiqh except
that we must go to the Sunnah in order for that chapter to be complete. There is a group among our times
which started in the Indian Subcontinent around 100 years ago. This group still
exists to this day; they call themselves Parvesees after their founder. This
group denies the Sunnah and they believe it is shirk to follow the Prophet
(pbuh). These people describe the prayer as three times a day from a verse in
Surah Israa. Secondly they stand up in prayer, recite Al-Fatiha, do ruku,
sujood and say salaam. The only things that are mentioned in the Quran are the
ruku and sujood. This group has been declared non-Muslim because when one
denies the Sunnah then one goes out of the fold of Islam. This group exists in
America; they don’t call themselves Muslims but the Submitters. They’re based
in Tucson, AZ and their leader was Rashaad Khaalifah. Khaalifah in the 1980s
propounded the 19 theory. He said that there is miraculous nature in the Quran
having to do with the number of 19. Later he declared himself to be a prophet
in America. Alhumdulillah, he was assasinated in his own home. Seventh Proof: There is unanimous consensus; there is
no known difference amongst the Muslims that we must follow the Prophet (pbuh).
Even the extreme groups such as the Raafidah and Shia have their ideas of
Sunnah (i.e. Usool al Kaafi), they believe to follow the Prophets and their
Imaams. Also the Khawaarij did not deny the validity of the Sunnah even though
they didn’t study it. None of the Muslims groups in the past ever denied the
fact that we must obey the Prophet (pbuh). Two of the main doubts
the people have about the Sunnah: 1. The Quran is complete. The Submitters and many modern
and progressive Muslims say the hadeeth is not mentioned in the Quran and
everything we need to know is in the Quran. They say the Quran is sufficient
for us and they try to cast doubts about the preservation of the Sunnah. To say
that we do not have to follow the Sunnah is kufr in and of itself. To say the
Sunnah has not been preserved will lead us to kufr but is not kufr in and of
itself. Most modernists will say the Sunnah has not been preserved. To refute the first point, the
above seven points should be sufficient. But specifically the Quran is
sufficient in and of itself to deny these points. The Quran has told us that we
must go to the Sunnah. The Quran describes itself as being sufficient but it
tells us we must go to the Sunnah. We say that the Quran is complete and it has
told us to go to the Sunnah, therefore we go to the Sunnah. To refute the second the point,
one can take the long detailed drawn out study of science of hadeeth. We start
off by telling how the Sunnah was preserved and the books that were written.
But this is not something that can be told quickly. The second method to
refute, which is a shortcut is we say that the fact the Sunnah is a part of our
religion necessitates that it will be preserved. The fact that the Sunnah is a
part of our religion is sufficient proof that Allah will preserve it. Allah
says: “We have revealed the Message and
We are going to protect it.” Some ulema say that the meaning
of zhikr here is Quran and Sunnah. But even if it only refers to the Quran,
because of the fact that we need the Sunnah to understand the Quran this verse
also implies that Allah will preserve the Sunnah. The fact that Allah (swt)
tells us that we must follow the Sunnah proves that it will be preserved
because how can Allah tell us to do something when we don’t have it. How can we
follow the Sunnah and obey the Prophet if the Sunnah were not preserved, the
fact that Allah tells us to follow the Sunnah proves that the Sunnah has been
preserved. http://ibnyousuf.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/usool-al-hadeeth-by-sh-yasir-qadhi-part-2/ |
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