Does the Quran refer to follow the man-written Hadith?

[Zainab_M]

Is the Quranic commandment on obeying the Prophet (pbuh), a reference to accepting the unconfirmed narrations attributed to him at random by so-called companions? 

Here are some Quran verses that are perpetually taken as a standard excuse for adhering to the extra-Quranic literature commonly known as "Hadith." 

"And whatsoever the messenger gives you, take it. And whatsoever he forbids, abstain (from it)."   59:7

"Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."  3:31

"Verily in the messenger of Allah you have a good example for him who looks unto Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much."   33:21

First off, let's clear up the misunderstanding with regard to Verse 59:7.   When Allah tells the people to take whatever the Prophet gives them and abstain from whatever he forbids them, the reference is NOT to the writings of the future Persian imams coming to Arabia from Bokhara and nearby regions.  The inaccuracy of such an opinion by misinterpreting this verse out of context is so glaring that it almost sounds like a joke!  The truth is, Verse 59:7 is a portion of a much larger Verse (Ayah) of Surah Al-Hashr.  The theme of the entire Verse is the distribution of  spoils of war which is meant for the needy and not for the greedy.  God Almighty tells the recipients of the spoils to accept humbly whatever is given to them as their share by the Messenger and abstain from (or be satisfied with) whatever is not given to them. 

Concerning Verses 3:31 and 33:21, these have NO connections with future man-written ahadith either, and nor do these verses command us to follow any hadith.  It must be understood that all Divine commandments in the Quran to obey the Prophet (pbuh) are directed to the contemporaries of the Prophet, those who lived during the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh). 

So, does this mean that Allah's guidance was only for them?   Not at all.  Allah's guidance through the Prophet (pbuh) was for entire humanity and for all times to come.  But we need to logically analyze this point to understand the reality. 

The era of the Prophet (pbuh) was the beginning of Islam.  Also, those who lived during the lifeime of the Prophet could see and meet him in person for advise and guidelines on Quranic dictates. 

Most of those pagans and bedouins of this period who were fresh converts to Islam weren't educated.  They could barely read or write and were dependent on the practical demonstrations by the Prophet for right spiritual and moral conduct.  Thus, Allah tells them that  ".. in the messenger of Allah you have a good example .."

The next very important aspect is that the Quran was still in the process of being revealed during that era.  The already revealed portions were written and carefully preserved but hadn't yet been compiled and circulated in the form of a Book as we find at present.  Thus, the new Muslims of Medinah could not have easy recourse to the Qruan as we have today.  They could acquire authentic Quranic instructions only from the Prophet, directly and personally.  Having said this, the Prophet's practical example for his contemporaries to follow was based strictly on the Quran and NOT on any other source.  Needless to say, the man-written books of Bukhari etc. had not even emerged at that time.  These unfounded narrations and compilations with the title of "Hadith" began their widespread destruction more than 150 years after the passing of the beloved Prophet (S).

The Prophet (S) passed away approximately 10 years after living in Medinah.  By that time the Prophet's mission was successfully finished and the revelations of the Glorious Quran were completed.  The official compilation of the Divine Words began during the rule of the 2nd righteous Caliph, Omar b. Khattab directly under his supervision and was officially completed under the supervision of the 3rd righteous Caliph, Osman b. Affan, approximately two decades after the Prophet's passing. 

Coming to our present situation, the beloved Prophet (S) is no longer among us.  Though his absence is hurtful and traumatizing beyond words, unfortunately we cannot bring him back.  Therefore we cannot get the Quranic instructions from the Prophet in person as did his contemporaries.  However, fortunately for us, that is not a problem.  As ordained by Allah, The Almighty, the very source of the Prophet's instructions is very much available, intact, compiled and fully original.  The Glorious Quran is in the midst of us, to be studied, understood and followed.  Millions of copies have been published of the original in Arabic, and this publication will be a continuous process, Insh'allah, God Willing.  The original has also been translated into dozens of different languages, the publications of which will be a permanent process too.   At present the text of the Noble Quran has been translated into almost every single major and even regional languages spoken in the world.

Simply and logically put, if we want to follow the Prophet (S) we need to seek information from the Quran, from which the Prophet himself sought guidance and conveyed to his people during his lifetime.  In the absense of the Prophet (S), the only method by which we can adhere to the Truth is to tightly grasp the Final Divine Message without any distractions from sectarian tales, slanderous gossips and impertinent narrations by controversial personalities.

Following the Quran is automatically an indication of following the Prophet, while following the man-written Hadith (or any other source) is no guarantee for following the Quran nor the Prophet. 

God Almighty has made it ample clear in His Final Message that obedience to the Prophet (S) is subject to the Prophet's obedience to the Quran.  Hence, He says in Surah Al-Haqqah (The Reality):  "And if he had invented false sayings concerning Us, We assuredly had taken him by the right hand And then severed his life-artery, And not one of you could have held Us off from him."   69:44-47

The only true Sunnah can be obtained from no other source except the Glorious Quran.  The man-written stories dubbed as "Hadiths" (which are basically the copy-cat versions of the altered Old and New Testaments) are only the "sunnah" of persons who have narrated or compiled them.  They have no relevance in the life of a true believer, just as they had no relevance in the life of the Prophet (S).  But if we fail to be firm and allow ourselves to get carried away by the useless rhetoric of other humans, we only end up hurting ourselves on the Day of Judgment.  This was precisely the blunder made by the People of the Book (Jews and Christians).  Let us not repeat history.  If we refuse to deviate and remain steadfast, focused only on the original Final Message, the "Sole Criterion" (25:1), our soul will thank our mind for its wisdom on the Day of Judgment.  That's definite. 

Last but not least, the Noble Quran is a STANDALONE Book.  It's completed and perfected, and independent of all human writings.  It does not require any other piece of literature for its explanation.  This has been confirmed by the Divine Power Himself in one of the last revelations of this Great Book.  It was revealed to the beloved Final Messenger only weeks before his passing.

"This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion al-Islam. "  5:3

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Beautiful analysis of the truth.  Many thanks dear sis.  The Hadithers always pick these verses (and a few more similar verses) as their so-called evidence for accepting Hadith.  I'm sure they know that these verses do NOT at all refer to Bukhari & co.  It's simply their stubbornness that makes them invent this lie against Allah.  How oblivious some people can be regarding the welfare of their own soul.  They sell their souls to Hellfire for the sake of pleasing & defending their imams.  But they will come to know.

I must save this in my e-files so that I can find it easily as soon some Hadither brings up this argument.

[Ruhi_Rose]

So well analysed.  If even now anyone doesn't understand that the Noble Quran does not tell us to follow the man-written Hadith then those people are purposely disobeying the orders of Allah and they should beware on the Day of Judgment.

Here are two more verses from Surah Al-Araf that also throw light on the fact of this issue. 

"Then those who believe in him, and honor him and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful."  (7:157)

In the above verse 7:157 Allah tells us to believe in the teachings of the  Prophet (S), to follow him and to respect him.   But the reference on following and respecting the Prophet (S) is clearly based on the Prophet's following of the Quran.  To "follow the light which is sent down with him" is only the Quran.  The "light" is only the Quran and nothing else.

Similarly, also read verse 7:158.

"So believe in Allah and His messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, who believes in Allah and in His words and follow him that haply you may be led aright."  (7:158) 

In the above verse 7:158 Allah again plainly refers by telling us to believe in the Prophet (S) because the Prophet "believes in Allah and in His words" meaning the Quran.   This evidently means that we are ordered to follow the Prophet (S) because the Prophet follows the Quran .... thus elucidating that our obedience to the Prophet is subject to the Prophet's obedience to the Quran.  If the Prophet (S) followed any other books other than the Noble Quran, then Allah Almighty would not tell us to follow him.  It's the same with all previous Prophets as well.  Their communities were ordered by Allah to follow them because they strictly followed the commandments of Allah.