Title: The Need for Hadith Question: There are numerous verses in the Holy Qur'an, which state that the Holy Qur'an is a complete message to us, that we need nothing else for Submission. Also, the Holy Qur'an states that Muhammad 's (pbuh) mission is to solely transmit the Holy Qur'an. Taking these two things into account then, surely the hadith s and Sunnah are therefore unislamic? Saying that we need to follow them to be "perfect Muslims" as one brother told me, is an admission by default that the Holy Qur'an is incomplete, or that God has made a mistake, both of which I know cannot be true. Additionally, the Holy Qur'an forbids us from forbidding what is not in the Holy Qur'an, which several hadith s and Sunnah do. I feel that perhaps the hadith s and Sunnah are corruptions of Islam. The `ulema who collected together and studied these sources themselves are effectively unlawful, there being a verse in the Holy Qur'an which forbids Muslims from allowing rabbi's, priests, monks, hermits or learned men (scholars) from telling us what is right or wrong. I think that these innovations in the Millat-e-Ibrahim are corruptions of submission, perhaps ploys of the Shaitaan (i.e. satan) to trick believers from the Millat-e-Ibrahim to the Millat-e-Shaitaan . What do you think brother? Answer: You state: There are numerous verses in the Holy Qur'an, which state that the Holy Qur'an is a complete message to us, that we need nothing else for submission. I really do not know exactly which verses are you alluding to. I think to make this discussion more meaningful, it would be better if we know the basis of your statement. You further state: Also, the Holy Qur'an states that Muhammad 's (pbuh) mission is to solely transmit the Holy Qur'an. I would appreciate if you would kindly guide me to the verses from which you have derived the above statement. At the moment, because I do not know the basis of your statement, it would therefore be better if I refrain from giving any positive or negative comments on it. Because the remaining part of your letter is basically a result derived from the above two statements, I am therefore not in a position, at the moment to comment on it either. However, I think while you write back to me providing me with the references of the verses, on which you have based your statements, I would like to clarify my point of view regarding Hadith and Sunnah . In your letter, you have used the two terms: hadith and Sunnah , in a way that forces me to believe that you hold the two to be synonymous. I would therefore like to go into a little detail, to clarify my point of view regarding not only the difference between the two terms but also their respective importance. As I see it, the sole source of Divine guidance and religion is the person of the Prophet (pbuh). Whatever the Prophet (pbuh) terms as religion or as God's Deen [1] has to be accepted as such and whatever is not termed by the Prophet (pbuh) as God's Deen cannot be included into the "corpus" of God's Deen by any one or more persons after the Prophet (pbuh). It is the Prophet (pbuh) that holds the central and the most significant position. The Qur'an says: "It is He who has sent among the unlettered (Arabs) a messenger from amongst themselves to recite to them His revelations, and (thereby) to purify them and (for this purpose) to instruct them in the Divine Law and Wisdom, though, before this, they had been in obvious error." ( Al-Jum`ah 62: 2) The Prophet (pbuh) was ordained by the Almighty to deliver His message to all the people in such a way that no doubt remained in their minds regarding it. The Qur'an says: "O messenger, convey to them, whatever has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do it not, you would not have delivered His message. And God shall (Himself) protect you from these people (who reject your call)." ( Al-Maaidah 5: 67) It is the belief of every Muslim that the Prophet (pbuh) fulfilled his duty to the ultimate possible extent. He not only did not keep any part of God's message to himself but actually went all out in teaching each and every individual the total contents of God's Deen . Moreover, as the last sermon bears witness, he took a covenant from all the believers present at that time (which consisted of all the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) living at the time) to convey these total contents of God's Deen , without adding anything to or deducting anything from it, to those who come after them. If we stand in agreement regarding the above premises that I have laid down, then a few things follow as corollaries. These are: The Prophet (pbuh) should himself teach his companions regarding things, which constitute the basic contents of Islam. In other words, as far as these contents are concerned, the Prophet (pbuh) should not wait for a problem or a question to arise in somebody's mind to present these contents because it was his duty to teach all and sundry all that which formed a part of the "corpus" of Islam; The companions of the Prophet (pbuh) should also teach these contents to those who come after them, on their own accord, without waiting for any one to ask them about these contents. There should be no difference of opinion among the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) regarding the basic contents of Islam; The companions of the Prophet (pbuh) should be in complete consensus regarding these contents. A perusal of the complete record of the teachings of Islam as propagated by the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) shows that the teachings, which were propagated with the complete consensus of these companions may be classified into two categories: The Oral narrative of those teachings, which were taught and given to all and sundry. This narrative has been transferred to us, without any alteration, through the consensus and oral perpetuation of the companions (ra) of the Prophet (pbuh). Even today, irrespective of the large number of differences among the Muslim sects, there is consensus among all Muslims that the Qur'an is the oral narrative of these teachings of the Prophet (pbuh). Those practical teachings, which were given to all and sundry. These teachings have been transferred to us, without any alteration, through the consensus and practical perpetuation of the companions (ra) of the Prophet (pbuh). Even today, there is consensus among Muslims regarding these practical teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) and to a great extent there still exists a practical perpetuation on these issues too. This part, in my opinion, is what constitutes the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). Because the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) has been transmitted to us through the consensus and practical perpetuation of the companions (ra) of the Prophet (pbuh), just like the Qur'an has been transmitted to us through the consensus and oral perpetuation of these companions (ra), therefore there is no difference in the authenticity of the ascription of the Sunnah or the Qur'an to the person of the Prophet (pbuh). The Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) entail all the basic contents of Islam. Besides these two sources, because of the extra ordinary importance of the person of the Prophet (pbuh) among the Muslims, people started recording his actions, sayings, replies to questions asked, approvals etc. The Prophet (pbuh) never persuaded the recording of these events. This recording was initiated by the Muslims themselves. Later on, the same importance of the person of the Prophet prompted the Muslims to transfer these sayings to their next generation. These recordings of sayings etc. were sometimes oral and sometimes written. However, these narratives were generally not a verbal transmission of the sayings (etc.) of the Prophet (pbuh), they were rather the transmission of the meanings perceived and understood by the narrators. These narratives, besides a few other things, constitute what is called " Akhbar-e-ahaad " (i.e. narratives of a few people) also called " Hadith ". A close consideration of " Akhbar-e-ahaad " or " Hadith " shows that as compared to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), it is prone to a number of errors and inconsistencies. For example, the Qur'an is a transmission of the very words taught by the Prophet (pbuh), not an interpretation of these words. It is a verbal transmission through the consensus and the oral perpetuation of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). While the Sunnah is the transmission of the very actions of the Prophet (pbuh) through practically the same source as the Qur'an . In contrast, " hadith " generally entails a saying of the Prophet (pbuh) as understood by someone who heard this saying from the Prophet (pbuh) or from someone else, who in turn heard the Prophet (pbuh). The chances of misunderstanding, or ascribing untrue statements to the Prophet (pbuh) or consciously or unconsciously adding to the saying of the Prophet (pbuh) and other related possibilities, which reduce the reliability of " hadith " cannot be ruled out. It is difficult to consider hadith as an independent source of Islamic injunctions, because the ascription of these sayings to the Prophet (pbuh) is not as dependable and reliable as that of the Qur'an and the Sunnah . Furthermore, hadith primarily consists of sayings of the Prophet (pbuh) witnessed by a few people; or answers to questions asked or clarifications sought; or a narrative of some event witnessed by someone or an approval (silent or verbal) given by the Prophet (pbuh) to an action of an individual etc. All these things that constitute hadith cannot be termed as the basic contents of Islam. All the basic contents of Islam were delivered by the Prophet (pbuh), not to a select group of individuals but to all those present. Moreover, this deliverance of the basic contents was "active" rather than "passive", contrary to the case in most of the injunctions derived from hadith . Therefore, narratives that constitute hadith cannot be given the position of an independent source of Islamic injunctions. However, Akhbar-e-ahaad or Hadith constitute an invaluable historical record of the life and teachings of the Prophet (pbuh). It may guide us to solve a number of issues. It may help us better our understanding of the Qur'an and explain the actions of the Sunnah . It may serve as a guide for the practical application of the injunctions of the Qur'an and the Sunnah . Thus, even though the only two sources of Islam are the Qur'an and the Sunnah , hadith , if kept in the correct perspective can play a vital role in improving our understanding of Islam. But if hadith is considered an independent source of Islamic injunctions, it may easily result in undermining the position of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and thereby may disturb the true balance of the Divine religion. Hadith , it must be remembered, is not a saying of the Prophet (pbuh) but a narrative of the saying of the Prophet (pbuh) as understood and perceived by the narrator, which may or may not be correct even if the narrator is an honest and truthful person. 6 th October 1998 [1] 'Deen' is an Arabic word, implying 'religion'.