Abstract
Introduction
Islam is based on the Quran and Sunnah of the Messenger of God, Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) The Holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) in twenty three years, which was preserved through memorization and writing. Through the efforts of the first two of four Rightly Guided Caliphs the copy of Quran in the form of Book was prepared and later after rechecking, distributed by 3rd Caliph Usman (Allah may be pleased with him)
The Qur’an is the last book (written instructions) of guidance for mankind till eternity. The Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is a practical model of implementation of Qur’an, which was physically, practically demonstrated (like offering prayer and other such matters). Sunnah is transmitted from generation to generation. Hadith is a writing, composed of words, deeds and historical events attributed to the Prophet (Pbuh) and companions. Hadiths writing was disallowed by the Prophet (Pbuh), later not compiled by the Rightly guided Caliph Rashidun in the form of a book, like Quran, instead its continuous oral transmission (Tawatar) was considered sufficient. Not that they had some personal reasons, but very logical strong reasons from experience of past generations (Jews and Christians).
This study has been undertaken
to examine the existence of other books (Hadith) beside the Quran in the light of the Quran, Sunnah and history. The discussion started on social media. Seeing the keen interest shown by members, an exclusive WhatsApp Group was formed which included only seven members, comprising highly learned very senior police officer, senior army officers, PhD university professor, medical doctoral/ professor, head of a Darul Uloom and an Islamic religious scholar undergoing PhD at the International Islamic University. The discussion continued for a few days, and was found to be very interesting and useful. After further study and research I have compiled it in three parts; (1) Important Information (2) Research/ Analysis (3) Q & A. It is intended to publish 153 pages of study in DJ in due course Insha’Allah. It has been sent to the “Islamic Research Institute”, International Islamic University, Islamabad. This “Abstract” will introduce the salient aspects very briefly.
Following aspects are important:
1. Is the Qur’an just the last book of Allah or are there other books as well?
2. The facts should be brought out for the knowledge of everyone, no matter how bitter they may be so that scholars can play their positive, constructive role in restoring Islam to the original, simple, perfect religion of the first century Hijra, rather than defending the errors of past history.
3. There is no priesthood in Islam: They (Jews and Christians) have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah. (Quran; 9:31). Muslim believes in only One Lord (Rabb), which is Allah. Should Muslim follow the religious scholars blindly? Or insist on following the Quran & Sunnah?
Fate of Previous Scriptures
Allah sent His Last Messenger Muhammad (Pbuh) and the Last Book, Quran for the guidance of humanity till eternity because the previous scriptures were corrupted and undermined by human written books.
Torah was revealed to Moses (Pbuh), it has 5853 verses, whereas Talmud (written by Jewish religious scholars), stretches to well over 10 million words across 38 volumes. It takes precedence over Divine scripture.
The New Testament (NT), the Christian holy scripture, has 27 books, only 4 Gospels with some verses attributed to Jesus Christ, while 23 other books have been written by others attributed to St. Paul and his disciples.
NT comprises a total 7,959 verses, of which but 1,599 are sayings of Christ. The words count: New Testament is 181,253 of which only 36,450 of these are the words of Christ barely over 20 percent. Jesus Christ criticized the clergy and tried to guide them to follow the true teachings of God in the scripture but they turned against him.
Quran
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) made special arrangements and took extra care for writing Quran by scribes, memorization and preservation. He prohibited writing of anything else besides Quran. The Prophet (Pbuh) had expressly forbidden the writing down of any hadith! According to Muslim and ibn Hanbal: Abi Said al Khudri reported that the Prophet said: “Do not write down anything from me except the Quran. Whoever writes down anything other than the Quran must erase it.” There are some reports of permission to some individuals but the fact remains that he did not leave anything written except the Quran. Even till the 2nd century this status was maintained.
The Quran was very carefully preserved during the reign of the first three caliphs and standard copies circulated. The Caliphs adhered to the policy and for the next century there was only One Book of Allah, The Holy Quran, which has 6,236 verses. After the first century when all Companions also passed away, Hadith books started to emerge in 2nd and 3rd century Hijrah. Presently there are over 25000 Hadiths, over 70 books There are millions of Hadith not included in these books by the writers. Imam Shafi said that no one in entire history can claim to know all Ahadith, it’s humanly impossible. Their grades of authenticity also keep changing. However, according to Imam Suyuti (Egyptian scholar, historian and jurist), the most authentic (Tawatar/ Continuous) Hadiths concerning certain rituals, such as, Prayers, fasts, etc are only 113.
Role of Rightly Guided Caliphs in Preserving The Book of Allah, The Quran
Caliph Abu-Bakr (Allah may be pleased with him), the first Caliph, on persuasion of Omar, agreed to collect and arrange Quran and keep it safe. He is reported to have compiled a work, in which there were 500 traditions of the Prophet, and handed it over to his daughter ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). The next morning, he took it back from her and destroyed it, saying: “I wrote what I understood; it is possible however that there should be certain things in it which did not correspond textually with what the Prophet had said.”
Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) as heard by Abdullah bin Yassar that, he heard delivering him a sermon, Ali said that whoever had any writing other than the Qur’an, must return home and delete it, because the previous nations went astray when they abandoned the book of Lord and indulged in the debates of their scholars.
Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) who enjoyed very special status, being a close associate of the Prophet (Pbuh), as 2nd Caliph, after thorough deliberations, decided not to have any other book besides book of Allah, the Holy Quran, because the previous communities (Jews and Christians) went astray by ignoring the book of Allah and by indulging in unnecessary issues and debates. Moreover they were commanded not to add anything or delete from the Scripture (Torah) which they violated.
As to Umar (Allah may be pleased with him), we learn on the authority of Ma’mar ibn Rashid, that during his caliphate, Umar once consulted the companions of the Prophet on the subject of codifying the Hadith. Everybody seconded the idea. Yet Umar continued to hesitate and prayed to God for a whole month for guidance and enlightenment. Ultimately, he decided not to undertake the task, and said: “Former peoples neglected the Divine Books and concentrated only on the conduct of the prophets; I do not want to set up the possibility of confusion between the Divine Qur’an and the Prophet’s Hadith [Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah]
Another narration: “Umar ibn al-Khattab once tried to deal with the problem of committing the Hadith to writing
The companions of the Prophet whom he consulted, encouraged him, but he was not quite sure whether he should proceed. One day, moved by God’s inspiration, he made up his mind and announced: “I wanted to have the traditions of the Prophet (Hadith) written down, but I fear that the Book of God might be encroached upon. Hence I shall not permit this to happen.” He, therefore, changed his mind and instructed the Muslims throughout the provinces: “Whoever has a document bearing a prophetic tradition, shall destroy it.” The Hadith, therefore, continued to be transmitted orally and was not collected and written down until the period of al-Mamun.” (169-217 Hijrah) [Muhammad Husayn Haykal]
Quran does not want anyone to believe in any other book or Hadith, except Quran
which is called the best Hadith (discourse, scripture), here are some verses:
1. Quran is a perfect, complete and fully detailed divine revelation (6:19, 38, & 114-116).
2. “Allah has sent down the best Hadith (ahsana alhadeethi kitaban) a consistent Book wherein is reiteration. The skins shiver therefrom of those who fear their Lord; then their skins and their hearts relax at the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of Allah by which He guides whom He wills. And one whom Allah leaves astray for him there is no guide.” [ Quran 39:23]
3. “These are the verses of Allah (Quran) which We recite to you in truth. Then in what Hadith after Allah and His verses will they believe?” [Quran; 45:6)
4. “Then in what Hadith after the Qur’an will they believe? [Quran; 77:50, 7:185]
5. “Then in what Hadith after the Qur’an will they believe? [Quran; 7:185]
Here is the Trial of believers (Quran:29:2-7) “Should I seek a judge other than God, when it is He who has revealed the Book, clearly explained. Those to whom We gave the Book earlier know that it is the truth revealed by your Lord. Therefore, have no doubts. The Word of your Lord is perfected in truth and justice. None can change His words. He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing. If you obey the majority of those on earth, they will lead you astray from God’s way. They follow nothing but conjecture. They are only guessing. (Quran 6:114-116)
Quran also does not approve of any name except “Muslim” for the believers endorsed 44 times and rejects sectarianism:
“Allah named you “Muslims” before [in former scriptures] and in this [Quran] that the Messenger may be a witness over you and you may be witnesses over the people. (Quran;22:78)
“Surely those who divide the religion into sects and identify themselves as a sect, O Muhammad, you have nothing to do with them. Their case will be called to account by Allah Himself, He will inform them as to what they did.”(Quran;6:159)
During his farewell sermon, the Messenger of Allah said: “I left for you what if you hold up to, you will never be misguided, the BOOK OF ALLAH.” [Muslim 15/19, 1218; Ibn Majah 25/84, Abu dawud 11/56.]
The command and Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs was in-line with the Quran, and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which was strictly respected and followed until the end of the first century Hijrah. The famous books of Hadiths were compiled in the third century, in violation of Quran, command and Sunnah of Rightly Guided Caliphs, hence their legitimacy remains questionable.
The basis of religion is not on the selfish desires of people, but on the Quran and Sunnah. What is good or less good is well known to the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) and special people nominated by him to make important decisions [Rightly Guided Caliphs in this case]. Obedience to Allah, His Messenger (Pbuh) and people of authority (Rightly Guided Caliphs) forms the basis of Islam, respectively.
The Quran highlights this aspect
He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah but those who turn away We have not sent you over them as a guardian. (Quran :4:80)
“mend their ways, hold fast to Allah, and purify their religion for Allah. (Quran 4:146)
And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits He will put him into the Fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment. (Quran 4:14)
O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.(Quran 4:59)
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said;
“Certainly, the one who will live among you will see lots of differences. So stick to my sunnah and the sunnah of the right principled and rightly-guided successors. Bite onto that with your molar teeth.“
“Acting upon my Sunnah and the Sunnah of my Khulaafa-i-Rashideen is obligatory for you.” (Ibni Maajah, Ch 6)
There is a dire need to restore the central position of the Quran in Islam and in the lives of Muslims, in line with Quran and the Sunnah [obedience to Prophet (Pbuh)], Rightly Guided Caliphs and companions so that sectarianism, moral decay, intellectual stagnation and other issues can be tackled.
Conclusion
The Study Research reveals the following:
1. Quran does not permit to believe in any book/ Hadith except Quran.
2. Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), prohibited writing of his speech (Hadith). If someone wrote, it was for memorization and then deleted.
3. Prophet (Pbuh) left the written Quran (unbounded) also memorized by companions.
4. The Holy Quran was thoroughly rechecked by special committee and eye witnesses, bound in the form of Book under special arrangements by the first two Caliphs and distributed by 3rd Caliph.
5. The issue of Hadith collection did not arise with the first caliph, it was considered by the 2nd Caliph and rejected to avoid any book besides Quran, which is complete, detailed and comprehensive (moreover the policy enunciated by Quran and Messenger must also have been kept in view). The previous communities went astray by neglecting and mixing up the Book of God with other books.
6. The decision of the 2nd Caliph Umer (R.A) was also endorsed by other Rightly Guided Caliphs (who were commanded by the Prophet (Pbuh) to be followed by the Muslims). This policy practice remained in force till the second century Hijra when all Companions had passed away.
7. The Sunnah (practice) of Prophet (Pbuh) being of practical nature (offering prayer etc.), continues to be practiced/ followed by Muslims and passed on from generation to generation. It is not dependent upon Hadith books or writings and is fully secure.
8. The famous Hadith books compiled written in the 3rd century Hijrah apart from benefits have been used to reinvent religion , sects (with distortion due to difference in transmission, understanding and interpretations) as if nothing existed during the first two centuries. Quran and Sunnah through historic continuity always existed without any break). Islam, was declared as the “Perfected Deen”, on 10th of Dul-Hajj, 10 Hijrah.(Quran;5:3).
9. Muslims deviated from the right path, once they practically abandoned the Quran. While following their selfish desires adopted the path and practice of Jewish and Christian to create more books to undermine the Book of God despite clear warning by Allah, that: “They have taken their rabbis and their monks as lords apart from God”(9:31)
10. Allah has named the believers as Muslims, at least 44 times in the Quran. All believers must abandon their sectarian titles, names, prefixes and suffixes and remain satisfied and happy with the name given by Allah.
11. Every effort should be made to restore Islam to its perfected, pure, pristine state, of first century Hijra by following Quran, Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), four Rightly Guided Caliphs and companions, anything contradicting Quran be extirpated after through scrutiny.
12. Extensive studies and research may be conducted at official and unofficial level through composite study/ research groups and teams comprising religious scholars and scholars from different fields with wide expertise. It’s too serious a matter to be left to religious people alone.
“Allah wishes to explain things to you and guide you to the ways of those who have gone before you and to turn to you in mercy. Allah is all knowing and all wise. He wishes to turn towards you in mercy, but those who follow their own passions want you to drift far away from the right path. God wishes to lighten your burdens, for, man has been created weak. (Quran 4: 26,27,28)
“Perfect are the words of thy Lord in truthfulness and justice; no man can change His words; He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.” (Quran 6:115)
Then do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon [their] hearts (Quran 47:24)
The Messenger will say, “Lord, my people did indeed discard the Quran,” (Quran;25:30)
There must be many queries and questions, which may get answered through reading the “Study/ Research”, to be published in DJ in due course Insha’Allah, however it is also available at: https:/SalaamOne.com/last-book/ To be continued.
References:
https:/SalaamOne.com/last-book/
End Notes
[1]https://salaamone.com/quran/
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun
[4] https://sunnahonline.com/library/history-of-islam/352-rightly-guided-caliphs-the
[5] https://islamqa.info/en/answers/125091/uthmaans-compilation-of-the-mushaf-in-one-style-harf
[6] https://islamqa.info/en/answers/10012/who-wrote-the-quraan-and-how-was-it-put-together
[7] http://www.al-mawrid.org/index.php/articles/view/difference-between-hadith-and-sunnah1
[8] https://www.exploring-islam.com/difference-between-sunnah-and-hadith.html
[9]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith_of_the_Quran_and_Sunnah,
[10] https://catholic-resources.org/Bible/OT-Statistics-NAB.htm
[11] https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24367959
[12] https://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/csj/csj001.htm
[13]https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/23.htm
[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hadith_collections
[15] http://islamicencyclopedia.org/islamic-pedia-topic.php?id=744
[16] https://salaamone.com/hadith-history/
[17]History of Hadith -Nakhbat-Al-fikr by Ibn Hajar al-Esqalani – An Academic Review [Urdu]
[18] http://balagha.net/forty-hadith-virtues-umar-bin-al-khattab/umar-hadith-thirty-one-fourty
[19] History of Hadith -Nakhbat-Al-fikr by Ibn Hajar al-Esqalani – An Academic Review [Urdu]
[20] https://www.aish.com/atr/Torah_versus_Talmud.html, https://salaamone.com/torah-talmud
[21] https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-the-Talmud-and-the-Torah
[22] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith_of_Umar%27s_ban_on_hadith, The Life of Muhammad. Cairo. 1935, Introduction to Islam. Kuwait. 1977. pp. 34–35. https://www.quora.com/Did-Omar-ibn-al-khattab-ask-for-the-ban-of-Hadith
[23] https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-2.htm
[24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith
[25] http://salaamone.com/why-hadees-not-compiled-by-caliphs/
[27] http://tanzil.net/#trans/en.wahiduddin/29:2
[28] http://tanzil.net/#trans/en.wahiduddin/6:111-116
[29] http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=slm
[30] http://salaamone.com/muslim-first/
[31]https://sunnah.com/muslim/15/159
[33] [Abu Dawood and at-Tirmidhi, according to ibn Muhammad, al-Albaani, al-Bazzaar, al-Tirmidhi, al-Haakim, ibn Abdul Barr, Abu Nuaim and numerous others, this is an authentic hadith. Recorded by at-Tirmidhi. According to Shaykh al-Albaani رحمه الله, it is sahih. See al-Albaani, Saheeh al-Jaami, vol. 1 , p. 630.]
[34]https://salaamone.com/last-book/
[35] http://tanzil.net/#trans/en.arberry/9:31
