The Theme of Research /Study:
In Islam, Quran, the Book of Allah is the primary source of guidance, the Sunnah (practices) of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and practices of his four closest and righteous companions, Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) and Hazrat Ali (RA) has a permanent priority over all other companions, jurists, scholars and people. By adhering to thier policies and practices, the original Islam of the first century Hijrah, the pure perfected religion of Islam can be revived, as declared by Allah Almighty on the Farewell Pilgrimage (10 Hijrah/ 631 C.E) (Quran;5:3). After reaching the heights of perfection, decline starts, which continues to this day.
It is our desire, prayer and endeavour to never give up "Perfected Deen Islam" and to strive for the revival of the "Perfected Deen Islam" of the first Islamic century.
The Qur’an is the last book (written instructions) of guidance for mankind till eternity, which is complete, detailed, easy, safe and secure.
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, through a large number of people, hence it cannot be fabricated like some Hadiths by individual reporters.
It must be clarified from the outset that this study/ research has nothing to do with the views of those who totally reject and deny the Hadith literature due to lack of authenticity and recording after centuries, commonly known as "Munkir-e-Hadith” (deniers of hadith) or Ahlul-Quran (Quran only). Delivering the religious edict (fatwa) is the domain of experts (Ulema, Muhadeseen). Quran declares the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a role model for Muslim, hence his legacy, practice (Sunnah) cannot be ignored. The majority Muslims belief and practices are generally in line with the Quran and Sunnah. However The Quran provides much more for unity of Muslims and shun sectarianism:
And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Quran), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided.(Quran 3:103)
Following aspects are important for in depth study and analysis:
Is the Qur’an just the last book of Allah, complete, detailed, protected or there other books of guidance as well?
Did the Quran mention or give any indication of other supplementary books?
The Prophet (pbuh) commanded to follow the Sunnah (practices) of Rightly Guided Caliphs after him. What was their policy with regard to any other books or books besides the Quran?
Should Muslim follow the religious scholars blindly like Jews and Chrsitians as mentioned in Quran (9:31) ?
The facts should be brought out for the knowledge of everyone, 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.
Research theme is not:
This study is Not about the significance of Hadith and its benefits.
This study is Not about the nature of Hadith to be revelation or not.
This study is Not about hadith authenticity accuracy or errors.
This study is Not about Hadiths writing immediately or in the third century.
This study is Not about the personal character of compilers of hadith books to be pious, noble, good or ambitious. The matter is with Allah, who is aware of matters of heart and intentions.
This study is Not to outrightly reject Hadith literature as some groups do. Any statement or action attributed to The Prophet (pbuh), irrespective of its authenticity or classification is to be respected and analysed in the light of Quran. “Oral” transmission of Hadiths and “writing, compiling Hadith Books” are not synonymous.
This study is Not about implications if the hadith books had not been compiled.
This study is Not intended to break Muslim consensus and unity or to promote any secterian group which is practice of polytheists (Quran 30:31-32). Rather it is to promote unity and harmony through Quran, the Only unanimous book of Muslim consensus.
This study in Not normal, its unique , aims to gradually revive the first century Islam while remaining wihin the majority community of Muslim Ummah. Status quo should not be abruptly disrupted.
This study is Not conclusive, it remains subject to debate and discussions till consensus emerges.
Some of the themes mentioned above are separate themes, which are neither part of this study, nor have been discussed in detail except partially wherever it was found to be inevitable.
This study aims to explore, whether in Islam there is One, Last Book of guidance, the Holy Quran or Books.
The study is primarily based upon undisputed unanimously agreed sources: The Holy Quran and undisputed historic realities of continuous (matwatar) Sunnah (practice) of the Prophet (pbuh), four Rightly Guided Caliphs and companions related with this topic. The other material is quoted just as additional references which support the continuous (matwatar) historic practices.
The main subject, the theme, is difficult for the people to comprehend because what has been taught and told for twelve centuries, deeply engraved in the minds, considered to be a part of faith and practice, is being questioned, through solid evidence and arguments from Qur'an and Sunnah of the closest companions, the Rightly Guided Caliphs [the special title and honor bestowed by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] and through reference to the hadiths. Hence it is very difficult to accept so easily. One wonders if he has been deceived?
In such a situation one may immediately go into a state of denial and defensiveness, without understanding the theme or under the influence of preconceived ideas, the hard facts and arguments. suppressed through emotions (nafas).
It is therefore important to describe the theme:
"The Last Book or Books? Return to the Qur'an and Sunnah"
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded Muslims to adhere to the Sunnah of the Companions. Those pious companions, Umar and Abu Bakr Siddiue arranged the compilation of Quran in the form of Book, by collecting fragments and memorization of companions. Zaid bin Thabit , the scribe of revelations was head of committee. Arrangements were, therefore, made to collect and gather all the written pieces of the Qur’an left by the Holy Prophet, and those in the possession of his Companions. Then with the cooperation of those Companions who had committed the whole or any part of the Qur’an to memory word by word, all the written pieces were compared with each other for verification. Zaid would not take down anything in his manuscript unless all the three sources tallied with copy. This authenticated copy of the whole Qur’an was kept in the house of Hafsa, Omar’s daughter, and one of the wives of the Holy prophet and it was proclaimed that anyone, who desired, might make a copy of it or compare it with the copy already possessed. Later the third Caliph Usman ((R.A) again under committee chaired by Zaid bin Thabit rechecked the manuscript thoroughly and issued official copies. The effort is matchless in accuracy and authenticity in the entire history of world religions. Can an individual effort by people after two centuries be equated with this effort?
Among the companions, when Hazrat Umar (RA) became Caliph, the issue of Hadith writing came up. He decided after much deliberation that, because the first ummahs (Jews, Chrisitans) were destroyed by bringing other books against the Book of Allah, hence in Islam there is no other book but the Book of Allah. This policy was supported by the other Rightly Guided Caliphs, (Mahad-deen) and the Companions as a whole. It is a historic fact that NO Hadith book was compiled and published during first century Hijrah, strictly adhering to the policies of Caliph. Existence of private notes for memorization cannot be ruled out. Only oral narration was adhered to, which was the norm. The famous books of Hadith have been written in the third century Hijrah, in violation of policy and command of Rightly Guided Caliphs. It does not need any discussion or proof, an undeniable history fact not fiction.
The "Righteous Caliphs, the Muhaddithin" were not only political rulers but also religious leaders. This is a special honor for the Rightly Guided Caliphs, who made important religious decisions that are being followed. After the first century, when it became customary to compile Hadiths in the form of books, what was feared by Hazrat Umar and Ali happened two centuries later; a simple and easy religion, Islam, turned into a complex religion, ignoring the last book of Allah, indulging in “Qeel o Qaal” (unnessary discussions- It was said that was said), this was the fear expressed by Hazrat Ali (RA) when he also justified the decision of Hazrat Umar (RA).
No one can change the Qur'an, even if there is a difference of opinion, there is an easy solution, there are the “verses which are precise (muhkmaat) - they are the foundation of the Book (Umm al-Kitab)” (Qur'an 3: 7). This rule was not applied to the Hadith literature, now out of million, there are more than twenty five thousand hadiths of different classification in 75 books, besides many sects. The followers of sects reject Hadiths quoted by opponents as weak, and engage in unnecessary interpretations and discussions. This is the way of the Jews and Chrisitians, Muslims went against the teachings of Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), Sunnah of the Righteous Caliphs, because the personal interests of some religious leaders may be involved, they shall always oppose any effort to return to the Islam of first century Hujra through reforms.
There are other groups like “Ahle-Quran” [People of Quran] holding another extreme position, to only follow Quran, while Quran does talk about obedience to the Prophet (pbuh) being a role model. This aspect cannot be ignored while looking for the true practices and ways of Prophet (pbuh).
Study of the Quran and observing continuous practices (Sunnah) of the Prophet (pbuh) clear the haze and we can get clear guidance. This study has been undertaken to debate and discuss the issue with open mind so that Muslims can practice the original perfected Islam of first century.
It may be kept in view that:
The principles of religion (usool-e-deen) and the promotion of religion (froogh-deen) are not being touched (although this is the work of the scholars).
The the six basic fundamentals of faith and five pillars of Islam are not being discussed, they are part of faith.
No ridiculation of any sect or unnecessary promotion.
There is no ground for a new sect, sectarianism is forbidden in the Qur'an - only Islam and Muslim.
This is just an intellectual exercise, to ponder over the Qur'an and find the ways to restore the original status of the Qur'an.
Follow the way Islam is being practiced in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah.
Be tolerant and patient with others and use religious material positively instead of creating hatred or promoting sectarianism.
Continuous (matwater), Hadiths are the most authentic, there is scholarly consensus that their denier is a disbeliever.
The Hadiths attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), even if they are inauthentic, weak, they must be respected and analysed in the light of Quran. It's a great treasure of knowledge about the Seerah of the Prophet (pbuh), companions and history.
[Published in The Defence Journal (DJ) -May 2020]
Also read : Ahle Quran & Ahle Hadith Delusions ... [.......]
