Ḥadīth Rejectors: Arguments & Obstacles

(I have written a more elaborate and updated article on this topic that I suggest the reader refer to using the following link: https://ulumalhadith.com/responses-to-objections-on-%e1%b8%a5adith/#_ftnref13)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

INTRODUCTION

It is firstly important to understand that there are two distinct aspects of ḥadīth: 1) Authenticity of Ḥadīth: in which the status of the ḥadīths’ text and chain is concerned, and, 2) Authority of Ḥadīth: in which the authority that the ḥadīth holds in Islamic rulings is concerned. 

Since early Islamic History, there have been groups that have objected to the authenticity of ḥadīth. In the very beginning, when such a group emerged, Imām Shafiʿī (d. 204 AH) refuted them. Thereafter, the idea of rejecting ḥadīth that contradicted one’s intellect (ʿaql) emerged, so Ibn Quṭaybah (d. 276 AH) refuted them, so they ceased their arguments. Following that, a group arose and challenged the corpus of ḥadīth by arguing that the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) had prohibited writing down ḥadīth so Imām Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (d. 463 AH) responded to them, causing them to discontinue. After Imām Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, an innovator from the Rawāfiḍ appeared and started claiming that the sunnah has no authority. The Shīʿas who are less extreme than the Rawāfiḍ objected to the authenticity of ḥadīth, and took only from narrators that are Shīʿa. In response to the Rāfiḍī innovator, Imām Suyūṭī (raḥimahullāh) wrote a book titled: Miftāḥ al-Jannah fī Iḥtijāj bi ‘s-Sunnah, refuting his claims.

It was only from the end of the 19th to the early 20th century that certain groups emerged that rejected ḥadīth and the authority (ḥujjiyyah) of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam).

TWO TYPES OF WAḤĪ

There are two types of waḥī (revelation): 1) Matlū i.e. the Qurʾān 2) Ghair Matlū i.e. the Ḥadīth. Matlū refers to the general method of revelation when Allāh Taʿālā would send down waḥī either directly to the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam), or to angel Jibrīl who then would bring it to the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam), etc. This was then recorded during the lifetime of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) and then compiled into book form in the era of the Companions. This is what we know as the Holy Qurʾān that is recited and one is rewarded for doing so. Ghair Matlū is the revelation that the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) received during his lifetime but was not meant to be recited nor compiled as a part of the Holy Qurʾān. Both are revelations from Allāh Taʿālā. One cannot accept only one type of revelation and reject the other.

One example of how the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) received the second type of revelation is the following: Allāh Taʿālā sent the verse: {So [now] turn your face towards Masjid Haram…} (Qurʾān 2:144) and at that point, the Muslims were facing another direction, which was Masjid al-Aqṣā. However, in the Qurʾān, the time when Allāh Taʿālā commanded the Muslims to face Masjid al-Aqṣā, that command is not there in the form of a verse. Thus, we understand that Allāh Taʿālā sent revelation to the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) but that command is not in the Qurʾān in the form of a verse. Therefore, what the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) would do and say are all waḥī from Allāh Taʿālā. Allāh Taʿālā mentions about this command to turn that it was a test: {…so that we may distinguish those that follow the Prophet from those that turn away}. Allāh Taʿālā did not say “distinguish those who follow the Qurʾān from those who do not” but rather said, “distinguish those that follow the Prophet from those that do not.” This means that the sayings and actions of the prophet are ḥujjah (authoritative). He must be followed in his presence, and in his absence, his teachings and sayings must be followed, which cannot be done except through ḥadīth.

There are so many verses that prove that we must follow the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam)‘s commands because Allāh Taʿālā said so.

ARGUMENTS OF ḤADĪTH REJECTORS

The ḥadīth rejectors have a few arguments, but I will suffice by mentioning two main ones that seem like their strongest ones.

First argument

The Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) said: “Do not write anything from me, except the Qurʾān.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Chapter: Zuhd and Raqāʾiq, 3004)

Response

It is very foolish and ironic that they use one ḥadīth to reject all. If they reject ḥadīth, they cannot use a ḥadīth to prove this. By doing so, they fall into a paradox. This prohibition was at the beginning of Islam because the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) feared that people might confuse and conflate the Qurʾān with ḥadīth, or that the people will start relying on books and stop memorising knowledge. However, after some time, the prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) gave permission to the Companions to write his aḥādīth.

A similar argument and its response

They also use the following ḥadīth that the prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) said: “When you find a ḥadīth from me, refer it to the book of Allāh. if it conforms with it, accept it, otherwise, reject it.” This ḥadīth is actually known to be mawḍūʿ (fabricated). The enemies of Islam have fabricated this ḥadīth so that ḥadīth on its own can have no authority until the Qurʾān confirms it. So the rejectors of ḥadīth can get rid of all those ḥadīths which are not indicated in the Qurʾān, which happens to the majority. Thus, scholars have done exactly what this ḥadīth suggests. They referred this very ḥadīth to the Qurʾān and saw that nowhere in the Qurʾān does it say that only those ḥadīth should be accepted that are in agreement with the Qurʾān, so they rejected this ḥadīth. The ḥadīth is most likely forged regardless, but they did this to demonstrate how erroneous their claim is.

Second argument

They say that aḥādīth was written all the way in the 3rd century Hijri. Many orientalists like Schacht, Muir, Guillaume, Goldziher, and others suggest that the sayings of the Prophet (ṣallā llāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) had disappeared for an entire century, and then discovered in the third century, creating a detrimental gap that resulted in fabrications and distortions.

Response

They say this as if the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) taught the Muslims, then once he passed away, his aḥādīth were abandoned until someone from the 3rd century decided to start writing ḥadīth and circulating it. This is completely incorrect. Since the lifetime of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) Muslims started memorising his aḥādīth. It was then passed down through the generations by memory, which was the strongest method of transmission at that time. Shaykh Muṣṭafā al-ʿAzamī lists and discusses fifty Companions who wrote and possessed collections of ḥadīth during his lifetime and it could not have been done except with the Prophet’s permission. There were also 49 scholars from the first century, 87 from the last first century, and 251 from the second century, all of who recorded ḥadīth. If one rejects ḥadīth on the basis that it was not in written form, then this necessitates that one must reject the Qurʾān as well because even the Qurʾān did not take the form of a book during the lifetime of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam). It was during the caliphate of Abū Bakr (raḍī Allāhu ʿanh) that it was collected into one single book.

OBSTACLES OF REJECTING ḤADĪTH

First obstacle

Since all the laws in the Qurʾān are mentioned briefly, it is only possible to apply them through ḥadīth. However, because they reject ḥadīth, they read in the Qurʾān that they must pray, but cannot ascertain the method of praying from the Qurʾān alone. They have so many differences among themselves regarding prayer that it has led to various methods. Most of them pray two units of ṣalāḥ three times daily based on the verse: {Establish prayer ˹O Prophet˺ at both ends of the day and in the early part of the night. Surely good deeds wipe out evil deeds. That is a reminder for the mindful.} (Qurʾān 11:114) Some kneel on one knee and slowly recite Allāhu Akbar. Some stand with their imām, who stands amongst the people, not in front of them, and then they recite 25 verses and go to rukūʿ. After rukūʿ, they go straight to sajdah and do only one sajdah. Finally, they end the ṣalāḥ without any salām. They pray like this but ironically again, even this full method is not proven from the Qurʾān! Most importantly, Allāh Taʿāla has commanded us to pray in so many places of the Qurʾān but how can He command us to pray without telling us its method? That is why we understand that ḥadīth is authoritative because the method of prayer is ṣalāḥ in it. The same goes for zakāh, and other types of worship.

Second obstacle

Another issue they face is regarding zakāh. Without elaborating on this self-explanatory issue, they face the challenge of calculating how much zakāh they need to give, what are the zakatable items, how often must zakāh be given, etc.

These are just two examples, but there are many more obstacles they face. They are not aware of what are khāṣ (specific) verses, ʿām (general) verses, mustaḥab (preferable) actions, makrūh (undesirable) actions, etc., because all of this is understood from the teachings of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) i.e. ḥadīth. Another example is the verses pertaining to alcohol. It is mentioned in four different places of the Qurʾān. However, since the verses seemingly differ and contradict each other, they cannot tell whether alcohol was first permitted and then the prohibition was revealed or was it first prohibited, and then Allāh Taʿāla sent the verse: {O believers! Do not approach prayer while intoxicated until you are aware of what you say…} (Qurʾān 4:43). Even the details for qaṭʿ yad (cutting the hand of a thief), ḥajj (pilgrimage), and almost all the laws of the Sharīʿah, they cannot understand them and their application by merely depending on the Qurʾān.

CONCLUSION

The truth is that the reason why certain people want to reject ḥadīth is that they want to free themselves from acting upon the laws of the Sharīʿah. They do not want to pray, fast, and give charity in the way that the Sharīʿah has prescribed, and so they attack the authority of ḥadīth. Their aim for doing this is obvious. They understand that if the ḥadīth corpus is removed from the picture, they can live their lives exactly like the modern secular society. Since they have left ḥadīth, they have separated into many sub-sects among themselves, and are extremely confused about how the teachings of Islām should be carried out.

We ask Allāh Ta’āla for protection, Āmīn.