This excerpt is taken from the book by Fazilat-ul-Sheikh Abdul Salam Rustami From Denial of Hadith to Denial of Quran.
Fourth Doubt
Accepting the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ as authoritative and engaging in it is a veil over the Holy Quran. The opponents of Hadith hold the view: "The greatest harm caused by making this Hadith the basis of religion is that the Quran, which is the entirety of life, has been veiled. Consequently, the important and controversial topics discussed among the scholars of Hadith to this day are generally of such nature that they have no connection with the welfare and prosperity of the community or social life. For example: whether Abu Bakr is superior or Ali, whether the Quran is created or uncreated, how Allah descends to the heavens and earth during the last part of the night, whether hands should be folded during prayer, whether it is necessary to recite Al-Fatiha behind the Imam, whether Ameen should be said loudly or softly, etc. Contrary to this, if the Quran were the foundation, the issues would be arranged with the consideration of how to keep the center national and righteous in practice. What are the means to spread the Quranic guidance and bring the entire human community onto the path of salvation and happiness? The universe and nature, which the Quran states have been made subservient to humans, how can their hidden powers be controlled through what measures and employed in the service of humanity? Through what means can faith and righteous deeds be promoted so that every individual of the community can become a vicegerent on earth, for whom he was created, and so on and so forth."
Answer:
In this passage, Hafiz Aslam, setting aside the religious and national services of the Muhaddithin, presents their noble efforts in different ways and explains three things:
1. The virtue of Abu Bakr and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them)
2. Allah Almighty’s descent from the heavens to the world and the creation of the Quran
3. Jurisprudential differences
The reality is that these are not individual issues but the collective interest of the Ummah based on correct belief, and disbelief causes discord in the Ummah. The Muhaddithin stood firm against heretical beliefs and tried to save the Ummah from discord. Let us now examine these three mentioned issues one by one.
❀ First issue: When Ibn Saba, a Jew, tried to establish the belief that lineage and kinship to the Prophet are the cause of Imamate and Wilayah, the question arose: Who is superior, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) or Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)? If lineage and kinship were considered the essence of religion, the result would be that the caliphates of the three caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) would be illegitimate and unjust. This was a political and collective issue. Therefore, the noble Muhaddithin brought this issue under discussion and defended the truth against this heretical belief, thus doing a great favor to the Ummah.
❀ Second issue: The creation of the Quran and Allah Almighty’s descent from the heavens to the world are theological issues related to divine attributes. The deniers of Hadith, the Mu'tazila and Jahmiyyah, stirred these issues to create discord in the Ummah. Mamun al-Rashid, who was a staunch Mu'tazili, shed the blood of many scholars of truth over the issue of the creation of the Quran. He dismissed non-Mu'tazilites from official positions and declared their testimonies invalid. The Muhaddithin made such a magnificent struggle to save the Ummah from this discord and to defend the truth that it became a bright chapter in Islamic history.
❀ Third issue: Jurisprudential differences. In this issue, all knowledgeable people agree that there is room for difference. The Muhaddithin debated these issues because the common people and even some scholars were falling prey to the fitnah of blind personal imitation, which was causing the collective status of the Ummah to be scattered. To save the Ummah from this fitnah, the Muhaddithin drew attention to the Ahadith related to these issues and struggled to protect the Ummah from blind personal imitation and to end religious prejudice.
Hafiz Aslam says: "If the Quran were the sole basis, then such issues would be considered with the aim of how to keep the center strong and righteous in practice." Hafiz Sahib’s statement is based on hostility to Hadith and an attempt to set Hadith against the Quran. Hadith has never opposed the Quran on any occasion or issue but has rather explained and elaborated it.
Hafiz Aslam further says: "What means are there to spread the guidance of the Quran and to bring the entire human community on the path of salvation and happiness?" The answer is that the Muhaddithin created three means for this work:
1. Teaching of the Quran and Hadith
2. Speeches and lectures
3. Publication and dissemination of Tafsir, Sharh, Usul al-Tafsir, and Usul al-Hadith for the explanation and clarification of the Quran and Hadith.
The deniers of Hadith should tell what other means exist that the Muhaddithin ignored and the deniers of Hadith used?
Hafiz Sahib further said: "By what means can the hidden powers of the universe of nature, which the Quran says are subjugated for man, be controlled and employed in the service of humanity?" We say: One subjugation is that Allah Almighty has placed the heavens, earth, mountains, trees, fire, water, etc., in the service of humanity, in which man has no role. However, the means to maintain these blessings permanently is to establish a Shariah relationship with Allah Almighty because He is the Cause of causes. His displeasure causes the loss of blessings. Regarding this, the Muhaddithin and scholars of the Ummah have drawn attention to self-purification through the Quran and Hadith.
The second subjugation is practical (voluntary), which is called astronomy, mathematics, zoology, chemistry, medicine, geometry, botany, etc. In this field, some people have achieved praiseworthy accomplishments, including some great scholars who considered Hadith as religion and proof. The Westerners also acknowledge their achievements and have translated their works, advancing science and these fields. Observe some examples in the light of history:
● Ibrahim bin Habib al-Fazari, died 770 AH, expert in astronomy
● Jabir ibn Hayyan, 817 AH, expert in chemistry
● Abdul Malik, 821 AH, expert in zoology
● Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, 844 AH, expert in astronomy, geography, algebra, and arithmetic
● Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, 850 AH, expert in philosophy, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy
● Abu Bakr ibn Zakariya al-Razi, 925 AH, expert in geometry, medicine, and chemistry
● Abu Nasr al-Farabi, 951 AH, expert in philosophy, logic, mathematics, and chemistry
● Ibn Sina, 1037 AH, expert in Greek medicine and logic
● Abu al-Hasan, 1039 AH, expert in mathematics, physics, and medicine
● Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, 1048 AH, expert in travel, philosophy, mathematics, geometry, and medicine
● Ibn Rushd, 1198 AH, expert in philosophy, medicine, and astronomy
● Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, 1210 AH, expert in mathematics, geometry, medicine, and astronomy
● Ibn al-Bitar, 1248 AH, expert in botany
Besides these, there are many other scholars who excelled in the sciences of subjugating the universe. We request Parvez Sahib to tell what else he has done by denying Hadith except creating discord within the Ummah and the community?
