Source: Fatāwā ʿUlamāʾ-e-Ahl-e-Ḥadīth, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Volume 1
"To believe in the Qur'an, one must believe in the Prophethood of the Messenger ﷺ. Then, to accept narrations as Hadith, must we also believe in all the narrators? Have we been burdened with believing in countless individuals?"
① You yourself accept the authenticity of the Qur'an based on the unbroken transmission (tawātur) and unanimous consensus of the Ummah.
② If this principle is sufficient for accepting the Qur’an, then the same principle applies to Hadith.
If we accept that the Qur’an has reached us through generations of Muslims—both righteous and ordinary— without requiring faith in each individual,
→ then acceptance of Hadith does not require belief in every narrator either.
The Qur'an instructs:
"فَتَبَيَّنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ"
(Surah al-Ḥujurāt: 6)
Translation: “If a fāsiq (transgressor) brings you a report, then verify it.”
◈ This verse commands verification, not faith in the transmitter.
◈ If this applies to ordinary reports, how much more so to reports concerning the Prophet ﷺ?
Conclusion:
The objection falsely equates:
✘ “Accepting a report” = “Having faith in the narrator”
✔ In reality, these are entirely separate concepts.
"Faith in the Qur’an is obligatory, but there is no obligation to have faith in Hadith or its narrators."
✔ The Qur’an did not reach us without intermediaries.
It came through hundreds, thousands, even millions of transmitters over centuries.
Question: Have you believed in all of them individually?
Answer: No. You trust the transmitted content, not the personal creed of each transmitter.
✔ When you accept news from a person or testimony in court,
→ you are not placing faith in the person, only in the verified reliability of their statement.
✿ Judges around the world accept witness testimonies—without “believing” in those witnesses.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ and the Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidīn also acted upon reports and testimonies.
Question: Did that mean they "believed in the narrators"?
Answer: No. The objection is baseless and irrational.
✔ The Qur’an and Hadith both reached us through the same Ummah.
✔ The Qur’an gives commands, and the Hadith explains and details them.
➤ For instance:
Denying Hadith renders the Qur’an practically inapplicable.
Ghulam Ahmad Parwez claimed that a “master copy of the Qur’an” was preserved in a box in Masjid Nabawi.
There is no evidence for this claim in any authentic historical source.
✔ This was a fabrication to avoid accepting Hadith, not a historically verifiable fact.
✔ Both the Qur’an and Hadith have been preserved and transmitted by the same Ummah.
✔ The principle of verification, as prescribed in the Qur’an, is sufficient for Hadith.
✔ Belief in narrators is not required—just as it is not required for the preservation of the Qur’an.
✿ First Objection:
"To believe in the Qur'an, one must believe in the Prophethood of the Messenger ﷺ. Then, to accept narrations as Hadith, must we also believe in all the narrators? Have we been burdened with believing in countless individuals?"
❖ Response:
◈ Tawātur of the Qur’an and Consensus of the Ummah:
① You yourself accept the authenticity of the Qur'an based on the unbroken transmission (tawātur) and unanimous consensus of the Ummah.
② If this principle is sufficient for accepting the Qur’an, then the same principle applies to Hadith.
✔ Logical Parallel:
If we accept that the Qur’an has reached us through generations of Muslims—both righteous and ordinary— without requiring faith in each individual,
→ then acceptance of Hadith does not require belief in every narrator either.
❖ Qur’anic Principle of Verification:
The Qur'an instructs:
"فَتَبَيَّنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ"
(Surah al-Ḥujurāt: 6)
Translation: “If a fāsiq (transgressor) brings you a report, then verify it.”
◈ This verse commands verification, not faith in the transmitter.
◈ If this applies to ordinary reports, how much more so to reports concerning the Prophet ﷺ?
Conclusion:- Verification of a narration is what is required.
- Belief in the narrator is not a prerequisite.
❖ False Equivalence: Belief vs. Verification
The objection falsely equates:
✘ “Accepting a report” = “Having faith in the narrator”
✔ In reality, these are entirely separate concepts.
✿ Second Objection:
"Faith in the Qur’an is obligatory, but there is no obligation to have faith in Hadith or its narrators."
❖ Response:
◈ The Principle of Transmission:
✔ The Qur’an did not reach us without intermediaries.
It came through hundreds, thousands, even millions of transmitters over centuries.
Question: Have you believed in all of them individually?
Answer: No. You trust the transmitted content, not the personal creed of each transmitter.
❖ News and Testimony:
✔ When you accept news from a person or testimony in court,
→ you are not placing faith in the person, only in the verified reliability of their statement.
✿ Judges around the world accept witness testimonies—without “believing” in those witnesses.
❖ Practice of the Prophet ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphs:
✔ The Prophet ﷺ and the Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidīn also acted upon reports and testimonies.
Question: Did that mean they "believed in the narrators"?
Answer: No. The objection is baseless and irrational.
❖ Qur'an and Hadith: Inseparable Sources of Guidance:
✔ The Qur’an and Hadith both reached us through the same Ummah.
✔ The Qur’an gives commands, and the Hadith explains and details them.
➤ For instance:
- The Qur’an commands Ṣalāh, Zakāh, etc.,
- But the procedures are only known through Hadith.
Denying Hadith renders the Qur’an practically inapplicable.
❖ Rebuttal to G.A. Parwez’s Claim:
Ghulam Ahmad Parwez claimed that a “master copy of the Qur’an” was preserved in a box in Masjid Nabawi.
There is no evidence for this claim in any authentic historical source.✔ This was a fabrication to avoid accepting Hadith, not a historically verifiable fact.
❖ Conclusion:
✔ The objection that accepting Hadith means "believing in narrators" is illogical and unfounded.✔ Both the Qur’an and Hadith have been preserved and transmitted by the same Ummah.
✔ The principle of verification, as prescribed in the Qur’an, is sufficient for Hadith.
✔ Belief in narrators is not required—just as it is not required for the preservation of the Qur’an.
