This excerpt is taken from the book of Fazilat-ul-Sheikh Abdul Salam Rustami From Denial of Hadith to Denial of Quran.
Eighth Doubt: The Hadith of Paper
Hadith deniers sometimes try to remove the religious authority of hadith by citing hadiths that serve their purpose, saying that Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) said in front of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and other companions: "The Book of Allah is sufficient for us."
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Knowledge, Chapter on Writing Knowledge, Hadith: 114
Meaning, there is no need for hadith.
Then the deniers of hadith explain the meaning of the word "Kitab" (Book). The Quran repeatedly calls itself a book. The first verse ”ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه“ explains the meaning of the book: "The Arabs called this written thing a book which was in a compiled and stitched form."
Reference: Qur'anic Decisions, p. 668
Regarding the Book of Allah, Parvez Sahib wrote:
This book, the Quran, was preserved alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him), and when the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed away, it was exactly in the same form and order as it is now with millions of Muslims and preserved in the hearts of thousands. A master copy was kept in a chest near a pillar in the Prophet's Mosque. This was the copy in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) first had the revelation written; it was called Umm al-Kitab or Imam. The pillar near which this copy was kept was called Istawana al-Mushaf. The companions would sit by this pillar and, under the supervision of the Prophet (peace be upon him), copy their own Mushafs from this Mushaf. The publication of this book became so widespread that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) addressed millions during his last Hajj (Farewell Pilgrimage) and asked: Have I conveyed the message of Allah to you? The response echoed from all sides: Yes! You have conveyed it. This was the book about which Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) said in the last moments of the Prophet's blessed life, in the presence of other companions: "”حسبنا كتاب الله“" "The Book of Allah is sufficient for us."
Several points are under discussion in this excerpt:
❀ For the Arabs, a book means a written thing that is compiled and stitched in a documented form.
❀ The form and order in which it exists now was present in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and was with millions of Muslims.
❀ In the Prophet's Mosque, during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), a master copy existed, called the Imam.
❀ The companions copied their Mushafs from it.
❀ The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Have I conveyed the message of Allah to you?
Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) said about this book: ”حسبنا كتاب الله“
The above excerpt mentions these points, but before answering, we ask Parvez Sahib: on what basis is this whole story narrated? Present a verse or hadith. However, this story refers to two hadiths (Farewell Pilgrimage and illness of death). This shows that hadith is authoritative. If it is not authoritative, then why did you present these references?
Now we present a detailed answer. We cannot rely solely on the Arabs to determine the meaning of the word "Kitab." We quote from the Quran itself. The word "Kitab" is mentioned 230 times in the Quran, and its root (k, t, b) appears 319 times. This word is used in various meanings in the Quran:
1. Meaning of an obligatory thing, as Allah Almighty said:
إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا
"Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times."
Reference: (4-An-Nisa:103)
2. Meaning of proof or argument, as He said:
فَأْتُوا بِكِتَابِكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
"So present your proof, if you should be truthful."
Reference: (37-As-Saffat:157)
3. Meaning of appointed time, as Allah Almighty said:
وَمَا أَهْلَكْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا وَلَهَا كِتَابٌ مَّعْلُومٌ
"And We did not destroy any city except that it had a known decree."
Reference: (15-Al-Hijr:4)
4. To make a slave a mukatib (one who contracts to buy his freedom), i.e., to free him in exchange for money. Allah says:
وَالَّذِينَ يَبْتَغُونَ الْكِتَابَ مِمَّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ فَكَاتِبُوهُمْ إِنْ عَلِمْتُمْ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا
"And those who seek a contract [for eventual emancipation] from among whom your right hands possess—then make a contract with them if you know there is within them goodness."
Reference: (24-An-Nur:33)
5. Meaning of writing, as He said:
وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ كِتَابًا
"And We have enumerated everything in writing."
Reference: (78-An-Naba:29)
6. Meaning of a record of deeds, as He said:
وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنْشُورًا
"On the Day We will call forth every people with their record [of deeds]."
Reference: (17-Bani Isra'il:13)
7. Meaning of the Preserved Tablet, as He said:
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُونٍ
"Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an, in a Register well-protected."
Reference: (56-Al-Waqi'ah:77,78)
8. Meaning of a letter, as He said:
إِنِّي أُلْقِيَ إِلَيَّ كِتَابٌ كَرِيمٌ
"Indeed, there was sent down to me a noble letter."
Reference: (27-An-Naml:29)
9. Written destiny, for example, Allah Almighty said:
أُولَئِكَ يَنَالُهُمْ نَصِيبُهُمْ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ
"And what is with you will vanish, but what is with Allah will remain."
Reference: (7-Al-A'raf:37)
10. Meaning of waiting period ('iddah), as He said:
وَلَا تَعْزِمُوا عُقْدَةَ النِّكَاحِ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ الْكِتَابُ أَجَلَهُ
"And do not marry them until they have completed their waiting period."
Reference: (2-Al-Baqarah:235)
11. Meaning of legal ruling, as He said:
وَأُولُو الْأَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَى بِبَعْضٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ
"And the relatives have more right to inherit one another in the Book of Allah."
Reference: (33-Al-Ahzab:6)
12. Meaning of a compiled collection, as known among non-Arabs, as He said:
وَهَذَا كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ
"And this is a Book which We have revealed."
Reference: (6-Al-An'am:155)
This detail means that the meaning of "Kitab" attributed by Parvez Sahib to the Arabs is not the only meaning of the word "Kitab." This meaning is common among non-Arabs and is their terminology, while among Arabs, the word "Kitab" has multiple and different meanings. Then, taking the meaning of a compiled and stitched book in ”ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه“ is very strange because this verse is from Surah Al-Baqarah, which was the first Surah revealed in Madinah. At that time, 86 Makkan Surahs had already been revealed. So the question arises: who compiled and stitched their pages?
Parvez Sahib further says that it was exactly in the same form and order as it is now and was with millions of Muslims. This is even stranger than the first claim. History proves that paper was invented in 134 AH corresponding to 751 CE. Its inventor was a Chinese person who started the industry of making paper from cotton and hemp fibers. Before that, the people of the East only had parchment (qirtas). This was an early form of paper used in ancient Egypt. It was not so common as to be available for a large book like the Quran, while in the Prophetic era, two things were available for writing: qirtas, which was very rare, and parchment, which is also mentioned at the dawn of Islam as thin sheets made from animal skin. These were not common in the Prophetic era. At that time, stone slabs, thin skins, and date palm bark were used as writing materials. It is beyond reason to compile and stitch the Quran on these. However, calling the Quran a book fits the meaning that the Quran was in the Preserved Tablet, in the scrolls of angels, in the hearts of the companions, and then collected on stones and bones, etc. Saying that this collection was with millions of companions is outright false. There was no printing press at that time. Not all companions could write, and the necessary papers and parchments were not available, so how did the Quranic copy come into the hands of millions of companions?
Furthermore, it is also against reality to say that the master copy of the Quran was near the Istawana al-Mushaf and was called Kitab and Imam. The truth is that during the time of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), the copy he had was called Imam, and other copies were made from it.
Umar Farooq's (may Allah be pleased with him) statement: ”حسبنا كتاب الله“ "The Book of Allah is sufficient for us" does not mean that the Quran was in compiled form at that time, nor does it mean that only the Quran is meant by the Book of Allah. Rather, Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) has other such narrations in which he applied the term Book of Allah to the legal ruling present in hadiths. In the last days of his caliphate, Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) gave a sermon in the Prophet's Mosque in which he said:
”الرجم فى كتاب الله حق على من زنى إذا أحصن“
"When a married person commits adultery, stoning to death is a right prescribed in the Book of Allah."
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hudud, Chapter on Stoning Pregnant Women for Adultery, Hadith: 6830
Stoning is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran, but Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) said in this narration that the Book of Allah here means the legal ruling, whether it is in hadith or not. When Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Book of Allah is sufficient for us, he meant that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was seriously ill at that time, so he should not be burdened with writing, and the rulings present in the Quran and hadith are sufficient for us.
In another narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
”والذي نفسي بيده! لأقضين بينكما بكتاب الله جل ذكره المائة شاة والخادم رد عليك، وعلى ابنك جلد مائة وتغريب عام، واغد يا أنيس على امرأة هذا فإن اعترفت فارجمها“
"By the One in Whose hand is my soul! I will judge among you according to the Book of Allah. So the goats and the servant will be returned to you, and the punishment for your son is that he will be flogged one hundred lashes and exiled for one year. O Anis! Go to the wife of this man in the morning; if she confesses, then stone her."
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hudud, Chapter on Confession of Adultery, Hadith: 6828
In this hadith also, the Book of Allah means the legal ruling present in authentic hadith.
◈Note: There is a difference between Kitab Allah and Kalam Allah. The Quran is the Word of Allah and also the Book of Allah, while hadiths are the Book of Allah due to legal rulings, not the Word of Allah. The condition for Kalam Allah is that its words are revealed from Allah, while this condition is not for Kitab Allah.
Furthermore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) had already explained what he wanted to have written, as is clear from the hadith. Therefore, to reveal the real truth, we present the text: It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that on Thursday, he asked: What is Thursday? Then he wept until the pebbles below were moistened with his tears. Then he said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) became seriously ill and said: "Bring me a book (something to write with) so that I may write for you something after which you will never go astray." But the companions present disagreed, and the Prophet's condition changed. He said: "Leave me to my condition. My condition is better than what you call me to." Then he made three recommendations: 1. Expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula. 2. Give gifts to the delegations as I give. The narrator forgot the third thing.
This shows that the Prophet (peace be upon him) verbally conveyed what he wanted to have written, and no deficiency or omission was left in the religion.
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Knowledge, Chapter on Writing Knowledge, Hadith: 114; also Imam Bukhari narrated this hadith in multiple places, all summarized here, see also: Hadith numbers 3053, 3168, 4431, 4432, 5669, 7366
