Anything presented in opposition to the Holy Quran or that distracts from the Quran is called "Lahw al-Hadith" by the Quran.
Allah Almighty says:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ
Reference: (Surah Luqman:6)
Translation: And among the people is he who buys idle talk to mislead others from the way of Allah without knowledge and to make a mockery of it. Those will have a humiliating punishment.
Because Hadith is presented in opposition to the Holy Quran and the Holy Quran is the way of Allah, whatever deviates from the way of Allah is Lahw al-Hadith!
First Point
First and foremost, it is extremely important to understand what Hadith is and what its status and rank are.
"Every statement, action, approval, or attribute that is attributed to the Noble Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is called Hadith."
Your blessed sayings, your actions, the sayings and actions of the Companions that took place in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ and which you maintained, or when the action of someone was mentioned in front of you ﷺ and you remained silent, meaning you did not forbid it, are called so.
Now, after knowing and understanding that Hadith refers to the sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet ﷺ, to know the status and rank of these Ahadith, consider a few verses:
Allah Almighty says:
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Reference: (Surah An-Nisa:65)
Translation: No! By your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.
وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا
Reference: (Surah An-Nisa:115)
Translation: And whoever opposes the Messenger after the guidance has become clear to him and follows a path other than that of the believers, We will turn him towards that which he has turned, and We will cast him into Hell, and it is an evil destination.
From the aforementioned verses, the status and rank of the Prophet’s ﷺ commands and your ﷺ judgments become clear.
Second Point
After understanding the meaning of Hadith and its status and rank, it is also necessary to know the meaning of Lahw al-Hadith so that this extremely unreasonable and baseless accusation can be refuted on its own.
The meaning of "Lahw" is something that causes a person to become heedless, and "Hadith" means a statement.
So, the meaning of Lahw al-Hadith is: a statement that causes heedlessness.
Now the question to ponder is, is the Prophetic Hadith something that causes heedlessness?! Absolutely not.
Even the least knowledgeable Muslim cannot think that Hadith, which is the explanation of the Holy Quran and the words and decisions of the greatest human being in the universe, could lead to negligence.
Allah Almighty says:
وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Reference: (Surah An-Nahl:44)
Translation: And We have sent down to you the reminder so that you may explain clearly to the people what has been sent down to them and that they may reflect.
Rather, the Prophetic Hadith ﷺ encourages attraction towards the Wise Quran, not negligence from it. This false claim would only be true if the Prophetic Hadith distanced people from the Holy Quran, but in fact, in the Hadith, we find encouragement to read, memorize, contemplate, and act upon the Holy Quran.
Abdullah bin Amr رضي الله عنهما says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The companion of the Quran (the one who has memorized the Quran or recites it) will be told: Keep reciting and keep ascending, and recite with excellence, pausing as you used to recite excellently in the world. Your station will be where you finish your recitation by the last verse."
Reference: (Sunan Abu Dawood:1464)
.Sayyiduna Zaid bin Arqam رضي الله عنه says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ... It is near that the one sent by my Lord (the Angel of Death) will come and I will accept. I leave among you two great things, first is the Book of Allah in which there is guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and hold it firmly. In short, you ﷺ encouraged attachment to the Book of Allah.
Reference: (Sahih Muslim:2408)
Third Point
How can it be imagined that Allah Almighty commands unconditional obedience to His Messenger ﷺ and considers obedience to him as obedience to Himself, as we learn from these verses of the Holy Quran:
مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ وَمَنْ تَوَلَّى فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا
Reference: (Surah An-Nisa:80)
Translation: Whoever obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah, and whoever turns away - We have not sent you over them as a guardian.
وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا
Reference: (Surah Al-Hashr:7)
Translation: And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it.
And then to call the sayings of this Messenger (whose following is obligatory) "lahw al-hadith" (idle talk) is impossible in the sight of Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Fourth Point
What is the correct interpretation of the mentioned verse and what is meant by "lahw al-hadith"?
Allah Almighty says:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ
Reference: (Surah Luqman:6)
Translation: And among the people is he who buys idle talk to mislead from the way of Allah without knowledge and to take it in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment.
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, writes in the exegesis of this verse:
It was mentioned above that the fortunate ones are those who receive guidance from the Book of Allah and benefit from listening to it. Here, it is stated about those unfortunate ones who, upon hearing the Divine Word, refrain from benefiting and instead listen to songs, music, drums, and other instruments.
Accordingly, in the exegesis of this verse, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "By Allah, this refers to singing and melody."
Reference: (Tafsir Ibn Jarir al-Tabari:20/127)
Elsewhere, when Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about the meaning of this verse, he swore three times and said: "It refers to singing, melody, and songs." This is also the view of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with them), Ikrimah, Saeed bin Jubair, Mujahid, Makhool, Amr bin Shu'aib, and Ali bin Bazimah (may Allah have mercy on them).
Imam Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "This verse was revealed concerning singing, music, and musical instruments."
Reference: (Tafsir Ibn Kathir Surah Luqman Ayah:6)
.So this matter becomes as clear as daylight that what is meant by Lahu al-Hadith among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, and the Tabi‘in, and this also refutes the aforementioned strange and baseless claims.
