This excerpt is taken from the book by Fazilat-ul-Sheikh Abdul Salam Rustami From Denial of Hadith to Denial of Quran.
Denial of the Authority of Hadith is Denial of the Authority of the Quran
It has been proven in the previous chapters that obedience to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is obedience to Allah Almighty. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is the explainer of the Holy Quran, and like the Quran, the Hadith is also preserved. The necessary consequence of this is that the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is authoritative in religion, and this authority of Hadith is established by the Holy Quran. Whoever does not accept the authority of Hadith is, in fact, not accepting the Holy Quran.
The Authority of Hadith in the Light of the Holy Quran
➊ Allah Almighty said:
رُسُلًا مُّبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ
"We have sent all these messengers as bringers of good news and warners, so that after the messengers have come, people have no objection against Allah."
Reference: (4-An-Nisa:165)
The apparent purpose of this verse is that if Allah Almighty had not sent messengers, then the deniers of Allah and His commands would have objected against Allah, saying that He did not send a messenger, due to which we went astray. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that Allah Almighty sent His messengers as a proof (Hujjah) over the people, but the messengers themselves as individuals are not the proof; rather, the attribute of prophethood with which they are characterized is the proof, and all your hadiths are included in your prophethood. The mentioned verse does not refer to the Book of Allah because prophethood includes both clear (Wahi Jali) and hidden revelation (Wahi Khafi). Hence, it is understood that the person who does not accept the hadiths of the Prophet as proof is also a denier of this noble verse.
➋ Allah Almighty said:
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ
"It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair."
Reference: (33-Al-Ahzab:36)
In this verse, Allah Almighty has declared the command and decision of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, as dominant and prevailing over the authority of the Muslims, meaning that no one's authority works before the command of the Prophet, peace be upon him. The purpose of this dominance and supremacy is proof (Hujjah), therefore the command and decision of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is proof over the people and there is no permission to disobey it. In the interpretation of this verse, commentators have mentioned the marriage of Zaid bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, to Zainab, may Allah be pleased with her. The Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded that Zainab, may Allah be pleased with her, be married to Zaid, may Allah be pleased with him, and this command is a hadith which Allah Almighty has declared as proof. Therefore, the person who does not accept the proof of hadith does not accept this noble verse either.
➌ Allah Almighty said:
وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا
"And We never send the punishment until We have sent a messenger."
Reference: (17-Al-Isra:15)
Meaning, Allah Almighty first sends a messenger, and if a nation disobeys the messenger, then Allah Almighty sends punishment upon that disobedient nation. Allah Almighty makes the prophethood of the messenger a proof over them. If they deny this proof, then Allah Almighty sends punishment upon them. The previous verse did not mention the Book of Allah but only the messenger. It has already been explained that the attribute of prophethood includes both clear and hidden revelation, therefore it is established that the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and his hadiths are proof over the entire Ummah, and the person who denies their proof is actually a denier of this verse and deserving of punishment.
➍ Allah Almighty said:
وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَىٰ وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ
"And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will turn him to what he has turned to and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination."
Reference: (4-An-Nisa:115)
This verse mentions only the messenger and his guidance; the Book of Allah is not mentioned because ”مشاقة“ actually refers to practical opposition, meaning if the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, performed certain actions and someone violates them, then there is warning and threat for that person. The actions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, are mentioned in the hadiths. The word "guidance" is general and both the Book of Allah and hadith are sources of guidance. Opposition to this guidance leads to entering Hell. The reason is that the one who opposes the actions and guidance of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, denies their proof, therefore the deniers of the proof of hadith are deniers of this verse.
➎ Allah Almighty said:
فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
"So those who oppose the Messenger's command should beware that a trial may strike them or a painful punishment."
Reference: (24-An-Nur:63)
In this verse, consider the word ”أمره“. Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said that this word includes the Shariah, Sunnah, and all the verbal and practical hadiths of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him. Here too, the Book of Allah is not specifically mentioned. Therefore, the purpose of this verse is that whoever opposes your command, i.e., any Sunnah or hadith of yours, peace be upon him, will certainly face some calamity or punishment. If the command of the Messenger (hadith and Sunnah) is not proof in religion, then how can its opposition be a cause of punishment? It is established that the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, are proof in religion, and the person who denies this proof is a denier of this verse and the Qur'an.
➏ Allah Almighty said:
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow for whoever hopes in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah often."
Reference: (33-Al-Ahzab:21)
In this verse, the word ”رسول الله“ is a comprehensive word that encompasses the entire life of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him. It includes all his verbal and practical hadiths. The meaning of the verse is that whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, it is obligatory upon him to make the entire life of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, a model, and this is only possible if he accepts the hadiths of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, as proof. If he does not accept them as proof or investigates according to his own desires, then such a person is a denier of this noble verse.
➐ Allah Almighty said:
وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يٰلَيْتَنِي اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا
"And the Day the disbeliever will bite on his hands [in regret] and say, 'Oh, I wish I had followed the way of the Messenger.'"
Reference: (25-Al-Furqan:27)
This noble verse mentions the regret and sorrow of a person and calls him unjust who abandoned the way of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in his life. Here the way of the Messenger is mentioned, which encompasses his entire life, and the details of this life are present in his hadiths. This is a clear proof that the way of the Messenger is proof, but the one who does not accept it as proof and does not follow it is a denier of the proof of hadith and a denier of this verse and unjust. Also, it is stated:
يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا ﴿٢٨﴾
"Alas for me! I wish I had not taken so-and-so as a friend."
Reference: (25-Al-Furqan:28)
The "so-and-so" refers to the person who denied the proof of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and misled the people.
The Authority of Hadith in the Light of Rational Arguments
We have presented some verses of the Quran as fabricated arguments; now please consider some rational arguments:
➊ Hadiths as practical interpretation of the Quran: The Holy Quran was revealed to the Noble Prophet ﷺ, who conveyed it to the Ummah, taught it, and demonstrated its practice. Now the question is whether this practical interpretation, which exists in the collection of Hadiths, was according to Allah’s will or against it? If it was against, then the first objection arises against Allah that why did He send such a Messenger who عمدا or سهوا acted contrary to Allah’s will? In this way, all Muslims would also be affected because if the foundation of their religion Islam is wrong, then can Islam be the true religion? Therefore, we must necessarily say that the practical interpretation is exactly according to Allah’s will. Now, whoever, like the deniers of Hadith, disagrees with this interpretation, denies it, or does not accept it as proof, such a person is certainly insane, devoid of sound intellect, and mad. He creates discord in the Ummah due to his baseless interpretations. It is an established fact that Hadiths are the interpretation of the Holy Quran, therefore they are proof, and denying them is denying the Quran.
➋ The interaction of the Ummah or consensus of the Ummah: This means that from the Prophetic era until today, millions of Muslims in every era have acted upon the Prophetic Hadiths. Among them, there is no disagreement in principles and fundamentals. If there is any minor disagreement, it relates to Ijtihad, meaning disagreements in issues that are not proven by explicit texts from the Book and Sunnah or in resolving contradictions between Hadiths, where some Mujtahids consider one Hadith as normal and others consider another, but all agree on the authority of Hadith.
➌ The existence of fabricated Hadiths: The existence of fabricated Hadiths is a strong argument for the authority of Hadiths, which even the deniers of Hadith cannot deny. It is like this: if Hadiths were not a legal proof, then what would be the benefit of fabricating Hadiths? When genuine coins have value in the market, counterfeit coins are made. Even the deniers of Hadith admit that there was a time when a flood of fabricated narrations had emerged, which leads to the conclusion that until that time the majority of the Ummah believed in the authority of Hadiths. In the early period, the famous Mu'tazilite preacher and denier of Hadith, Jahiz, used to fabricate Hadiths to prove his innovative beliefs. Similarly, now the institution Tulu-e-Islam has relied on many fabricated Hadiths to authenticate its false claims that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ established a society that possessed the Quranic system of Rububiyyah.
Reference: (Qur’anic System of Rububiyyah, p. 180)
Is this term found in any book of Hadith or history? This fabricated word attributed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ falls under the category of fabricated Hadiths. Similarly, Mr. Parvez said: This Quran, exactly in the same form and order as we have it now, was possessed by millions of Muslims; its authentic copy was kept in a chest near a pillar in the Prophet’s Mosque, and you all used to have it written first.
Reference: (Tulu-e-Islam, February 1982, p. 112)
Is this mentioned in any book of Islamic history or Hadith? This fabricated and baseless statement was invented and attributed to the Noble Prophet ﷺ, therefore it is also a fabricated narration.
