Why is the Hadith important to Muslims?

Answer 1

The Importance of Hadith in Islam The two fundamental sources of Islam are the Qur'an (the word of God) and the Sunnah (the example) of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). By Sunnah, we mean the actions, sayings and silent permissions (or disapprovals) of the Prophet. The word "Sunnah" is also used to refer to religious duties that are optional. Here, we are concerned with Sunnah in the sense of the recorded sayings (Hadiths) of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In this sense, Hadith is considered to be second to the Qur'an. It is impossible to understand the Qur'an without reference to the Hadith; and it is impossible to explain a hadith without relating it to the Qur'an. The Qur'an is the message, while the Hadith is the verbal translation of the message into pragmatic terms, as exemplified by the Prophet. While the Qur'an is the metaphysical basis of the Sunnah, the Sunnah is the practical demonstration of the precepts laid down in the Qur'an. The duty of the Messenger was not just to communicate the message, rather, he was entrusted with the most important task of explaining and illustrating that message. That is the reason why Allah Himself has commanded the following: [Say: Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, but if you turn away, he (the Prophet) is only responsible for the duty placed on him (i.e. to convey Allah's Message) and you for that placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on the right guidance. The Messenger's duty is only to convey (the message) in a clear way.] (An-Nur 24:54) This verse clearly tells us the overriding importance of Hadith to Muslims. They should be eager to learn and follow the teachings of the Prophet as expressed in Hadith. If we are negligent in this respect, it is we who have to answer before Allah. Speaking of the importance of Hadith, we need to take into consideration two broad aspects of the subject. We know that Allah Almighty revealed the Qur'an to His chosen Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). So it is through the Prophet we come to hear the word of Allah; and it is the Prophet himself who can properly explain and demonstrate the precepts in the Qur'an. Without the required explanations and illustrations given by the Prophet, the Qur'an may be misunderstood and misinterpreted by people. So the Prophet took care to explain and demonstrate to his companions how the Qur'anic verses must be read and understood. That is to say, the importance of Hadith is linked to the importance of the Qur'an.

For example, the details of how to perform salah(ritual prayer), for instance, were given by the Prophet through his words and action, and not by the Qur'an. This means that we wouldn't know how to pray, fast, pay zakah, or perform Hajj without the examples given by the Prophet as recorded in the Hadith. Indeed, all necessary details are given in the Hadith, not in the Qur'an. The revelation of each of the verses of the Qur'an took place at some critical junctures in the life of the Prophet. Of course, there are verses of universal application and significance, irrespective of the context in which those verses were revealed. But there are other verses that can be understood or interpreted only in the light of the actual context in the life of the Prophet, which called for that revelation. There are many examples. For instance, the following verse in the Surah Aali `Imran: [If any one disputes in this matter with thee, now after (full) knowledge hath come to thee, Say: Come! Let us gather together, our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves: then let us earnestly pray. And invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie.] (Aali `Imran 3:61)This verse talks about mubahala (invoking the curse of Allah on those who take a dishonest stand); and was revealed when the Prophet was conferring with the Christian delegation from Najran in 631 CE This example clearly shows how we need to refer to the life and example of the Prophet to understand the context, as well as the meaning of verses, such as the above mentioned one in the Qur'an. The foregoing shows how Hadith, in practical terms, explains, clarifies, and paraphrases the Qur'an. If we reject the Hadith, we may misread the Qur'an; so Hadith is central to a proper understanding of the Qur'an. In the Qur'an, Allah Almighty commands us not only to obey the Messenger, but also to abide by his decisions as follows: [But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make you (the Prophet] judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction."] (An-Nisaa' 4:65) And surely we find such decisions only in the Hadith; the duty of Muslims is to accept the Prophet's decisions whole-heartedly. The Qur'an also orders the faithful to emulate the role model of the Messenger and reckons it to be the only way to gain the pleasure of Allah. It is therefore obligatory that we look up to the Prophet's morals and exemplary character and carry them out in our lives. We can never do so without studying Hadith. It is most illuminating in this respect to learn that when `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked to describe the character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), her definitive answer was, "His character was that of the Qur'an." In other words, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) personified the best ideals and values of the Qur'an

Answer 2

1. Revelation

The Prophet's(sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) sayings and actions were primarily based on revelation from Allah and, as such, must be considered a fundamental source of guidance second only to the Qur'an. Allah in the Qur'an said concerning the Prophet:

Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. (Qur'an 53:2-3)

Therefore, the hadith represents a personal source of divine guidance which Allah granted his prophet which was similar in its nature to the Qur'an itself. The prophet reiterated this point in one of his recorded statements

"Indeed, I was given the Qur'an and something similar to it along with it"

2. Tafseer

The preservation of the Qur'an was not restricted to protecting its wording from change. Were that the case, its meanings could be manipulated according to human desires, while maintaining its wording. However, Allah also protected its essential meanings from change by entrusting the explanation of the meanings of the Qur'an to the prophet himself. Allah states the following in the Qur'an regarding its interpretation:

"…. And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought."(Qur'an 16:44)

Therefore, if one is to understand the meanings of the Qur'an, he or she must consider what the prophet said or did regarding it. For example, In the Qur'an Allah instructs the believers to offer salaah and pay the zakaah. However, in order to obey these instructions correctly, one must study the methodology of the prophet in this regard. Among his many clarifications concerning salaah and zakaah, he instructed his followers saying "pray as you see me pray", and he specified that 2.5% of surplus wealth, unused for a year, should be given as zakaah.

3. Laws

One of the primary duties of the prophet was to judge between people in their disputes. Since his judgements were all based on revelation, as stated above, they must be considered a primary source of principles by which judgements are carried out in an Islamic state. Allah also addressed this responsibility in the Qur'an saying:

"O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result."

Thus, hadiths are essential for the smooth running of the law courts in an Islamic state.

4. Moral Ideal

Since the prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was guided by revelation in his personal life, his character and social interactions became prime examples of moral conduct for Muslims until the last day. Attention was drawn to this fact in the following ayah:

"Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much"(Qur'an 33:21)

Consequently, the daily life of the prophet as recorded in the hadith represents an ideal code of good conduct. In fact, when the prophet's wife, Aa'isha was asked about his conduct, she replied, "His character was the Qur'an"

5. Preservation of Islam

The sciences of narration, collection and verification of hadith was unknown to the world prior to the era of the prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). In fact, it was due in part to the absence of such reliable science that the messages of former prophets became lost or distorted in the generations that followed them. Therefore, it may be said that it is largely due to the science of hadith that the final message of Islam has been preserved in its original purity for all times. This is alluded in the Qur'an;

"Indeed, i have revealed the reminder, and indeed i will protect it" (Qur'an 15:9)

Taken from Bilal Philips' book Usool Al-Hadith

Answer 3

Answer 1A hadith is a saying of Muhammad or a report about something he did. Over time, during the first few centuries of Islam, it became obvious that many so-called hadith were in fact spurious sayings that had been fabricated for various motives, at best to encourage believers to act righteously and at worse to corrupt believers' understanding of Islam and to lead them astray. Since Islamic legal scholars were utilizing hadith as an adjunct to the Qur'an in their development of the Islamic legal system, it became critically important to have reliable collections of hadith. While the early collections of hadith often contained hadith that were of questionable origin, gradually collections of authenticated hadith called sahih (lit. true, correct) were compiled. Such collections were made possible by the development of the science of hadith criticism, a science at the basis of which was a critical analysis of the chain of (oral) transmission (isnad) of the hadith going all the way back to Muhammad. The two most highly respected collections of hadith are the authenticated collections the Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. (Sahih literally means "correct, true, valid, or sound.") In addition to these, four other collections came to be well-respected, although not to the degree of Bukhari and Muslim's sahih collections. These four other collections are the Sunan of Tirmidhi, NASA'i, Ibn Majah, and Abu Da'ud. Together these four and the two sahih collections are called the "six books" (al-kutub al-sitta). Two other important collections, in particular, are the Muwatta of Ibn Malik, the founder of the Maliki school of law, and the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali school of law.

Answer 2

The answer to your question (because the above, while right and good, did not answer the question well) is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was the living, breathing, walking Qur'an. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the very embodiment of the Qur'an. He is the exegesis of the Qur'an. Without the teachings of the Prophet of God (peace be upon him) we Muslims would not know how to live by the Qur'an. The Qur'an says "pray". Muhammad teaches us how, and when. The Qur'an says "fast". Again, Muhammad shows us what fasting is all about.

Every detail that we need to know in our lives came from the best, most noble example of humanity. Those who hurl insults at Muhammad do not know the truth. Even those who think they have an argument about his marriage to Aisha - the young wife - do not know the facts.

May the Peace and blessings of Almighty God (Allah) be upon our Prophet - the Final Messenger to Mankind - Muhammad.

Answer 4

Hadith is the Arabic word for "saying". Hadith is the saying of the prophet Muhammad PBUH & we Muslims are commanded by Allah in the holy Quran to obey the prophet & to follow all His Sunnah.

An authentic Hadith is important because it has a command or a recommendation or a prohibition from the prophet Muhammad PBUH & we must obey Him since obeying Him is actually an obeying of the Creator, Allah.

Answer 5

Allah (The God) says in the Qur'an;

* Say (O Muhammad): "If you do love God, follow me: God will love you and forgive you your sins; for God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Qur'an, 9:129)

In order to follow prophet Muhammad PBUH we must know how He lived. This is explained in the Qur'an. How shouldn't we follow a Prophet that Allah explains Him to us in the following verse;

*Now has come to you a Prophet (i.e., Prophet Muhammadpeace be upon him) from among yourselves; it grieves him that you should perish; ardently anxious is he over you; to the believers is he most kind and merciful. (Qur'an, 9:128)

*But if they turn away, say: "God suffices me, there is no god but He; in Him do I place my trust-He the Sustainer of the Throne [of Glory] Supreme!" (Qur'an, 3:31)

Answer 6

The Qur'an and the Hadith are the two basic and most authentic sources of the Islamic Jurisprudence and Shria. The practice of the Companions f the Prophet (SAW) is also an authentic source.

Answer 7

The hadith are sayings passed down orally among followers of the Prophet until, at some later time, they were written down and collected. These include stories of the Prophet's actions and things he said. As a result, the hadith provide context for the Koran. Some tell how the Prophet interpreted the Koran, some tell what he did, some give early history of the movement that became Islam. Some hadith were transmitted independently from multiple witnesses. These, we have reasonably high assurance are correct. Others have uncertain provenance and exist in only one version. These must be used with a bit of care.