Followup to the Status of Hadith in Shariah

Question:
I read your response to the above captioned subject. In this regarad, if you please provide answer to the following questions, it will clear the picture about the status of Hadith in Shariah.

Why did Allah send Muhammad (pbuh) (a human being) to be a Prophet?

Was he like all other human beings before prohpethood or not?

Is the obedience of the holy prophet only limited while he was alive? If so, after his death, are we no longer required to obey him?

What does this verse mean then: 04:80 "He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah: But if any turn away, We have not sent thee to watch over their (evil deeds)."

The last question is if there is no authantic record about hadith, then how we will obey him when Allah has ordered?

I will be thankful if you explain these queries.

Response:
The prophet, alaihissalaam, was a model to be followed in religion when he was alive and is still a model to be followed even after his death. However, when he was alive and physically present, there was no problem of information in most cases, even though we know that the loyal companions of the prophet, alaihissalaam, used to still question the authenticity of information coming from him. Consider the following hadith:

Narrated AbuHurayrah: "... I ... went out to look for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and came to a garden ... where Allah’s Messenger was ... He addressed me as AbuHurayrah and gave me his sandals and said: Take away these sandals of mine, and when you meet anyone outside this garden who testifies that there is no god but Allah, being assured of it in his heart, gladden him by announcing that he shall go to Paradise. Now the first one I met was Umar. He asked: What are these sandals, AbuHurayrah? I replied: These are the sandals of the Messenger, of Allah with which he has sent me to gladden anyone I meet, who testifies that there is no god but Allah, being assured of it in his heart, with the announcement that he will go to Paradise. Thereupon Umar struck me on the breast and I fell on my back. He then said: Go back, AbuHurayrah. So I returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and I was about to burst into tears... Upon this the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: What prompted you to do this, Umar? He said: Messenger of Allah, my mother and father be sacrificed for you, did you send AbuHurayrah with your sandals to gladden anyone he met who testified that there was no god but Allah, and being assured of it in his heart, with the tidings that he would go to Paradise? He said: Yes. Umar said: Please do not do it, for I am afraid that people will trust in it alone; let them go on doing (good) deeds. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Well then leave them (to practice)." (Muslim)

What is significant is the fact that Umar, radhiallahu anhu, despite getting a hadith directly from the companion has contributed by far the largest number of ahadith did not accept it because he found it to be against his understanding of religion. There are many other examples that can be given to prove the same point.

The points I am trying to make are the following:

i) The record of ahadith should be taken carefully and nothing in it can be accepted as authentic that goes against the Qur'an.

ii) In case a hadith appears to be going against the established sunnah, other ahadith, or common sense it will still not be accepted unless there is enough reason to believe that the claimed statement was actually made by the prophet, alaihisslaam.

iii) There can always be difference of opinion amongst Muslims on the question whether a certain hadith is satisfying the above criteria or not. An individual has the right to choose the view that appeals to him to be more acceptable.

iv) The fact that the Almighty has asked us to be obedient to the prophet doesn't mean that He has taken the responsibility to ensure that all reports about him are going to be authentic. Of course, we know that many reports claimed to be referring to the prophet's life are not reliable.

v) Bukhari, Muslim and other books of Sihah Sitta are indeed the result of a work that was done with care and sincerity. However, there is no authority from the Almighty that the works of these illustrious compilers would be completely free from errors.

vi) Even if a hadith is completely authentic but has nothing to do with religious matters, it will still not be binding for a Muslims to follow it for religious purposes. This point is clearly demonstrated in the following hadith:

“Narrated Talhah ibn Ubaydullah: I and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) happened to pass by people near the date-palm trees. He (the Prophet) said: What are these people doing? They said: They are grafting, i.e. they combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: I do not find it to be of any use. The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) (was later) informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon he said: If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinions, but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute lie to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.” (Muslim)

vii) Finally, for the person who is satisfied that a certain hadith is the statement of the prophet, alaihisslaam, in a matter of religion that applies to him as well, it is binding for him to follow it in the spirit of the verses that require us to be obedient to the prophet of Allah.

I hope my view is clear to you now.

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