The word حَدِيثٍ (hadith) in the Quran comes from the root ح د ث which occurs 36 times in the entire Quran. Several times in the Quran God references the Quran itself as a Hadith.
39:23 GOD has revealed herein the best Hadith; a book that is consistent, and points out both ways (to Heaven and Hell). The skins of those who reverence their Lord cringe therefrom, then their skins and their hearts soften up for GOD’s message. Such is GOD’s guidance; He bestows it upon whomever He wills. As for those sent astray by GOD, nothing can guide them.
12:111 In their history, there is a lesson for those who possess intelligence. This is not fabricated Hadith; this (Quran) confirms all previous scriptures, provides the details of everything, and is a beacon and mercy for those who believe.
But today the common understanding of when the phrase “hadith” is used is in regards to “sayings attributed to the prophet Muhammad”.
Obey God And His Messenger
Some make the claim that we must follow both: the Quran and the narrations attributed to the prophet because God informs us in the Quran that we have to obey God and His messenger.
64:12 You shall obey GOD and you shall obey the messenger. If you turn away, then the sole mission of our messenger is to deliver the message.
Does this mean that any saying that is attributed to the messenger of God should be obeyed and followed? What if the saying is intentionally or accidentally falsely attributed to the messenger should that be followed as well? God informs us in the Quran that we must verify all information before accepting it.
17:36 You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.
49:6 O you who believe, if a wicked person brings any news to you, you shall first investigate, lest you commit injustice towards some people, out of ignorance, then become sorry and remorseful for what you have done.
While we can use the mathematical structure of the Quran to verify every letter and word, the same cannot be done for the Hadith attributed to the prophet. Even among the various compilers of Hadith we see not only was their work collected some 200 years after the prophet’s death, but each of them discarded roughly ~99% of their work as they found it untrustworthy, unreliable, or completely false. The sheer amount of material that these sources claim to have collected and memorized makes it hard to believe that this could be done in a reliable fashion.
Some make the claim that these individuals had amazing memory, and usually show the numerous people who memorized the Quran as a testament to their memorizing abilities, except this is not a valid comparison. The Quran is roughly 80,000 words written in a fashion that is easy to memorize, but also has been memorized since the start of its revelation by many people. Such that the various people who memorized the Quran can constantly correct one another if they made a mistake in their recitation.
In contrast, Bukhari was said to have single handedly collected some 600,000 hadith, of which it is said that he claimed to have memorized half of them. Some of these hadith are hundreds of words long, and unlike the Quran were not written in a format that made it easy to facilitate for memorization. Additionally, since he was the only collector and memorizer at the time there was no detectable way of verifying his work against numerous sources. Instead, we have to take him as his word that was he recollected without other sources to verify against. But as we will see even the most trusted Hadith from these compliers are littered with errors and contradictions.
Ultimatum from God
But is it possible to follow both forms of Hadith, that of the Quran and the narrations that are attributed to the prophet, without causing a conflict. If we accept the Quran as the overriding source, then we see that such a understanding is at odds with the very verses of the Quran. Therefore, God is providing the following ultimatum to followers of the Quran to which Hadith do we choose to uphold: either that of the Quran itself, or the sayings attributed to the prophet?
45:6 These are GOD’s revelations that we recite to you truthfully. In which Hadith other than GOD and His revelations do they believe?
7:185 Have they not looked at the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all the things GOD has created? Does it ever occur to them that the end of their life may be near? Which Hadith, beside this, do they believe in?
77:50 Which Hadith, other than this, do they uphold?
فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Contradictory Sources
Notice that the we are commanded to obey God “and” His messenger, as opposed to obey God “or” His messenger. While the former indicates that the two sources should be aligned, the latter would indicate that one may contradict the other. Therefore any Hadith we are to follow should be aligned with God’s words in the Quran.
The Quran has no contradictions, it is a consistent source, while the Hadith attributed to the prophet are riddled with contradictions against the Quran along with contradictions among itself.
4:82 Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than GOD, they would have found in it numerous contradictions.
39:29 GOD cites the example of a man who deals with disputing partners (Hadith), compared to a man who deals with only one consistent source (Quran). Are they the same? Praise be to GOD; most of them do not know.
According to trustworthy (sahih) hadith from Bukhari it indicates different ages for Muhammad at his death: 60, 63 and 65 years old respectively. Two Sahih Bukhair hadith (4:56:747 and 4:56:748) state Muhammad’s mission started at 40 years of age, and that he lived in Medina for 10 years and in Mecca for 10; adding up to a life span of 60. But according to another couple of sahih hadith (Bukhari 5:58:242 and 5:59:742) he must have been 63 (these have him living in Mecca for 13 years); and based on yet another sahih hadith — this one from Muslim — Muhammad lived in Mecca for fifteen and so died at the age of 65.
Contradiction in w udu (ablution)
The Quran clearly indicates to us how to perform the wudu (ablution) in the following verse:
5:6 O you who believe, when you observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), you shall: (1) wash your faces, (2) wash your arms to the elbows, (3) wipe your heads, and (4) wash your feet to the ankles. If you were unclean due to sexual orgasm, you shall bathe. If you are ill, or traveling, or had any digestive excretion (urinary, fecal, or gas), or had (sexual) contact with the women, and you cannot find water, you shall observe the dry ablution (Tayammum) by touching clean dry soil, then rubbing your faces and hands. GOD does not wish to make the religion difficult for you; He wishes to cleanse you and to perfect His blessing upon you, that you may be appreciative.
Yet, when we look at Hadith, it not only contradicts the Quran, but also the Sahih Bukhair hadith itself:
Contradiction for the punishment for adultery
The Quran informs us that the punishment for adultery is a hundred lashes.
24:2 The adulteress and the adulterer you shall whip each of them a hundred lashes. Do not be swayed by pity from carrying out GOD’s law, if you truly believe in GOD and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their penalty.
Yet, when we see numerous hadith it indicates that the punishment is stoning.
Contradiction in dietary prohibitions
According to the Quran, the only dietary prohibitions that were provided to the prophet are only the following:
6:145 Say, “I do not find in the revelations (ūḥiya) given to me any food that is prohibited for any eater except: (1) carrion, (2) running blood, (3) the meat of pigs, for it is contaminated, and (4) the meat of animals blasphemously dedicated to other than GOD.” If one is forced (to eat these), without being deliberate or malicious, then your Lord is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
Notice that the Arabic uses the term أُوحِيَ “ūḥiya” for revelation. This informs us that this includes not only the revelation of the Quran, but any form of inspiration from God that was given to the prophet. Therefore, what is stated in 6:145 are the only dietary prohibitions. Yet, when we look at the Hadith we see numerous prohibitions, beyond what God specified in 6:145.
16:116 You shall not utter lies with your own tongues stating: “This is lawful, and this is unlawful,” to fabricate lies and attribute them to GOD. Surely, those who fabricate lies and attribute them to GOD will never succeed.
Muhammad the man was just as responsible as any of the believers to follow the commands given to him by God.
33:36 No believing man or believing woman, if GOD and His messenger issue any command, has any choice regarding that command. Anyone who disobeys GOD and His messenger has gone far astray.
God informs us that if Muhammad issued any other commandment other than what was revealed to him by God, God would have ended his life and stopped all revelations to him.
69:40 This (Quran) is the utterance of an honorable messenger. 69:41 Not the utterance of a poet; rarely do you believe. 69:42 Nor the utterance of a soothsayer; rarely do you take heed. 69:43 A revelation from the Lord of the universe. 69:44 Had he uttered any other teachings. 69:45 We would have punished him. 69:46 We would have stopped the revelations to him. 69:47 None of you could have helped him.
17:73 They almost diverted you from the revelations we have given you. They wanted you to fabricate something else, in order to consider you a friend. 17:74 If it were not that we strengthened you, you almost leaned towards them just a little bit. 17:75 Had you done that, we would have doubled the retribution for you in this life, and after death, and you would have found no one to help you against us.
So based on this, does it make sense that Muhammad would mandate his people to perform ablution different than what God commanded him in the Quran, or institute a punishment different than what God issued in the Quran, or to prohibit food that was not prohibited by God?
Whose Testimony is Greatest
The Quran informs us that God’s testimony is the greatest. Therefore, if we accept other Hadith beside the Quran than we are putting a testimony next to that of God’s.
6:19 Say, “Whose testimony is the greatest?” Say, “GOD’s. He is the witness between me and you that this Quran has been inspired to me, to preach it to you and whomever it reaches. Indeed, you bear witness that there are other gods beside GOD.” Say, “I do not testify as you do; there is only one god, and I disown your idolatry.”
Additionally, God informs us that if we follow another source that contradicts the Quran then we will be idol worshipers.
6:121 Do not eat from that upon which the name of GOD has not been mentioned, for it is an abomination. The devils inspire their allies to argue with you; if you obey them, you will be idol worshipers.
Some go so far to justify that even though the Hadith have these inherent issues, their accounts should not be discarded because these people who were closer witnesses to the messenger and the revelation of the Quran to mankind were in a better position to understand God’s words in he Quran.
39:3 Absolutely, the religion shall be devoted to GOD alone. Those who set up idols beside Him say, “We idolize them only to bring us closer to GOD; for they are in a better position!” GOD will judge them regarding their disputes. GOD does not guide such liars, disbelievers.
The error in such judgment is that we would be setting up intermediaries between us and God, in addition to following sources that contradict the Quran when God informs us that He is the Teacher of the Quran.
55:1 The Most Gracious. 55:2 Teacher of the Quran.
الرَّحمٰنُ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ
Hadith & Sunna: Fabrications by the Prophet’s Enemies
Some ask why would God allow individuals to create Hadith and falsely attribute such narrations to the prophet. We see in the following verse that this was always part of God’s system to determine who truly believes in the Hereafter and who does not. For someone who does not believe in the Hereafter will follow sources that are not from God if it validates the evil they have hidden deep inside themselves.
6:112 We have permitted the enemies of every prophet—human and jinn devils—to inspire in each other fancy words, in order to deceive. Had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. You shall disregard them and their fabrications. 6:113 This is to let the minds of those who do not believe in the Hereafter listen to such fabrications, and accept them, and thus expose their real convictions.
Throughout the Quran, God informs us that the Quran is complete, that it is fully detailed, and contains examples for everything we need for our salvation. The question is if we believe and trust in God and His scripture then why would we think we need additional sources? If we follow other sources despite these clear facts established in the Quran, it implies that we do not believe in God’s words in the Quran.
17:89 We have cited for the people in this Quran all kinds of examples, but most people insist upon disbelieving.
30:58 Thus, we have cited for the people in this Quran all kinds of examples. Yet, no matter what kind of proof you present to the disbelievers, they say, “You are falsifiers.”
10:37 This Quran could not possibly be authored by other than GOD. It confirms all previous messages, and provides a fully detailed scripture. It is infallible; for it comes from the Lord of the universe.
6:114 Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.