4. The Prevalence of Hadith Tendency

Another cause for the non-establishment of Islam after the Messenger of Allah was the prevalence of hadith tendency after him. What is meant by hadith tendency is the practice of basing beliefs and deeds on statements and actions attributed to the Messenger of Allah in a non-mutawatir manner and by men whose lying, error, or forgetfulness is likely. Accordingly, the authenticity of such statements and actions is not certain, for it is perceptible that the report of a fallible person—even if he appears truthful—can be either accurate or inaccurate, considering that certain knowledge of someone’s truthfulness in the past is not usually attainable. This is regardless of the fact that the truthfulness of a person in the past does not mean his truthfulness in the future. This is regardless of the fact that the truthfulness of a person in the past and the future does not prevent his forgetfulness and oversight. Moreover, the discrepancy between a solitary report and reality, especially in cases where a significant time gap exists between them, is widespread and predominant, to the extent that there is hardly any solitary report that fully and precisely corresponds to reality; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَقَالُوا آمَنَّا بِهِ وَأَنَّى لَهُمُ التَّنَاوُشُ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ﴾[1]; “And they said: ‘We believed in it,’ but how can they attain it from a distant place?!” Therefore, it is clear that solitary reports do not lead to certainty; rather, at best, they lead to conjecture. This is something agreed upon by Muslims who possess opinion, and even by all intellectuals. However, conjecture is certainly not qualified to be the basis of the beliefs and deeds of Muslims, and Islam is founded solely upon certainty; as Allah has repeatedly and explicitly said: ﴿إِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا﴾[2]; “Indeed, conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth.” Clearly, this is a true principle in the sense that it speaks of reality, and accordingly, it does not permit conventional specification. Likewise, its context refuses to tolerate specification, for conjecture—because it entails the possibility of contradiction within its essence—is not truly authoritative, and attributing authority to something that is not truly authoritative is futile, like attributing the property of burning to ice.