These people are a group whom Allah has led astray knowingly; because they feign ignorance, and some of them are imitators blinded by fanaticism for madhhabs and individuals, and they have no desire to seek knowledge at all. Because of this, they weaken any hadith that contradicts their desires, while if it agrees with their desires, they accept it quickly. One of the things that contradict their desires is a narration from the Messenger of Allah about the obligation to present hadiths to the Quran to know the authentic and the unauthentic. They dislike this report because they know that many of the hadiths on which they have based their opinions contradict the Book of Allah. Therefore, if this narration is true, they must abandon these hadiths and the opinions based on them, which is hard except for those whom Allah has guided. There is no doubt that this narration is true, even if they dislike it, ﴿وَلَوِ اتَّبَعَ الْحَقُّ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ لَفَسَدَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ ۚ بَلْ أَتَيْنَاهُمْ بِذِكْرِهِمْ فَهُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِهِمْ مُعْرِضُونَ﴾[1]; “and if the truth had followed their desires, the heavens, the Earth, and whoever is in them would have been corrupted. Rather, We have brought them their Remembrance, but they turn away from their Remembrance.” Among the things that indicate it is true are the following:

1. Authenticity of its chains of narrators

The claim of these people that the hadith has weak chains of narrators is not true; because some of its chains of narrators are strong according to the criteria of hadith scholars; as al-Mustaghfiri has narrated in Fada’il al-Quran[2] and said: Abu Ali Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us; also, Abu Isma‘il al-Harawi narrated in Dham al-Kalam Wa Ahlih[3] and said: Abu Yaq‘ub informed us, (he said:) Zahir ibn Ahmad informed us; (he said:) Muhammad ibn Idris informed us, (he said:) Abu Kurayb narrated to us, (he said:) Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash narrated to us, from Asim, from Zirr ibn Hubaysh, from Ali ibn Abi Talib, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «سَيَكُونُ عَلَيَّ رُوَاةٌ يَرْوُونَ عَنِّي أَحَادِيثَ، فَاعْرِضُوهَا عَلَى الْقُرْآنِ، فَإِنْ وَافَقَتِ الْقُرْآنَ فَخُذُوهَا، وَإِلَّا فَدَعُوهَا»; “There will come narrators after me who will narrate hadiths from me. So present these hadiths to the Quran. If they agree with the Quran, then accept them. Otherwise, leave them.” These chains of narrators are good because of Asim, who is the son of Abu al-Nujud, and the rest of its narrators are the narrators of Sahih. Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash is among the narrators of al-Bukhari[4], and Muslim has narrated from him in “The Introduction”[5]. He is trustworthy, although his memory deteriorated when he grew old, and his written works are authentic. This hadith has also been narrated through chains of transmission other than them. Therefore, it is undoubtedly authentic, taking together all its chains of transmission.

2. Abundance of its chains of transmission

This hadith has been narrated through the chains of transmission of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Ja‘far, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abdullah ibn Umar, Abdullah ibn Buhaynah, Thawban, and Abu Hurairah, and in a mursal manner through the chains of transmission of Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, Zayd ibn Ali, Hasan al-Basri, and others. Also, there are chains of transmission for it from some of these narrators. These numerous chains of transmission support each other and may even make it mutawatir, and a mutawatir hadith is not harmed by the weakness of its narrators; because their large number indicates that they did not lie or go wrong.

3. Its attestations

This hadith has many attestations that hadith scholars disregard. These attestations share the same meaning as the hadith. One of them is a narration from the Messenger of Allah that he said in his sermon: «إِنَّ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ»; “Indeed, the best hadith is the Book of Allah.” This narration is in Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim[6] and has no meaning except that all other hadiths are waived if they contradict the Book of Allah; because the Book of Allah is the best. Another one is a narration from the Messenger of Allah that he ascended the pulpit and said: «مَا بَالُ أَقْوَامٍ يَشْتَرِطُونَ شُرُوطًا لَيْسَتْ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ؟! مَا كَانَ مِنْ شَرْطٍ لَيْسَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ بَاطِلٌ، وَإِنْ كَانَ مِائَةَ شَرْطٍ، كِتَابُ اللَّهِ أَحَقُّ، وَشَرْطُ اللَّهِ أَوْثَقُ»; “What is the matter with people who set conditions that are not in the Book of Allah?! Any condition that is not in the Book of Allah is invalid, even if they are hundred. The Book of Allah is worthier, and the condition of Allah is more binding.” This narration is in Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim[7] and, with its generality, includes the Prophet himself ; because Allah Almighty has said: ﴿أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ﴾[8]; “Do you enjoin righteousness upon people and forget yourselves while you read the Book?! Do you not use the intellect?!” Therefore, the Prophet did not set any condition for people that was not in the Book of Allah. Another one is a narration from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «لَا تَكْتُبُوا عَنِّي شَيْئًا إِلَّا الْقُرْآنَ، فَمَنْ كَتَبَ عَنِّي شَيْئًا غَيْرَ الْقُرْآنِ فَلْيَمْحُهُ»[9]; “Do not write anything from me except the Quran. Whoever writes anything from me other than the Quran should erase it.” Its chains of narrators are authentic according to the conditions of al-Bukhari and Muslim, and it indicates that the Sunnah is not equal to the Quran. How, then, can it contradict it?! Another one is a narration from Abu Hurairah, who said: «خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَنَحْنُ نَكْتُبُ الْأَحَادِيثَ، فَقَالَ: مَا هَذَا الَّذِي تَكْتُبُونَ؟ قُلْنَا: أَحَادِيثَ سَمِعْنَاهَا مِنْكَ، قَالَ: أَكِتَابًا غَيْرَ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تُرِيدُونَ؟! مَا أَضَلَّ الْأُمَمَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ إِلَّا مَا اكْتَتَبُوا مِنَ الْكُتُبِ مَعَ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ»[10]; “The Messenger of Allah came out to us while we were writing down hadiths. He said: ‘What is this that you are writing?!’ We said: ‘Hadiths that we heard from you.’ He said: ‘Do you want a book other than the Book of Allah?! Nothing misled the nations before you except the books they wrote along with the Book of Allah.’” This explicitly states that one should not be occupied with hadiths instead of the Quran. How, then, can it be permissible to abrogate, specify, or generalize it by them?! Similarly, it has been narrated from ibn Abbas and ibn Umar, who said: «خَرَجَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَعْصُوبًا رَأْسُهُ، فَرَقِيَ دَرَجَاتِ الْمِنْبَرِ، فَقَالَ: مَا هَذِهِ الْكُتُبُ الَّتِي بَلَغَنِي أَنَّكُمْ تَكْتُبُونَهَا؟! أَكِتَابٌ مَعَ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ؟! يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَغْضَبَ اللَّهُ لِكِتَابِهِ فَيُسْرِيَ عَلَيْهِ لَيْلًا، فَلَا يَتْرُكَ فِي وَرَقَةٍ وَلَا قَلْبٍ مِنْهُ حَرْفًا إِلَّا ذَهَبَ بِهِ»[11]; “The Messenger of Allah came out with his head bandaged. He climbed the steps of the pulpit and said: ‘What are these books that I have heard you are writing?! A book alongside the Book of Allah?! Allah is about to become angry for His Book. Then He will spend a night upon it, leaving not a single letter of it on a paper or in a heart unless he takes it away.” Similarly, it has been narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «مِنِ اقْتِرَابِ السَّاعَةِ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ الْأَشْرَارُ، وَيُوضَعَ الْأَخْيَارُ، وَيُفْتَحَ الْقَوْلُ، وَيُحْبَسَ الْعَمَلُ، وَيُقْرَأَ فِي الْقَوْمِ الْمَثْنَاةُ، قِيلَ: وَمَا الْمَثْنَاةُ؟ قَالَ: مَا كُتِبَ سِوَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ»[12]; “‘Among the signs of the Hour is that the wicked will be elevated, the good will be put down, speech will be free, action will be held back, and mathnat will be read among people.’ It was said: ‘What is mathnat?’ He said: ‘What is written besides the Book of Allah.’” Its chains of narrators are authentic. In another narration, he said: The Messenger of Allah said: «عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ، تَعَلَّمُوهُ، وَتَفَقَّهُوا فِيهِ، وَإِيَّايَ وَالْمَثْنَاةُ، قَالَ: قُلْنَا: وَمَا الْمَثْنَاةُ؟ قَالَ: الْكُتُبُ»[13]; “‘Adhere to the Quran, learn it, and be well-versed in it. And beware of mathnat.’ It was said: ‘What is mathnat?’ He said: ‘Books.’” Similarly, it has been narrated from Abu Musa al-Ghafiqi that he heard Uqbah ibn Amir al-Juhani narrate hadiths from the Messenger of Allah on the pulpit. Abu Musa then said: «إِنَّ صَاحِبَكُمْ هَذَا لَحَافِظٌ أَوْ هَالِكٌ، إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ آخِرُ مَا عَهِدَ إِلَيْنَا أَنْ قَالَ: عَلَيْكُمْ بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ، وَسَتَرْجِعُونَ إِلَى قَوْمٍ يُحِبُّونَ الْحَدِيثَ عَنِّي، فَمَنْ قَالَ عَلَيَّ مَا لَمْ أَقُلْ فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ، وَمَنْ حَفِظَ عَنِّي شَيْئًا فَلْيُحَدِّثْهُ»[14]; “This companion of yours is either a preserver or a perisher. The last thing about which the Messenger of Allah took a pledge from us was that he said: ‘Adhere to the Book of Allah. And you will go to people who love hadiths from me. So whoever attributes to me what I did not say shall prepare his seat in the fire. And whoever preserves something from me should narrate it.’” Another one is a narration from Zayd ibn Arqam, who said: «قَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمًا فِينَا خَطِيبًا بِمَاءٍ يُدْعَى خُمًّا بَيْنَ مَكَّةَ وَالْمَدِينَةِ، فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ وَوَعَظَ وَذَكَّرَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ، أَلَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ رَسُولُ رَبِّي فَأُجِيبَ، وَأَنَا تَارِكٌ فِيكُمْ ثَقَلَيْنِ: أَوَّلُهُمَا كِتَابُ اللَّهِ فِيهِ الْهُدَى وَالنُّورُ، فَخُذُوا بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَاسْتَمْسِكُوا بِهِ، فَحَثَّ عَلَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَرَغَّبَ فِيهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَأَهْلُ بَيْتِي»; “The Messenger of Allah stood up one day to deliver a sermon to us at a watering place called Khumm, between Mecca and Medina. He thanked and extolled Allah, and exhorted and reminded us. Then he said: ‘As for what comes after. O people! Indeed, I am but a human. And the Messenger of my Lord is about to come to me, and I will respond. And I leave among you two weighty things: the first of them is the Book of Allah, in which is guidance and light. So hold firmly to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.’ He exhorted and encouraged (us to adhere to) the Book of Allah. Then he said: ‘And my Ahl al-Bayt.’” This narration is in Sahih of Muslim[15] and indicates that one must accept the Quran and adhere to it. The Sunnah comes after it and never precedes it. Similarly, it has been narrated from Abu Sa‘id, Abu Dharr, Hudhayfah ibn Usayd, and others, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «إِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمُ الثَّقَلَيْنِ، أَحَدُهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْآخَرِ، كِتَابُ اللَّهِ حَبْلٌ مَمْدُودٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ، وَعِتْرَتِي أَهْلُ بَيْتِي، وَإِنَّهُمَا لَنْ يَفْتَرِقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ»[16]; “I leave among you two weighty things; one of them is greater than the other: the Book of Allah, (which is) a rope stretched from the heavens to Earth, and my Itrah, (who are) my Ahl al-Bayt. And those two will never be separated until they come to me by the Pond.” Its chains of narrators are authentic. It explicitly states that the Quran is greater than the Sunnah and that the Sunnah does not separate from it in anything. How, then, can it abrogate, specify, or generalize it?! Similarly, it has been narrated from Ma‘qal ibn Yasar, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «اعْمَلُوا بِالْقُرْآنِ، وَأَحِلُّوا حَلَالَهُ، وَحَرِّمُوا حَرَامَهُ، وَاقْتَدُوا بِهِ، وَلَا تَكْفُرُوا بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهُ، وَمَا تَشَابَهَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْهُ فَرَدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَإِلَى أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْ بَعْدِي كَيْمَا يُخْبِرُوكُمْ»[17]; “Act upon the Quran, deem lawful what it makes lawful, deem unlawful what it makes unlawful, follow it, and do not disbelieve in anything from it. And whatever is confusing to you from it, refer it to Allah and to those in authority after me so that they inform you.” Its chains of narrators are good. It shares the same meaning as Hadith al-Thaqalayn; because the intended meaning of those in authority after him is his Itrah, who are his Ahl al-Bayt, and they are the ones who explain his Sunnah to people. Another one is a narration from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal that the Messenger of Allah said to him when he sent him to Yemen: «كَيْفَ تَصْنَعُ إِنْ عَرَضَ لَكَ قَضَاءٌ؟»; “How will you act if you encounter a matter requiring judgment?” He replied: «أَقْضِي بِمَا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ»; “I will judge according to what is in the Book of Allah.” He said: «فَإِنْ لَمْ تَجِدْهُ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ؟»; “And if you do not find it in the Book of Allah?” He replied: «فَبِسُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ»; “Then according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah .” Then the Messenger of Allah said: «الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي وَفَّقَ رَسُولَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ لِمَا يَرْضَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ»; “Praise be to Allah Who guided the messenger of the Messenger of Allah to what pleases the Messenger of Allah.”[18] This is a reliable hadith in the view of scholars[19]. It clearly indicates that the Book of Allah precedes the Sunnah, and the Sunnah is not acted on except in what its ruling is not known from the Book of Allah. Another one is what has been reported from the Messenger of Allah that he was asked about something. Then he said: «لَمْ يَنْزِلْ عَلَيَّ فِي ذَلِكَ شَيْءٌ»; “Nothing has been revealed to me about that.” Then he waited until the Quran was revealed to him about it; as Khawlah, the daughter of Tha‘labah ibn Malik, asked him about the expiation for zihar, and he said: «مَا أُمِرْتُ بِشَيْءٍ فِي شَأْنِكِ، فَإِنْ يُنْزِلِ اللَّهُ شَيْئًا فِي شَأْنِكِ بَيَّنْتُهُ لَكِ»; “I have not been commanded with anything regarding your matter. If Allah reveals anything regarding your matter, I will explain it to you.” Then Allah revealed to him surah al-Mujadilah[20]. If he had been independent in legislation, as these people claim, he would not have done that. Also, it has been narrated in Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim that he was asked about a donkey that a man ties up for the sake of Allah, and he said: «لَمْ يُنْزَلْ عَلَيَّ فِيهَا شَيْءٌ إِلَّا هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ الْجَامِعَةُ الْفَاذَّةُ: ﴿فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ﴾[21]»; “Nothing has been revealed to me about that except this single, comprehensive verse: ‘Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it.’”[22] Therefore, he acted on the generality of the Quran in what its ruling had not been revealed to him. If he had been independent in legislation, as they claim, he would not have needed to do that. Another one is a narration from Ubaid ibn Umair al-Laythi «أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ جَلَسَ فِي مُصَلَّاهُ أَوْ إِلَى جَانِبِ الْحُجَرِ، فَحَذَّرَ النَّاسَ الْفِتَنَ، ثُمَّ نَادَى بِأَعْلَى صَوْتِهِ حَتَّى إِنَّ صَوْتَهُ لَيَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَابِ الْمَسْجِدِ، قَالَ: إِنِّي وَاللَّهِ لَا يُمْسِكُ النَّاسُ عَلَيَّ شَيْئًا، أَلَا إِنِّي لَا أُحِلُّ إِلَّا مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَلَا أُحَرِّمُ إِلَّا مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ»[23]; “that the Messenger of Allah sat in his prayer place or beside the chambers. Then he warned people against tribulations. Then he called out with his loudest voice, so much so that his voice went out of the door of the mosque, and said: ‘By Allah, people hold nothing against me. Know that I have not made lawful except what Allah has made lawful in His Book, and I have not made unlawful except what Allah has made unlawful in His Book.’” Its chains of narrators are authentic. It explicitly states that the Sunnah does not add anything to the lawful or unlawful of the Quran. Therefore, it is not permissible to adhere to it in opposition to the Quran. Similarly, it has been narrated from Anas ibn Malik, who said: «خَرَجَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي مَرَضِهِ الَّذِي تَوَفَّاهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيهِ، فَصَعِدَ الْمِنْبَرَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: عَلَيَّ بِالنَّاسِ، فَاجْتَمَعَ لَهُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا اجْتَمَعَ، فَقَالَ: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْزَلَ كِتَابَهُ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ، فَأَحَلَّ حَلَالَهُ، وَحَرَّمَ حَرَامَهُ، فَمَا أَحَلَّ فِي كِتَابِهِ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ فَهُوَ حَلَالٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَمَا حَرَّمَ فِي كِتَابِهِ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ فَهُوَ حَرَامٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ لَا تُعَلِّقُوا عَلَيَّ بِشَيْءٍ»[24]; “The Messenger of Allah went out during his illness in which Allah the Exalted, the Majestic took him away. He ascended the pulpit and then said: ‘Bring people to me.’ So they gathered for him. Then he said: ‘O people! Indeed, Allah the Exalted, the Majestic revealed His Book on the tongue of His Prophet. Then He made lawful what He made lawful, and He made unlawful what He made unlawful. So whatever He made lawful in His Book on the tongue of His Prophet is lawful until the Day of Judgment, and whatever He made unlawful in His Book on the tongue of His Prophet is unlawful until the Day of Judgment. O people! Do not take a stance against mine.’” Its chains of narrators are good. Similarly, it has been narrated from Awf ibn Malik, who said: «خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْهَجِيرِ وَهُوَ مَرْعُوبٌ، فَقَالَ: أَطِيعُونِي مَا كُنْتُ بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِكُمْ، وَعَلَيْكُمْ بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ، أَحِلُّوا حَلَالَهُ وَحَرِّمُوا حَرَامَهُ»[25]; “The Messenger of Allah came out to us at midday while he was frightened. Then he said: ‘Obey me as long as I am among you, and adhere to the Book of Allah. Deem lawful its lawful, and deem unlawful its unlawful.’” Similarly, it has been narrated from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, who said: «خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُتَغَيِّرَ اللَّوْنِ، فَقَالَ: أَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، أُوتِيتُ فَوَاتِحَ الْكَلَامِ وَخَوَاتِمَهُ، فَأَطِيعُونِي مَا دُمْتُ بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِكُمْ، فَإِذَا ذُهِبَ بِي فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ، أَحِلُّوا حَلَالَهُ، وَحَرِّمُوا حَرَامَهُ»[26]; “The Messenger of Allah came out to us, looking pale. Then he said: ‘I am Muhammad! I have been given the openings and the endings of speech. So, obey me as long as I am among you. Then, when I am gone, adhere to the Book of Allah. Deem lawful its lawful, and deem unlawful its unlawful.’” Similarly, it has been narrated from Salman al-Farsi, who said: «سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ السَّمْنِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَالْفِرَاءِ، فَقَالَ: الْحَلَالُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَالْحَرَامُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَمَا سَكَتَ عَنْهُ فَهُوَ مِمَّا عَفَا عَنْهُ»[27]; “The Messenger of Allah was asked about butter, cheese, and fur. So he said: ‘The lawful is what Allah has made lawful in His Book, and the unlawful is what Allah has made unlawful in His Book. And what He has remained silent about is among the things He has pardoned.’” Its chains of narrators are good. Similarly, it has been narrated from Abu al-Darda’, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ فَهُوَ حَلَالٌ، وَمَا حَرَّمَ فَهُوَ حَرَامٌ، وَمَا سَكَتَ عَنْهُ فَهُوَ عَفْوٌ، فَاقْبَلُوا مِنَ اللَّهِ عَافِيَتَهُ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيَنْسَى شَيْئًا، ثُمَّ تَلَا هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: ﴿وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ نَسِيًّا﴾[28]»[29]; “‘Whatever Allah has made lawful in His Book is lawful, and whatever He has made unlawful is unlawful, and whatever He has remained silent about is pardoned. So, accept Allah’s pardon, for Allah does not forget anything.’ Then he recited this verse: ‘And your Lord is not forgetful.’” Similarly, it has been narrated from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, who said: «لَمْ نَعْدُ أَنْ فُتِحَتْ خَيْبَرُ فَوَقَعْنَا أَصْحَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي تِلْكَ الْبَقْلَةِ الثُّومِ، وَالنَّاسُ جِيَاعٌ، فَأَكَلْنَا مِنْهَا أَكْلًا شَدِيدًا، ثُمَّ رُحْنَا إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ، فَوَجَدَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ الرِّيحَ، فَقَالَ: مَنْ أَكَلَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ الْخَبِيثَةِ شَيْئًا فَلَا يَقْرَبْنَا فِي الْمَسْجِدِ، فَقَالَ النَّاسُ: حُرِّمَتْ! حُرِّمَتْ! فَبَلَغَ ذَاكَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ: أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لِي تَحْرِيمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ، وَلَكِنَّهَا شَجَرَةٌ أَكْرَهُ رِيحَهَا»[30]; “As soon as Khaybar was conquered, we met the companions of the Messenger of Allah amidst the fields of garlic, and people were hungry. So we ate from it excessively. Then we made our way toward the mosque, and the Messenger of Allah smelled the odor. He said: ‘Whoever has eaten from this bad tree shall not come near us in the mosque.’ People said: ‘It has been made unlawful! It has been made unlawful!’ This reached the Prophet . So he said: ‘O people! I am not allowed to make unlawful what Allah has made lawful, but it is a tree whose odor I dislike.’” Its chains of narrators are authentic. Another one is a narration from Muhammad ibn Jubair ibn Mut‘im, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «مَا حُدِّثْتُمْ عَنِّي مِمَّا تَعْرِفُونَ فَخُذُوا بِهِ، وَمَا حُدِّثْتُمْ عَنِّي مِمَّا تُنْكِرُونَهُ فَلَا تَأْخُذُوا بِهِ، فَإِنِّي لَا أَقُولُ الْمُنْكَرَ، وَلَسْتُ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ»[31]; “Whatever you have been narrated from me that you know, accept it. And whatever you have been narrated from me that you do not know, do not accept it; because I do not say what is unknown, and I am not from its people.” There is no doubt that what is known is that which the Quran has made known, and what is not unknown is that which the Quran has made unknown. Therefore, it is not permissible to abrogate, specify, or generalize the Quran with what is narrated from the Messenger of Allah ; because he does not say what is unknown, and he is not from its people. Similarly, it has been narrated from Abu Hurairah, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «إِذَا حُدِّثْتُمْ عَنِّي حَدِيثًا يُوَافِقُ الْحَقَّ فَأَنَا قُلْتُهُ»[32]; “If a hadith is narrated to you from me that agrees with the truth, then I have said it.” It is known that the Book of Allah is the truth, and therefore, a hadith must agree with it. The hadiths in this regard are too numerous to count, and all of them indicate what the hadith of presenting indicates, which is the obligation to agree with the Quran in everything and the impermissibility of contradicting it in whole or in part. Therefore, these people do not only deny the hadith of presenting, but they also deny all of these hadiths, which are mutawatir and include authentic and good ones according to their own rules!

4. Its agreement with the Book of Allah

The Book of Allah confirms this hadith, where it states: ﴿اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ﴾[33]; “Allah has sent down the best Hadith.” This indicates that the Book of Allah is better than any hadith that contradicts it, and therefore precedes it; because Allah Almighty has said: ﴿فَبَشِّرْ عِبَادِ ۝ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ ۚ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ ۖ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمْ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ﴾[34]; “So give good tidings to My servants. Those who listen to the word and follow the best of it. They are the ones whom Allah has guided, and they are the people of understanding.” It also states: ﴿فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾[35]; “So in what hadith after it will they believe?!” This indicates that if the Book of Allah does not benefit someone, then any hadith other than it will not benefit him. It also states: ﴿هَذَا كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ مُبَارَكٌ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ﴾[36]; “This is a blessed Book We have sent down. So follow it.” This indicates the obligation to follow the Book, even if a hadith contradicts it. It also states: ﴿اتَّبِعُوا مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ ۗ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ﴾[37]; “Follow that which has been sent down to you from your Lord, and do not follow guardians apart from Him. Little you take heed.” This indicates that following the Book is obligatory, and following anything else apart from it is forbidden, and hadith is something apart from it if it contradicts it. It also states: ﴿وَاتَّبِعُوا أَحْسَنَ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَكُمُ الْعَذَابُ بَغْتَةً وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ﴾[38]; “And follow the best of what has been sent down to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you are unaware.” This indicates that if the Book and the Sunnah contradict each other, the Book must be followed; because it is the best of what has been sent down. It also states: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ يُمَسِّكُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ﴾[39]; “And those who adhere to the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, We do not waste the reward of the reformers.” This indicates that those who adhere to the Book are reformers, even if they oppose a hadith in doing so. It also states: ﴿أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ ۚ فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَى أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ ۗ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾[40]; “Do you then believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in another part?! What is the punishment for one among you who does so other than humiliation in the life of the world, and that they will be returned to the severest punishment on the Day of Judgment?! And Allah is not unaware of what you do.” This indicates the misguidance of those who accept from the Book what agrees with hadith and leave what contradicts it; because they believe in in a part of the Book and disbelieve in another part. It also states: ﴿وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ﴾[41]; “And We have sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming the books that were before it and as a guardian over them. So judge between them by what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their desires away from the truth that has come to you,” and states: ﴿وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنُوكَ عَنْ بَعْضِ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ﴾[42]; “And judge between them by what Allah has sent down, and do not follow their desires, and beware of them lest they tempt you away from some of what Allah has sent down to you.” This indicates that the Prophet was obligated to judge by only what Allah sent down in the Book, and he was not allowed to leave any of it. It also states: ﴿وَإِذَا لَمْ تَأْتِهِمْ بِآيَةٍ قَالُوا لَوْلَا اجْتَبَيْتَهَا ۚ قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَتَّبِعُ مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ مِنْ رَبِّي﴾[43]; “And when you do not bring them a sign, they say: ‘Why have you not chosen it?’ Say: ‘I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord,’” and states: ﴿وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ ۙ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَاءَنَا ائْتِ بِقُرْآنٍ غَيْرِ هَذَا أَوْ بَدِّلْهُ ۚ قُلْ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أُبَدِّلَهُ مِنْ تِلْقَاءِ نَفْسِي ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ ۖ إِنِّي أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَبِّي عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ﴾[44]; “And when Our clear verses are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet Us say: ‘Bring a Quran other than this, or change it!’ Say: ‘It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed, I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day.’” This indicates that the Prophet followed the Quran in everything and did not change any of its rulings to another ruling. It also states: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ﴾[45]; “O Prophet! Why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you?!” This indicates that the Prophet was not allowed to forbid what Allah had made lawful. Therefore, if he prohibited something that Allah did not forbid, then it was a prohibition in the sense of being discouraged; as he prohibited the meat of the domestic donkey, which is detested but not forbidden. It also states: ﴿وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ﴾[46]; “And We sent down the Remembrance to you so that you explain to people what has been sent down to them, and that they may reflect.” This indicates that the Prophet was only an explainer of the Quran, and he was not a contradictor of it through abrogation, specification, or generalization. The verses in this meaning are numerous. Among the wonders is the saying of their fools: «نَحْنُ نَعْرِضُ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ عَلَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ قَبْلَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَنَعْتَمِدُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ، فَلَمَّا عَرَضْنَاهُ عَلَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَجَدْنَاهُ مُخَالِفًا لِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ؛ لِأَنَّا لَمْ نَجِدْ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ أَلَّا نَقْبَلَ مِنْ حَدِيثِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَّا مَا وَافَقَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ، بَلْ وَجَدْنَا كِتَابَ اللَّهِ يُطْلِقُ التَّأَسِّيَ بِهِ وَالْأَمْرَ بِطَاعَتِهِ، وَيُحَذِّرُ الْمُخَالَفَةَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ جُمْلَةً عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ»; “We present this hadith to the Book of Allah before anything else and rely on that. When we presented it to the Book of Allah, we found it contradicting the Book of Allah; because we did not find in the Book of Allah that we should not accept from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah except what agrees with the Book of Allah. Rather, we found the Book of Allah urging following him, commanding obedience to him, and warning against opposing his command in general in all cases.” Ibn Abd al-Barr has narrated this in Jami‘ Bayan al-Ilm Wa Fadlih[47]. This is a blatant fallacy; because the hadith of the Messenger of Allah is not equal to his sayings and actions, but rather it is more general than them; because some hadiths are lies and errors from narrators, as is well-accepted, and the Book of Allah has commanded obeying the Prophet in his sayings and actions and has not commanded obeying whatever is narrated from him. The hadith of presenting states that whatever is narrated from him that contradicts the Book of Allah is a lie or error from narrators, and it does not state that it is from his sayings and actions, but it is not obligatory to obey him in it! Therefore, this hadith agrees with the Book of Allah, as we explained, but these people do not understand!

5. Its agreement with the sound intellect

This hadith agrees with the sound intellect from two aspects: First, the Quran surpasses all hadiths in terms of miraculousness, tawatur, and universal renown. Therefore, it is not appropriate to abrogate, specify, or generalize it with hadith. Rather, it is tantamount to leading to ignorance and a delay in explaining at the time when it is needed, both of which are abhorrent. Second, Allah has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ﴾[48]; “O you who believed! Obey Allah and His Messenger.” Therefore, He has made obedience to both the Quran and the Sunnah obligatory, which is not possible unless they are in agreement in everything; as one of our companions informed us, he said:

«قَالَ رَجُلٌ لِلْمَنْصُورِ: أَنْتَ الَّذِي يَقُولُ أَنَّ السُّنَّةَ لَا تَزِيدُ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَا تَنْقُصُهُ؟ قَالَ: أَنَا؟! وَمَنْ أَنَا حَتَّى أَقُولَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَالسُّنَّةِ شَيْئًا؟! إِنَّهُ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ! قَالَ الرَّجُلُ: مَتَى قَالَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ؟! قَالَ: إِذْ قَالَ: ﴿أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ﴾، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَسْتَقِيمُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ قَوْلُهُمَا مُتَوَافِقَيْنِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَإِنْ تَخَالَفَا فِي شَيْءٍ فَلَا يُطَاعُ أَحَدُهُمَا إِلَّا بِمَعْصِيَةِ الْآخَرِ، قَالَ الرَّجُلُ: صَدَقْتَ»; “A man said to Mansoor: ‘Are you the one who says that the Sunnah does not add or reduce (anything) from the Quran?’ He said: ‘Me?! Who am I to say anything about the Quran and the Sunnah?! It is the words of Allah!’ The man said: ‘When did Allah say that?’ He said: ‘When He said: “Obey Allah and the Messenger”; because this is not correct unless the words of the Two are in agreement in everything. If they contradict each other in anything, then it is not possible to obey One of Them without disobeying the Other.’ The man said: ‘You spoke the truth.’”

This is what the sound intellect requires, and Allah Almighty has said: ﴿أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ﴾[49]; “Do you not use the intellect?!”

6. Its establishment from the Ahl al-Bayt

This hadith is established from the Ahl al-Bayt, and they are the ones whom Allah has removed any impurity from and made completely pure, and the Messenger of Allah made it obligatory to hold fast to them until the Day of Judgment; As Abu Yusuf has narrated and said: «حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي كَرِيمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ دَعَا الْيَهُودَ فَسَأَلَهُمْ، فَحَدَّثُوهُ حَتَّى كَذَبُوا عَلَى عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ، فَصَعِدَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمِنْبَرَ، فَخَطَبَ النَّاسَ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ الْحَدِيثَ سَيَفْشُو عَنِّي، فَمَا أَتَاكُمْ عَنِّي يُوَافِقُ الْقُرْآنَ فَهُوَ عَنِّي، وَمَا أَتَاكُمْ عَنِّي يُخَالِفُ الْقُرْآنَ فَلَيْسَ عَنِّي»[50]; “Ibn Abi Karimah narrated to us, from Abu Ja‘far, from the Messenger of Allah that he called the Jews and asked them. So they narrated hadiths to him until they attributed lies to Isa (peace and blessings be upon him). Then the Prophet ascended the pulpit and addressed people, saying: ‘Indeed, hadiths will spread from me. So whatever comes to you from me that agrees with the Quran is from me, and whatever comes to you from me that contradicts the Quran is not from me.’” Ibn Abi Karimah is trustworthy, and it appears that Abu Ja‘far is Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husain. Therefore, the chain of narrators leading back to him is authentic. It has also been narrated from him with another authentic chain of narrators that he said: «قَرَأْتُ فِي كِتَابٍ لِعَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ سَيَكْذِبُ عَلَيَّ كَاذِبٌ كَمَا كُذِبَ عَلَى مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلِي، فَمَا جَاءَكُمْ عَنِّي مِنْ حَدِيثٍ وَافَقَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَدِيثِي، وَمَا خَالَفَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَلَيْسَ مِنْ حَدِيثِي»[51]; “I read in a book by Ali that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Indeed, a liar will attribute lies to me, just as those before me were attributed lies to. So whatever hadith comes to you from me that agrees with the Book of Allah is my hadith, and whatever contradicts the Book of Allah is not from my hadith.’” This is like a hadith with a continuous chain of narrators; because he read it in a book by Ali . It has been narrated with another authentic chain of narrators from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, who said: «خَطَبَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمِنًى، فَقَالَ: أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، مَا جَاءَكُمْ عَنِّي يُوَافِقُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَأَنَا قُلْتُهُ، وَمَا جَاءَكُمْ يُخَالِفُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَلَمْ أَقُلْهُ»[52]; “The Prophet delivered a sermon in Mina and said: ‘O people! Whatever comes to you from me that agrees with the Book of Allah, then I have said it, and whatever comes to you that contradicts the Book of Allah, then I have not said it.’” It has been narrated with another authentic chain of narrators from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: «إِذَا حُدِّثْتُمْ عَنِّي بِالْحَدِيثِ فَأَنْحِلُونِي أَهْنَأَهُ وَأَسْهَلَهُ وَأَرْشَدَهُ، فَإِنْ وَافَقَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَأَنَا قُلْتُهُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يُوَافِقْ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَلَمْ أَقُلْهُ»[53]; “When you are narrated a hadith from me, then attribute to me the most pleasant, easiest, and most guiding one. If it agrees with the Book of Allah, then I have said it, and if it does not agree with the Book of Allah, then I have not said it.” It has been narrated with another authentic chain of narrators from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, who said: «كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَرْدُودٌ إِلَى الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ، وَكُلُّ حَدِيثٍ لَا يُوَافِقُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ زُخْرُفٌ»[54]; “Everything is referred back to the Book and the Sunnah. And any hadith that does not agree with the Book of Allah is an embellishment.” Also, it has been narrated that he said: «الْوُقُوفُ عِنْدَ الشُّبْهَةِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْإِقْتِحَامِ فِي الْهَلَكَةِ، وَتَرْكُ رِوَايَةِ حَدِيثٍ لَمْ تَحْفَظْ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْ رِوَايَةِ حَدِيثٍ لَمْ تُحْصِي، إِنَّ عَلَى كُلِّ حَقٍّ حَقِيقَةً وَعَلَى كُلِّ صَوَابٍ نُورًا، فَمَا وَافَقَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَخُذُوهُ، وَمَا خَالَفَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ فَدَعُوهُ، وَلَنْ يَدَعَهُ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ هَذَا الْعَالَمِ»[55]; “Stopping in times of doubt is better than rushing headlong into destruction. And leaving the narration of a hadith that cannot protect you is better for you than the narration of a hadith that you cannot preserve. Indeed, every truth has a truthful sign, and every correct action has a light. So whatever agrees with the Book of Allah, accept it, and whatever contradicts the Book of Allah, leave it. But many of the people of this world will not leave it,” and that he said: «إِنَّ رُوَاةَ الْكِتَابِ كَثِيرٌ، وَإِنَّ رُعَاتَهُ قَلِيلٌ، وَكَمْ مِنْ مُسْتَنْصِحٍ لِلْحَدِيثِ مُسْتَغِشٍّ لِلْكِتَابِ، فَالْعُلَمَاءُ يَحْزُنُهُمْ تَرْكُ الرِّعَايَةِ وَالْجُهَّالُ يَحْزُنُهُمْ حِفْظُ الرِّوَايَةِ، فَرَاعٍ يَرْعَى حَيَاتَهُ، وَرَاعٍ يَرْعَى هَلَكَتَهُ، فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ اخْتَلَفَ الرَّاعِيَانِ وَتَغَايَرَ الْفَرِيقَانِ»[56]; “Indeed, the narrators of the Book (of Allah) are many, but its guardians are few. Many are those who are well-meaning toward hadith but mess up with the Book! Scholars grieve over the abandonment of guardianship, while the ignorant grieve over the preservation of narrations. One seeks to preserve his life, while another seeks to perish. This is where the (two types of) guardians differ and the two groups become distinct.” It has been narrated from Ali ibn Musa al-Rida that he said about a hadith that contradicts the Book of Allah: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ حَرَّمَ حَرَامًا، وَأَحَلَّ حَلَالًا، وَفَرَضَ فَرَائِضَ، فَمَا جَاءَ فِي تَحْلِيلِ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ، أَوْ تَحْرِيمِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ، أَوْ دَفْعِ فَرِيضَةٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ رَسْمُهَا بَيِّنٌ قَائِمٌ بِلَا نَاسِخٍ نَسَخَ ذَلِكَ، فَذَلِكَ مَا لَا يَسَعُ الْأَخْذُ بِهِ؛ لِأَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُحَرِّمَ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ، وَلَا لِيُحَلِّلَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَلَا لِيُغَيِّرَ فَرَائِضَ اللَّهِ وَأَحْكَامَهُ، كَانَ فِي ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ مُتَّبِعًا مُسَلِّمًا مُؤَدِّيًا عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَذَلِكَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ﴾[57]، فَكَانَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُتَّبِعًا لِلَّهِ مُؤَدِّيًا عَنِ اللَّهِ مَا أَمَرَهُ بِهِ مِنْ تَبْلِيغِ الرِّسَالَةِ، فَمَا وَرَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ خَبَرَيْنِ مُخْتَلِفَيْنِ فَاعْرِضُوهُمَا عَلَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ، فَمَا كَانَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ مَوْجُودًا حَلَالًا أَوْ حَرَامًا فَاتَّبِعُوا مَا وَافَقَ الْكِتَابَ»[58]; “Indeed, Allah the Exalted, the Majestic has made unlawful what is unlawful, made lawful what is lawful, and made obligatory the obligations. So whatever comes to make lawful what Allah has made unlawful, make unlawful what Allah has made lawful, or negate an obligation in the Book of Allah, without an abrogating verse issued on it to make it abrogated, then it should not be accepted; because the Messenger of Allah was not allowed to make unlawful what Allah has made lawful, nor to make lawful what Allah the Exalted, and Majestic has made unlawful, nor to change the obligations and rulings of Allah. In all of this, he was completely submissive and obedient to Allah the Exalted, the Majestic. And this is the words of Allah the Exalted, the Majestic: ‘I only follow what is revealed to me.’ So he was completely obedient to Allah concerning what he was commanded in conveying the message. So if two conflicting reports come to you, present them to the Book of Allah. Whatever is found in the Book of Allah, lawful or unlawful, then follow what agrees with the Book.” It has been narrated from Safwan ibn Yahya that he said: «سَأَلَنِي أَبُو قُرَّةَ الْمُحَدِّثُ أَنْ أُدْخِلَهُ عَلَى عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُوسَى الرِّضَا، فَاسْتَأْذَنْتُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ، فَأَذِنَ لِي، فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ، فَسَأَلَهُ عَنِ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ، حَتَّى بَلَغَ سُؤَالُهُ إِلَى التَّوْحِيدِ، فَقَالَ أَبُو قُرَّةَ: إِنَّا رُوِّينَا أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَسَمَ الرُّؤْيَةَ وَالْكَلَامَ بَيْنَ نَبِيَّيْنِ، فَقَسَمَ الْكَلَامَ لِمُوسَى وَلِمُحَمَّدٍ الرُّؤْيَةَ، فَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُوسَى الرِّضَا: فَمَنِ الْمُبَلِّغُ عَنِ اللَّهِ إِلَى الثَّقَلَيْنِ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ: ﴿لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ﴾[59]، ﴿وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِهِ عِلْمًا﴾[60]، وَ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ﴾[61]؟! أَلَيْسَ مُحَمَّدٌ؟! قَالَ: بَلَى، قَالَ: كَيْفَ يَجِيءُ رَجُلٌ إِلَى الْخَلْقِ جَمِيعًا، فَيُخْبِرُهُمْ أَنَّهُ جَاءَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ، وَأَنَّهُ يَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ، فَيَقُولُ: ﴿لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ﴾، ﴿وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِهِ عِلْمًا﴾، وَ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ﴾، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: أَنَا رَأَيْتُهُ بِعَيْنِي، وَأَحَطْتُ بِهِ عِلْمًا، وَهُوَ عَلَى صُورَةِ الْبَشَرِ؟! أَمَا تَسْتَحْيُونَ؟! مَا قَدَرَتِ الزَّنَادِقَةُ أَنْ تَرْمِيَهُ بِهَذَا، أَنْ يَكُونَ يَأْتِي مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ بِشَيْءٍ، ثُمَّ يَأْتِي بِخِلَافِهِ مِنْ وَجْهٍ آخَرَ! قَالَ أَبُو قُرَّةَ: فَتُكَذِّبُ بِالرِّوَايَاتِ؟! فَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُوسَى الرِّضَا: إِذَا كَانَتِ الرِّوَايَاتُ مُخَالِفَةً لِلْقُرْآنِ كَذَّبْتُهَا»[62]; “Abu Qurrah, the narrator, asked me to take him to Ali ibn Musa al-Rida. I sought permission from him for this, and he granted it. Abu Qurrah entered upon him and asked him about the lawful, the unlawful, and rulings until his questions reached the topic of the Oneness of Allah. Abu Qurrah said: ‘We have been narrated that Allah divided vision and speech between two Prophets, so He allotted speech to Musa and vision to Muhammad!’ Ali ibn Musa al-Rida said: ‘Then who is the one who conveyed the message from Allah to the two communities of mankind and jinn: “Eyes do not perceive Him,” “and they do not encompass Him by knowledge,” and “there is nothing like Him”?! Was it not Muhammad!?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘How can a man come to all of creation and inform them that he has come from Allah, and that he invites them toward Allah by the command of Allah, and says: “Eyes do not perceive Him,” “and they do not encompass Him by knowledge,” and “there is nothing like Him,” then he says: “I saw Him with my own eyes, and I encompassed Him by knowledge, and He has a face like the mankind”?! Do you not feel ashamed?! Even the heretics could not accuse him of this, that he brought something from Allah and then brought something contrary to it from somewhere else!’ Abu Qurrah said: ‘So do you deny the narrations?!’ Ali ibn Musa al-Rida said: ‘If the narrations are contrary to the Quran, I deny them.’” Its chains of narrators are authentic. It has been narrated from Asim that he said: «شَهِدْتُ جِنَازَةً فِيهَا زَيْدُ بْنْ عَلِيٍّ، فَأَنْشَأَ يُحَدِّثُ يَوْمَئِذٍ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ الدُّخَانَ يَجِيءُ قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، فَيَأْخُذُ بِأَنْفِ الْمُؤْمِنِ الزُّكَامُ، وَيَأْخُذُ بِمَسَامِعِ الْكَافِرِ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ، إِنَّ صَاحِبَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ -يَعْنِي ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ- قَدْ قَالَ غَيْرَ هَذَا، قَالَ: إِنَّ الدُّخَانَ قَدْ مَضَى، وَقَرَأَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: ﴿فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُبِينٍ ۝ يَغْشَى النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾[63]، قَالَ: أَصَابَ النَّاسَ جَهْدٌ حَتَّى جَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ يَرَى مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ دُخَانًا، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ ﴿فَارْتَقِبْ﴾، وَكَذَا قَرَأَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ ﴿مُؤْمِنُونَ﴾[64]، قَالَ: ﴿إِنَّا كَاشِفُوا الْعَذَابِ قَلِيلًا﴾[65]، قُلْتُ لِزَيْدٍ: فَعَادُوا، فَأَعَادَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ بَدْرًا، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ ﴿وَإِنْ عُدْتُمْ عُدْنَا﴾[66]، فَذَلِكَ يَوْمُ بَدْرٍ، قَالَ: فَقَبِلَ وَاللَّهِ، قَالَ عَاصِمٌ: فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ يَرُدُّ عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ زَيْدٌ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ: أَمَا إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَدْ قَالَ: إِنَّكُمْ سَيَجِيئُكُمْ رُوَاةٌ، فَمَا وَافَقَ الْقُرْآنَ فَخُذُوا بِهِ، وَمَا كَانَ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ فَدَعُوهُ»[67]; “I attended a funeral that Zayd ibn Ali also there attended. He gave a speech that day and said: ‘A smoke will come before the Day of Judgment, causing a cold in the nose of a believer and deafen the ears of a disbeliever.’ I said: ‘May Allah have mercy on you! Our companion Abdullah -meaning Ibn Mas‘ud- has said something different. He said: “Indeed, the smoke has already passed.” And he recited this verse: “So wait for the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke, enveloping people. This is a painful punishment.” He said: “People’s troubles reached such a point that they saw everything between the sky and themselves as smoke.” So this is the intended meaning of His word, “So wait.” And then Abdullah recited until His word, “believers.” Then He said: “Indeed, We will remove the punishment for a little while.”’ I said to Zayd: ‘So they returned, and Allah returned Badr to them. This is the intended meaning of His words, “And if you return, We will return.” So that is the Day of Badr.’ Then by Allah, he accepted it. A man then said something in response to him, and Zayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ‘Indeed, the Messenger of Allah has said: “Indeed, narrators will come to you. So whatever agrees with the Quran, accept it, and whatever is not like that, leave it.’” Its chains of narrators are good. The narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt in this regard are mutawatir. It has been narrated from Ali that he said: «أَلَا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِالْفَقِيهِ حَقِّ الْفَقِيهِ؟ مَنْ لَمْ يُقَنِّطِ النَّاسَ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ، وَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْهُمْ مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ، وَلَمْ يُرَخِّصْ لَهُمْ فِي مَعَاصِي اللَّهِ، وَلَمْ يَتْرُكِ الْقُرْآنَ رَغْبَةً عَنْهُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ»[68]; “Shall I not inform you about the true jurist?! He is the one who does not make people despair of Allah’s mercy, does not make them feel secure from Allah’s punishment, does not permit them to disobey Allah, and does not abandon the Quran out of desire for anything else.” Its chains of narrators are authentic, and it explicitly states that the Quran should not be abandoned for anything else, whether it be hadith, qiyas, or anything else, and whoever abandons it for any of these things is not a true jurist, even if he is called a jurist. This is the doctrine of the Ahl al-Bayt, and whoever follows them does not go astray; because Allah has said: ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾[69]; “Indeed, Allah wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure,” and the Messenger of Allah has said: «إِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمُ الثَّقَلَيْنِ: كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَأَهْلَ بَيْتِي، إِنْ تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدِي، وَإِنَّهُمَا لَنْ يَفْتَرِقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ»[70]; “I leave among you two weighty things: the Book of Allah and my Ahl al-Bayt. If you hold firmly to those two, you will never go astray after me. And those two will never be separated until they come to me by the Pond.”

7. The Sahabah and the Tabi‘un acted on its content

The jurists from among the Sahabah and the Tabi‘un have acted upon this hadith; as it has been narrated from Umar that he gave a thrice-divorced woman housing and maintenance. Then Fatimah, the daughter of Qays, said: «طَلَّقَنِي زَوْجِي ثَلَاثًا، فَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ سُكْنَى وَلَا نَفَقَةً»; “My husband divorced me three times, but the Messenger of Allah did not give me housing and maintenance.” Umar said: «لَا نَأْخُذُ بِقَوْلِ امْرَأَةٍ لَا نَدْرِي صَدَقَتْ أَمْ كَذَبَتْ، وَنَدَعُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ»; “We do not accept the words of a woman whom we do not know whether she is telling the truth or lying, while we have set aside the Book of Allah.”[71] This clearly shows Umar’s view was to not accept a hadith if it contradicted the Book of Allah. He expressed this in the presence of the Sahabah, and no one disapproved of it. Therefore, it was like a consensus among them. It has been narrated that Uthman was sitting on the benches, and then the muezzin came and called him to the evening prayer. He called for water and performed wudu. Then he said: «وَاللَّهِ لَأُحَدِّثَنَّكُمْ حَدِيثًا، لَوْلَا أَنَّهُ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ مَا حَدَّثْتُكُمُوهُ»; “By Allah, I shall narrate a hadith to you. Had it not been in the Book of Allah, I would not have narrated it to you.” Then he said: «سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: مَا مِنِ امْرِئٍ يَتَوَضَّأُ، فَيُحْسِنُ وُضُوءَهُ، ثُمَّ يُصَلِّي الصَّلَاةَ، إِلَّا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الصَّلَاةِ الْأُخْرَى حَتَّى يُصَلِّيَهَا»; “I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘There is no person who performs wudu, doing it well, and then performs prayer unless his sins between that prayer and the next prayer will be forgiven until he performs it.’” Malik said: «أُرَاهُ يُرِيدُ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: ﴿أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ ذَلِكَ ذِكْرَى لِلذَّاكِرِينَ﴾[72]»; “I think he means this verse: ‘And perform prayer at the beginning and end of the day and at the beginning of the night. Indeed, good deeds remove bad deeds. This is a reminder for the mindful.’”[73] This clearly shows that Uthman’s view was to not accept any hadith except in what agreed with the Book of Allah. It has been narrated that Fatimah came to Abu Bakr to demand her inheritance, and Ali came with her. Abu Bakr said: The Messenger of Allah said: «لَا نُورَثُ، مَا تَرَكْنَا صَدَقَةٌ»; “We do not leave behind inheritance. Whatever we leave behind is charity.” Ali said: «﴿وَرِثَ سُلَيْمَانُ دَاوُدَ﴾[74]، وَقَالَ زَكَرِيَّاءُ: ﴿يَرِثُنِي وَيَرِثُ مِنْ آلِ يَعْقُوبَ﴾[75]»; “‘And Sulayman inherited from Dawud,’ and Zakariyya said: ‘He will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Ya‘qub.’” Abu Bakr said: “That (ie, what he narrated from the Prophet) is how it is. And by Allah, you know the same thing as I know.” Ali said: «هَذَا كِتَابُ اللَّهِ يَنْطِقُ»; “This is the Book of Allah speaking.”[76] This clearly shows that Ali’s view was to not accept a hadith if it contradicted the Book of Allah, even if Abu Bakr narrated it. It has been narrated that Aisha heard of Umar’s hadith: «أَنَّ الْمَيِّتَ يُعَذَّبُ بِبُكَاءِ أَهْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ»; “The deceased is tormented because of his family’s crying for him.” She said: «يَرْحَمُ اللَّهُ عُمَرَ، لَا وَاللَّهِ مَا حَدَّثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ الْمَيِّتَ يُعَذَّبُ بِبُكَاءِ أَهْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ»; “May Allah have mercy on Umar. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah did not say that the deceased is tormented because of his family’s crying for him.” Then she said: «حَسْبُكُمُ الْقُرْآنُ: ﴿لَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى﴾[77]»; “The Quran is sufficient for you: ‘No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another.’”[78] This clearly shows that her view was to not accept a hadith if it contradicted the Book of Allah, even if Umar narrated it. It has been narrated from ibn Abbas that he said: «إِذَا حَدَّثْتُكُمْ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَدِيثًا فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا تَصْدِيقَهُ فِي الْقُرْآنِ فَأَنَا مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ»[79]; “If I narrate to you a hadith from the Messenger of Allah and you do not find its confirmation in the Quran, then I am among the liars.” This clearly shows that his view was to not accept any hadith except in what agreed with the Book of Allah. It has been narrated from Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud that he said: «إِذَا حَدَّثْتُكُمْ بِحَدِيثٍ أَنْبَأْتُكُمْ بِتَصْدِيقِ ذَلِكَ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ، إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ إِذَا وُضِعَ فِي قَبْرِهِ أُجْلِسَ فِيهِ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ: مَنْ رَبُّكَ؟ وَمَا دِينُكَ؟ وَمَنْ نَبِيُّكَ؟ فَيُثَبِّتُهُ اللَّهُ، فَيَقُولُ: رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ، وَدِينِي الْإِسْلَامُ، وَنَبِيِّي مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ قَرَأَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ: ﴿يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ﴾[80]، فَإِذَا مَاتَ الْكَافِرُ أُجْلِسَ فِي قَبْرِهِ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ: مَنْ رَبُّكَ؟ وَمَا دِينُكَ؟ وَمَنْ نَبِيُّكَ؟ فَيَقُولُ: لَا أَدْرِي، قَالَ: فَيَضِيقُ عَلَيْهِ قَبْرُهُ وَيُعَذَّبُ فِيهِ، ثُمَّ قَرَأَ: ﴿وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكًا﴾[81]»[82]; “Whenever I narrate a hadith to you, I inform you of its confirmation from the Book of Allah. Indeed, when a believer is placed in his grave, he is seated in it and asked: ‘Who is your Lord?’ ‘And what is your religion?’ ‘And who is your Prophet?’ Then Allah strengthens him and he answers: ‘My Lord is Allah. And my religion is Islam. And my Prophet is Muhammad .’ Then Abdullah recited: ‘Allah strengthens those who believed with the firm word in the life of the world and in the Hereafter.’ (Then he said:) When a disbeliever dies, he is seated in his grave and asked: ‘Who is your Lord?’ ‘And what is your religion?’ ‘And who is your Prophet?’ He says: ‘I do not know.’ Then his grave constricts upon him, and he is punished in there. Then he recited: ‘And whoever turns away from remembering Me, he will have a life of great hardship.’” This clearly shows that his view was to not accept any hadith except in what agreed with the Book of Allah. It has been narrated from Abu Ja‘far that he said: «إِذَا حَدَّثْتُكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ فَاسْأَلُونِي عَنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ فِي حَدِيثِهِ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ نَهَى عَنِ الْقِيلِ وَالْقَالِ، وَفَسَادِ الْمَالِ، وَكَثْرَةِ السُّؤَالِ، فَقَالُوا: يَا ابْنَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ، وَأَيْنَ هَذَا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ فِي كِتَابِهِ: ﴿لَا خَيْرَ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنْ نَجْوَاهُمْ﴾[83]، وَقَالَ: ﴿وَلَا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهَاءَ أَمْوَالَكُمُ الَّتِي جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ قِيَامًا﴾[84]، وَقَالَ: ﴿لَا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ﴾[85]»[86]; “‘Whenever I narrate a hadith to you, ask me about (its confirmation from) the Book of Allah.’ Then he said in his hadith: ‘Indeed, Allah has prohibited gossip, wasting wealth, and excessive questioning.’ They said: ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah! where is this in the Book of Allah?’ He said: Indeed, Allah the Exalted, the Majestic says in His Book: ‘There is no good in most of their secret talks,’ and says: ‘And do not give the foolish your wealth that Allah has made a means of support for you,’ and says: ‘Do not ask about things that if disclosed to you, may displease you.’” This clearly shows that his view was to not accept any hadith except in what agreed with the Book of Allah. It has been narrated from Muhammad ibn Ka‘b al-Qurazi that he said: «كُنْتُ إِذَا سَمِعْتُ حَدِيثًا عَنْ رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْتَمَسْتُهُ فِي الْقُرْآنِ»[87]; “Whenever I heard a hadith from one of the companions of the Prophet I searched for (the confirmation of) it in the Quran.” This clearly shows that his view was to not accept any hadith except in what agreed with the Book of Allah. This was the view of the jurists from among the Sahabah and the Tabi‘un, and for this reason, they disliked engaging in hadith and urged paying attention to the Book of Allah; as it has been narrated that Umar wanted to write down hadiths. He sought Allah’s guidance for a month. Then he woke up, and he was determined not to do so. He said: «إِنِّي كُنْتُ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَكْتُبَ السُّنَنَ، وَإِنِّي ذَكَرْتُ قَوْمًا كَانُوا قَبْلَكُمْ، كَتَبُوا كُتُبًا فَأَكَبُّوا عَلَيْهَا وَتَرَكُوا كِتَابَ اللَّهِ، وَإِنِّي وَاللَّهِ لَا أُلْبِسُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ بِشَيْءٍ أَبَدًا»; “I wanted to write down the ways (of the Prophet), but I remembered a people before you who wrote books and then became preoccupied with them and abandoned the Book of Allah. By Allah, I will never mix anything with the Book of Allah,” and in another narration, he said: «إِنِّي قَدْ كُنْتُ ذَكَرْتُ لَكُمْ مِنْ كِتَابِ السُّنَنِ مَا قَدْ عَلِمْتُمْ، ثُمَّ تَذَكَّرْتُ، فَإِذَا أُنَاسٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ قَبْلَكُمْ قَدْ كَتَبُوا مَعَ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ كُتُبًا، فَأَكَبُّوا عَلَيْهَا وَتَرَكُوا كِتَابَ اللَّهِ، وَإِنِّي وَاللَّهِ لَا أُلْبِسُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ بِشَيْءٍ أَبَدًا»; “I had already mentioned to you from the book of the ways what you know. Then I remembered that some of the people of the Book before you had written down books alongside the Book of Allah and then became engrossed in them and abandoned the Book of Allah. And by Allah, I will never mix anything with the Book of Allah.” Therefore, he abandoned writing down hadiths[88]. It has been narrated that a man came to Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud with a book. Abdullah looked at it and said: «إِنَّمَا هَلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ بِاتِّبَاعِهِمُ الْكُتُبَ وَتَرْكِهِمْ كِتَابَهُمْ»; “Those who came before you perished because they followed their own books and abandoned their Book (of Allah).” Then he called for a basin containing water and soaked the book in it. The man said: «انْظُرْ فِيهِ، فَإِنَّ فِيهِ أَحَادِيثَ حِسَانًا»; “Look at it. It contains good hadiths.” But Abdullah destroyed it and said: «الْقُلُوبُ أَوْعِيَةٌ، فَأَشْغِلُوهَا بِالْقُرْآنِ، وَلَا تُشْغِلُوهَا بِغَيْرِهِ»; “Hearts are like vessels, so fill them with the Quran and do not fill them with anything else,” and said: «أَقَصَصًا أَحْسَنَ مِنْ قَصَصِ اللَّهِ تُرِيدُونَ؟! أَوَ حَدِيثًا أَحْسَنَ مِنْ حَدِيثِ اللَّهِ تُرِيدُونَ؟!»; “Do you want stories better than the stories of Allah?! Or do you want hadith better than the Hadith of Allah?!”[89] Also, he found a small book with one of his companions. Then he took it and said to them: «إِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابَيْنِ قَبْلَكُمْ مِثْلُ هَذِهِ الصَّحِيفَةِ وَأَشْبَاهُهَا، تَوَارَثُوهَا قَرْنًا بَعْدَ قَرْنٍ، حَتَّى جَعَلُوا كِتَابَ اللَّهِ خَلْفَ ظُهُوَرِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ، فَأَنْشُدُ اللَّهَ رَجُلًا عَلِمَ مَكَانَ صَحِيفَةٍ إِلَّا أَتَانِي، فَوَاللَّهِ لَوْ عَلِمْتُهَا بِدَيْرِ هِنْدَ لَانْتَقَلْتُ إِلَيْهَا»[90]; “It was such books and their likes that destroyed the people of the Two Books before you. They inherited them from generation to generation until they placed the Book of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know it. I adjure by Allah the man who knows the whereabouts of a small book to bring it to me. By Allah, even if I knew it was in a monastery in India, I would go to it.” Also, he heard that there was a book with some people. He continued to press them until they brought it to him. When they brought it to him, he erased it. Then he said: «إِنَّمَا هَلَكَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ قَبْلَكُمْ أَنَّهُمْ أَقْبَلُوا عَلَى كُتُبِ عُلَمَائِهِمْ، وَتَرَكُوا كِتَابَ رَبِّهِمْ»; “The people of the Book before you perished because they turned to the books of their scholars and abandoned the Book of their Lord,” or said: «تَرَكُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ حَتَّى دَرَسَا وَذَهَبَ مَا فِيهِمَا مِنَ الْفَرَائِضِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ»; “They abandoned the Torah and the Gospel until they became worn out and the obligations and rulings in them were lost.”[91] It has been narrated from ibn Abbas that he warned against writing down hadiths, saying: «إِنَّمَا أَضَلَّ مَنْ قَبْلَكُمُ الْكُتُبُ»[92]; “It was books that led astray those who came before you.” It has been narrated from Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari that he said: «إِنَّ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ كَتَبُوا كِتَابًا وَاتَّبَعُوهُ وَتَرَكُوا التَّوْرَاةَ»[93]; “The Children of Israel wrote down a book, followed it, and abandoned the Torah.” It has been narrated that some people asked Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri to write down hadith for them. He refused and said: «أَتَجْعَلُونَهُ مَصَاحِفَ تَقْرَؤُونَهَا؟!»; “Do you want to make it into books that you read?!” and said: «أَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ قُرْآنًا؟!»; “Do you want to take it as a Quran?!” and said: «لَنْ أُكْتِبَكُمُوهُ، وَلَنْ أَجْعَلَهُ قُرْآنًا»; “I will not write it down for you, and I will not make it into a Quran.”[94] It has been narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr that he said: «إِنَّ مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ أَنْ تُتْلَى الْمَثْنَاةُ، فَلَا يُوجَدُ مَنْ يُغَيِّرُهَا»; “One of the signs of the Hour is that mathnat will be recited, and there will be no one to change it.” It was said to him: «وَمَا الْمَثْنَاةُ؟»; “What is mathnat?” He said: «مَا اسْتُكْتِبَ مِنْ كِتَابٍ غَيْرِ الْقُرْآنِ»; “A book that is written down besides the Quran.”[95] It has been narrated from Dahhak ibn Muzahim that he said: «يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يَكْثُرُ فِيهِ الْأَحَادِيثُ، حَتَّى يَبْقَى الْمُصْحَفُ بِغُبَارِهِ لَا يُنْظَرُ فِيهِ»[96]; “There will come a time upon people when hadiths will become abundant until the Mushaf (meaning the Quran) will be left covered in dust, and no one will look at it,” and in another narration, he said: «يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يُعَلِّقُونَ الْمُصْحَفَ، حَتَّى يُعَشِّشَ فِيهِ الْعَنْكَبُوتُ، لَا يُنْتَفَعُ بِمَا فِيهِ، وَتَكُونُ أَعْمَالُ النَّاسِ بِالْأَحَادِيثِ»[97]; “There will come a time upon people when they will hang up the Mushaf until spiders nest in it. No benefit will be derived from what is in it, and the deeds of people will be based on hadiths.” It has been narrated from Abu Khalid al-Ahmar that he said: «يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ تُعَطَّلُ فِيهِ الْمَصَاحِفُ، لَا يُقْرَأُ فِيهَا، يَطْلُبُونَ الْحَدِيثَ وَالرَّأْيَ»; “There will come a time upon people when the Mushafs will be neglected and not read. They will seek out hadiths and opinions.” Then he said: «إِيَّاكُمْ وَذَلِكَ، فَإِنَّهُ يُصْفِقُ الْوَجْهَ، وَيُكْثِرُ الْكَلَامَ، وَيَشْغَلُ الْقَلْبَ»; “Avoid that, for it deforms the face, increase speech, and occupy the heart.”[98] It has been narrated from Harun ibn Ma‘ruf that he said: «رَأَيْتُ فِيَ الْمَنَامِ أَنَّ مَنْ آثَرَ الْحَدِيثَ عَلَى الْقُرْآنِ عُذِّبَ، فَآثَرْتُ الْحَدِيثَ عَلَى الْقُرْآنِ، فَذَهَبَ بَصَرِي»[99]; “I saw in a dream that whoever preferred hadith over the Quran was punished. I preferred hadith over the Quran, so I lost my eyesight.” It has been narrated from Abdullah ibn Awn that he said: «إِنِّي أَرَى هَذِهِ الْكُتُبَ سَتُضِلُّ النَّاسَ»[100]; “I see that these books will lead people astray,” meaning hadith books. It has been narrated from Shu‘bah ibn al-Hajjaj, one of the great hadith narrators, that he said to the people of hadith: «اعْلَمُوا يَا قَوْمِ أَنَّكُمْ كُلَّمَا تَقَدَّمْتُمْ فِي الْحَدِيثِ تَأَخَّرْتُمْ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ»; “Know, O people, that the more you delve into hadith, the further you stray from the Quran.” He would sometimes strike his head with his hand and say in Persian: «خَاكْ بِسَرِ شُعْبَةَ»; “Khak be sar-e Shu‘bah,”[101] which means “Dust on Shu‘bah’s head.” It has been narrated from Muhriz ibn Awn that he said: I asked Fudayl ibn Iyad about a hadith, and he said to me: «وَأَنْتَ أَيْضًا مِنْهُمْ؟! عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ، فَإِنَّهُ يَنْبَغِي لَنَا أَنْ لَوْ بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ حَرْفًا مِنْ كَلَامِ رَبِّنَا نَزَلَ بِالْيَمَنِ لَذَهَبْنَا حَتَّى نَسْمَعَهُ، وَلَكِنْ وَجَدْتُمْ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ أَيْسَرَ عَلَيْكُمْ»[102]; “Are you one of them too?! You should adhere to the Quran. It is appropriate that if we were to hear that even a single letter of our Lord’s speech had descended in Yemen, we would go there to hear it. But you have found this matter to be easier for you.” This was the approach of the righteous predecessors, but those who came after them have turned it upside down, and yet think they are guided by following in their footsteps! ﴿كَذَلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ مُرْتَابٌ﴾[103]; “This is how Allah leads astray whoever is extravagant and doubtful!”

From what we have presented, it has become clear that the Hadith of presenting hadiths to the Book of Allah is authentic in both the text and chains of narrators. Therefore, it is necessary to act upon it. The truth is that turning away from it is one of the most important causes of deviation among Muslims; because many of their false beliefs and deeds have originated from false or erroneous hadiths that contradict the Book of Allah, while they think that these hadiths are authentic. If they had presented them to the Book of Allah, their falsehood or error would have become clear to them, ﴿وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَجْهَلُونَ﴾[104]; “but most of them do not know.”