The Preservation Of Hadith by Ibrahim Madani

Allah سبحانه وتعالى. states in the Qur’an:

This aya explains one of the most important responsibilities of the beloved Blessed Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: to teach the Book. This responsibility consists of not just teaching the pronunciation and reading of the Book [as that is already covered in the first responsibility, i.e. ‘to recite to them His verses’], but more importantly, the meaning of the Qur’an. It would be meaningless for a Muslim to try to understand the meaning and message of the Qur’an without the Blessed Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as a teacher to explain it to us.

Proficiency in the Arabic language alone cannot help us grasp the meaning of the Qur’an. Remember, the Sahaba رضي الله عنه‎) who spoke fluent Arabic, always turned to the Blessed Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to understand the deeper meanings of the Qur’an. The Qur’an’s words and its meanings were explained both verbally and practically by the Blessed Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. These sayings and explanations of the Blessed Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم are called úódõth and provide us with the the most authentic commentary of the Qur’an. Therefore, Allah’s سبحانه وتعالى. promise to preserve the Qur’an meant preservation of the aúódõth as well.

However the preservation of words alone serves little purpose. For example, if the Qur’an commands Muslims to establish üalót, but we are unable to understand what this command entails [such as how to perform it], then what benefit is there in preserving the words “establish the üalót?” This proves that the preservation of the Qur’an, by necessity, includes preservation of the úódõth. Without úódõth, the õmón of a Muslim is incomplete. After all, how do we know that the Qur’an is the book of Allah سبحانه وتعالى.?

If we know the Qur’an and its place, it is only because the Blessed Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “This is the Qur’an; it is the word of Allah سبحانه وتعالى..” If we were to reject this úadīth of the Blessed Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then the whole foundation of Islam collapses. We would not know that the Qur’an is what it claims to be.3

Allah سبحانه وتعالى. says to the Blessed Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in the Qur’an:

This aya proves that the fundamental role of úódõth is to reveal the meaning of the Qur’an, which means that the Qur’an cannot be understood without the aúódõth.