This is an article inspired by the interpretation of the Ayah 44 of Surah Nahl as given by Maulana Maududi. The said ayah reads as follows when translated in English:

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YUSUFALI: (We sent them) with Clear Signs and Books of dark prophecies; and We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may give thought.
PICKTHAL: With clear proofs and writings; and We have revealed unto thee the Remembrance that thou mayst explain to mankind that which hath been revealed for them, and that haply they may reflect.
SHAKIR: With clear arguments and scriptures; and We have revealed to you the Reminder that you may make clear to men what has been revealed to them, and that haply they may reflect.

This verse denies the claim given by the Quranites opposing the Hadeeth, because in this verse Allah clearly says that the Message was sent down on the Prophet Muhammad (salallaho alayhe wasallam) so that he may explain it to us, or make it clear for us.

There are four reasons that the Quranites put forward in support of their claim, which are denied herein. These four reasons are:-

1. The Prophet did not explain the Message, but only presented it to us.

2. Only the message is worth adhering to and the Prophet's explanation is not worth it or should not be so adhered to.

3. The Message is enough or suffices; there is no need of any explanation from the Prophet.

4. Only the Message is in a trustworthy condition i.e. it is authentic, whereas the explanation by the Prophet is either not present, or if present is not authentic.

To answer these contentions one by one we can keep this ayah in view

1. for this contention the answer is that if this be true than the reason behind the Prophet being the source of revelation for the rest of us was not fulfilled by him, it would've been better or the same if the revelation was given to us through angels and/or directly to us, because that way there would've been more believers. However, the reason behind it being revealed on Muhammad (salallaho alayhe wasallam) was that he should explain it to us. Therefore, we have to follow the Sunnah.

If 2. & 3. are correct, then (mu'aadh Allah) Allay did something futile by sending the Message to a Prophet, as it would've been the same, if not better, had He revealed it to us through angels or had the angels brought it down entirely and directly as a complete book.

If 4. is correct, then the result is the Naskh (abrogation) of not only the Quran and the Prophet hood of Muhammad (salallaho alayhe wasallam), but it also calls for a new revelation and prophet hood. As Allah has Himself described the Prophet's role to be pivotal in explaining the verses of Allah to us. If the claim that the Prophet's explanation isn’t present or available is true, then either;

(a) the prophet hood of Muhammad (salallaho alayhe wasallam) has ended for the purposes of being an example to follow, and our relationship with him is like that to Prophets Saleh, Hood or Shoaib i.e. we know that they are Prophets but their message and their attributes are lost to us, we do not have any example of theirs to follow. This automatically opens the door/need for a new prophet as we do not know what to do to attain Allah’s Mercy. OR

(b) the Quran alone, without the explanation of the Prophet, is insufficient, as stated by its Sender (Allah), so no matter how much the followers of the Qur’aan alone state that the Qur’aan suffices alone, it does not hold ground as the Qur’aan itself states that the Prophet is needed to explain it, hence the need for a new revelation is proved by the Qur’aan itself.

So brothers and sisters, it is evident that the Quranites are not following the Qur’aan as they themselves claim to be as the Prophet is needed for explaining the verses of the Qur’aan, as stated in the Qur’aan itself. And their own claims are made clear to be fallacious.

Salam tim2

As far as what I believe goes, I believe that the Hadeeth is definitely necessary to explain the Qur'aan. The Ahaadeeth are definitely inspired by Allah, they are not the direct words of Allah, but the Prophet (salallaho alayhe wasallam) spoke what Allah bid him speak and what was inspired to him by Allah. The Qur'aan was a DIRECT transmission of Allah's word, it was not inspiration but transmission of Allah's word to the Prophet (salallaho alayhe wasallam).

For example the Qur'aan merely stipulates that the believers should pray, and it is only through the Ahaadeeth that we learn of the right way to pray to Allah. In this instance it was Jibraaeel (alayhe salaam) (Gabriel to you) taught the Prophet (salallaho alayhe wasallam) the right way and time to pray and he (salallaho alayhe wasallam) in his turn taught it to his companions.

Moreover, the Majority of the scholars agree that the Saheeh Ahaadeeth are not only reliable but also can be trusted just as much as the Qur'aan. Only the Ahaadeeth that are Dha'eef (weak) in transmission are not to be relied upon that much, and even then a minority of scholars thinks that a Dha'eef Hadeeth should be given precedence over personal opinion.

Hope that helped.

Wasalam,

Urooj.