Knowledgeable Muslims: How should we follow the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad(saw)?

W/Salaam,

The "mistakes" you're talking about can never be from our Prophet (pbuh), He was the best example to mankind.

"And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character." - Surah Al-Qalam [68:4]

"Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad SAW) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much." - Surah Al-Ahzab [33:21]

But, I know what you're talking about, how can we know if what we get through "hadiths" is exactly how it is meant to be? ...(because no one at that time was officially commanded to "write" or record hadiths).

I have a slightly different opinion on this one, I would still analyse* each hadith regardless of the fact if they are 100% Authentic, or from Imam Bukhari or Muslim, etc. etc etc... because what we're doing here is simply trusting a group of people who "compiled" hadiths a thousand years ago. and THAT is where those "mistakes" (that you're talking about) could possibly come in. (mistakes could also appear in the 'context' of the hadith that would change everything !)

*The important thing is, the hadiths should not contradict the Quran. (if a hadith contradict the words of Allah swt, then it is our duty to discard that hadith).

People may take me wrong here, but let me clarify:

Discarding a particular hadith is "NOT" same as disobeying our Prophet (pbuh).

Remember, Allah (swt) told us "whatever Messenger (saw) gives you, take it"

And that does NOT mean: "whatever Imam Bukhari gives you, take it" !

We Muslims need to be extremely open-minded.

We should always cross-check things with the 100% Authentic Holy Book (Quran).

Muslims follow the sunnah because the quran says to live like the Prophet (saw) lived so how else to do that but to follow the sunnah? But you see, the problem is that some ahadith are false so which to trust? Tirmidhi is well known for having a lot of controversal ahadith that have no back up. So that's a problem. Many Muslims ignore him, but others who don't know better follow him. Okay so what about the others? You hear a lot of about Bukhari because he was very picky. For example, if he tried to get a quote from a guy, and that guy was doing something not Islamic, he wouldn't take his quote. So if he was eating outside, which Muslims shouldn't do (unless they're feeding everyone) then bam, no hadith from him. Also, he checked the backgrounds of the people giving him quotes. So he'd ask around: is this guy honest? Trustworthy? Does he have a good memory? Was he actually in that place at that time? (to have heard the quote). If the quote was of another person, meaning, the guy heard it second hand, he'd go back and check the other person in the chain, and so on. So he was really careful. Finally, most (all?) of his narrations have more than one source saying the same or almost exactly the same thing. In many cases there are 3 different sources per quote. So that is far more trustworthy than just one guy saying, "Yeah I heard that." Now some people follow not just the Prophet saw but the sahabahs too. To me this is crazy. No where does it say to follow the sahabahs. Moreover, some of them were terrible Muslims, even after the death of the Prophet saw, having more than 4 wives and also not paying zakat until their death beds, etc. I'm not saying everything they did was bad, but I just don't see them as a decent example. the Prophet saw is enough. Once you find a source you think is okay, you compare what is said against the quran. If it doesn't match up, you toss it. I dont know if there are any books that do that. So you eliminate everything that doesn't have a strong chain, and everything that doesn't coincide with the quran, and that's what you use. It's a lot of work. Plus the sunnis and shias have different collections, but some are the same, so those are the more "safe" ones, I suppose (although I haven't made a particular study of the differences to really comment). If you follow the quran, you'll have more or less enough to go by. If you get stuck and don't know what to do, the hadiths can help you out. If someone tells you something is part of Islam and it doesn't sound valid, ask where they got it from. If they can't quote you, ignore them. If they quote the Quran, look it up. if they quote a hadith, look it up when you have time, but don't worry about it. Quran first and foremost. Some people put too much faith in Bukhari and they more or less ignore the Quran in favour of following the hadiths. This is a bad policy and basically elevates him to godhood or at least prophethood which is not his station. So keep your own head level when researching. -Hayat

I have answered this before

Mohammed saw did not make any mistake at all

The Stoning man and a women to death at the time of Mohammed saw the hadith you are referring to.

Is that these two people was punished according to Jews law at the time of our prophet not Islamic law

The reason they were punished by stoning to death because the Man was a Jew and he was punished according to the Law of the Torah.

At that time people used to get punished according to their tribe/custom or faith

Death Sentence in Islam or Stoning people to death according to the Quran and Hadith we find today

and many Scholar say it is not absolute but its a choice.

Sharia law is made from the hadith and the Quran but stoning people to death or death sentence it is

not absolute.

So Muslim can decide what to implement in sharia.

Not many Muslim Country follow stoning people to the death neither the Quran say and the stoning people to death at the time of Mohammed saw. It was punished according to Jews law not Mohammed saw idea. and I think once the Prophet Pardon the Man and told people to let him go free.

Follow today whats the Majority of Muslims Follows

There are Millions of Hadith fake and Authentic ones

To study Shari Law and Hadith,s fully then you need to study in Medina University and it takes

10 to 15 Years so you cant Judge these things without a scholar and you cant or think Just reading few hadith and verses of the Quran to make your judgment.

Allah said if you don,t have a Knowledge of something then Keep Quite

Walaikum assalam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

I hope you throughly read from this ONE link which aims to removing all doubts and misconceptions about Authority of the Sunnah in Islam:

http://www.al-islami.com/islam/authority_of_sunnah...

@as for your misconception: "So why is it that some people just fully rely and follow sunnahs and hadiths by Muhammad(saw), as they were supposed to be at the same level as revelations.. when the possibility exists that some actions by Muhammad(saw) -might- have been a "mistake" and a not "fully prefered/correct" method or action (since he's a normal human).. and likewise some actions by Muhammad(saw) maybe weren't really -supposed- and meant to be recorded as hadiths, and be followed by people after him.. by the same reason(= it might have been a "mistake" and a not "fully prefered/correct" method or action, since he's a normal human)...."

Do realize:

The IMPORTANCE and AUTHENTICITY of HADITH in Islam :

http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/CoC-_Master_Refere...

please download the read the book above, for it removes ALL DOUBTS AND FEARS concerning to your questions and misconeptions about islam.

do also refer to more downloadable free ebooks:

http://www.kalamullah.com/hadith.html

Jazakallahu khairan for posting ur question.

May Allah guide us all to the path which leads to jannah (paradise) i.e. Islam, as based upon teh quran and sahih hadith.

Ameen.

You got it right. Anything that contradicts the Quran is to be rejected.Muhammad saw was prone to and did mistakes(like the one mentioned in the Quran the incident of the blind person). He was infallibe when it comes to delivering the message, not when it came to geography or state management.

Regarding stoning, we must remember it was a law meant for the Jews initialy.Since the Quran was revealed in stages,the Prophet used the judaic law to judge jews who committed adultery, i.e stonning(as Jesus pbuh who came not to reject previous commands but to establish).When surah Al Noor was revealed there was no need of the old law anymore.

"The woman and the man guilty of fornication- flog each of them with a hundred stripes."(24:2).Now where in the Quran did it imply a unmarried person?Why must it be restricted to the unmarried?

And lastly we cannot rule out hadiths from our faith as is mentioned in Quran- "..If ye differ in anything among yourselves,refer it to Allah and His messenger.."(7:59).And to refer the messenger, authenetic hadiths are the only way.

the prophet is in no way perfet.

but...he is the closest to perfect that any person can be, which is why we should strive to reach his level of perfection.

the prophet made mistakes im sure. there is even a hadith sahih where he missed a rakaat wen he was leading a prayer and when his companions asked why, he prayed the rakaat of forgetfulness.

so, this goes to show, that he is not infallibe, he is a man but Allah sez we should folllow the prophets ways because they are the closest to perfection.

wassalam

He is a normal human in the sense he is in the body of a human, but spiritually, he does not compare to us. His degree is the highest degree, higher than the Angel Gabriel (According to the story of Isra and Mi'raj, only Muhammad could pass and Gabriel couldnt in Sidratul Muntaha).

So yes, he is a human like us, but when it comes to the Wahi (revelations to people) and his obedience to God, he is perfect. He is Allah's viceroy on Earth and we follow him. If he would commit an error such as worship an idol, even for 1 hour of his life, he would be considered to have wronged himself and not be able to be Allah's leader on Earth.

The prophet's words are also not his own, Allah says to obey Allah and the messenger and Ulil Amr (Imams) and none of them can be wrong. If the Prophet or Ulil Amr are wrong, Allah is saying to follow them in wrong (Which does not make sense) so they have to be perfect. Allah does not say in the Quran if the prophet or ulil amr are wrong, do not follow them. Allah says in the verse to obey them (without question).

That is one reason why Ulil Amr cannot be anyone.

The Concept of Infallibility

According to the scholar Muhammad Jawad Mughniyah (May Allah rest his soul in peace), in his book "al-Islam Wa al-'Aql -- Islam and Reason," the concept of Ismah (Infallibility) is very often misunderstood. What we mean by that concept is that a prophet, by virtue of his prophethood, has a pure soul. As the Quran states:

"...the (human) soul certainly incites evil, UNLESS my lord do bestow His Mercy... (12:53)"

Clearly Allah (SWT) has made an exception (by using the term "UNLESS") to the human soul that incites evil. We can understand, based on Shi'ite philosophy, that the attachment of the soul (Nafs) to being is that of a relationship of control and administration. Therefore, the soul may incite evil; but the individual has the freedom and the authority to reject that invitation to evil. If the individual accepts the invitation to evil, he becomes accountable for that evil which he commits. This is a very simplified explanation, but it serves the purpose.

Now, the prophets or the messengers, are among the exception as Allah (SWT) has indicated. That is, there is something in the soul of these virtuous HUMANS that precludes the incitement of evil, and as such they never commit it. Their virtue is so high that they never even think of committing a sin. It is NOT that if a prophet or a messenger wanted to commit a sin, he can't; rather, it is that "Mercy," mentioned in the above verse, that is bestowed upon him from Allah (SWT) that precludes him from doing so. As such, he is sinless and infallible even though they have full ability of committing any kind of sin.

When Satan refused to prostrate to Adam, He was driven away and became an accursed one. Quran states that thereupon Satan said:

15:39

He said: My Lord, Because You has sent me astray, verily I shall adorn the path of error for them on the earth, and shall deceive them all.

15:40

Except those of them who are Your perfectly devoted Servants.

15:41

(Allah) said: "This (Way of My sincere servants) is indeed a Way that leads straight to Me.

15:42

Lo! as for My slaves, you have NO way into them except the wrong-doers who follow you.

15:43

And verily for all such people, hell is the promised place.

It is clear from the above conversation that Allah has promised that Satan has NO WAY into His sincere Servants, and only wrong-doers will follow the Satan. Thus the Sincere Servants of Allah are not wrong-doers and shall not be deceived. Also Allah confirms that the Path of His Sincere Servants is a path which leads straight to Him. All these facts prove that the Sincere Servants of Allah never fall into the trap of Satan, and as such they are infallible, due to Allah's Mercy.

One side remark here is that there is no mention of "prophet" or "messenger" in the above verses. In other words, the "perfectly devoted Servants" who are infallible are not necessarily "prophets" or "messengers". The issue of the infallibility of the Imams will be discussed in a separate article, however.

some of the hadith are not correct so we should just believe in QURAN .

Allah only promised to protect the "Quran" free from corruption.