the word hadith in the quran

The Word Hadith in The Quran

The following is a list of the occurrence of the word hadith/hadeeth and how its used in The Quran/Koran.

Possible meanings of the word hadith = narrations, sayings, words, speech, opinions, statement, utterance, discourse, account and tale.

There are 26 occurrences of the word hadith in The Quran and they are shown below. Please remember to read the context (surrounding verses) as this is crucial to understanding the actual verse:

On that day those who rejected and disobeyed the messenger will desire that the earth will swallow them; but they cannot hide any hadith from GOD. [4:42]

Wherever you may be, death will find you, even if you are in fortified towers. If any good befalls them, they say: "This is from God," and if any bad befalls them, they say: "This is from you!" Say: "All is from God;" what is wrong with these people, they barely understand a hadith! [4:78]

GOD, there is no god but He. He will gather you for the day of resurrection in which there is no doubt. Who is more truthful in hadith than GOD?. [4:87]

And it has been sent down to you in the book, that if you hear GOD's verses being rejected in and ridiculed in, then do not sit with them until they move on to a different hadith; if not, then you are like them. GOD will gather the hypocrites and the disbelievers in hell all together [4:140]

And if you see those who meddle in Our verses, then turn away from them until they meddle in a different hadith; and if the devil lets you forget, then do not sit after remembering with the wicked people [6:68]

Did they not look at the dominion of heavens and earth, and all that GOD has created?. Perhaps their time is coming near; so in which hadith after this will they have faith? [7:185]

And it is such that your Lord Has chosen you, and He teaches you the interpretation of hadith, and He completes His blessings upon you and upon the family of Jacob, as He completed it for your fathers before that, Abraham and Isaac. your Lord is Knowing, Wise. [12:6]

And the one from Egypt who bought him said to his wife: 'make his stay generous, perhaps he will benefit us or we make take him as a son'. And it was thus that We established Joseph in the land and to teach him the interpretation of hadith. And GOD Has full power over His affairs, but most of mankind do not know. [12:21]

'My Lord, you have given me sovereignty and taught me the interpretations of hadith. Initiator of the heavens and earth, you are my protector in this world and the hereafter. Make me die a Submitter, and join me with the good doers'. [12:101]

In their stories is a lesson for the people of intelligence. It was not a hadith that was invented, but an authentication of what is already present and a detailing of all things, and a guidance and mercy to a people who have faith. [12:111]

Perhaps you will torment yourself in grief over them, because they will not believe in this hadith at all. [18:6]

And did the hadith of Moses come to you? [20:9]

Then We sent Our messengers in succession. Every time there came to a nation their messenger, they denied him. So We made them follow one another, and We made them a hadith. So away with a people who do not believe. [23:44]

And from the people, there are those who accept baseless hadith to mislead from the path of GOD without knowledge, and takes it as entertainment. Those will have a humiliating retribution. [31:6]

O you who believe, do not enter the prophet's homes except if you are invited to a meal, without you forcing such an invitation. But if you are invited, you may enter. And when you finish eating, you shall leave, without staying to wait for hadith. This used to bother the prophet, and he was shy to tell you. But God does not shy away from the truth. And if you ask his wives for something, ask them from behind a barrier. This is purer for your hearts and their hearts. And it is not for you to harm God's messenger, nor that you should marry his wives after him. This is indeed a gross offence with God. [33:53]

[68:44]

So in what hadith after this will they believe? [77:50]

Did the hadith of Moses come to you? [79:15]

Has the hadith come to you of the soldiers? [85:17]

Has the hadith come to you of that which will overwhelm? [88:1]

Conclusions

1) God uses the word hadith to describe The Quran itself, as well as its general meaning.

2) The Quran never uses the word hadith in the way the word is commonly used today (i.e. referring soley to Prophet Muhammad's hadith, or hadith books).

Which is understandable as the 6 hadith books were compiled between 180-280 years after Prophet Muhammad's death. Long after The Quran.

3) In 12:111 God states this hadith (The Quran) is a detailing of all things.

4) There are people who accept basless hadith, according to 31:6.

5) God states that The Quran is the best and most truthful hadith [4:87, 39:23].

And finally... there are only two verses in the entire Quran which mentions the word hadith and the Prophet together in the same verse.

1) It tells us what happened when the Prophet told his wives a hadith:

The Prophet had trusted some of his wives with a certain hadith, then one of them spread it, and GOD let him know about it. He then informed his wife of part of the issue, and disregarded part. She said: ‘who informed you of this?’. He said: ‘I was informed by the Knowledgeable, the Expert’. [66:3]
If the two of you repent to GOD, then your hearts have listened. But if you band together against him, then GOD is his ally, and so is Gabriel and the righteous believers. Also, the angels are his helpers. [66:4]
If he divorces you, his Lord will substitute other wives in your place who are better than you; submissive, believers, obedient, repentant, worshipers, pious, either previously married, or virgins. [66:5]

2) It tells us that those with the prophet should not stay and wait around for hadith of his when at his house, clearly showing that God differentiates between the hadith of the prophet and His hadith (as contained in The Quran), i.e. they are unequal and unecessary:

Please consider what your answer to the questions stated in 7:185, 45:6 & 77:50 are. If you are in doubt as to which answer one should give, please read the verses which follow these two references.

Short summary of the author's view of the hadith books:

None can be considered the literal/direct Word of God, as this is only contained in The Quran.

They do not represent the direct sayings/actions of Prophet Muhammad, but represent his reported sayings/actions by later generations. This is a crucial distinction.

Some information in the hadith books will be correct, but there is no way of telling which parts, unless we use a supreme standard to compare, i.e. The Quran. Similar situation to The Bible (written within 100 years after Jesus's death), some of it is true, but there is no way of telling which parts, unless we use a supreme standard to compare, i.e. The Quran.

No information in the hadith books can be used as a source of law, as The Quran is complete in this respect and needs no supplement.

They may still be used as a source of information to increase our knowledge, like any other book. However, the study of The Quran should be first & foremost.

Personal message from the author:

If you are reading this article and come from a traditional Muslim background (like I did, i.e. Sunni/Shia etc.) you will probably be having doubts about the truthfulness of this article. Therefore, please verify all references for yourself, especially since this is a command from God. There is nothing more powerful than seeing the truth for yourself.

Lets say you accept that there is a very slight chance that as Muslims, we should not follow the hadith books as a source of law... you may ask yourself how can so many Muslims be misguided? Its not possible... or is it?
Have you forgot about the Christians? As Muslims, we believe that Jesus taught the same message as all prophets, i.e. belief in one God, not a trinity or that he was the son of God. Let me reply using the same logic... this cannot be true, because there are over 1.5 billion Christians who think otherwise. Jesus must be the son of God, God must be a trinity! Surely so many people cant be misguided? Or can they?
Just because many people follow it, doesn't make it true. During my study of The Quran, I was amazed to see that The Quran itself states that most of the people on earth are misguided/idolaters/disbelievers. And thats not all, most of those who think they believe in God are actually idolaters (those who associate partners with God). What more proof do you need? You must at the very least accept, that this is a possibility.

Sure, this might seem like a radical view... you may be thinking I've never heard of this before... it must be a new thing? Is it?
Have you researched this? I have, and you'll be surprised to know that my views were held by the early followers of Islam. Still dont believe me? Go on... verify... what have you got to lose if you know your right?

Some practical examples to demonstrate what I'm talking about...

The difference between what The Quran says about dogs and what traditional narrations (ahadith) say about them.
The so-called 1st pillar of Islam does not exist in The Quran.
The concept of 5 pillars does not exist in The Quran.
The traditional rituals in "hajj" do not exist in The Quran.
The traditional "salah" ritual 5 times daily etc does not exist in The Quran.
The word "hijab" NEVER means an item of clothing, let alone a headscarf in The Quran.
The words "sunna" and "hadith" are NEVER used in The Quran like they are used today.
Mindset and actions are held in greater regard than your membership of a so-called group, e.g. Muslims. See 2:62.
Punishment for apostacy contradicts The Quran, see 4:137, 2:256.
Fundamental difference between "mumineen" & "muslimeen", e.g. 49:14.
"zakat" is not once per year and 2.5%, both of these go against The Quran's recommendation of whenever you receive wage you give a fair share, the excess.

Alternatively, do the research yourself: www.studyquran.org

More articles: http://mypercept.co.uk/articles/