KHUTAB V: 3. THE MEANINGS OF ḤADĪTH

3. THE MEANINGS OF ḤADĪTH

          The word حَدِيْث  )ḥadīth(, literally has many meanings:  with the pluralحِدَاث  )ḥidāth( and حُدَثَاء (ḥudathā’), it means: new, recent late, modern. The expressionالعَصْرُ الحَدِيْث  (al-‘aṣr al-ḥadīth) means “modern time”; with the pluralأَحَادِيْث  (aḥādith) and حِدْثَاَن  (ḥidthān) it means: speech, talk, report, account, tale, narrative, discourse, message, topic. The verbحَدَّثَ  (ḥaddatha) means, “to report, to inform”. In Islamic tradition, ḥadīth is called the Prophetic tradition, narrative relating deeds and utterances of the Prophet (including his Companions), as well as his tacit approval. As a collective noun, the Prophetic tradition, it is usually written in capital H, namely, Ḥadīth, which is similar to the word Sunnah of the Prophet, namely, his tradition which is later established as legal binding precedents beside laws established in the Qur’ān. When we mean a single tradition we usually write it in a small letter, a ḥadīth.

          The upholder of the inkār sunnah, those who deny the authenticity and authority of the Sunnah, say that the Qur’ān itself rejects any ḥadīth other than that of the Qur’ān, including the ḥadīths of the Prophet. They base their view on the verses of the Qur’ān, which shall be dealt with here, where Allah says that everything is in the Qur’ān, as follows:

وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ

مِنْ شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ (الأنعام:38)

There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird

 that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you.

 We have neglected nothing in the Book, then to their

 Lord they (all) shall be gathered. (Q. 6:38).

أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلًا... (الأنعام: 114)

[Say (O Muhammad)]”Shall I seek a judge other than

 Allah while it is He Who sent me down to you the Book

 (the  Qur’ān), explained in detail…(Q. 6:114)

  They denounced those who seek any ḥadīth OTHER than the Qur’ān (“after it” بَعْدَه (.  However, the verses do not say “with it”, مَعَه), so that the explanation of the Prophet in the Sunnah should also be accepted. Allah Himself states in the Qur’ān that the Prophet’s statement, explanation and decision have to be accepted. Allah says,

وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (النحل:44)

And We have also sent down to you (O Muhammad) the Dhikr (Reminder, i.e. the  Qur’ān) that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought (Q. 16:44)

فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ

 حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا (النساء: 65)

 But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.(Q. 4:65)

     Based on these verses it is the duty of the Prophet to explain verses which are not clear to the Muslims and to be a judge in their disputes. Allah swears, if they do not accept his decisions with full submission, namely, سَمِعْنَا وَ أَطَعْناَ (“we listen and obey”) they can have no faith. His explanations and judgments are recorded in the books of authentic ḥadīths, and denying them tantamount to infidelity. Without the ḥadīths or the Sunnah we will not be able to know how to pray, how to distribute zakat, how to perform the hajj (pilgrimage). To those who deny the Sunnah we can tell them, “when you die we do not even know how to bury you, because the Qur’ān does not explain how to bury a dead Muslim. Even if the Prophet explained it and did it with examples, you still reject the report as fabrication attributed to him.”  It is like a person who is going overseas telling his children everything they should know, and to obey their mother, and if they have any problem they should ask their mother whom he has asked to settle and explain. There is no contradiction here, and the children should not say that they would listen and obey only their father.

According classical mufassirīn (commentators of the Qur’ān), the word ḥadīth (and its derivatives) has four contextual meanings in the Qur’ān, although translators use the basic meanings of the word, and it has nothing to do with the ḥadīths of the Prophet, as follows:

11.     القُرْآن (the  Qur’ān itself). Allah calls the  Qur’ān in its verses as a ḥadīth, as follows:

أَوَلَمْ ينْظُرُوا فِي مَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ وَأَنْ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ

قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ أَجَلُهُمْ فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ (الأعراف: 185 )

Do they not look in the dominion of the heavens and the

earth and all things that  Allah has created; and that it may

be that the end of their lives is near. In what ḥadīth, (message i.e.

  Qur’ān) after this will they then believe? (Q. 7:185)

تلْكَ آَيَاتُ اللَّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَ اللَّهِ وَآَيَاتِهِ يُؤْمِنُونَ (الجاشية: 6)

These are the ayat (verses) of Allah, which We recite to you

 (O Muhammad) with truth. Then in which ḥadīth (speech, i.e.  Qur’ān) after Allah and His ayat will they believe? (Q. 45:6)

وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ . فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ (المرسلات:50(

 Woe that Day to the deniers (of the Day of Resurrection)!

Then in what statement ( Qur’ān) after this ( Qur’ān) will

 they believe? (Q. 77:49-50)

أَفَمِنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ تَعْجَبُونَ . وَتَضْحَكُونَ وَلَا تَبْكُونَ (النجم(:60)

Do you then wonder at this ḥadīth (recitation, i.e. the

  Qur’ān)? And you laugh at it and weep not…? (Q. 53:59-60)

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ تَقَوَّلَهُ بَلْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ . فَلْيَأْتُوا بِحَدِيثٍ مِثْلِهِ إِنْ كَانُوا صَادِقِينَ (الطور:34(

Or do they say: “He (Muhammad) has forged it

 (this Qur’ān)?”  Nay! They believe not! Let them

 produce a ḥadīth (discourse, i.e.  Qur’ān) like it

 (the Qur’ān) if they are truthful. (Q. 52:33-34)

أيْنَمَا تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكُكُمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنْتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُشَيَّدَةٍ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ يَقُولُوا

 هَذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُوا هَذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ قُلْ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ

فَمَالِ هَؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمِ لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ حَدِيثًا (النساء:(78

  Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even if

 you are in fortresses built up  strong and high. And if some

 good reaches them, they say, “This is from Allah,” but if

 some evil befalls them, they say, “This is from you

 (O Muhammad). Say: “All things are from Allah,” so

what is wrong with these people that  they fail to

 understand any word (of the  Qur’ān)? (Q. 4:78)

22.    القِصَة (story), as in:

اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ

رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُدَى اللَّهِ يَهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ

وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ (الزمر:23)  

Allah has sent down the Best Statement, a Book (this  Qur’ān), its parts resembling each other (in goodness and truth) (and oft-repeated. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it (when they recite it or hear it).  Then their skin and their heart soften to the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of Allah. He guides therewith who He wills; and whomever Allah sends astray,

 for him there is no guide. (Q. 39:23)

وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى إِذْ رَأَى نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آَنَسْتُ نَارًا لَعَلِّي

آَتِيكُمْ مِنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ  أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى (طه:9-10(

And has there come to you the story of Moses? When he saw

 a fire, he said to his family: “Wait! Verily, I have seen a fire;

 perhaps I can bring you some burning brand therefrom,

 or find some guidance at the fire.” (Q. 20:9-10)

هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ . إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا سَلَامًا

قَالَ سَلَامٌ قَوْمٌ مُنْكَرُونَ (الذاريات : 24-25) 

 Has the story reached you, of the honoured guests [Gabriel

 along with another two] of Abraham? When they came in to

 him and said: Salam (peace be upon you)!” He answered: 

“Salam (peace be upon you),” and said; “You are

 a people unknown to me.” (Q. 51:24-25)

هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى (النازعات: 15)

Has there come to you the story of Moses (Q. 79:15)

  هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْجُنُودِ . فِرْعَوْنَ وَثَمُودَ ( البروج:( 18

Has the story reached you of the hosts, of

Pharaoh and Thamud? (Q. 85:17-18)

هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْغَاشِيَةِ (الغاشية:1 (

Has there come to you the narration of the overwhelming

(i.e., the Day of Resurrection)? (Q. 88:1)

33.    العِبْرَة  (warning or deterring example), as in,

ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَى كُلَّ مَا جَاءَ أُمَّةً رَسُولُهَا كَذَّبُوهُ فَأَتْبَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ بَعْضًا                   

وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ فَبُعْدًا لِقَوْمٍ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (المؤمنون:(44            

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 (to destruction), And We

 made them aḥādīth (the true stories for mankind to

 learn a lesson from them). So away with a people

 who believe not!. (Q. 23:44)

فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا بَاعِدْ بَيْنَ أَسْفَارِنَا وَظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ

 وَمَزَّقْنَاهُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَاتٍ  لِكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ (سبـأ:19(               

But they said: “Our Lord! Make the stages between

 Our  journey longer,” and they wronged themselves;

 so We made them as tales (in the land), We dispersed

 them all totally. Verily, in this are indeed signs for

every steadfast, grateful (person) (Q. 34:19)

Since they were destroyed, their fates were related by later generations  as deterring examples.

4.    القَوْل   (saying, statement, report), as in,

وَإِذْ أَسَرَّ النَّبِيُّ إِلَى بَعْضِ أَزْوَاجِهِ حَدِيثًا فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَتْ بِهِ وَأَظْهَرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ عَرَّفَ بَعْضَهُ

وَأَعْرَضَ عَنْ بَعْضٍ فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَهَا بِهِ قَالَتْ مَنْ أَنْبَأَكَ هَذَا قَالَ نَبَّأَنِيَ الْعَلِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ (التحريم:3)  

And (remember) when the Prophet disclosed a hadith (a matter)

 in confidence to  one of his wives (Ḥafsṣh), then she told it

 (to another, i.e. ‘Ā’ishah). And Allah made it known to him;

 he informed part thereof and left a part. Then when he told

her (Ḥafṣah) thereof, she said: “Who told you this?”

 He said: “The All-Knower, the Well-Acquainted

(Allah) has told me.” (Q. 66:3)

This is about the Prophet’s saying to ‘Ā’ishah r.a.that he would not drink honey any longer to please her because she told him that it smelled bad, and told her not to tell anybody, but she told his other wife Ḥafṣah, r.a. then Allah revealed to him that she had broken her promise.

55.    الخَبَر (news, information, report), as in,

وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا قَالُوا آَمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَا بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ قَالُوا أَتُحَدِّثُونَهُمْ بِمَا

فَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لِيُحَاجُّوكُمْ بِهِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ (البقرة:76)

And when they (Jews) meet those who believe (Muslims, they say, “We believe”, but when they meet one another in private, they say, “Shall you (Jews) tell them (Muslims) what Allah has revealed to you [Jews, about the description and the qualities of Prophet Muhammad which are written in the Torah], that they (Muslims) will argue with you (Jews) about it before your Lord?” Have you (Jews) then no understanding? (Q. 2:76)

This kind of knowledge in understanding the contextual meanings of the words in the  Qur’ān is called al-Wujūh wa ‘l-Naẓā’ir fī’l-Qur’ān (“Homonyms and Synonyms in the Qur’ān), one of the 47 sciences of the  Qur’ān according to al-Zarkashī (d. 794/1342( in his book al-Burhān. Al-Suyūṭī (991/1505) mentioned 80 sciences of the Qur’ān, and placed it no. 39 in his book al-Itqān. Some of these sciences are very important to know, such as: asbāb al-nuzūl (occasions that led to the revelation), gharīb al-Qur’ān (difficult expressions in the  Qur’ān), nāsikh (abrogating verses) and mansūkh abrogated verses). (CIVIC, 28.12.12)

المراجع:

المكتبة الشاملة

المفردات للراغب الأصفهانئ

الوجوه و النظائر لإبن الجوزي

قاموس القرآن للدامغاني       

 (