The authority of ḥadīth as an integral part of the sharī’ah is undeniable as evidenced by numerous verses in the Qur’ān. For example, Allāh ﷻ says in the Qur’ān:
وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا
And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly achieved a great triumph.[1]
مَّن يُطِعِ ٱلرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ ٱللَّهَ
He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allāh. [2]
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ
Say, [O Muḥammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [And in return] Allah will love you and forgive your sins.[3]
وَمَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَىٰكُمْ عَنْهُ فَٱنتَهُوا۟
And whatever the Messenger has given you – take; and what he has forbidden you – refrain from.[4]
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ
But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muḥammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves.[5]
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِن جَآءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌۢ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓا۟
O you who have believed, if there comes to you a troublemaker with information, verify it.[6]
Furthermore, the Prophet ﷺ has said:
مَنْ أَحْدَثَ فِيْ أَمْرِنَا هذا مَا لَيْسَ مِنْهُ فَهُوَ رَدّ
If anyone introduces in our matter, that which does not belong to it, will be rejected.[7]
كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ كَذِبًا أَنْ يُحَدِّثَ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ
It is enough for a man to be considered a liar, for him to narrate everything he hears.[8]
The aforementioned āyāt and aḥādīth demonstrate that the aḥādīth of the Prophet ﷺ are an integral and fundamental aspect of the sharī’ah and no understanding of the sharī’ah or Qur’ān is complete without knowledge of aḥādīth and its principles.
[1] Al-Rūm 33:71
[2] Qur’ān 4:80
[3] Qur’ān 3:31
[4] Qur’ān 59:7
[5] Qur’ān 4:65
[6] Qur’ān 49:6
[7] Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri 2697, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1718
[8] Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 5
