Tajdeed

Hadith Centrism

It’s a clear pre-requisite for a true scholar or faqih to be a master of Hadith and the historical incidents pertaining to the life and stances of the Prophet Muhammad (s).

Nevertheless, it is also evident that Hadith-centrism and Rijal-centrism and an excessive focus on the concept of sahih sanad (chains of transmission) has made us the Ummah of Muhammad (s) move away from the theoretical and practical Usul (the principles), the coherent method of the true understanding of the Maqasid (aims of the lawgiver), and truly implementing the clear Quranic injunctions.

We need to give more priority to the rules of the Quran which are clear in inference and transmission instead of focusing excessively on solitary reports which are often times contradictory or ambiguous despite the sahih chain of transmission.

Moreover, it is important to note that solitary Hadiths are snippets of what the actual Prophetic Sunnah was. Therefore, many solitary hadiths which are sahih in their transmission will actually contradict established teachings and principles from the Quran and the established sunnah (transmitted via tawatur and the living tradition of the Muslims)

The Prophetic Sunnah which is the Second Divine source in Islam is definitely transmitted via Hadith and the Hadith sciences. Despite this, the Prophetic Sunnah is not confined to Hadith literature. At times the Sunnah is conveyed via the Living Tradition and early fiqh.

So, not every Sunnah is properly documented in Hadith, not every Sunnah is limited to the Hadith corpus and not every Hadith is even a transmission of the Second Divine source (i.e. the Sunnah). At times, the Hadiths convey the human opinions and actions of the Prophet (s) which is outside the topic of religion, which means that they are not all Divine Revelation.

We need to remember that the Sunnah is not synonymous to Hadith

By Abul Hasan al-Gabikani al-Shadi al-Shaddadi al-Hadhabani -al-Kurdi