“Quran! Not Hadith?”
"Hadith" means: sayings, stories, passed down by voice to ear.
A young man stood up after the Friday khutbah and said loud,
“I follow the Qur’an — I do not take hadith.”
An elder Imam leaned against the pulpit, smiled a little, and then offered an addition to the Jummah service:
“Son, may I ask you a question?"
The room went silent, people stopped putting on their shoes and came back in to hear what the Imam was going to tell this new commer to their area.
This was exactly what they wanted to hear about. What can I say to people who say, "I only take the Quran. No hadith at all!
The young man turned and gave the elder a quick nod.
The elder gentlman took his time waiting for the rest of the people to take their seats on the floor.
"Well son, do you really mean what you are saying about, not taking any hadith?"
"That's right, gramps!" The young man shouted, although he was only a few yards away.
The elder gentleman stared at the youth for a couple of minutes. Then asked him another question.
"Do you trust the Quran?"
"Yup. Completely. But I don't trust the hadith."
"Well, what is it about the Hadith you don't trust?"
The youth, seaking a little lower, says, "Well, I don't trust anything people passed down one from another."
The older man, "Asked, what about promises made to believers in Allah of forgiveness and big mansions above the sky?"
"Yeah. That's exactly what I'm talking about!"
The elder continued as if he wasn't talking to the youth anymore.
"And what about unbelievable stuff about people living for 300 years or longer? What about storms whipping up on place and not the one right next to it?"
Before the young man could open his mouth, the elder continued with his points.
" . . and what about people being swept out to sea, swallowed by a huge fish, for days on end . . and lived to tell it all to his folks?"
The younger one says, in a very loud voice, "Now that's just what I'm talking about."
The Iman was still talking, not just to the younster, but to all of the people in the room.
"But if this was in the Quran, you would believe it?"
The younge one says, "But I do trust the Quran!"
"Good for you. Do you trust the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him?"
"I trust anything in the Quran. That's it."
"There was no printing press until one thousand years later." the Imam said, looking straight at the young boy.
"How about the angel who carried the Quran to the prophet? And the prophet, himself, who recited it? The prophet is the one heard the Quran from the angle, and what the And what about the people who recited it."
"Well, sure. I'd be a fool if I said I don't trust the prophet and the people who carried it."
Then the Imam starts naming and reciting verses out of Quran, talking about how the Quran is Hadith:
1. Surah Az-Zumar (39:23)
اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا
“Allah has sent down the best ḥadīth — a Book...”📌 Here, the Qur’an itself is called “the best ḥadīth” — a direct label from Allah.
2. Surah Al-Mursalat (77:50)
فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ
“Then in what ḥadīth after this [Qur’an] will they believe?”📌 This verse confirms: there’s no other hadith worth believing after the Qur’an — if it’s truly from Allah.
3. Surah Al-Qalam (68:44)
فَذَرْنِي وَمَن يُكَذِّبُ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ
“So leave Me to deal with the one who denies this ḥadīth.”📌 Again, “this ḥadīth” refers to the Qur’an — as a spoken, delivered message from Allah.
🕋 Verses Commanding Obedience to the Prophet ﷺ (Hadith in Action)
1. Surah An-Nisa (4:59)
“O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger…”
🔹 This verse clearly separates obedience to the Messenger — showing it's not just Qur’an, but his own guidance and judgments that must be followed.
2. Surah Al-Hashr (59:7)
“…Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, stay away from it…”
📌 That includes rulings, actions, and sunnah — all of which are in the hadith.
3. Surah An-Najm (53:3–4)
“He does not speak from his own desire. It is only a revelation sent to him.”
🔹 Transliteration:
Wa mā yanṭiqu ʿan il-hawā. In huwa illā waḥyun yūḥā.📌 This means even the Prophet’s speech (when teaching or judging) is rooted in revelation — even if it’s not part of the Qur’an itself.
The teacher smiled gently and said,
“Good. Then trust the people who carried it — because they’re the same ones who carried the hadith.”
“And the Prophet ﷺ? He called the Qur’an… the truest hadith.”
The room went quiet again.
Not out of anger — but realization.
What Is Your Feeling?
