Refuting the objection of those who reject the Sunnah due to the presence of weak and fabricated hadiths in it
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His Eminence the Shaykh: What is the response to the one who says: The Sunnah is not a proof; and that is because weak and fabricated hadiths have been transmitted, so if it were a proof like the Qur'an, Allah the Mighty and Majestic would have preserved it?
Who said: If he says the Sunnah is not a proof, and by the Sunnah he means everything attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), whether authentic, good, or weak, then this has a point, and it is refuted from another angle.
It is said to him: Your general statement that the Sunnah is not a proof is an error, so it is necessary to distinguish between cases.It is said: What is attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and is not authentic is not attributed to him at all.And it is not correct for us to say: It is not part of the Sunnah, nor is it from the Sunnah, but it is dropped from the start; so it is not correct to apply the term Sunnah to it.
As for what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), it is a proof without doubt. If it were not a proof, most of the Shari'ah would be invalid; because most of the Shari'ah was established by the Sunnah.
And the Sunnah, as you know, is either an original legislation, or an explanation of the Qur'an, or a detailing of its generalities, or a restriction of its absolutes, or a specification of its universals; so it is a proof without doubt.And Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [An-Nisa: 80] And He said: [Al-Jinn: 23] And He the Exalted said: [Al-Hashr: 7] And He the Exalted said: [Aal 'Imran: 31] , and the verses in this regard are many. So whoever denies acting upon the Sunnah has denied acting upon the Qur'an without doubt; because the Qur'an indicates that the Sunnah brought by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and authentic to him is from the legislation of Allah. So this person who made this general statement should correct his statement and say: What is attributed to the Messenger is divided into two categories: 1- A category that is not Sunnah, so it is not a proof.
2- And a category that is Sunnah, so it is a proof.
And as for His saying: If it were a proof, Allah would have preserved it; because it is from the religion of Allah.It is said: Yes.
This is correct, and Allah the Exalted has preserved it, praise be to Allah. So Allah sent from this Ummah imams and scholars who distinguish the authentic from the weak, just as a doctor distinguishes a fatal disease from a non-fatal one, and just as a healthy man distinguishes the healthy from the unhealthy. So they distinguished it, calculated it, and clarified the authentic from the weak. The Sunnah became straight, praise be to Allah, and it has remained straight. And among the books are those upon which the scholars agreed regarding what is in them.For example: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim; for what is in them is authentic, to the extent that the scholars stated that what is in them conveys knowledge, not just opinion; because the Ummah accepted them with approval, and it is impossible for this Islamic Ummah to agree upon falsehood.
Who said: If he says the Sunnah is not a proof, and by the Sunnah he means everything attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), whether authentic, good, or weak, then this has a point, and it is refuted from another angle.
It is said to him: Your general statement that the Sunnah is not a proof is an error, so it is necessary to distinguish between cases.It is said: What is attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and is not authentic is not attributed to him at all.And it is not correct for us to say: It is not part of the Sunnah, nor is it from the Sunnah, but it is dropped from the start; so it is not correct to apply the term Sunnah to it.
As for what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), it is a proof without doubt. If it were not a proof, most of the Shari'ah would be invalid; because most of the Shari'ah was established by the Sunnah.
And the Sunnah, as you know, is either an original legislation, or an explanation of the Qur'an, or a detailing of its generalities, or a restriction of its absolutes, or a specification of its universals; so it is a proof without doubt.And Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah
مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَAnd whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger - then indeed, for him is the fire of Hell
وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ لَهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَAnd whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from
وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُواSay, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you
قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ2- And a category that is Sunnah, so it is a proof.
And as for His saying: If it were a proof, Allah would have preserved it; because it is from the religion of Allah.It is said: Yes.
This is correct, and Allah the Exalted has preserved it, praise be to Allah. So Allah sent from this Ummah imams and scholars who distinguish the authentic from the weak, just as a doctor distinguishes a fatal disease from a non-fatal one, and just as a healthy man distinguishes the healthy from the unhealthy. So they distinguished it, calculated it, and clarified the authentic from the weak. The Sunnah became straight, praise be to Allah, and it has remained straight. And among the books are those upon which the scholars agreed regarding what is in them.For example: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim; for what is in them is authentic, to the extent that the scholars stated that what is in them conveys knowledge, not just opinion; because the Ummah accepted them with approval, and it is impossible for this Islamic Ummah to agree upon falsehood.