Is Hadith needed to explain Quran?
Last updated
Last updated
If you ask most Muslims: who explains the Quran? They will claim that the prophet explained the Quran through the Hadith. This is because traditionalists believe that without the Hadith, the Quran is incomprehensible.
Except the Hadith does not explain the Quran. You will not find any Hadith that provides a detailed tafsir of three consecutive verses of the Quran. This is because the Hadith is not a Tafsir of the Quran. This is even spelled out in the Hadith.
Not only does the Hadith not explain the Quran, but it also confuses the Quran people.
Also, there is another problem with this argument which is that it leads to an infinite regress. If we say we need the Hadith to explain the Quran, then we will also need another entity to explain the Hadith, and another entity to explain that, and…The reality is that God informs us that He has given us the hearing, eyesight, and the brain, and we are responsible for using these faculties if we would like to understand.
[18:57] Who are more evil than those who are reminded of their Lord’s proofs, then disregard them, without realizing what they are doing. Consequently, we place shields on their hearts to prevent them from understanding it (the Quran), and deafness in their ears. Thus, no matter what you do to guide them, they can never ever be guided.
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِۦ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا وَنَسِىَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا وَإِن تَدْعُهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ فَلَن يَهْتَدُوٓا۟ إِذًا أَبَدًا
The Quran is clear that God Himself explains the Quran, and is the Teacher of the Quran.
[55:1] The Most Gracious. [55:2] Teacher of the Quran.
(١) ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ (٢) عَلَّمَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ
God informs us that the sole duty of the messenger was to deliver the message, which is the scripture and not some other source.
[5:99] The sole duty of the messenger is to deliver the message, and GOD knows everything you declare and everything you conceal.
مَا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا تَكْتُمُونَ
[21:10] We have sent down to you a scripture containing your message. Do you not understand?
لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَـٰبًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ