Assess the view that Hadith are not useful " Muslims only need the Qur(TM)an.

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Assess the view that Hadith are not useful – Muslims only need the Qur’an.

The verses from the Qur’an were sent from Allah via Angel Gabriel via Muhammad(saw) to mankind. A hadith is a book that has recorded quotes of Muhammad , and the people who knew him about Muhammad. The majority of the Muslims in the world, use both these books as guidance on how to live their lives so they can please Allah and ultimately enter heaven in the hereafter.

There is only one book that is the word of God the Qur’an, and around 7000 hadiths. Although there is only one book that is the word of God some Muslims believe it is enough and there is no need for others, as the basics on what is required of Muslims in the Qur’an e.g. The need to pray 5 times a day, the importance of fasting in Ramadan, to believe in heaven and hell, judgement day etc. However it doesn’t go into detail on things such as how to pray, the benefits of Ramadan where the Hadith do.  If didn’t have the hadith there would be confusion about the verses in the Qur’an that are ambiguous. For an example it is mentioned in the Qur’an a number of times that God is most forgiving, but a quote from a hadith here gives advice on what to do exactly and how forgiving God really is  "Whoever establishes the prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards (not to show off) then all his past sins will be forgiven."   , Volume 1, Book 2, Number 34, Narrated Abu Huraira. Another example is the Qur’an mentions women should dress modestly , the hadith mentions the hijab. Hadith may not be the word of God but it can be argued they do have some reliability because the hadiths in circulation today have been accepted because of a Muslim scholar Bukhari. Bukhari sorted the Hadith out so only those that contained quotes that has isnad i.e could be directly quoted from Muhammad (saw). The Quran’s states Muslims should pray 5 times a day .The Qur’an speaks a lot of the importance and perfection of Muhammad.  The hadith are just sunnah of the prophet in written form , this to some Muslims is enough to follow the hadith also. The Arabic language  leaves some words open to interpretation depending on which vowel you use, the Hadith give quotes from Muhammad but also take into account the context a lot more.

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However some people believe the Hadith are futile and the Qur’an is only needed. One of the strongest proofs that Muslims who believe the Hadith are not necessary have, are quotes from the Quran stating that the Qur’an is sufficient: "We did not leave anything out of this book," is in Sura 6, Verse 38, and "He sent down this book fully detailed," is in Sura 6, Verse 114. These quotes are not easily refuted as they quite direct and not open to interpretation; they clearly say Hadith are not needed.

Hadith also could have been distorted for an example someone ...

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