Introduction
The birth and death of mankind and the earth as a whole has been the question prophet has answered. This happens to be the question any believer or non-believer would like to know about. Though there is no difference between the Hedith and the Quran when it comes to the basic tenets of Islam: “He is the One God and Mohammed is His messenger”, there are other subtle differences in the way, the Quran is interpreted by An-Nawawi and by other Islamic scholars.
Thesis
The basic spirit of the Quran is reflected in Hadith as well even though there are some Hadiths that are contradictory to the basic tenets of the Quran.
Analysis
Hadiths are mostly sayings supposed to have been said by Prophet Mohammed whereas the Quran is that of Allah through Mohammed the Prophet. While most of the Hadith books lay down the same ground rules that are in line with the words of the Quran, the spirit of the Quran is not reflected in some of them. An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadiths do reflect the same principle of the Quran in terms of life and its birth also says that what is not in line with the thoughts reflected in the Quran will have it rejected (Hadith, p. 5).
In the Quran too, Mohammed espouses the reason why only good deeds need to be committed and he also says God’s words as an account of all the good and bad deeds are maintained by God to ensure that on the Judgment day even the dead will be raised and questioned about their deeds. The Seventy-Fifth Surah highlights this as the resurrection. In the Hadith 37 of An-Nawawi, the Prophet explains how the accounts of the good deeds and the bad deeds are done. This would help God realize the extent of good and bad deeds every person has done and the accounts are maintained by Him. On Judgment day and after the resurrection, the person is questioned based on his accounts thus created.
The need for Hadith is questioned in many cases. Most of the Hadiths according to researchers have been created much later after Prophet, therefore, they are not the true reflections of the Prophet’s actions or thoughts. And Hadiths were expected to provide more explanation to the Quranic verses. But then as Quran says (54:17, 22, 32, 40), it is made easy to learn for anyone who is interested in learning. Obviously, God does not need to be told how to talk to people whom he made. He knows how to word his thoughts and actions and also to instruct his people. The need for Hadith may be questioned. In some cases, Hadiths do give wrong and contradicting ideas to that in Quran. These need to be ignored and should not be taken into consideration. However, many of the Quranic thoughts and ideas are researched in the early hadiths that made it to the hands of the people.
Conclusion
It is important, therefore, to appreciate the fact that Hadiths originally were made to reflect the life and times of the Prophet. But since there has been a strong requirement to sound different and easier, the Hadiths took their birth. This is no excuse to work on the Hadiths alone since many of the points raised in the Hadiths are known contradictions to the Quran. Therefore, it is essential that the quaran is read and understand by itself.