The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 133
Hadith and Sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa keep this rule in mind. 133 Of the other books that are accepted by us the Sahih of Bukhārī ranks as the first. All its Ahādīth which are not opposed to the Holy Qur'an are in our view authoritative. Next comes Şahih Muslim. We accept its authority subject to the condition that it should not be opposed to the Holy Qur'ān and Şahih Bukhārī. Next to them are the compilations of Tirmidhi, Ibn-e-Mājah, Muattah of Imam Mālik, Nassa'ī, Abū Dā'ūd and Dar Quțnī, which we regard as authoritative so long as they are not opposed to the Holy Qur'ān and Bukhārī and Muslim. These are our religious books and these are the conditions under which we accept them. . . . Every critic must confine himself to these books and these conditions. [Āryā Dharam, Rūķānī Khazā'in, vol. 10, pp. 86-87] Book of Allah to be Preferred to All Regarding the Book and Sunnah as authorities, I believe that the Book of Allah is to be preferred above all others. If the purport of a Hadith is not opposed to the Book of Allāh, it would be accepted as authoritative, but we will not accept an interpretation of a Hadith which is opposed to the clear text of the Holy Qur'an. So far as possible, we shall try to interpret a Hadith so that it should be in accord with the clear text of the Book of Allah, but if we come across a Hadith which is opposed to the text of the Holy Qur'an, and it cannot be interpreted in any other way, we would reject it as spurious, inasmuch as God, the Glorious, has said: فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيث بَعْدَ اللَّهِ وَأَيْتِهِ يُؤْمِنُوْنَ 30 In what discourse apart from Allah and His command- 30 Al-Jathiyah, 45:7 [Publisher]