Life of Ahmad — Page 265
as THE PHARISEE OF BATALA 265 should be written by the parties in the meeting and read out in public. The reading of the papers was not to be interrupted by any verbal remarks, and nothing was to be said in the meeting that was not written down and handed over to the contending party. It is a pity, however, that Muhammad Husain never touched the real subject of debate and spent 12 days in discussing the value and importance of Hadith, which in its general aspect had nothing to do with the subject under discussion. Ahmad’s as papers are original and inspired. Without using any erudite technicalities he has explained the relative position and importance of the Hadith and the Quran. Let me give here the sum and substance of these papers: THE HADITH AND THE QURAN The authority of the Quran is supreme. It says: 'In which Hadith would they believe after Allah and His verses' (Al-J a thiyah 45:7). Again it says: 'In which Hadith would they believe after the Holy Quran. ' (Al-Mursal a t 77:51). The Quran is the Hadith of God and there can be nothing better and more authoritative. If, therefore, we come across any Hadith which is directly opposed to the express words of the Quran and defies all possible efforts at reconciliation, we shall have to discard that Hadith outright. If, however, the contradiction is only apparent, we should try our best to reconcile the two;