A Review of the Debate between Batalavi and Chakrhalavi — Page 7
7 7 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD hand in hand with the revelation of the Holy Quran. They shall always be preserved until the end of time. In other words, it may be said that the Holy Quran is the Word of God Almighty and the sunnah is the practice of the Holy Prophet, peace and bless- ings of Allah be upon him. Since the remotest ages, it has been the practice of Allah that when the Prophets, peace be on them, communicate His Word to mankind for its guidance, they also illustrate it through their con- duct and practical example, so that the people are able to compre- hend it more clearly. Thus, the Prophets not only follow the Word [of God] themselves but exhort others to do the same. (III. ) The third source of guidance is the hadith , by which I mean those traditions that were related in the form of anecdotes by vari- ous narrators and were later collected and compiled approximately a hundred and fifty years after the life of the Holy Prophet saw. Thus, the difference between the sunnah and the hadith is that the former refers to the practical example of the Holy Prophet saw which was demonstrated by him and which possessed continu- ity. In terms of its authenticity, the sunnah is second only to the Holy Quran. Just as the Holy Prophet saw was raised to propagate [the teachings] of the Holy Quran, he was also commissioned with establishing the sunnah. Therefore, just as the Holy Quran is absolute, so too is the established practice known as the sunnah. Both these tasks were personally discharged by the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and he considered himself duty-bound to fulfil both. For example, when the oblig- atory prayers were enjoined, the Holy Prophet saw demonstrated