The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 132
132 Essence of Islām II The correct way, therefore, is neither to treat the Ahadith as having greater authority than the Qur'an, as do the Ahl-e-Hadith of this age, and not to prefer the statements in the Ahadith which are contradictory of the Qur'an to the Qur'an itself; nor to regard the Ahadith as vain and false as is the belief of Maulavi 'Abdullah Chakrālwī. The Qur'an and Sunnah should judge the Ahādīth and those that are not opposed to them should by all means be accepted. This is the straight path and blessed are those who follow it. Most unfortunate and foolish is the person who rejects the Ahādīth altogether without regard to the test that we have proposed. It should be the duty of the members of our Community that a Hadith which is not opposed to the Qur'an and Sunnah, should be accepted and followed, however weak might be its authority, and it should be preferred to the rules framed by jurists. [Review bar Mubāņatha Batālwi wa Chakrālwī, Rūņānī Khazā'in, vol. 19, pp. 209-212] Authoritative Books The books that we accept and believe in and consider trustworthy are the following. First is the Holy Qur'an. It should, however, be remem- bered that only that interpretation of a verse of the Qur'an is correct and trustworthy which is testified to by other verses of the Qur'an, inasmuch as some verses of the Qur'an interpret other verses. If certainty of meaning should not be guaranteed by other verses of the Qur'an, then the meaning should be confirmed by some true and reliable Hadith. According to us, the interpretation based merely on one's opinion is not permissible. Everyone who raises an objection against the Holy Qur'ān should