We sent down to you the Reminder so that you would clarify to the people what has been sent down to them, and so that they may reflect. 16:44
God has bestowed favour upon the believers when He raised in their midst a messenger from themselves, reciting to them His revelations, purifying them and teaching them the Scripture and wisdom, for indeed, before that they were in clear misguidance. 3:164
"Our Lord, and raise in their midst a messenger from themselves to recite to them Your revelations, and teach them the Scripture and the wisdom, and purify them. You are the Dignified, the Wise." 2:129
Verses 16:44, 3:164 and 2:129 have been interpreted to claim that since the messenger is commissioned to explain and teach the Quran, we need the hadith which explains the Quran.
To verify this claim, we need to deal with these separate claims:
1- What is the messenger able to teach and clarify to the people? 2- Can the messenger guide people to the true meaning and message of the Quran? 3- Do these verses authorise the hadith as an additional source besides the Quran?
First: What is the messenger able to teach and clarify to the people?
The words in 16:44 clearly state that the messenger can only make things clear to the people by means of what has been sent down to them (Quran).
It is important to understand the difference between teaching the people the linguistics of the Quran, as opposed to guiding the people to the correct understanding of the message of the Quran.
The messenger of God, or any human teacher with the necessary knowledge, can teach the people the meaning of the Quranic words, and also teach them the correct recitation of the Quran and even how to memorise the Quran by heart.
However, the human teacher can never guide the people to the correct understanding of the message of the Quran.
If it were in the messenger's ability to teach the message of the Book, why did many people during the life of the prophet remain disbelievers and maintain their shirk?
That is why we read in the opening 2 verses of Sura 55 that it is God who is the Teacher of the Quran.
Second: Can the messenger guide people to the true meaning and message of the Quran?
A common misunderstanding arises when one or two verses are looked at in isolation.
Without looking at all the relevant verses, which deal with one particular Quranic topic, a misleading deduction can be arrived at. If we read 16:44, 3:164 and 2:129 on their own, it may well appear that the messenger can fully explain the Quran to the people and that he is the Teacher of the Quran, but what about when we read 55:1-2 which says that God is the teacher of the Quran? Also, what about 75:19 where God is speaking to the messenger and tells him clearly that it is He (God) who will explain the Quran?
As a result, it is necessary to accept the meaning which would be in harmony with all the Quranic verses in question and not just 2 or 3 verses in isolation.
The messenger of God cannot guide anyone nor can he guarantee that any one person will understand the true message of the Quran. It is God, and God alone, who can guide the people and who can explain the message of the Book to the ones who deserve the guidance.
The Quranic verses which confirm this truth are numerous, such as:
You (Muhammad) cannot guide the ones you love, but it is God who guides whom He wills. He knows best who are the guided ones.28:56
And in 72:21 the messenger is commanded to proclaim to all people:
Say (O Muhammad), I possess no power to harm you, nor to guide you.72:21
The messenger is a tool and a medium between God and the people, but the messenger cannot change what is in the heart, nor can he implant belief into any heart nor can he guide anyone. All he is able to do is deliver the message of God:
The sole duty of Our messenger is the clear delivery (of the Quran).5:92
THIRD: Do the above verses authorise the hadith as an additional source besides the Quran?
The words in 16:44 clearly state that the messenger can only make things clear to the people by means of what has been sent down to them (Quran).
In 6:114 we have confirmation that the only source of law is the Quran, and that it has all the details we need. In addition, the messenger was prohibited from attributing to God any additional teachings or to add to the Quran he received from God. If he were to do that, he would have committed a great error that would have incurred a severe punishment from God (see 69:44-46).
The messenger's sole duty is to deliver the message of God and nothing else:
The sole duty of the messenger is the delivery (God's message) and God knows what you reveal and what you conceal. 5:99
In the following verse, God clarifies the correct meaning of how the prophets were commanded to make the Scripture known to the people. The word used here is the same word in 16:44 and 3:164 and it is 'yubayyin':
God took a covenant from those who received the Scripture:
"You shall 'tubayyinnu'nahu' (make it clear) to the people, and not conceal it." However, they cast it behind their backs, and traded it away for a cheap price. Miserable indeed is what they purchased. 3:187
The correct meaning of "yubayyin" here is ascertained by the fact that, in the same verse, God used the opposite word of "yubbayyin" which is "conceal". The opposite of conceal is not to explain, but to proclaim. In this verse we have further indication that the role of any messenger, who delivers God's message, is to proclaim it to the people and not conceal it.
One of the very clear messages of the Quran is that the moment anyone upholds any kind of personal teachings which are not authorised in the Quran, they immediately become guilty of shirk and are promised severe retribution:
Or do they have partners who legislate for them of the religion what God did not authorise? If it were not for a decisive Word, judgement would have already been passed over them. Indeed the transgressors shall have a painful punishment. 42:21
To conclude, the messenger is authorised to use the Quran alone to preach to the people. The messenger is to pass the message of the Book to all people and invite all to accept and follow the Quran, but he cannot guide anyone nor guarantee that anyone will attain the true message of the Book. If the messenger cannot guide anyone (72:21), so much for the claim which states that the hadith offers guidance!
References:
1-quran-islam.org
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