The Trap of Modern Samaritans over the Hadith with the Highest Number of Witnesses

 

The Trap of Modern Samaritans over the Hadith with the Highest Number of Witnesses

In Islamic literature, the historical event that witnessed the highest level of testimony—meaning companion (sahaba) participation—is undoubtedly the Farewell Pilgrimage (Wada' Hajj). What our Last Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him in full submission) left behind as an inheritance to his ummah during this immense gathering of tens of thousands of companions lies at the very center of debates regarding the source and reliability of the religion. However, when it comes to the written sources in our possession, this "inheritance" emphasized in the Farewell Sermon—delivered before such a vast crowd—exhibits deep discrepancies in terms of both chain of narration (sanad) and textual content (matn).

This situation makes it necessary to open up a discussion on the structural problems of hadith history and the mindset of modern "Samaritans" who attempt to add human texts alongside the Qur'an in the name of religion.

1. Three Different Narrations of Inheritance in the Farewell Pilgrimage: Comparison of Sanad and Matn

In this historical cross-section, which is claimed to have the highest number of witnesses, we encounter three separate narrations that contradict one another in terms of sanad (chain) and matn (textual) criticism:

1. The "Qur'an and Sunnah" Narration

• Text Summary: "I am leaving you two things. As long as you hold fast to them, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet."

• Primary Sources: Imam Malik's Muwatta, Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri's Al-Mustadrak, and Al-Darimi's Sunan.

• Sanad and Matn Evaluation: The chain of this narration is mursal (disconnected), meaning the link to the companions is broken. Although Al-Hakim evaluated this hadith as authentic (sahih), from the perspective of hadith methodology and criticism, it is considered weak (da'if) and disconnected. Historically, this text was widely popularized by political authorities as a tool to legitimize their own power.

2. The "Qur'an and Ahl al-Bayt" (Thaqalayn) Narration

• Text Summary: "I am leaving behind two momentous things. One is the Book of Allah, the Qur'an, which contains guidance and light. Hold fast to it and stick to it. And I leave you my Ahl al-Bayt (People of my House). I remind you of Allah concerning my Ahl al-Bayt."

• Primary Sources: Sahih Muslim, Al-Tirmidhi's Manaqib, Ahmad ibn Hanbel's Musnad, and the narration of Zayd ibn Arqam based on direct eyewitness testimony.

• Sanad and Matn Evaluation: This is the strongest and most authentic narration according to traditional hadith criteria in terms of its chain of transmitters. Its inclusion in Sahih Muslim particularly enhances its reliability among hadith sources. It played a central role in the sectarian and political schisms (especially the Sunni-Shia divide) throughout history.

3. The Narration Emphasizing "Only the Qur'an"

• Text Summary: "I am leaving you only one valuable thing: it is the Book of Allah, which is full of light and guidance. Take the Book of Allah and hold onto it tightly."

• Primary Sources: Sahih Muslim (Book of the Virtues of the Companions) and Ahmad ibn Hanbel's Musnad.

• Sanad and Matn Evaluation: The chain of this narration is also found in authentic sources and is considered reliable. In terms of textual criticism, it is the most consistent and contradiction-free version, because the secondary elements that constantly change in other narrations (the Sunnah or Ahl al-Bayt) do not appear in this text. It demonstrates that the only constant, common, and unshakeable element across all three narrations is the Qur'an alone.

A Critical Question in Terms of Hadith Methodology: If wordings vary to this extent even in a historical event with the maximum number of witnesses—heard by tens of thousands of people with their own ears—how can "ahad" (solitary) hadiths heard by only a single companion produce absolute knowledge or divine decree? These lexical differences clearly demonstrate that, over time, narrators projected their own jurisprudential, political, or sectarian interpretations, lapses of memory, and additions into the texts.

2. The Writing of Hadiths in the Historical Process and the Absence of a Divine Shield of Protection

Defenders of hadith generally reduce the issue to a shallow debate of "Did the Prophet forbid or permit writing?" However, the real theological question that needs to be asked is this: Was the transcription of hadiths part of a plan willed by Allah?

• The Writing of the Qur'an is a Divine Command: The revelation of the Qur'an in stages (25/32), its memorization (87/6), its consolidation (11/1), and most importantly, the pledge that it will be protected by Allah Himself (15/9) is a system established by revelation (wahy).

• There is No Promise of Protection for Hadiths: There is no direction in the Qur'an regarding the systematic writing and preservation of hadiths. Instances like Abdullah ibn Amr's "al-Sahifa" or Ebu Shah having a sermon written down were entirely individual, uninstitutionalized exceptions.

• Human Intervention and Distortion: During the periods of the Companions (Sahaba) and Successors (Tabi'un), the writing of hadiths was carried out entirely by human initiative. Because it lacked a divine shield of protection, the realm of hadith turned over time into a contaminated space where ideological, political, and dynastic interests manufactured fabricated (mawdu) narrations. The fact that these sources—which are held equivalent to the Qur'an—became riddled with subsequent fabrications is the greatest proof that they were not part of a divine plan.

3. The Samaritan Mindset: Manufacturing Religion in the Name of the Prophet in His Absence

The story of the Samaritan (Samiri) narrated in the Qur'an (Ta-Ha, 85-97) is not just a historical Jewish deviation; it is the name of a dangerous methodology that finds a counterpart in every age. In the absence of our Prophet Moses, the Samaritan manipulated the spiritual and physical traces (the dust/symbols) left behind by the messenger to forge a golden calf that lowed, thereby misguiding the people.

[Absence of Moses] ──> [Intervention of the Samaritan] ──> [Trace of the Messenger/Visual Material] ──> [Sanctified False Religion/The Calf]

Today, the exact same Samaritan mindset takes advantage of the fact that the final messenger is no longer among us, manufacturing new sacred entities under the guise of the "Prophet's trace", "sunnah", and "hadith":

• Religion as a Consumer Commodity: Instead of offering people the dynamic intellect of the Qur'an, modern Samaritans market ritualism and piles of narrations as religion. As people are crushed under the weight of narration plaques, they are left defenseless and take refuge in "comfortable", custom-designed fabricated religions.

• The Shallowness of "Is There a Hadith?": Unquestioning minds manufacture a chain of narration for every truth they hear (for instance, a humanitarian anti-racist principle) and attribute it to the Prophet. Projecting all the anonymous truths of the world onto the Prophet—and even onto Allah under the guise of "Hadith Qudsi"—is equivalent to the audacity of attempting to bring a likeness of the Qur'an.

4. Hadith Sifters and Those at the Head of the Well

The realm of hadith is like a deep, bottomless well into which Joseph was thrown. Sitting at the head of this well with sieves in their hands are the "Hadith Sifters" (narration critics, sectarian engineers).

• Whatever comes out of the well, they sell to society as religion according to their own mental filters, declaring, "This is authentic, that is fabricated."

• Their criteria are not divine; based on their own intellectual capacity, dreams, or periodic political benefits, they declare what stays on top of the sieve as "authentic" (sahih) and what falls through as "fabricated" (mawdu).

While we never put Allah's book through a sieve by saying "This verse is authentic, that one is doubtful," these sifters represent the modern projection of the Israelite mindset, which preferred quail meat and cucumbers to the manna descending from heaven (2/61), showing the audacity to manufacture words on behalf of Allah and His Messenger.

5. Conclusion: The Only Criterion of Truth and the Safe Haven

The textual contradictions that emerged even in an event based on the largest mass testimony in Islamic history, such as the Farewell Pilgrimage, definitively prove that hadiths cannot be an absolute and binding source of knowledge in the name of religion.

• The Qur'an is the Sole Criterion: The sole, unique, and unshakeable source that determines the prohibitions, permissions, worship, law, and morality of our religion is the Qur'an. Aside from it, there is no human authority based on a pen-and-paper relationship in the name of religion.

• Approach to Narrations: Hadiths are not garbage to be completely discarded; however, they are human texts that express speculation (zann) and can only be treated as historical, sociological, and cultural data. The fact that a statement is true does not necessarily mean it was spoken by the Prophet.

The real tablet, the Qur'an, did not fall to the ground and break; it has not been corrupted—it is still among us and waiting to be understood in plain clarity. The only way to break free from the hand-made, artificial religious designs produced by the Samaritans and from the murky waters of the hadith well is to turn our faces solely and exclusively to the protected book of Allah.

WARNING / REMINDER

The opinions, interpretations, and inferences contained in this text are the product of human effort. Please evaluate every statement against the entirety of the Qur'an; weigh, measure, and verify them under the guidance of the verses. The sole criterion of truth is the Book of Allah. If there is an error, it belongs to us; if there is truth, it belongs to Allah.