Video: The Diversity of Approaches to the Prophet
On several occasions, the Quran speaks of the importance
of following the Prophet Muhammad.
One verse declares, "Indeed, you have in the messenger
of God a beautiful example."
Another verse states that "whoever obeys the messenger, obeys God."
A third verse asked the Prophet to declare, "If you love God, follow me.
And God will love you and forgive you your sins."
Muslims of diverse identities have exerted a great deal of effort
to understand the authentic message of the Prophet
Muhammad, whom they regard as the exemplar of the ideal way to live.
There are two important genres of Islamic scholarship
that deal specifically with the Prophet Muhammad.
First, there is the sira, or the biography of the Prophet, which
you have already encountered in Day 2.
Second, there is the hadith, which refers to the collected reports
of the sayings and actions of Mohammed.
The hadith play an extremely important role
in many aspects of Islamic thought and culture
as they provide guidance for all aspects of Muslim life.
They are also particularly important for interpreting the Quran
as the Prophet Muhammad is understood to have had the deepest knowledge
of the scripture of any human being.
As a messenger of revelation, he is seen as embodying the message.
Hence, his wife A’isha is reported to have said,
‘His characteristics are the characteristics of the Quran,’
and ‘He was a walking Quran.’
But soon after the hadith began to be collected
towards the end of the eighth century of the common era,
scholars realized that many hadith were being fabricated
to serve personal and political ends.
Thus, it was necessary to develop a method of validating and corroborating
the authenticity of each hadith on the basis of its transmitters.
You will learn about this method in the reading that follows.
However, this account of the hadith sciences,
which is based on the perspective of Sunni Islam,
is somewhat complicated when we consider other interpretations of Islam.
For most Shi‘i Muslims, the words and actions of their Imams
are of equal validity to the words and actions of the Prophet.
This is because they believe the Imams, who are descendants of the Prophet
through his daughter Fatima, are the infallible guardians
and interpreters of revelation.
Indeed, the Shi‘i refer to these Imams as "the speaking Quran."
Shi‘i hadith collections, therefore, include
sayings of the Imams in addition to sayings of the Prophet.
Furthermore, the ways in which Shi‘i scholars authenticate their hadith
are a little different from the Sunni hadith sciences.
Finally, sira and hadith are by no means the only way
that the message of the Prophet Muhammad is present within Islamic communities.
Praise of the Prophet and the family of the Prophet
play a crucial role in the devotional life
of the majority of Muslims the world over, albeit in different forms.
Based on the teachings of the Quran, most Muslims, whether Sunni or Shi‘i,
regard the Prophet as an intercessor.
Those Muslims who are mystically inclined
place special emphasis on cultivating a relationship with the living
presence of the Prophet through individuals
who are spiritually connected with him.
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