The Most Beautiful Example ?
Proponents of hadeeth and sunnah often use the following verse :
Ye have indeed in the Apostle of God a beautiful pattern (uswatun hasanah) for any one whose hope is in God and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of God. (Quran : 33.21)
in order to justify the position of hadeeth and sunnah in Islam.
Before anything, we need to ask , does the verse say 'THE most beautiful example ? The answer is NO ! The verse uses the phrase 'uswatun hasanah' or 'A beautiful example' (as opposed to THE most beautiful example). The SAME phrase is used for Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and those with him :
There is for you a beautiful example in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people: "We are clear of you and of whatever ye worship besides God: we have rejected you, and there has arisen, between us and you, enmity and hatred for ever,- unless ye believe in God and Him alone": But not when Abraham said to his father: "I will pray for forgiveness for
thee, though I have no power (to get) aught on thy behalf from God." (They prayed): "Our Lord! in Thee do we trust, and to Thee do we turn in repentance: to Thee is
Our Final Goal (Quran : 60.4)
If we do not use hadeeth and sunnah to understand Ibrahim's 'beautiful example' , why do we use hadeeth and sunnah for the beautiful example of the Messenger ?
The Quran further explains :
But when Our Clear Signs are rehearsed unto them, those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, Say: "Bring us a reading other than this, or change this," Say: "It is not for me, of my own accord, to change it: I follow naught but what is revealed unto me: if I were to disobey my Lord, I should myself fear the penalty of a Great Day ." (Quran : 10.15)
The messenger follows what is revealed to him. He does not go against Quranic principles so logically, as long as we stick to the Quran, we would be following his beautiful example.
Furthermore the Quran says :
There is, in their stories, instruction for men endued with understanding. It is not a tale invented, but a confirmation of what went before it,- a detailed exposition of all things, and a guide and a mercy to any such as believe.
(Quran : 12.111)
The Quran represents the complete behavioural patterns of all messengers of God which is relevant to mankind.
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