or lofty he may be—except Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Unlike others who have no affiliation with hadith or acting upon it, they are partisan to the sayings of their imams—although those imams forbade them from doing so—just as the people of hadith adhere firmly to the sayings of their Prophet! Thus, after this explanation, it is no wonder that the people of hadith are the manifest group, the saved sect, and indeed the middle nation, witnesses over all creation.
In this connection, I am pleased by what al-Khatib al-Baghdadi said in the introduction to his book The Honour of the People of Hadith, in defence of them and in refutation of those who oppose them:
“If one devoted to blameworthy personal opinion were to occupy himself with the beneficial sciences, seek the sunnah of the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds, and follow the transmitted teachings of the jurists and hadith scholars, he would find therein what would make him independent of all else. He would content himself with transmitted reports instead of the opinion to which he clings. For hadith encompasses knowledge of the foundations of the oneness of God; an exposition of what has been conveyed concerning the various aspects of promise and warning; the attributes of the Lord of the worlds—exalted above the assertions of the heretics; accounts of the nature of Paradise and Hell; what Allah has prepared therein for the God-fearing and the wicked; what Allah has created in the earths and the heavens; the various kinds of wonders and tremendous signs; mention of the angels brought near; and descriptions of those who stand in rows and glorify Him.
“Hadith also contains the accounts of the prophets; reports concerning the ascetics and the righteous allies of Allah; the admonitions of the eloquent; the pronouncements of the jurists; the histories of the kings of the Arabs and non-Arabs; the tales of ancient nations; an exposition of the Messenger’s military campaigns, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his expeditions; the main body of his rulings and judgments; his sermons and exhortations; his signs and miracles; the number of his wives and children; his in-laws and Companions; mention of their virtues and noble deeds; an exposition of their reports and merits; the lengths of their lives; and a clarification of their lineages.
“It also contains the exegesis of the mighty Quran, including the momentous tidings and the wise Reminder it contains; the Companions’ statements on legal rulings that have been reliably preserved from them; and the identification of the later imams and independent jurists who adopted the view of each one of them.
“Allah has made its people the pillars of the Sacred Law, and through them He has demolished every vile innovation. They are Allah’s trustees among His creation, the intermediaries between the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his ummah, striving to preserve his religion. Their lights”