The Arabic word hadith basically means ‘an item of

news, conversation, a tale, a story or a report,’

whether historical or legendary, true or false,
relating to the present or the past. Its secondary
meaning as an adjective is ‘new’ as opposed
toqadeem, ‘old’.
Importance:
1- Revelation
The Prophet’s sayings and actions were primarily
based on revelation from Allah and, as such, must
be considered a fundamental source of guidance
second only to the Qur’an. Allah in the Qur’an said
concerning the Prophet:
(Muhammad) does not speak from his
desires; indeed, what he says is
revelation. (An-Najm 53:3-4)

Therefore, the hadith represents a personal source

of divine guidance which Allah granted His Prophet
which was similar in its nature to the Qur’an itself.

2- Tafseer
The preservation of the Qur’an was not restricted
to protecting its wording from change. However,
Allah also protected its essential meanings from
change by entrusting the explanation of the
meanings of Qur’an to the Prophet himself. Allah
states the following in the Qur’an regarding its
interpretation:
 And I revealed to you the Reminder (Qur’an)
in order that you explain to the people what
was revealed to them.” (An-Nahl 16:44)

3- Laws
One of the primary duties of the Prophet was to
judge between people in their disputes. Since his
judgments were all based on revelation, as stated
earlier, they must be considered a primary source
of principles by which judgments are carried out in
an Islamic State. Allah also addressed this
responsibility in the Qur’an saying:
O believers obey Allah, obey the Messenger
and those in authority among you. If you
dispute about anything, refer it to Allah and
the Messenger. (An-Nisaa’ 4:59)

4- Moral Ideal
Since the Prophet was guided by revelation in his
personal life, his character and social
interactions became prime examples of moral
conduct for Muslims until the Last Day. Attention
was drawn to this fact in the following Qur’anic
verse:
Surely there is for all of you a good example
(of conduct) in the way of Allah’s
Messenger. (Al-Ahzab 33:21)
5- Preservation of Islam
The science of narration, collection and criticism
of hadith was unknown to the world prior to the era
of the Prophet .
In fact, it was due in part to the absence of such a
reliable science that the messages of the former
prophets became lost or distorted in the
generations that followed them. This is alluded to
in the Qur’anic verse:
 Indeed, I have revealed the Reminder, I will,
indeed, protect it. (Al-Hijr 15:9)