Discussion:
Renewer every hundred years (hadith)
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Fariduddien
2013-06-28 13:41:43 UTC
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The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be with him) said:

"Truly, Allah shall send forth for this Community, at the onset of every hundred years, someone who will renew their Religion for them." (Abu Dawud)

Wording of this hadith translated by G.F. Haddad and taken from http://spa.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?ID=1582
DKleinecke
2013-06-30 16:54:00 UTC
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"Truly, Allah shall send forth for this Community, at the onset of every =
hundred years, someone who will renew their Religion for them." (Abu Dawud)
=20
Wording of this hadith translated by G.F. Haddad and taken from http://sp=
a.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?ID=3D1582

Haddad's web site is about al-Shafi'i the jurist. The material there is ful=
l of legendary detail. I suggest the introduction to Majid Khadduri's trans=
lation of al-Shafi'i's Risala as a better source of information.

The hadith in question is applied (by Haddad following, I assume, some earl=
ier writer whom I cannot identify) to Umar II at the end of the first centu=
ry of Islam and al-Shafi'i (died AH 204) at the end of the second. I imagin=
e the hadith was created by admirers of Umar II and that application to al-=
Shafi'i is controversial.=20

If you accept the notion expressed in the hadith there are a dozen more cen=
tennial reformers of Islam to identify. Has anyone ever carried out that ta=
sk?
Amu Whisper
2013-07-21 13:06:31 UTC
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=20
=20
=20
"Truly, Allah shall send forth for this Community, at the onset of every =
hundred years, someone who will renew their Religion for them." (Abu Dawud)
=20
=20
=20
Wording of this hadith translated by G.F. Haddad and taken from http://sp=
a.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?ID=3D1582

I agree with the other poster, that the hadith seems invented by special in=
terests. The Prophet generally did not indulge in such things.
Even if the hadith were valid, one wonders what lesson it is would convey f=
or us today. Do we look for these reformers every hundred years, like jews =
and christians wait for a Messiah? And if we did it would it not be a sourc=
e of shiism among Muslims, for there surely would be multiple candidates fo=
r this centurial reformer?=20
I think we should analyze the hadith a little more than we do currently, I =
mean every hadith should be subjected to some additional validation before =
it is propagated or accepted at personal or collective level. This evaluati=
on should include at least three things: 1. What does it tell us in referen=
ce to Quran (does it explain, add, modify Quran); 2. Is it consistent with =
Quran and Prophetic Life during 23 years of his prophethood; 3. Is it consi=
stent with the person of Mohammad as we know from Sirah or history?
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