Aslamualakaum. There is a hadith that states the Prophet (pbuh) got angry and said to some of his comapnions who were deabting about an ayah that the people of the book were destory becuase that they contradicted there book, the Quran does not contradict itself rather it tesitfies to the truth of itself, so follow what you have knoledge in and ask those who have knowledge if you dont understand somthing. Is this hadith sahih and can you please quote it in full and explain it. Please. Jazakullah khayir

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

Imaam Ahmad reported this Hadeeth in his Musnad on the authority of ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas : The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, heard some people disputing (about verses of the Quran) so he said: “(Behold O people!) It was just on account of this that the communities before you were destroyed; they set parts of the Book of Allaah against others (i.e. using parts of their divine scripture to falsify others). Verily, the Book of Allaah was revealed with its parts testifying to the truth of each other. So, do not controvert part of it with a part of it; whatever knowledge you have of it, then proclaim it, and whatever of it you do not know, then entrust it to whoever has knowledge of it.” [Al-Albaani graded it Hasan (good)] This Hadeeth is supported by other reports indicating the same meaning.

As to the meaning of the Hadeeth, it means that it is prohibited to argue and dispute about the Quran, and that the communities of believers that lived before us were destroyed because of disputing over the divine scriptures sent down to them. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “The Book of Allaah was revealed with its parts testifying to the truth of each other.” This means that there is no real contradiction in the Quran as its verses support one another. Any seeming contradiction is a result of the reader’s limited perception, not the verses themselves.

Then, the Prophet prohibited setting some verses against others as contradictory and called it denying the Quran. Dispute over the Quran is of different kinds; for instance, disputing over the Quranic words and denying the authenticity of the reported Qiraa’aat (styles of recitation). Another kind is to dispute over the meaning of the Quranic verses such as to disagree about the Quranic verses with clear-cut indications (the Muhkamaat), which do not leave any room for argument, like those related to creed, such as the establishment of Qadar (divine predetermination) and the like. It also includes dispute over the interpretation of the Quranic verses merely to prove one’s opinion right without the intention of reaching the genuine meaning intended by Allaah; or interpreting the Quranic verses whose indications are unclear without sufficient knowledge.

The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then commanded Muslims to act upon the Quranic verses whose meaning they know, and whatever they do not know, they should entrust it to Allaah, The Exalted, and consult those who were given knowledge of it, i.e., the scholars.

An-Nawawi said: “The (forbidden) disagreement about the Quran is understood by the scholars as meaning the disagreement which is impermissible or disagreement which causes something that is not permissible, like disagreement about the Quran itself or about a meaning from it about which personal reasoning is not tolerable, or disagreement that leads to doubt, suspicion, tribulation, disputes, arguments and the like. On the other hand, the disagreement about the derivation of secondary religious matters from it, and the debates of the scholars about that for the sake of benefit and demonstration of the truth, and their disagreeing about that, it is not prohibited but rather commanded, and it is an obvious virtue; and the Muslims have unanimously agreed on this from the time of the Companions until now.” [Sharh Muslim]

Al-Mubaarakfoori said: “The word ‘disputing’ (at the beginning of the Hadeeth) means arguing over it, with each refuting the opposing opinion. Ash-Shaah Waliyy Ad-Deen said, ‘It is impermissible to dispute over the Quran, with one person using a verse as evidence; so another refutes him with another verse only to prove himself correct and undermine the other, or to support a school of Fiqh against another without holding the intent of seeking the truth. The same applies to disputing over the Sunnah.’ The Hadeeth states that the previous communities were destroyed because of such disputes. They set parts of the Book of Allaah against others, using parts of the divine Books to falsify others; or they interpreted it incorrectly to serve their own purposes.

Therefore, ‘do not controvert part of the Book of Allaah with part of it’ but rather say, ‘whatever Allaah has revealed to His Messenger is the Truth.’ In case of a seeming contradiction, do not consider the obvious sense of the two words or phrases without bearing in mind the possibility of Naskh (abrogation), Takhsees (particularization of a general text), Taqyeed (restriction of a ruling), and a sound interpretation, because that detracts from the religion.

The Hadeeth state: ‘whatever knowledge you have of it’, i.e. knowledge which is in agreement with the fundamental principles, ‘then proclaim it, and whatever you do not know of it’, like the verses with unclear indications, ‘then entrust it to whoever knows it’, namely Allaah, The Exalted, or the scholars who have more knowledge than you do. And do not acquire its meaning on your own accord.” [briefly excerpted from Mar‘aat Al-Mafaateeh]

Al-Baghawi said: “The Arabic word used (in the Hadeeth, miraa’) to mean dispute is the same one used in the verse that reads (what means): { And [recall] when you slew a man and disputed over it....} [Quran 2:72] Abu Salamah reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: "Disputing (miraa') about the Quran is disbelief."

Hadeeth scholars differed in interpreting the meaning of (miraa’) in the Hadeeth. Some held that it means doubt like its use in the verse: {So be not in doubt (miryah) about it...} [Quran 11:17] It was also said that it means engaging in arguments that raise doubts. This is because when the person engages in such a debate over the Quran, the least that would happen is that he would start doubting the verses whose indications are unclear which may lead to disbelief, except those whom Allaah safeguards.

Some scholars interpreted the Hadeeth to refer to dispute over the modes of recitation of the Quran, denying some of the reported Qiraa’aat (styles of recitation). Allaah, The Exalted, has revealed the Quran in seven Ahruf (dialects or modes of recitation); He declared denying them as an act of disbelief so that Muslims would not dispute over them or disbelieve in them, as all of them are Quran revealed from Allaah, The Exalted, that we must believe in.” [Sharh As-Sunnah]

Allaah Knows best.