Hadiths

http://www.irfi.org/articles2/articles_3801_3850/usool%20al-hadeeth%20by%20abu%20ammar%20yasir%20qadhihtml.htm

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~Duha prayer
Pray anytime from quarter of an hour after the sun has risen until ten minutes before Zhuhr prayer.

Good morning,

Sorry this might be too late for you, but hopefully will add to your knowledge.
I will try to answer your questions, hopefully it can eliminate or at least to reduce your confusion about the Sunnah and Hadiths.

You say: �there are a few Hadiths that contradict the Quran�.

Your question is very reasonable for people who are critical like you to accept a doctrine, news etc., because there are parties who want to create and disseminate false Hadiths among Muslims, it could come from Muslims themselves or come from outside Islam, they deliberately want to destroy the Muslims unity, therefore, we would be wrong if we accept all Hadiths, but we would be wrong if we also reject all Hadiths because the Hadiths is the second source of Islamic law after the Qur'an.
We will not know how to implement all of Allah's commands if there's no Sunnah/Hadith as a reference.

(Qur�an surah 33:21)
"Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad) a good role model for you that is for the people who expect the grace of Allah and salvation in the doomsday, and he is much mention of Allah."

Sunnah and Hadith have similar understanding:
Sunnah, according to Islamic terminology, Sunnah is the act (af'alu), speech (aqwalu), and permission (taqriru) of the Prophet Muhammad, and hadith interpreted as a record of act, speech, and permission of the prophet Muhammad.

You say: �Is it obligatory for Muslims to follow the hadiths even if one finds something they feel contradicts the word of Allah?�

All Muslims are obliged to follow all shahih (healthy/original) Hadiths, and obliged to leave all Maudhu (false) Hadiths.

If there is a hadith that really contradicts the word of Allah, just leave it.

(Qur�an surah 53:3-4)
�He (Muhammad) did not say anything as his wish himself, but the revelations of Allah as revealed to him�.

This explains that all Hadiths should be relevant to Quran.

You say: � are the Hadiths equally vital to Islam as the Quran ?�

As I said earlier that Hadiths are the second source of Islamic law. Therefore, Hadiths are very important for Muslims, but its position is not the same as the Quran.

You say: �How do we know the correct path if there are so many hadiths that seem to contradict each other and the Quran?�

I suggest you if you are studying the Sunnah/Hadiths, firstly you should know much about the words of Allah in the Qur'an as a source of authentic, and after that, you will be able to differentiate between shahih (healthy/original) Hadiths and Maudhu (false) Hadiths.

You say: �Should I just continue reading and studying so that I can develop a better understanding?�

Of course, because the more you learn, the more you know about the Sunnah/Hadiths.

In studying Hadiths, once again I recommend you to study the Quran as a reference in comparing hadiths.

Why do I suggest like that?

(Qur-an surah 2:2)
"This Quran, there is no doubt in it, a guidance to those who fear Allah."

(Qur-an surah 15:9)
"Verily, we who are lowering the Quran, and verily we really maintain it."

You say: �Is this something Muslims ponder ?�

Of course, until now, many Ulama Muslims have been doing a rigorous selection of the hadiths, and now there is a discipline of science, which is called "Science of Musthalah Hadiths" despite all attempts of forgery hadiths can�t be prevented completely.

I hope you are quite satisfied with my answer.

Asep