What are the basic scriptures of Islam and why are they so important?
The single most basic scripture of Islam is indeed the Quran. The next after the Quran are the traditions the Sunnah — of the Prophet — also known as Ahadith. The Quran is compilation of the Revelation from Allah to Prophet Muhammad and the Sunnah is what Prophet Muhammad did or said. Of the traditions, the ones compiled by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim are the most authentic. Authenticity of Imam Bukharis work can be judged from the fact that he is reported to have collected over 300,000 Hadiths (traditions of the Prophet) but “chose only approximately 7275 of which there is no doubt about their authenticity.” Each Hadith comes with its line of transmission that leads directly to Prophet Muhammad or his companions. Why are the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet so important to Muslims? Instead of giving my personal opinion let me say what Rafiq Zakaria, an eminent Islamic scholar and also known as modernist progressive secular Muslim has to say on this. “To Muslims, the Quran is the
