All claims need to be validated, especially the "settled" ones

Many including myself have been writing on the issue that is the source of all divisions within Islam. The issue of course is the verification and validation of reports ascribed to either the Prophet PBUH or his family and various other personalities of the time.

Contrary to the "settled" claims, the issue of the authenticity of these reports has been an ongoing debate since their introduction around the 9th century as something with religious significance. In reality, when viewed objectively, each and every report, bar 5 or 6 (dozens of reporters at every rung), are potentially either outright fabrications or simply false due to errors in reporting or the many other factors associated with oral traditions that lack any internal checksums.

While incessantly Quoting "Obey the messenger" snippet from the Quran, the following should also be quoted and meditated upon in order to prevent the obey the messenger becomes obey and follow what Bukhari or Kafi says.

When the hypocrites come to you, [O Muhammad], they say, "We testify that you are the Messenger of God." And God knows that you are His Messenger, and God testifies that the hypocrites are liars. Quran 63:01 They have taken their oaths as a cover, so they averted [people] from the way of God. Indeed, it was evil that they were doing. Quran 63:02

Yes, liars among the community claiming to be Muslims. 

So woe to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, "This is from God," in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn. Quran 2:79 

The elephant in the room is that these reports were declared "Sahih" by those who did not follow the standard of evidence detailed in the Quran, the Furqan (standard bearer). Hence “garbage in garbage out” comes into play in a big way.

Criteria for an “Authentic testimony” are clearly detailed in the Quran and to start with, there is no possibility of accepting a claim of a third party single narrator by itself. No matter how you look at it, Quran is the primary document and as I said declared as the Furqan. We must apply the standard Quran details before accepting even claims of a social nature let alone where theological positions of the primary document are overturned. In a nutshell, two minimum witnesses for an already agreed position between two parties is a must. In fact, the two in actual effect becomes min four, 2+2, since the parties themselves are also witnesses to the transaction. In a purely claim situation as opposed to an already agreed transaction, four minimum witnesses to back a claim not otherwise verifiable is a must, no exceptions.

And that is not all; the Quranic standard, in fact, relies on a three-pronged framework;

1. The first is the testimony of four upright witnesses for all claims
2. The second is that these witnesses must be from the community where the claim was/is made. Yes, from the community where the claim is made so that people of the community can not only have the chance to cross question them but also determine their upright status before accepting their testimony. This last point cannot be emphasized more.
3. The third aspect is the banning of false witnesses from doing further damage and is part and parcel of the whole witness based evidence system.

The problem for those who try to go around this iron clad constraint is that they will first need a report that fulfills the above criteria to tell them that they can break it. Obviously, there is none. But wait, even if there was one there is another problem, no matter how many witnesses testify but if it is contrary to what the Quran says then in spite of the witness criteria being fulfilled, their testimony cannot be accepted.It is crystal clear that any testimony, irrespective of the number of witnesses, is not enough when it comes to going against the word of God 

Say, [O Muhammad], "Bring forward your witnesses who will testify that God has prohibited this." And if they testify, do not testify with them. And do not follow the desires of those who deny Our verses and those who do not believe in the Hereafter, while they equate [others] with their Lord. 6:150 

Let me clarify a related issue that is often used to give cover to the third party single narrators. The only instance where a testimony of a single person can be accepted is in a social situation when accusing someone in the first person or refuting the accusation in the second person.  But even then they have to simulate the four witness testimony by repeating their respective claims four times and call God as a witness, imagine that and then call the curse of God upon themselves if the are lying or are liars. Quran 24:6-7. 

But wait again, even then there is a catch, in fact two catches, first you will need four witnesses to the witness that the simulation was done, without which the claim is a non-starter and the other is that the person accused have the option to strike down the accusation by following exactly the same process and then it is not the one making the claim that wins but the one against whom the claim is made. In other words, the single person claim can only be directed against another person (one person) who in turn has the last word and can refute the claim by simply stating that it is untrue. Hence, there is absolutely no provision for a third party single person testimony to have any legal significance.

The issue with applying the single person model to determine what was said and done by the Prophet PBUH is that there has to be a record for each claimed Hadith that the Prophet PBUH was made aware of it and he either confirmed it or rejected it or remained silent. But here is the thing, any reporting of each such event also would require that it was witnessed by four people. The character of the reporters only come into play after this fundamental framework was in place and followed. The character of the narrators by itself cannot be the basis of authenticity but an added prerequisite. An upright Muslim by definition will only vouch for that which he or she has witnessed as opposed to vouching for someone else who was the original witness to an event which can no longer be independently looked at or refuted by the one who is quoted.

That brings us back to the four upright Muslims from within a defined community who happened to have witnessed an event which no longer can be independently verified. It is this four witness model that is the sole methodology that can be applied to the Ahadith authentication. Care should be taken that each successive generation must also be witness to the fact that four upright Muslims had vouched for an event or narration. Once again we need to be mindful of the other prerequisite of the disqualification of a witness in a previous case. The acceptance of witnesses in any one of the three scenarios must be tied to an official registry against which their eligibility can be crossed checked.

I repeat, in the absence of the above framework, the “Authentic testimony” claim has exactly zero value in Islam.It is irresponsible to try and convince people that any report, especially third party single person narration, is authentic to the point of certainty because it is an impossibility and here is why;

It is not enough just to say that since the narrator was a "Sahaba" (companion) it is OK. It is not OK because the above framework was put in place by God for the "Sahaba" and everybody else. Since the prophet (PBUH) was not aware of the hypocrites around him from among the Sahaba as is clear from the Quran, my question to those that keep on peddling this "science" tell me how do you know which Sahaba to trust and which one fabricated reports? Remember, the hypocrites were from among the Sahaba.

And from among those who are round about you of the Arabs/dwellers of the desert there are hypocrites, and from among the people of Medina (also); they are stubborn in hypocrisy; you do not know them; We know them; We will chastise them twice then shall they be turned back to a grievous chastisement Quran 9:101

Ironically one of the report declared authentic is this; Imam Bukhari testifies that Rasool (PBUH) will not be aware of what his companions did especially after His demise:

Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "Some of my companions will come to me at my Lake Fount, and after I recognize them, they will then be taken away from me, whereupon I will say, 'My companions!' Then it will be said, 'You do not know what they innovated (new things) in the religion after you." Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Hadith 584We as Muslims must wake up and wake up quickly before the following becomes true of all of them; 

They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides God, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him. Quran 9:31

And another thing, the Scholars are not the custodians of the Quran or Islam, in fact, Islam has absolutely no provision for allowing an individual or a group to claim ownership of Islam or approve of self-appointed advocates of Islam hell-bent on hijacking it. Definitely, there is no provision for any kind of Monasticism, no mullahs, no sheiks, no priests. It's an invention as clearly detailed in the verse below;
 
Then, We sent after them, Our Messengers, and We sent 'Iesa (Jesus) ­ son of Maryam (Mary), and gave him the Injeel (Gospel). And We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him, compassion and mercy. But the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them, but (they sought it) only to please God therewith, but that they did not observe it with the right observance. So We gave those among them who believed, their (due) reward, but many of them are Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to God). Quran 57:27 

In fact their browbeating should not be feared, God's words are there for all to look up, in a single book, complete, perfect and time stamped;

Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto. So do not fear the people but fear Me, and do not exchange My verses for a small price. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the disbelievers. Quran 5:44

That the issue is deliberately muddled by the promoters of sect-centric agendas is understandable, no Muslim has ever objected to following the way of the Prophet Mohammad PBUH, The issue is and will continue to be the authenticity of reports ascribed to the Prophet PBUH. The attitude that leads to the "hands off Bukhari and Muslim or Kafi or else'' mindset is a carefully engineered one. It may have worked in an age where information was tightly controlled by the clergy with active and often brutal assistant from the emperor but no more. The attitude is obviously illogical if you appeal to reason and logic but that is exactly why the appeal is made to other than reason and logic and done in an emotional message and delivered in an emotionally charged manner. The sad thing is it works on a lot of people. 

To try and hide behind fabricated notions like "consensus" is just that, fabrication. What exactly is this magical knowledge that would equate left into right and ten with thirteen and both with fifteen and how? The only logical conclusion is that consistently applied methodologies will and does render these sources inconsistent and contradictory in a matter of hours. Expecting to yield actionable premises from these scattered and sect-centric reports are nothing but an exercise in futility, let alone pinning down law forming worthy precedents among them. When you add to it a clear in your face alternative in the form of a verifiable primary document the Quran, the question that comes to mind are why? The follow-up questions are even more pertinent, who currently and historically have been behind their propagation and who benefits from it? 

No amount of apologetic gymnastic will explain away these obvious and easily verifiable facts, however, the degree of control a carefully organized sect can exert on a member should never be underestimated, even in the information age.

Conclusion, Quran will not budge from the criteria of four witnesses when it comes to claims.