بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
Ḥadīth (Arabic: حديث lit.”talk” or “discourse”) or Athar (Arabic: أثر, lit. “tradition”) in Islam refers to what Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
The ḥadīth are reports about what Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said and did. Each report points paint a larger picture which is referred to as the Sunnah.
Hadith are part of “the backbone” of Islamic civilisation. The authority of hadith as a source for religious law and moral guidance ranks second only to that of the Al-Quran. Scriptural authority for hadith comes from the Al-Quran, which enjoins Muslims to emulate Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and obey his judgments.
قُلْ أَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ ۖ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْهِ مَا حُمِّلَ وَعَلَيْكُم مَّا حُمِّلْتُمْ ۖ وَإِن تُطِيعُوهُ تَهْتَدُوا۟ ۚ وَمَا عَلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ إِلَّا ٱلْبَلَٰغُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
Surah An Nur, Verse 54
Say, “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away – then upon him is only that [duty] with which he has been charged, and upon you is that with which you have been charged. And if you obey him, you will be [rightly] guided. And there is not upon the Messenger except the [responsibility for] clear notification.
For example, while the number of verses about the law in the Al-Quran is relatively few, hadith give direction. On everything from details of religious obligations (such as Ghusl or Wudu, ablutions for salat prayer), Hadith details the correct forms of salutations and the importance of benevolence to slaves (an acceptable social norm of the time but frowned upon by Muslims then).