Salam all
These hadiths with one initial witness are called ' Ahad hadiths' . Not all hadiths are Ahad but majority are. The Quran calls for two witnesses for financial dealings but four for fornication. If we say at least two witnesses should be needed to take any ahadith seriously, then another person with a preference for four witnesses, can also quote the verse for fornication requiring four witnesses and say that hadiths that do not have four witnesses cannot be taken seriously. All these verses have a context and they should be applied within that context. Taking rulings out of context and applying them elsewhere may cause mayhem.
Quran says that in what ahadith other than the Quran will we believe in? The Quran goes out on a limb and declares mumins to believe only in Quran and follow only it's laws. The only reason for not following hadith is one of authority. The Quran gives no religious authority to ahadith, this is what matters.
Something can be the truth even if there is no witness present there. That is why the Quran speaks about being careful and not commiting sins and lying etc, when we are alone. Because there is always one witness present, God. God witnesses everything, even when we think there is no other human witness. A hadith can be true, even if it has zero witness or one, but the issue remains that ahadiths are not religiously binding.
These hadiths with one initial witness are called ' Ahad hadiths' . Not all hadiths are Ahad but majority are. The Quran calls for two witnesses for financial dealings but four for fornication. If we say at least two witnesses should be needed to take any ahadith seriously, then another person with a preference for four witnesses, can also quote the verse for fornication requiring four witnesses and say that hadiths that do not have four witnesses cannot be taken seriously. All these verses have a context and they should be applied within that context. Taking rulings out of context and applying them elsewhere may cause mayhem.
Quran says that in what ahadith other than the Quran will we believe in? The Quran goes out on a limb and declares mumins to believe only in Quran and follow only it's laws. The only reason for not following hadith is one of authority. The Quran gives no religious authority to ahadith, this is what matters.
Something can be the truth even if there is no witness present there. That is why the Quran speaks about being careful and not commiting sins and lying etc, when we are alone. Because there is always one witness present, God. God witnesses everything, even when we think there is no other human witness. A hadith can be true, even if it has zero witness or one, but the issue remains that ahadiths are not religiously binding.