The early years of Islam after Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) reveal a very interesting insight into how Divine Law was preserved. The earliest generation of Muslims based their understanding on the principle that the Qur'an was the only source of religious law. This narrative challenges later traditions which elevated the Hadith to equal authority with the Qur'an when it came to legislation.
The reason for the early Muslim community's sole focus on the Qur'an is because of the Book's own claim to being complete and fully detailed. This generation contrasts with the later generations who claimed the Qur'an was an abstract things which needed explaining from a second body of law: the hadith.
Duty to compile the Qur'an
The initial decision to compile the Qur'an was treated as an urgent necessity which required collective action from the companions. Following the Battle of Yamama (632) and the death of approximately seventy Qur'an reciters, Umar became fearful of losing the Qur'anic text. This fear led Abu Bakr to reluctantly commission the written compilation of the Qur'an, convinced by Umar that its preservation was imperative, despite not being something that was done by Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) (Bukhari). This compilation process which was overseen by Zayd ibn Thabit, involved rigorous verification and establishing a demanding standard requiring two witnesses (written and memorised) for every single verse. This process establishes that the Qur'an was the sole text which was deemed worthy of such preservation efforts.
Hadith prohibition by the companions
In contrast to the effort to compile the Qur'an during the time of Abu Bakr, when it came to the hadiths, the leading companions instead enforced a policy of suppression, viewing it as a source of potential error and discord amongst the community.
This is evident even when whilst Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was still alive. In 632 just before Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) death, an incident took place which is now known as 'Calamity Thursday'. Umar's opposition to hadith can be observed when he objected to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) writing a final statement and instead declaring at the time that "...the Book of Allah is sufficient for us..." (Bukhari).
During the caliphate of Abu Bakr (632–634), Abu Bakr himself enforced this policy suppression by advising those disputing over a matter concerning Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to "...leave the people and what they have concerning the speech of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). They have been occupied with the Book of Allah, so take it as your reference" (Taqyid al-Ilm).
This action was consistent with his own self-doubt of others reporting about Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), clearly demonstrated when Aisha reported that Abu Bakr burned his own personal collection of approximately 500 hadith (Tadhkirat al-Huffaz and Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir), confessing he could not trust his own judgment to verify the narrators he had heard from, and his ultimate fear that he would be blameworthy for transmitting those hadiths.
After Abu Bakr, Umar had his own policy on hadith suppression by means of destruction of such reports (634-644). He abandoned making a compilation about Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) after fearing the precedent of the Jews and the Christians. He reportedly said "I intended to write down the hadith, but then I remembered people before you who wrote books and devoted themselves to them, leaving the Book of Allah behind. By Allah, I will not mix the Book of Allah with anything (Taqyid al-Ilm and Jami Bayan al-Ilm).
Another example of Umar enforcing this policy was when he gathered the people and said "whoever has anything of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), let him bring it to me." When the people brought their individual collections forward, Umar ordered that the collections be erased or burned (Taqyīd al-Ilm and Jami Bayan al-Ilm).
Additionally he threatened those who narrated hadith with imprisonment and exile. He reportedly told some companions "...you are narrating too many traditions from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). By Allah, if you continue, I will confine you..." (Musnad Ahmad) and "...reduce your narration from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). If you continue, I will exile you to the land of the Bedouins..." (Taqyid al-Ilm).
Another senior companion, Abdullah ibn Abbas warned his followers against writing hadith and even ordered existing scrolls to be burned, stating, "do not mix the Book of Allah with anything else." (Taqyid al-Ilm and Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir).
Qur'an as the exclusive legacy
Reports from the most senior companions confirm that no comprehensive written corpus of hadith was formally recognised or relied upon after the Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) death. Ali, who when asked what Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) left behind, stated that Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) left "...nothing with us but the Book of Allah and that piece of paper..." (Bukhari; Muslim). This confirms Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) legacy was specific to the Qur'an and anything outside of it was limited in nature.
Furthermore, Zayd ibn Thabit, the chief compiler of the Qur'an during the caliphate of Abu Bakr, refused to write hadith, and when asked, he responded "...the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) commanded us not to write anything of his words..." (reported in Taqyid al-Ilm and Muslim).
Finally, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud's practice of resorting to personal judgment based on the Qur'an when he was faced with a complex legal ruling demonstrates that a comprehensive written corpus of hadith was not readily available or used as the first reference point (Tirmidhi; Abi Dawud).
The silent majority
The historical evidence is corroborated by the reality of hadith transmission within the community. While the community during the period of Abu Bakr and later Uthman ibn Affan, engaged in a mass activity to ensure the preservation of the Qur'an, the community did the complete opposite when it came to the hadith. Instead of preservation, it was destruction of hadith which was sanctioned by the caliphs.
Out of the estimated 100,000 to 124,000 individuals present at the farewell hajj of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) (Muslim), approximately 320 companions are recorded as having narrated more than 10 hadiths (Talqih Fuhum Ahl al-Athar).
The overwhelming silence of over 99% of the companions strongly suggests that hadith narration was not considered a religious duty or a necessary legal source.
This inaction on writing and collating hadith by the vast majority of companions is justified by Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) himself. According to Abu Said al-Khudri, Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) ordered the companions "...do not write anything from me, and he who wrote down anything from me except the Qur’an, he should erase it and narrate from me, and there will be no harm..." (Muslim). The same reporter also mentions that he once asked Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) for permission to write hadiths and Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) refused to give such permission (Tirmidhi).
Ironically, the hadith acknowledged as most mass-transmitted is precisely the one where Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) warns the companions "whoever deliberately lies about me, let him take his seat in the fire." (Tirmidhi).
Conclusion
The early Muslim community, under the leadership of Abu Bakr and then Umar, consciously preserved the Qur'an as the sole infallible source of Divine Law. Their restraint in documenting hadith was not negligence but official policy, rooted in the Qur'an's own claim of sufficiency and completeness. The later elevation of hadith to co-equal authority with the Qur'an, represents a later development and not the practice of the first generation.