I am back to rant about the horrible wonders of the Islamic hadith.
Hadith is the collection of writings that showcase how the Prophet Muhammad MAY have lived. Note as a I emphasised the word “may”. These writings are based on old traditions held during said time and are remembered either through text, story telling or simple rumours.
This creates a problem.
For one thing, the hadith has too many contradictions compared to the Quran. Muhammad never said to follow the hadith as it has yet to even exist. His words of peace is different than the words said in the hadith. In example, while the hadith stated that all those who leave Islam are to be executed, Muhammad himself never said so as he never experienced the problem first-hand. During his time, people don’t leave Islam in large numbers. Only after his death did it start.
Another would be the insulting of Muhammad. During his lifetime, he had faced various obstacles including attempted murder. In each obstacle, he was able to handle it strategically and minimising damage. In the hadith, it was said that insulting him is death. Now, how do these come together? Let’s be real here; if Muhammad wa able to survive attempted murder with a calm mind, do you really expect a petty insult to be worth much?
Third example and most prominent one, the drawing of Muhammad. The hadith states that drawing Muhammad in anyway is forbidden. Now, what most people don’t realise is that it’s not forbidden against God. It was forbidden as an attempt to counter idolatry. They believed that drawing him would make his image as the focus of worship. They were not wrong btw but it did create many problems due to the changing of times. For one thing, we don’t do idolatry anymore. All forms of art are simply art. Of course, Muslims could not accept the changing of culture and think that they should stay the same way it had been years ago.
Which all brings us to this. Is the hadith really true even as it’s full of contradictions? Why do people believe it without a second thought when it can prove of more harm than good? And as the hadith are just writings based on Muhammad’s life, can we really be expected to follow the lifestyle of a man who had gone to war for so many years? He may have good teaching but all he did was of necessity of said time.
We live in the time of peace. We cannot b expected to live under the rules provided during the time of war. Those who had only known war for all their lives, have different values than those who had only known peace. The difference is incredibly large and this will- no, has formed so many of today’s problems.
We should not let our ancestors’ choices define our right to choose. Instead, we should make our ancestors’ choices as lessons to be taken. Everyone who has ever been human has make mistakes. Are we to follow our ancestors’ without question and redo the same mistakes they had made?
Which is more important? The choices made by those before us, or the choices we will make for those after us?