As rigorous as scholars like al Bukhari and Ibn al Hajjaj were in scruntinizing each hadith for the signs of correct transmission, the fact is that their method lacked any attempt at political or religious objectivity. The bulk of what are considered to be sound traditions were deemed so not because their isnads (chain of transmission) were particularly strong, but becaue they reflected the majority beliefs and practices of the community. In other words, the hadiths were collected, and the Sunna developed, specifically to create a sense of Islamic orthodoxy or othopraxy by legitimizing those beliefs and practices that were already widely accepted by the majority of the Ulama, and eliminating those that were not. While some hadith may in fact contain an authentic historical core that can be taced back to the Prophet and his earliest Companions, the truth is that the Sunna is a far better reflection of the opinions of the ninth-century Ulama than of the seventh-century Ummah. After all, to quote Jonathan Berkey, "It was not Muhammad himself who defined the Sunna, but rather a memory of him."
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Also, there are hadith in Bukhari and Muslim that have been proven to be weak. I think the problem is people place these collections on the same level as the Qur'an, sometimes even higher :S
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly the problem
ReplyDeleteHadiths are such a frustration... I cannot investigate all hadiths myself. I probably couldn't manage to investigate one right. I really feel that they are useful for the good things we can get out of them, but that they are not in any way to be used as law apart from the Qur'an.
ReplyDeletethey do help to explain some things but mostly they are just a frustration. I think people need to stop putting so much heavy emphasis on them. Especially when they obviously go against the character of the prophet or what the Qur'an teaches. The Qur'an says "women are equal to men" so then why would you believe a hadith from the prophet that says "women are not equal" I know that doesnt exactly exist but you get my point. The prophet is not going to directly contradict the Qur'an so why do people believe in these hadith!
ReplyDelete