The hadiths (traditions) are supposedly reliable records of the doings and sayings of the prophet. They are fundamental to Islam as it is practiced around the world. In fact, it is almost impossible to overstate how important the hadiths are to Muslim belief and practice. Many of the core aspects of Islam (e.g. the five pillars, how to pray, how to perform pilgrimage etc.) are derived not from the Qur’an but from the hadiths.
Massive questions can be asked about the reliability of the hadiths. Especially since we are supposedly dealing with oral traditions that were somehow impeccably preserved for 7-8 generations before being committed to paper. Why they were not simply written down by members of the first Islamic generation is a question that is never even entertained.
Muslim theologians try to get past the problem that oral retellings can get garbled over time by claiming that some hadiths have impeccable ‘chains of transmission’ right back to the time of the prophet. At the very pinnacle of respectability in this regard are the hadith collections of ‘Sahih Bukhari’ and ‘Sahih Muslim’. The word sahih translates as ‘sound’, meaning that the hadiths in these collections are regarded as sound, or reliable.
If the hadiths in these collections are indeed reliable then we would have to say that the ‘prophet’ had some pretty whacky ideas. A few examples:
A Muslim eats in seven intestines while a Muslim eats in one intestine (Sahih Muslim 3:15:862) One wonders how the change to the digestive system happens when someone converts to Islam!
People should avoid lifting their eyes towards the sky while supplicating in prayer, otherwise their eyes would be snatched away (Sahih Muslim 1:863:623)
Allah’s apostle said, if a fly fall in the vessel of any of you, let him dip it into the vessel and then throw it away, for in one its wings there is a disease, and in the other wing healing (Sahih Bukhari 7:673)
The prophet ordered them to go to the herd of camels and to drink their milk and urine (Sahih Bukhari 1:234)
The temptation among those defending Islam might be to say that these hadiths are not authentic or reliable. However, we have to remember that we find them right in the middle of the two most revered, and supposedly reliable, hadith collections. This invites the obvious question If these hadiths can’t be trusted, why should we trust those on which the practice of Islam depends?
For much more about the hadiths and their unsuitability as proper historical sources for the reconstruction of the early years of Islam, please see my book ‘The Mecca Mystery - Probing the Black Hole at the Heart of Muslim History’.
Kind regards,
Peter
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