The deniers of hadith or Munkar e Hadith

 Munkar e hadith is a popular term among Muslims. It is used to label an individual or a group accused of denying the validity of the hadith or the saying or action of the Prophet. Hadith means words or sayings or an action of Prophet Muhammad. The purpose of applying this term for an individual is primarily to invalidate any argument that is being raised about the legitimacy of a statement attributed to the Prophet. It is a weapon that is often used to stifle the argument of anyone who questions the prevailing opinion among Muslims as promoted by their schools of thought. You may have heard the expression commonly applied to certain individuals or to groups to ostracize them and to invalidate their opinions on any issue.

Take for example, the following statement attributed to the Prophet Abd Allah ibn al-Samit said: Abu Dharr said: Allah's Messenger -- Allah bless and salute him! -- said: "When one of you stands in prayer, what definitely constitutes a barrier for him is an object placed in front of him of the same height as the back of a camel-saddle. If it is not in front of him and of the same height as the back of a camel-saddle, then some [stray] donkey, or some woman passing, or some black dog will cut off his prayer." I said: "O Abu Dharr! What is it that makes a black dog different from a red or yellow dog?" He replied: "O dear cousin! I asked Allah's Messenger -- Allah bless and salute him! -- the exact same question. He said that the black dog is a devil."

(Sahih Muslim, Book, 4, No, 1032) 

According to many people, anyone who questions the validity of this hadith can be termed as a denier of the hadith or munkar e hadith.

Interestingly in the same book of Sahih Muslim, four hadith later, a statement is attributed to one of the wives of the Prophet.  "Urwa b. Zubair reported: 'A'isha asked: What disrupts the prayer? We said: THE WOMAN AND THE ASS. Upon this, she remarked: IS THE WOMAN AN UGLY ANIMAL? I lay in front of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) like the bier of a corpse and he said a prayer.  (Sahih Muslim, Book, 4, No, 1037) 

Sahih Bukhari also includes a similar hadith in his collection: Narrated 'Aisha: The things which annul the prayers were mentioned before me. They said, "Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey and a woman (if they pass in front of the praying people)." I said, "You have made us (i.e. women) dogs. I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in my bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I would slip away., for I disliked to face him." Bukhari, Book 1, Volume 9 Hadith 490

Apparently, the mother of the believer is questioning the validity of this statement and saying that the Prophet could not have said it because his practice was different from this statement.

Can she be described a denier of the hadith? Can anyone say that the mother of the believer did not know her faith properly? Can anyone say that she was acting on the commands of feminists of her time? Can she be accused of pursuing a Jewish or Christian agenda? No, not many would have the courage to even raise such issues. 

This hadith and the response of the mother of the believers summarizes the debate on Munkar e hadith.

Like the mother of believers, there are millions of Muslims now who know their religion, as they have gone through the vast literature produced by Muslims throughout the centuries and who have questions about not just one but several statements attributed to the Prophet. They are sincere in their commitment to divine guidance. They care about their faith and they genuinely believe that silencing people or ignoring their questions will only create more confusion.
There have always been people who looked at such statements and responded to them according to their ability. For instance the six canonized compilers of hadith, namely, Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Abu Dawood, Imam Nasai, Imam Ibn Maja and Imam Tirmidhi (Before the inclusion of Ibn Maja, it was Imam Malik's Muwatta that was part of the six most accurate book on the statements of the Prophet) had access to some 2.3 million statements of the Prophet. But all of them included only 23 thousand in their collections. Even in the 23,000, they collected, only a few thousand seems to have commonalities either in the text or in the meaning. Can anyone call them munkar e hadith? Obviously, they were the deniers of the overwhelming majority of the ahadith they had access to. The selection of the collected statement was not divinely revealed. It was the outcome of the human efforts that they put in constructing a methodology to verify the statements as much as one can.

So, essentially, one can look at their methodologies and choose the one that he or she feels makes better sense Almost of the six compilers and many hundred more who worked on hadith literature, had differing methodologies in their work.
They were first formally grouped and defined canonically by Ibn al Qaisarani in the 11th century, who added Sunan Ibn Maja. Since then, they have enjoyed near-universal acceptance as part of the official canon of Sunni Islam. 

• In the Sunni Islam, the six canonical works are, Sahiah al Bukhari, Sahih Musli, Jamia Tirmidhi, Sunan Nasai, Sunan ibn Maja and Sunan Abu Dawood. However, Malikis do not accept Ibn Maja part of the six canonical work. They include al Muwatta in those collections.
• The Twelver Shia sect has four hadith collections: Kitabul al Kafi, ManLa Yahduruhu al Fatih, Tahdib ul Ahkam and Al Istibsar.
• The Ibadi sect has Tartib al Musna as their book of hadith.  .
• The Ismailis use the Daim al Islam as hadith collections.

Obviously, the compilers of the statements of the Prophet happen to be the first ones who rejected many because they did not fulfill their self determined criterion  Even before the emergence of these compilers there were companions, including, the scholarly ones and the Caliphs who even chastised people who were reporting the unverified statements of the prophet.

No Muslim can ever deny the fact that in his 40 years of life as a prophet, the Prophet did not utter a single word or instruction or explanation other than the verse of the Quran. No one argues that the Prophet did not address people on different occasions. Similarly, no one can ever say that everything that the Prophet did and say was recorded during his lifetime by the companions who had also obtained his verification for their written or memorized words.

For instance, the number of ahadith narrated through the family of the Prophet such as his wife Khadija whom he lived for almost 28 years or his four daughters are far less than the number of ahadith attributed to some companions who have been mentioned as the main source of ahadith.

From the second year of Hijra until he left this world, the Prophet must have given at least 400 plus Friday sermons. Yet we do not have more than 50  and their accuracy has often been disputed by scholars themselves. About the first Friday sermon given by the Prophet, there are two opinions Imam Qurtubi reports one version and Imam ibn Qayyim al Jauzi offers a different version.

Thus, many Muslims believe that not everything that was said by the Prophet was either written down or memorized. The closest of the Prophet did not report much about his instructions and style of life. None of the companions approached the Prophet for his seal of approval of what they had written or memorized. The companions wrote down the Quran and memorized it with full concentration as they were asked to do.
However, the Quran makes it clear that nothing should be attributed to Allah and his messenger unless it is true. Muslims believe that the Prophet ensured in his lifetime that every word that God revealed upon him was preserved in writing in his lifetime. But his statements were not. Thus, many Muslims believe that despite the presence of the canonical work and other books of ahadith, people have to be extra cautious when dealing with such statements. They suggest the best way to determine their accuracy is not only the chain of narrators and their integrity but also the relationship of the statement with the Quranic dictates. If the statement is in the context of the Quranic verse and is elaborated or explained within the Quranic context, then its validity and accuracy is proven, but if it questions the Quranic statement, then it must not be used for making any decision or argument that that impacts individual or social life,
They do not deny the fact that the Prophet did not leave instructions for his followers. But they say that not every word of what he said was preserved and approved by him in his lifetime. They do not deny the hadith, rather they argue to have stricter and logically sound methodology to determine the accuracy of the statements attributed to the Prophet.
On the other hand, there are people who say, that all the research and all the work has already been completed by the scholars living from 7th to 11 centuries. Their logic defies the Quran that asks human beings, including the believers to be in constant search of signs of Allah. This verse of the Quran places emphasis on continuous research and by saying that all answers have been given and all issues have been resolved, they are only challenging God and his wisdom. So please be careful when you use the term munkar e hadith.

Slavery, Polygamy, and Muslims

by Dr. Aslam Abdullah

Slavery is mentioned in at least twenty-nine verses of the Qur'an, most of these verses were revealed in Medina and refer to the status of slaves. The verses are largely restricted to manumission and sexual relations. The Qur'anic references to slavery, mainly contain broad and general propositions of an ethical nature rather than specific legal formulations.

The Quran used slavery in the past-tense in the Quran, thus signaling only those individuals who were already enslaved at the time of revelation. This meant that slavery was never compatible with the commandments of the Quran and was in fact outlawed by Quranic Law.

The Qur'an recognizes the practice of inequality between master and slave and the then norms about the rights of the former over the latter. But the Quran stated that from a spiritual perspective, "the slave has the same value as the free man, and the same eternity is in store for his soul.

The Quran urged kindness to the slave and recommended their liberation by purchase or manumission. The freeing of slaves is recommended both for the expiation of sins and as an act of simple benevolence. It exhorted masters to allow slaves to earn or purchase their own freedom.

The Qur'an, however, did not consider slaves to be mere chattel; their humanity was directly addressed in references to their beliefs, their desire for manumission and their feelings about being forced into prostitution and forced labor. In one case, the Qur'an refers to master and slave with the same word, rajul. Later interpreters presumed slaves to be spiritual equals of free Muslims. For example, verse 4:25 urged believers to marry 'believing maids that your right hands owned' and then stated: "One of you is as the other," which the Jalaalayn interpreted as "You and they are equal in faith, so do not refrain from marrying them." The human aspect of slaves was further reinforced by reference to them as members of the private household, sometimes along with wives or children.

The purpose was not to promote or sustain slavery, but to eliminate it completely. It took Muslims some 1400 years to realize this intent and now the slavery is completely banned in all countries including the Muslim majority countries.

On the issue of having multiple wives, there is only one verse in 

the Quran in which polygamy is mentioned.  "And if you have reason to fear that you might not act equitably towards orphans, then marry from among [other] women such as are lawful to you - [even] two, or three, or four: but if you have reason to fear that you might not be able to treat them with equal fairness, then [only] one - or [from among] those whom you rightfully possess. This will make it more likely that you will not deviate from the right course." (Surah an Nisaa - Women, 4:3).

This reference to polygamy, or having multiple wives, was discussed as a response to a specific social situation of war-torn society in seventh-century tribal Arabia, The purpose was not on the multiplicity of wives but on social justice in the context of the social structures prevalent at that time.

Polygamy was meant to be viewed as a component of justice in the treatment of widows and it was mainly to offer fair care to orphans. Its functional purpose was to allow widows and orphans to be taken care of in a social structure in which women usually did not have independent means of financial support and orphans did not have any legal status to existing as responsible beings. 

But the text was clear that polygamy was only permissible if all wives were treated justly. But the Quran warned that it would not be possible for a husband to treat all of his wives fairly. This effectively eliminated the possibility of polygamy in practical terms.  

If we look at the verse in details we find that it talks about dealing with justly with orphans, and is directed towards their male guardians who might assume their guardianship. Marriage to female orphans was only suggested only if the guardian feared that he would not be able to carry out his duties  honestly. It was a personal and ethical issue. The assumption was that marriage to the orphan would give him a greater stake in managing the financial responsibility  towards her. It did not say that all male guardians must marry their female wards. 

The verse also emphasized justice towards the wives as well. As the Quran said: "And it will not be within your power to treat your wives with equal fairness, however much you may desire it;  and so, do not allow yourselves to incline towards one to the exclusion of the other, leaving her in a state, as it were, of having and not having a husband. But if you put things to rights and are conscious of Him-behold, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace" (Surah an Nisaa- Women, 4:129)

Thus, monogamy is the rule for marriages and polygamy is not relevant in our world today because there are alternative venues available to secure justice.

The irony is in our inability to look at the Quranic verses in a consistent and relevant manner. While practicing slavery for almost 1400 years legally, we have declared it illegal and un-Islamic today, but on polygamy, despite the Quranic emphasis on equality and justice and having one wife, we still support and find justification for it. It is this practice that the Quran is opposed to. It clearly states that the divine guidance must not be used to serve the interests of a specific group, gender or race

Nondenominational Muslims and the Five Pillars of Islam

by Dr. Aslam Abdullah
Do non-Denominational Muslims practice a different form of Islam? How do they pray or fast or perform Hajj? How do they give their zakat? Where do they draw inspiration from? Who is their spiritual and religious leader? Whose books they read? Do they participate in Muslim activities organized by various groups? What is their view on various Muslim organizations such as Jamat Islami, Tableeghi Jamat, Ikhwanul Mslimeen or Islamic Circle of North America or Islamic Society of North America or Muslim American Society, etc.? Do they have any syllabus to follow? Do they have any specific masjid they go to offer prayers?
These any many other similar were the questions many asked after reading the first article on nondenominational Muslims? Perhaps, some people think that like many existing sects or groups, Nondenominational Muslims have their own group, faction, masjid or organization. Far from that, the idea behind the Nondenominational movement is to break down the barriers that factionalism and sectarianism have created over the centuries. It is rooted in the idea that individuals can understand the divine message and act in a responsible manner towards their faith and fellow human beings without dividing themselves in any organization.
They do not believe in the false division of Shias and Sunnis. They view this division outdated and harmful. Their basis to evaluate history are those Quranic values that promote peace and justice. They do not want to live in the past to carry on the age-old differences of their predecessors. They view them as unique individuals in the continuity of human history with the aim of progressing. They recognize the injustices done by Muslims to each other in the past, but they believe that the best way to deal with them is to move forward for peace and justice without any division.
They believe more in principles than historical precedence. They do not believe in the divine guidance is something static and stagnant but as something progressive. There is certain essential divine guidance that must always be the hallmark of those who believe in divine mercy. In their view, the most essential task for any human being is to have a full commitment to peace and justice with total dedication to God.
In their views, all juristic differences are created by human beings based on their own views of the divine message. One should live with those differences as long as they do not change or challenge the essence of the divine faith. They believe Islam is the manifestation of the divine will and guidance as revealed to human beings through human history through differences in languages and cultural idioms.
They do not believe in the superiority of a nation or a group or individual. 
When it comes to prayers, they do not insist that their individual way is the only way to seek perfection. They acknowledge and accept anything that is substantiated by the Quran and Sunnah as well as by human intellect within the context of their time.  How should one fold or unfold their hands during the prayer is not a bone of contention among them? Whether Surah Fatiha was recited behind Imam or not is not an issue for them. They believe that Allah knows the intention and actions of individuals and human beings should not interfere in these affairs.
Fasting is from dawn to dusk in normal circumstances. However, when the days are almost 23 hours long or in a situation where the sun does not set for six months they believe that individuals collectively or individually can determine the length according to their social and personal circumstances.
For zakat, they leave it to individuals to donate from their savings to the state or to individuals or charitable organizations.
They believe that the Hajj or Umra is to be performed based on one's financial and physical conditions to experience the unity of the Ummah and the dedication to Allah.
They do not identify with any Muslim organization because in their view every individual in any work of the community development must be appreciated. Each organization has its own strength and weakness. However, organization's work need to be viewed in the context of the divine message and prophetic guidelines. They view that the Quran's message was essential to bring about changes in human society for the betterment of all based on strictly non-violence. They take the Quranic mandate of no compulsion in religion seriously. Those who work for Islam and believe in Islam must adhere to the principle of change through nonviolence. They also believe that religious loyalties cannot be the basis for social and cultural biases. Humanity is one, and God has created a pluralistic society and God's will must be respected. They believe that dignity is the essence of human existence and any organization that discriminates people on the basis of their view of the divine or commitment to him or rejection of God is betraying the divine call for the unity of humanity.
In this world, the struggle of a human being is to maintain the equilibrium, so that people may feel secure and safe regardless of the views they believe. People cannot be intimidated to believe in any idea or to reject any.
Nondenominational Muslims believe in dialogue and resolving human differences or living with those differences peacefully through dialogue and consultation. They believe that human sufferings cannot be divided based on people's religious identity. Issues such as poverty, malnutrition, helpless, diseases, injustices, and violence impact every human being that experiences them regardless of their religious or ethnic background. They believe that as Muslims it is their responsibility to work with the rest of the world to overcome these problems so that they could help create an environment conducive for peace and justice.
They believe in serving humanity without any barriers. A needy and poor or the victim of injustice must be treated with the utmost care and concern regardless of the faith or no faith he or she belongs to.
They are concerned about protecting their environment as they believe that human beings in their attempts to master the nature must refrain from adopting policies that would harm the universe in any form or shape. They do not believe in fiscal policies that cause disparities and deprive people to earn legitimate fruits of their labor. 
In their views, Nondenominational Muslims do not believe in a patriarchy or a male dominant society. They believe that only through positive contributions by both men and women and through interaction within a well defined moral and social framework they can build a humane and decent society.
Their frame of reference is the divine guidelines that in their scriptures remind them that their relevance to the world is based on their usefulness and contribution to the humanity and in their contribution to everything good regardless who is behind that goodness.