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.