Erroneous Beliefs Adopted in Islam

Introduction

History is littered with examples of the dehumanization of certain groups of people in order to marginalize them in society, or to expropriate their land and resources. This sometimes resulted in the genocide of entire civilizations. This strategy is alive and well and still works today, with Islamophobia steadily increasing in the West. Demonizing Muslims makes colonization of their countries for territory and oil more justifiable and palatable. While bigotry and greed will remain with us for as long as humans are around, by perpetuating many of the common myths this critique covers below (not a comprehensive list), Muslims are unwittingly aiding and abetting Islamophobia. Muslims, especially those living in the West, have an obligation to prevent the spread of misinformation about the message of Islam.

No religion is free from influences either related to previous beliefs or cultural surroundings, and Islam is no exception. For example, Jesus’s birthday is unknown, so when the Romans accepted Christianity en masse, Saturnalia, the most popular of Roman festivals dedicated to the Roman god Saturn and celebrated on December 25, became Jesus’s birthday. Similarly, the modern Christmas tree originated in Germany, where families set up a paradise tree in their homes on December 24, the religious feast day of Adam and Eve. Incidentally, the Prophet Muhammad’s date of birth is unknown too (historians disagree on both the month and day), so Muslims settled on a month and day to acknowledge and celebrate his birthday.

Muslims believe that Islam is the perfect religion, as stated in the Qur’anic verse: This day I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion / way of life.(Q5:3) As such, Muslims developed a sense of complacency and superciliousness. Since Islam is perfect, how could there be any beliefs or practices that are in discordance with its message? The fact is that just like the other monotheistic faiths, many beliefs and customs that are not part and parcel of Islam crept into the religion over the centuries.

In terms of guidance, Allah (God) said that he left nothing out of the Qur’an (Q6:38). This does not mean that the Qur’an has a detailed answer for everything, rather it provides a framework to build upon. Allah expects us to use our intellect and ijtihad (analytical reasoning) to determine solutions as civilization progresses and new questions arise, using the Qur’an as a foundational guide. Unfortunately, the majority of Muslims believe that the Qur’an is incomplete without a secondary source of legislative guidance, i.e., the hadith (sayings and actions attributed to our noble Prophet Muhammad). In some cases, the hadith take precedence over the Qur’an since it is preposterously claimed that some hadith are of divine origin (Qur’an purists believe that all hadith should be rejected).

No doubt the hadith are integral to gaining some insight into the Prophet’s life and the challenges he faced propagating his message, so they cannot be completely discarded. Furthermore, the hadith enlighten us on how to perform ritual worship, although there are variations so this lacks uniformity. Six hadith collections are considered authentic, with the most popular being Bukhari and Muslim. They were all compiled in the ninth century, more than 200 years after the Prophet's death. Interestingly, one of the earliest compilations from the eighth century – Imam Malik’s Muwatta – is largely ignored and hardly cited. There are thousands of hadith that have nothing to do with what the Prophet said or did, and in many cases large numbers are complete fabrications. Sifting through what is authentic has become a science itself, and the criteria vary so much that this is an ongoing, confusing conundrum.

While certain philosophies and customs are not necessarily antithetical to faith and quite difficult to detach from one’s way of life, some aspects can have dire consequences, especially when they are infused with religion and result in fatalism or adverse consequences for individuals and society at large. Muslims born and raised in the West are already facing an identity crisis. Moreover, recent research has shown that about 50% of young Muslims reported experiencing bullying in school. Passing on misinformation to future generations of Muslims does them a disservice, creates confusion, and in many cases drive younger, educated Muslims (especially those raised in the West) away from the faith.

The Mahdi and Jesus

The following Qur’anic verse is usually cited to support Jesus’s second coming, consider the contradictory translations.

And, Behold, this [divine writ] is indeed a means to know [that] the Last Hour [is bound to come]; hence, have no doubt whatever about it, but follow Me: this [alone] is a straight way. (Q43:61) - Muhammad Asad

And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow Me: this is a Straight Way. (Q43:61) - Yusuf Ali

The Mahdi, in Islamic eschatology, is a messianic savior who will fill the earth with justice and equity, restore the true religion, and usher in a golden age lasting seven, eight, or nine years before the end of the world. The Mahdi originated in Shi'ite doctrine and many Sunnis now believe this fanciful tale. He is supposed to pave the way for Jesus to return and battle with the anti-Christ. Nowhere in the Qur'an does it mention the Mahdi and anti-Christ, or that Jesus is alive and well. If he is, it would make him superhuman, contradicting the Qur’anic position that he was just another human prophet. These stories are from the hadith, and in all likelihood entered Muslim belief via Christian converts to Islam. Unfortunately, the result is that many Muslims feel that they are powerless to do anything until their saviors arrive to solve all their problems.

Punishment in the Grave

The Qur’an says nothing about being questioned or punished in the grave, in fact, quite the opposite. Once we die, life ends, we’re resurrected for judgment, and we take on a new life form that is eternal. The Qur’an states that the dead cannot hear (Q27:80, 30:52), yet the hadith are so replete with conditions in the grave that entire volumes have been written on the subject. Essentially if you die closer to the day of judgment, you can consider yourself lucky as you did not experience a lengthy life six feet below, similar to those who passed on hundreds or even thousands of years before you did. Based on the hadith, we’re supposed to believe that our merciful God will punish us twice (those deserving of it), once below ground, and again in the hereafter.

Death Penalty for Apostasy and Insulting the Prophet

The Qur'an says nothing about punishing apostasy with death, this would go against its underlying message of free will and choice – there is no compulsion in religion (Q2:256). The concept of apostasy has nothing to do with religion, but rather sedition and subversion of the state. Even today, some countries still have the death penalty for traitors whose actions result in the loss of life. Somehow apostasy got conflated with abandoning the faith, and many Muslims still believe that someone who leaves Islam should be punished with death.

Given the Qur’an’s emphasis on the sanctity of life, it is curious that many Muslims believe that people should be killed for insulting the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w). There is no punishment mentioned in the Qur’an for this, it states that all prophets were persecuted when they delivered God’s message and some were even killed (Q2:61). In fact, while some hadith promote death for insulting the Prophet, others detail his kindness towards his enemies. There is a famous story that a woman would put garbage on the Prophet’s doorstep in defiance of his message, and one day she fell sick and could not place the garbage anymore. When the Prophet found out, he visited her to check on her well-being. Since her actions can be considered worse than insults, shouldn’t he have killed her upon his visit? Instead, there are numerous reported examples where the Prophet showed empathy and forgiveness towards his adversaries, including when he finally entered Mecca triumphantly.

Punishment for Adultery

The Qur'an is clear in its prescribed punishment for adultery: As for the adulteress and the adulterer, flog each of them with a hundred stripes, and let not compassion for them keep you from carrying out God's law, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day; and let a group of the believers witness their chastisement. (Q24:2)

There is a hadith that claims that there was a Qur’anic verse about stoning adulterers to death, and it was eaten by a goat so it did not make it into the Qur’an. Moreover, in the Prophet’s last sermon, there is one version that includes stoning to death for adulterers, and another where there is no mention of it.

It must be emphasized that in order for punishment to be meted out for adultery, there must be four witnesses to the act, something that is extremely difficult if not impossible unless fornication is blatantly rampant. This does not mean that people should start peeking through their neighbors' windows and doors to see what goes on in private. The Qur'an's objective when it comes to adultery (and this approach should apply across the board for any perceived Qur'anic rulings), is that an unlawful act must be proven beyond any shadow of a doubt. Qur’anic rulings are about promoting a just, civil society. What goes on in private is nobody’s business. Unfortunately, stoning to death, a Jewish / Biblical law that worked its way into Islam via the hadith, takes precedence over the Qur’an’s prescribed punishment and is still practiced in some Muslim countries.

Honor Killing

Honor killing, which is often the murder of a woman or girl by male family members, is a cultural practice. The killers justify their actions by claiming that the victim brought dishonor to the family name or prestige. Nowhere in the Qur’an is this abhorrent practice mentioned or promoted. Unfortunately, most religions of the world developed in patriarchal cultures, which were male centered, male dominated, and gave men sole authority to interpret the texts and assume proprietary rights over the lives of women. To these men who are killing their wives, daughters, and sisters, their honor is something that is priceless, and the lives of their female relatives are worth very little. In their eyes, women are replaceable but their honor is not.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

FGM is another horrific practice that predates Islam, and is practiced by both Muslims and non-Muslims, although media reports about this ongoing gruesome ritual tend to focus on Muslims. FGM scars women physically and emotionally for life, yet Muslim scholars have done little to rail against this custom. Speaking out against this barbaric practice would bring into question the hadith that support it, which would place these cowardly scholars in a quandary.

Hijab (Head-Covering)

There is probably no other topic in Islam that causes more contentiousness than the hijab. There are several hadith about head-covering as a religious requirement to demonstrate modesty and protect women from male gawking. In its Qur'anic use, hijab actually refers to a wall or curtain and applied specifically to the Prophet Muhammad's wives, but over the centuries, the interpretation became synonymous with head-covering. Muslims usually cite Q24:31 and Q33:59 when making a case for the hijab, which tells the believing women "to draw their khimar (typically translated, incorrectly, as head-covering) over their bosoms and not reveal their charms..." (first instance), and then "to draw over themselves some of their outer garments when in public so that they are recognized as decent women and not annoyed..." (second instance). In fact, the khimar, which was fashionably worn at the time, was a thin piece of cloth attached to the top of the head that hung loosely over the wearer’s back. It was reported that the hypocrites used to badger Muslim women during the early days of Islam, and when confronted by Muslim men, they would claim that they did not know the women were Muslim. The verse was revealed telling the women to draw their khimar over their exposed cleavage (another style that was in vogue at the time) so that they would be identified as Muslim women and avoid harassment. In other words, the ruling was to cover partially exposed breasts (not hair) as a form of identification to prevent provocation.

Head-covering is another pre-Islamic tradition that worked its way into Islam. Currently, it remains a mandated form of dress and identity especially for female Muslims. As can be expected from this custom, in some parts of the Muslim world where sunshine is abundant, Muslim women lack vitamin D. As the renowned academic Fazlur Rahman posited, if there is a ruling based on certain conditions, and those conditions no longer exist, then the ruling – even a Qur’anic one – no longer applies. Naturally, there are several hadith that dictate how women should dress, in some instances claiming that only the hands and face should be exposed, and in others, the more extreme form of attire with only the eyes visible, or in the case of Afghan women under the Taliban, no part of the body being shown.

The distinguished intellectual Amina Wadud observed: The Qur’an establishes a universal notion regarding matters of dress and asserts that ‘the dress of piety is the best.’ However, Shari’a (Islamic law) uses the Qur’anic references to particular seventh century Arabian styles of dress as the basis of its legal conclusion regarding modesty. Consequently, wearing a particular item of dress (for example, the head-covering / hijab) is deemed an appropriate demonstration of modesty. Universalizing the veil also universalizes the ‘culturally and economically determined demonstrations of modesty’ in seventh century Arab society, thus imparting a cultural specificity to the Qur’an’s teachings. Ideas of modesty vary among cultures, and taking the approach of universalizing seventh century Arab culture actually limits the application of the Qur’anic teachings. What the Qur’an teaches and what we need to understand is the ‘principle of modesty, not the veiling and seclusion which were manifestations particular to [the Arab] context.’ Even though the Qur’an offers universal moral guidance, the ‘mere fact that it was revealed in seventh century Arabia, when the Arabs held certain perceptions and misconceptions about women and were involved in certain lewd practices against them, resulted in some injunctions specific to that culture.’

Aisha's Age

Narrated Aisha: The Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old. Hisham said: I have been informed that Aisha remained with the Prophet for nine years (i.e., till his death). (Sahih al-Bukhari 5134, Book 67, Hadith 70)

Aisha's age has been grossly misreported in the hadith narratives. On the basis of other historical data, she was at least fifteen, or more likely eighteen years of age at the time of her marriage. As reported in the above hadith, Aisha was six years old when she went to live with the Prophet, and their marriage was consummated when she was nine years old. What is conveniently ignored is that this report came from a geriatric male who was already having memory issues. It is required in Islam that a woman is mature and has reached an age where she can make a decision about her future husband, or the process of the marriage offer to and acceptance by the bride would be pointless. It is unthinkable that our noble Prophet would violate this condition. Here again, our so-called scholars have been quiet on this matter since it would call into question their sacrosanct hadith.

Inequality of Women

The Qur’an is emphatic that men and women are created equal and will be rewarded accordingly: Verily, for all men and women who have surrendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and women who are true to their word, and all men and women who are patient in adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves [before God], and all men and women who give in charity, and all self-denying men and self-denying women, and all men and women who are mindful of their chastity, and all men and women who remember God unceasingly: for [all of] them has God readied forgiveness of sins and a mighty reward. (Q33:35)

Some Muslims contend that because the Qur’an requires two female witnesses for each male, and since they only get half the inheritance of a male, then that is proof that they have half a brain and are not equal. What they misunderstand is that in the Arab culture at the time, given the way women were treated, e.g., female babies were buried alive, the Qur’anic revelation went through a process of gradualism that was meant to be ongoing. It would be absurd to argue today that if a male witness is a janitor, and the female witness a lawyer, we still need an additional female witness because the Qur’an says so and the legislation is immutable. We may as well postulate that since the Qur’an suggested the freeing of a slave as a commendable act but didn’t abolish slavery, it should still be practiced today. Anyway, there is no shortage of hadith that disparage women as second and even third-class citizens.

Non-Muslims as Second-Class Citizens

Umar heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslims. (Sahih Muslim Hadith 814)

The above is another example of the revered hadith that have no place in Islam. It is unthinkable that the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w), who in the early days of Islam sent the fledgling Muslim community to seek refuge with a Christian King in Abyssinia, would then turn against all Jews and Christians and want to expel them. Another common misconception is that since non-Muslims were required to pay a jizya tax, this makes them unequal in a majority Muslim nation. Historically, the jizya tax was a fee for protection provided to non-Muslims by the Muslim ruler, including exemption from military service for non-Muslims, for permission to practice a non-Muslim faith in a Muslim state, and their (non-Muslims') allegiance to the Muslim state and its laws. There was no consistency or fixed tax rate, it varied based on circumstances.

Since most (if not all) Muslims supposedly prefer democracy, it would be the height of hypocrisy for Muslims living in the West to demand equal rights as citizens, then turn around and declare that non-Muslims cannot have the same equal rights if the situation was reversed. All humans are created equal regardless of professed denomination, and are to be treated as such, i.e., there is no second-class status for non-Muslims living in a majority Muslim state.

Abrogation in the Qur’an

Muslims sometimes cite this verse to justify that some Qur’anic verses abrogate others: Any message which We annul or consign to oblivion We replace with a better or a similar one.[87] Do you not know that God has the power to will anything? (Q2:106)

The great Muslim intellectual, Muhammad Asad, covers this in his note 87 regarding the above verse: The principle laid down in this passage – relating to the supersession of the Biblical dispensation by that of the Qur'an – has given rise to an erroneous interpretation by many Muslim theologians. The word ayah ("message") occurring in this context is also used to denote a "verse" of the Qur'an (because every one of these verses contains a message). Taking this restricted meaning of the term ayah, some scholars conclude from the above passage that certain verses of the Qur'an have been "abrogated" by God's command before the revelation of the Qur'an was completed. Apart from the fancifulness of this assertion – which calls to mind the image of a human author correcting, on second thought, the proofs of his manuscript, deleting one passage and replacing it with another – there does not exist a single reliable tradition to the effect that the Prophet ever declared a verse of the Qur'an to have been "abrogated".

At the root of the so-called "doctrine of abrogation" may lie the inability of some of the early commentators to reconcile one Qur'anic passage with another: a difficulty which was overcome by declaring that one of the verses in question had been "abrogated". This arbitrary procedure explains also why there is no unanimity whatsoever among the upholders of the "doctrine of abrogation" as to which, and how many, Qur'an verses have been affected by it; and, furthermore, as to whether this alleged abrogation implies a total elimination of the verse in question from the context of the Qur'an, or only a cancellation of the specific ordinance or statement contained in it. In short, the "doctrine of abrogation" has no basis whatever in historical fact, and must be rejected. On the other hand, the apparent difficulty in interpreting the above Qur'anic passage disappears immediately if the term ayah is understood, correctly, as "message", and if we read this verse in conjunction with the preceding one, which states that the Jews and the Christians refuse to accept any revelation which might supersede that of the Bible: for, if read in this way, the abrogation relates to the earlier divine messages and not to any part of the Qur'an itself.

Exclusive Rights to Heaven

In Islam, heaven is not reserved for just one denomination, although there are hadith that claim that even among Muslims, many will go to hell: “The Jews split into seventy-one sects, one of which will be in Paradise and seventy in Hell. The Christians split into seventy-two sects, seventy-one of which will be in Hell and one in Paradise. I swear by the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, my nation will split into seventy-three sects, one of which will be in Paradise and seventy-two in Hell.” (Sunan Ibn Majah 3992, Hadith 67)

On the other hand, the Qur’an states that everyone is eligible for heaven if they meet the following criteria.

Yes indeed: everyone who surrenders his whole being unto God, and is a doer of good, shall have his reward with his Sustainer; and all such need have no fear, and neither shall they grieve. (Q2:112)

Indeed, the believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabians – whoever truly believes in God and the Last Day and does good will have their reward with their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve. (Q22:17)

Miraj / Ascension

There are so many fanciful tales about the Prophet’s ascension to heaven that they run the gamut. As Muhammad Asad noted, since the Prophet himself did not leave any clear-cut explanation of this experience, Muslim thinkers – including the Prophet's Companions – have always widely differed as to its true nature. The great majority of the Companions believed that both the Night Journey and the Ascension were physical occurrences – in other words, that the Prophet was borne bodily to Jerusalem and then to heaven – while a minority were convinced that the experience was purely spiritual. Among the latter we find, in particular, the name of Aisha, the Prophet's widow and most intimate companion of his later years, who declared emphatically that “he was transported only in his spirit, while his body did not leave its place.” Against this, the theologians who maintain that the Night Journey and the Ascension were physical experiences refer to the corresponding belief of most of the Companions – without, however, being able to point to a single tradition to the effect that the Prophet himself described it as such.

When it comes to what transpired in heaven during this experience, it again stretches credence. The Qur’an provides very little detail, other than that the journey was for the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w) to see some of God’s signs. However, based on the hadith, we’re supposed to believe that the Prophet Muhammad met with earlier prophets in the heavens, even though the Qur’an states categorically that all prophets who preceded him have died (Q3:144). Additionally, Allah apparently does not know our limitations, so Moses has to keep sending the Prophet back and forth to negotiate with Allah regarding how many prayers we’re capable of performing daily. This ends with the prayers being reduced from fifty to five, with Muslims getting the reward of fifty for having only prayed five. Other aspects of the journey have been embellished, e.g., the Prophet mounting a mythical winged creature named Buraq. In Greek mythology, Pegasus, the winged horse, shares some similarities with Buraq. Pegasus was also known for its ability to fly and was ridden by the Greek hero Bellerophon.

Predestination

There are hadith that claim that our lives are predestined before we’re born, so everything we do in life is already written and we have no control. This puerile view goes against the purpose of the Qur’an, i.e., to provide guidance for humanity. If everything is already preordained, then what is the purpose of guidance? As Zamakhshari noted, it would be illogical for our merciful God to deliberately will humans to go astray, and then punish them for it. Qadr, sometimes interpreted as predestination, is really Allah’s universal laws that follow cause and effect. Predestination is especially associated with the Protestant reformer John Calvin.

The Syrian scholar Muhammad Shahrur explains in his book "The Qur'an, Morality and Critical Reason" that to know the outcome of an act beforehand, before the act has been carried out, would mean that Allah can work Himself through history from the end towards the beginning, against the flow of history, regressing in time. But this is, according to Shahrur, a logical impossibility, since even God has to obey the law of evolution and progression of time. Acts are not predetermined, only determined after they have been done. Strictly speaking, the notion of the divine predestination of human acts and events in nature and society contradicts Allah’s objective law of existence and is to be rejected both theologically and empirically.

Riba / Interest

The Qur'an states the following about riba: You who have attained faith! Do not gorge yourselves on usury, doubling and re-doubling it – but remain conscious of God, so that you might attain to a happy state. (Q3:130)

When one borrowed money in the pre-Islamic period and promised to pay it within a year, he would be asked at the end of that period for the amount due. If he could not pay it, he would be given an extension of another year, but the amount owed would be doubled, as the above verse states. If at the end of the second year, he could not pay, the amount owed would again be doubled, meaning that the amortization amount would have been, in many cases, exponentially several times greater than the principal loan amount, making it almost impossible for the borrower to repay. This is the practice the Qur'an is addressing as "riba", which in today's terms is more akin to loan sharking.

Muslims have taken the Qur'anic prohibition to an extreme and forbidden all forms of interest. I have yet to come across a Muslim who can define a plan for a financial institution to generate a profit that covers inflation, rent, utilities, salaries, etc. and not charge interest in some form. Some Muslims have come up with what they term "Shari'a compliant" loans, which generate interest but it is not referred to as such.

Saint Worship / Taqlid (Blind Following)

The Qur'an is a message for the average individual and it never claimed to be a complex book. However, later Muslims somehow decided that they were incapable of understanding the message and needed to rely on "men of learning" to interpret the Qur'an for them. Taqlid (blind following) was originally recommended for the common man although it was long conceded that even the common man has the power of discernment enough to decide between conflicting views. Later, however, taqlid became rampant and enveloped almost all members of Muslim society. The Qur'an is all about individual accountability and appeals to each person's reason, it rejects the popular belief in unqualified "intercession" by living or dead saints or prophets.

Moon Sighting

The Prophet’s alleged command (based on hadith) to look for the moon to start / end the lunar month was not intrinsically about naked-eye sighting of the moon, but ascertaining the start and end of the month. In an era with such technological advances as fingerprints and DNA, and pinpointing to the second the moon’s conjunction when it starts to emit light, it is infantile to argue for adherence to archaic rules and methods. The moon sighting ritual only tends to take on additional significance to start and end Ramadan, Muslims are content to rely on calculations for the other months, with one more exception being Dhul Hijjah (the month of hajj). In this case, most Muslims typically rely on the Saudis to declare the start of the month, since the Eid Al-Adha celebration is supposed to be in synchronization with the pilgrims. When it comes to the daily prayers, those who advocate moongazing are content to look at watches and clocks, when they should be measuring shadows.

Prophet Muhammad and Miracles

The following Qur'anic verses show that people asked for miracles, however, God states that people would find excuses not to believe even if miracles were shown to them.

Now they swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if a miracle were shown to them, they would indeed believe in this [divine writ]. Say: "Miracles are in the power of God alone." And for all you know, even if one should be shown to them, they would not believe... (Q6:109)

And yet, when you [O Prophet] do not produce any miracle for them, some [people] say, "Why do you not seek to obtain it [from God]? Say: "I only follow whatever is being revealed to me by my Sustainer: this [revelation] is a means of insight from your Sustainer, and a guidance and grace unto people who will believe. (Q7:203)

There are miracles attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w), e.g., splitting the moon, water flowing from his fingers in the middle of the desert so that people could perform wudu (ablution), spitting in dough and creating bread from it for a thousand people without the bread being depleted after the people had eaten (similar to the Biblical story about Jesus doing the same), etc. It seems that these stories were created to elevate the Prophet Muhammad as God's greatest creation, given that there are stories recounting miracles performed by the other prophets who preceded him. There are many fortune-telling events also attributed to the Prophet, including signs of the day of judgment, however, these are all fabrications.

Music

“People among my nation will drink wine, calling it by another name, and musical instruments will be played for them and singing girls (will sing for them). Allah will cause the earth to swallow them up, and will turn them into monkeys and pigs.” Sunan Ibn Majah 4020

As the old adage goes: “Music is the spice of life,” or as the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote: “Music is the universal language of mankind.” There is nothing in the Qur’an about music or its prohibition, however, as expected, the hadith have once again forbidden what is permissible.

As Khaled Abou El Fadl outlined in his excellent book “Reasoning with God,” music has existed in every society as a basic form of human expression. Music plays a crucial and undeniable role in the psychological constitution of human beings and in the social and political institutions of every human society. It is a core component of the matrix of intuitive pleasures that defines beauty and aesthetics in human life.

Some Muslims believe that there is no room for music in Islam, while others who permit it claim that only drums can be used. Apparently, there were guitars, saxophones, etc. during the seventh century and these were all forbidden in favor of drums.

Conclusion

Allah says in the Qur’an: The vilest of all creatures in the sight of God are those deaf, those dumb ones who do not use their reason. (Q8:22)

Do they not then reflect on the Qur’an? Or are there locks upon their hearts? (Q47:24)

Each individual is unique, like a fingerprint. As such, our faculties and ability to discern depend on numerous factors, including anatomy, environment, access to education, etc. Someone who is fortunate enough to be educated in a university will be judged differently from an illiterate living in poverty. Academics like Fazlur Rahman, Khaled Abou El Fadl, Nasr Abu Zaid, Amina Wadud, Jonathan Brown, et. al. – intellectuals who have attended and taught Islamic Studies in universities – are seldom mentioned or known among Muslims. Instead, many so-called Muslim scholars – individuals who just memorize Qur’anic verses and hadith and quote them out of context, and are therefore uninformed and unworthy of their positions – are considered authoritative educators. These so-called scholars tend to just parrot the aforementioned “urban legends” to lay Muslims, thus perpetuating and exacerbating regression in the Muslim world.

Thomas Edison postulated that only five percent of people think. While his percentage is debatable, his point is that a small percentage of humans use their God-given intellect. If a similar number of Muslims use their reason (which incidentally, the Qur’an advocates in numerous verses), then it is safe to assume that the majority of Muslims will find the above subject matter blasphemous. For those who believe in seeking knowledge from the cradle to the grave, there is an abundance of academic material available for each topic so Muslims are encouraged to investigate further and draw their own conclusions, or in Allah’s words: reflect and use their reason. And Allah knows best, may He guide us all and advance our intellect, ameen.

Epilogue

Some observations on the Prophet Muhammad's life and hadith in general.

1) The Prophet Muhammad was born in A.D 570 and got married to Khadijah in A.D 595 at the age of 25.

2) He received his first revelation at the age of 40 (A.D 610). Prior to this, little attention would have been paid to his life.

3) Three years later in A.D 613, the Prophet went public with his message. For much of his ministry, the Prophet struggled with his fledgling community for survival.

4) It was only after the Prophet arrived in Madina in A.D 622 (at age 52) that he was able to start building a community, but even there, the struggle was still ongoing and the Muslims continued to battle the unbelievers and hypocrites.

5) Three major battles were fought: A.D 624 (Badr – victory), A.D 625 (Uhud – defeat), and A.D 627 (Trench – victory).

6) In A.D 630 in the waning years of his life at the age of 60, the Prophet entered Mecca victorious and consolidated the Arabian Peninsula under Islam, which is when people really entered the religion in droves.

7) In A.D 632, the Prophet died in Madina and was buried there (may Allah bless him for all eternity).

Given the above chronology of events, the Prophet had very little time to sit down and issue edicts about the minutiae of daily life as well as the afterlife as described in many of the hadith. Both Ali and Umar were with the Prophet for most of his ministry, and we have a little over 500 hadith from each of them. Abu Bakr falls in the same category and we have about 140 hadith from him. Abu Huraira spent less than two years with the Prophet, and he reported over 5,300 hadith.

The fact is that thousands of hadith stating things that the Prophet said and did are falsely attributed to him, yet many Muslims do not think twice about slandering our noble Messenger on an almost daily basis. As Islam spread and the companions (and companions of the companions) traveled to distant places to deliver the message, they were faced with numerous situations that they had not encountered before, and had to make decisions on the fly so to speak. In order to give these rulings provenance and avoid chaos, the natural thing to do when questions arose about these decisions was to claim that the Prophet was heard or seen saying or doing this and that. However, these hadith are just a subset of the entire corpus.

In summary, a significant number of the tens of thousands of hadith that we have today from the various sources have little or nothing to do with our noble Prophet. As Jonathan Brown noted in his seminal work "Misquoting Muhammad" (no doubt the title was inspired by Bart Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus"), many thousands of hadith were fabricated for a variety of reasons, especially after the Prophet's death. This is also the consensus of a number of other Muslim academics.

The Qur'an has to be our ultimate guide, and the numerous hadith that contradict its universal message must be summarily rejected. Furthermore, many of these "urban legends" not only insult the Prophet, they are an affront to our Merciful and Compassionate Creator. May Allah continue to guide and bless us, and increase us in knowledge, ameen.

Posted November 28, 2024