Hadith Difficulties
Many Muslims are very quick to attack a Hadith which they sometimes find hard to understand. Sometimes they are also very quick to claim a Hadith is false or weak if they find it seems to conflict with another hadith, and this indeed is a problem.
So therefore what should the proper response be from a Muslim who runs across a Hadith which is hard to grasp? Well for starters the Muslim should use common sense, he should not be so hasty in attacking the Hadith and putting the matter behind him. Most Muslims are not scholars, hence the smart thing one must do is if he or she runs into a Hadith that he or she doesn't understand, then simply refer it to the scholars who are qualified in such matters, and who have studied such issues.
There are two major Hadith commentaries that Muslims can access for detailed commentaries on Sahih Bukhari, as well as Sahih Muslim. Now if a Muslim cannot access these two commentaries, then he can personally consult a sheikh/scholar face to face, through the phone, or through the internet.
The Quran and the Sunnah of the prophet have it made it very clear that the average Muslim must refer their enquiries to the scholars and the Ulema, who will explain such matters.
This all sounds very logical and obvious, but the problem is is that many Muslims don't follow this simple route! This is very perplexing to understand. For instance if you are in school, or university, and you are confused about a matter what would you normally do? You would consult your teacher, professor, and even your parents till you understood the specific difficulty. The same applies to any other line of work, anytime a person is confused about a specific situation or subject, he or she will contact the expert in the matter for clarification. So why do not Muslims follow this route when it comes to the Hadiths?
Off course I am not saying all Muslims never refer to a scholar or learned one when they have an enquiry about a Hadith, but the fact is that many Muslims DON'T consult an expert in Islam when they find a Hadith difficulty and what they end up doing is throwing the Hadith out and claiming it is false simply because they cannot understand it, and I have personally seen this.
So that is the first one must do, you find a Hadith difficulty, then go to a learned person in Islam until you get your answer, do not ignore it and keep reading on to get more confused.
Now what else should be done when one encounters a Hadith difficulty, well, one must use his common sense. Sometimes Hadiths may sound and seem strange, and a person cannot really understand what is being said, and he begins to think of all sort of ideas and explanations, which range from the wild to the ludicrous. Instead of doing all this, simply appeal to you own common sense, do not go into deep imaginative thoughts, but keep to common sense and sometimes all you need is common sense to understand what seems to be a very complicating Hadith.
Thirdly, something you must always keep in mind is this; Hadiths are a collection of sayings from the prophet's life time. Now think of it, imagine someone were to record many of your sayings and conversations, including that of many of your friends, in a period of 23 years, and this were compiled into book sections. Do you think there wouldn't be parts which sound confusing and contradictory?
Folks, if someone were to simply record all your talking in one day, and put this in a book, one would find many strange things they cant understand, and things that seem to be contradictory. Sometimes you have to be in the very conversation, and the very moment to really understand what is meant and what is being said. Always keep this in mind when you read a Hadith.
Fourthly, Muslims must ALWAYS remember that the prophet Muhammad is a PROPHET, and he knows and can explain matters of the unseen thanks to the knowledge that Allah has bestowed on him. Hence off course many things you read in the Hadith will be hard to grasp and understand, because they are things of the Unseen which Allah only really knows about.
I think this is the best advice I can give to someone who does run into a Hadith which they find hard to understand. Hopefully many of you will apply it!
And Allah Knows Best!
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