Haq's Musings: Malaysia's Ex-PM Mahathir Stirs Up Hadith Controversy
Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, the ex-prime minister of Malaysia who is credited with transforming his country to an Asian Tiger economy, recently made a controversial speech about the Hadith, the sayings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Here are a few excerpts of what Dr. Mahathir is reported by Malaysia's FMT news to have said last week at a conference in Putrajaya:
1. “We seem to have rejected the Quran in favor of the Hadith"
2. “The teachings, or the performance, or the traditions of the Prophet come after he had been given the message of Allah, which is recorded in the Quran.”
3. “Between the two (Quran and Hadith), it is obviously the Quran that is superior.”
4. “Allah is merciful and compassionate. One who is merciful and compassionate would not enjoy stoning people to death.”
To put the above quotes in perspective, let's consider the following:
1. The words of the Holy Quran were meticulously recorded and preserved in writing by the companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during his lifetime in the 6th century AD. However, the Hadith collections were compiled two centuries later by Persian scholars who lived and died in Khorasan (now Uzbekistan) and Persian (now Iran).
2. Many scientific studies have shown that honest people routinely make mistakes in recalling what they have directly seen and heard in person. Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari were compiled in 9th century by people who were distant from the source in both time and space. They relied entirely on long and complex chains of narrations for their work.
As we ponder over the above, let's deal with the suggestion to leave such matters to the "religious scholars". Should we really? Haven't we been doing it for centuries?
Leaving it to the "religious experts" has clearly not helped the Muslim ummah. It is widely believed among watchers of Islam and Muslims that taqlid is responsible for the end of the Golden Age of the Islamic Civilization (800-1100AD) and continuing decline since then, particularly in terms of the sciences and the arts.
The Holy Quran tells repeatedly to seek knowledge, think, reason and reflect on our own. Afala Ta'qilun, Afala Yatadabbarun, Afala Tatafakkarun, Afala Tubsirun and similar verses appear over 700 times in the Holy Book of Muslims, far more often than exhortation to salat (prayer), zakat (charity) and saum (fasting). and similar verses appear over 700 times in the Holy Book of Muslims, far more often than exhortation to salat (prayer), zakat (charity) and saum (fasting).
To rise again, let us Muslims do what Allah commands us to do in The Holy Quran: Learn, think, reason and reflect on our own to draw our own conclusions.
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
Rise and Fall of Islamic Civilization
The Prophet I Know
Muslims Have Few Nobel Prizes
Riaz Haq's Ramadan Sermon
Ibn Khaldun: The Father of Modern Social Sciences
Quaid-e-Azam Vision of Pakistan Inspired by Misaq-e-Madina
Obama Speaks to the Muslim World
http://www.riazhaq.com/2009/06/obama-speaks-to-muslim-world.html
Lost Discoveries by Dick Teresi
http://books.google.com/books?id=ph...a=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA5,M1
Physics of Christianity by Frank Tipler
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/350876/the_physics_of_christianity_by_frank.html?cat=38
What is Not Taught in School
How Islamic Inventors Changed the World
Jinnah's Pakistan Booms Amidst Doom and Gloom
Haq's Musings: Malaysia's Ex-PM Mahathir Stirs Up Hadith Controversy
Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, the ex-prime minister of Malaysia who is credited with transforming his country to an Asian Tiger economy, recently made a controversial speech about the Hadith, the sayings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Here are a few excerpts of what Dr. Mahathir is reported by Malaysia's FMT news to have said last week at a conference in Putrajaya:
1. “We seem to have rejected the Quran in favor of the Hadith"
2. “The teachings, or the performance, or the traditions of the Prophet come after he had been given the message of Allah, which is recorded in the Quran.”
3. “Between the two (Quran and Hadith), it is obviously the Quran that is superior.”
4. “Allah is merciful and compassionate. One who is merciful and compassionate would not enjoy stoning people to death.”
To put the above quotes in perspective, let's consider the following:
1. The words of the Holy Quran were meticulously recorded and preserved in writing by the companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during his lifetime in the 6th century AD. However, the Hadith collections were compiled two centuries later by Persian scholars who lived and died in Khorasan (now Uzbekistan) and Persian (now Iran).
2. Many scientific studies have shown that honest people routinely make mistakes in recalling what they have directly seen and heard in person. Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari were compiled in 9th century by people who were distant from the source in both time and space. They relied entirely on long and complex chains of narrations for their work.
As we ponder over the above, let's deal with the suggestion to leave such matters to the "religious scholars". Should we really? Haven't we been doing it for centuries?
Leaving it to the "religious experts" has clearly not helped the Muslim ummah. It is widely believed among watchers of Islam and Muslims that taqlid is responsible for the end of the Golden Age of the Islamic Civilization (800-1100AD) and continuing decline since then, particularly in terms of the sciences and the arts.
The Holy Quran tells repeatedly to seek knowledge, think, reason and reflect on our own. Afala Ta'qilun, Afala Yatadabbarun, Afala Tatafakkarun, Afala Tubsirun and similar verses appear over 700 times in the Holy Book of Muslims, far more often than exhortation to salat (prayer), zakat (charity) and saum (fasting). and similar verses appear over 700 times in the Holy Book of Muslims, far more often than exhortation to salat (prayer), zakat (charity) and saum (fasting).
To rise again, let us Muslims do what Allah commands us to do in The Holy Quran: Learn, think, reason and reflect on our own to draw our own conclusions.
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
Rise and Fall of Islamic Civilization
The Prophet I Know
Muslims Have Few Nobel Prizes
Riaz Haq's Ramadan Sermon
Ibn Khaldun: The Father of Modern Social Sciences
Quaid-e-Azam Vision of Pakistan Inspired by Misaq-e-Madina
Obama Speaks to the Muslim World
http://www.riazhaq.com/2009/06/obama-speaks-to-muslim-world.html
Lost Discoveries by Dick Teresi
http://books.google.com/books?id=ph...a=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA5,M1
Physics of Christianity by Frank Tipler
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/350876/the_physics_of_christianity_by_frank.html?cat=38
What is Not Taught in School
How Islamic Inventors Changed the World
Jinnah's Pakistan Booms Amidst Doom and Gloom
Haq's Musings: Malaysia's Ex-PM Mahathir Stirs Up Hadith Controversy
