Saturday, December 5, 2015

The Islamic State: Nothing To Do With the Prophet of Islam?



According to a recent "spoken word" video, that has been making the rounds on the internet of late, the Islamic State has nothing to do with the prophet of Islam. Take five minutes of your day to watch the above video. This is the reaction of the vast majority of western Muslims to the actions carried out by the Islamic State in the name of their religion. The video cites various ahadith which purportedly show that Muhammad was a man of peace.

I commend this video's producers, as well as the many Muslims who condemn the appalling atrocities that have been carried out by the Islamic State. However, the problem is that the portrayal of Muhammad presented by the video is very selective, and there is no set of principles offered for consistently selecting the seemingly peaceful ahadith over the less peaceful ones -- much less any kind of justification for such a set of principles. The method of authenticating ahadith from so-called isnad (chains of narration) is farcical, and not employed in any kind of consistent manner. Short of such a methodology, the selection of ahadith by the gentleman in the video is no more valid than the selection of ahadith by the Islamic State.

Here is a sample of just four ahadith that the video did not mention. All of the following have been selected from Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, regarded as the two most authoritative Hadith collections for Sunni Muslims (representing around 85% of the global Muslim population):

Sahih Bukhari chapter 2, no. 35: "Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "The person who participates in (Holy battles) in Allah's cause and nothing compels him to do so except belief in Allah and His Apostles, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise (if he is killed in the battle as a martyr). Had I not found it difficult for my followers, then I would not remain behind any sariya going for Jihad and I would have loved to be  martyred in Allah's cause and then made alive, and then martyred and then made alive, and then martyred in His cause."

Sahih Bukhari chapter 8, no. 387: "Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah.""

Sahih Bukhari chapter 52, no. 176: "Narrated Abdullah bin Umar: Allah's Apostle said, "You will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."

Sahih Muslim chapter 19, no. 4366: "It has been narrated by Umar bin al-Khattib that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslims."

There are a lot more where those came from. A lot more. So why is the selection of ahadith in the video any more valid than the selection given above?

9 comments:

Unknown said...

It's funny because there are only three criteria that dictate whether a hadith is valid:

1) Its chain of narration and whether Islamic tradition dictates that it's reliable
2) Its authenticity rating
3) Whether it's in conflict with what the Koran teaches.

Many could argue that the "bad" hadith are in conflict with Koranic teachings. Point taken, but at the very least the Koran is in conflict with itself. Its two-faced nature makes it impossible to tell what it actually wanted Muslims to do. So that solves nothing.

The other two criteria are invalid because they, as someone on Answering Islam (probably Sam) pointed out, are examples of circular logic. They assume Islamic tradition is valid, which must be proven. Since virtually no archaeological evidence exists to support these hadith, especially those which simply relate that Muhammad said this or that, this test has been failed badly.

As a result, the "good" hadith are no more valid or invalid than the "bad" hadith that justify ISIS' actions. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, so if we're going to throw out "bad" hadith based on a certain set of rules, we have to apply that same set of rules to the "good" hadith as well - and since we've demonstrated that none of the hadith have any real validity, it becomes obvious that the selection of "good" hadith over "bad" hadith is a mere case of cherrypicking. There is no consistent logic being applied here; the end result is mere propaganda, which ignores as poisonous to its case any sort of logic or consistency.

Elder said...

Half way I thought I had him figured out and that at the end of the video it would transpire that he was talking about the Jesus. But I was wrong.

mkzamel said...

its so sad that the very Prophet that he admires would curse him since singing is Haram in Islam :(

TAREK said...

Mkzamel,
I had two points to comment on but you are ahead of mewith one of them; Instruments he so called prophet if alivetoday with get slaughter like a sheep.
My second point is about slavery; he is a westernize muslim. I am black and it pains me to read that muhammad exchanged two black slaves for one white slave. Not that I ma racist but muhammad was. He looked down on black people, compaired us lezard and so on....
This guy needs to do his home work. My question to him is: What has IS did that muhammad did not do? In fact IS is a bit softer compairing to what muhammad did. Please do not surat 3 aya 28 (Taqquyya) on us we know your religion more than you.
MAY GOD BLESS you all brethren

Unknown said...

I think Muhammad made such ridiculous prohibitions because he was himself illiterate & untalented. He came from a tribe of artists and felt inferior because he had no artistic ability, but I believe he wanted all that they had - which of course was wealth, women, & resources. He felt he would have none of that if he didn't have or feign some kind of artistic talent.

That's probably why such ludicrous verses as the Appeal to Literary Excellence exist in the Koran, and why Muhammad makes such frequent reference to books - especially in the hadith where he says everyone will receive a book of all the things they did in their lives for use in their judgment on the Last Day.

But being unable to draw or create music, he outlawed these things so no one could fancy themselves better than him - or, at the very least, so he wouldn't have to feel so jealous of someone with actual talent. Islam is so controlling not just in its religious rituals (the constant praying and so forth) but in every other area of life to create the illusion of an all-powerful being who deserves that kind of respect, but instead as the result of Muhammad being a control freak because he wanted to repress individuality & self-expression since he was so bad at it himself and was jealous of the success others had with their artistic skills.

Bob said...

Question - Does the principle of abrogation (as it applies to the Koran) also apply to Hadith collections, and/or the Sunna?

Unknown said...

i advice every one to read the holy quran first and decide with him self if this video give wrong view or not
here some Verse translation in quran
"And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a mercy to the worlds." [Quran 21:107]
Therefore, treat not the orphan with oppression. And do not repel the beggar." [Quran 93: 9-10]
Allaah Says (what means): "And My mercy encompasses every thing." [Quran 7:156]
Arabic: لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ
Sherali: ALLAH forbids you not respecting those who have not fought against you on account of your religion, and who have not driven you out from your homes, that you be kind to them and deal equitably with them; surely, ALLAH loves those who are equitable

lminterests said...

I have been told by Moslems that you need the Sunna to properly interpret the Koran.
I do not recognize the perfect Mohammed in the Sunna the spoken word artist described.

As for the Singing it is spoken word and might be Halel or at least not prohibited. The poem doesn't seem that different from the call to prayer.

Mohamed Elmahalawy: I appreciate your verses but what to do with other verses that are not gentle? The Sunna has Mohammed doing things that I would not want done today. They where maybe accepted in the 7th century. They are not today.

Unknown said...

I THINK HE REALLY IS TALKING ABOUT JESUS....SURELY