More Hadith-Based Legal and Ethical Commands 

(Part VII): Items 19–21

Questioning Their Origins and Impact

Continuing our critical examination of hadith-driven Islamic rulings that often contradict the spirit and explicit teachings of the Qur’an, we present three more examples that deserve serious scrutiny. These narrations blur the line between divine guidance and folklore, shaping beliefs and behaviors that modern readers may find troubling or illogical.

19. Satan Urinates in the Ears of Sleepers

Qur’an:
Satan (Iblis/Shaytan) is consistently portrayed as a deceiver and whisperer who tempts humans toward sin (7:16–17; 114:4–5). The Qur’an never attributes any bizarre or anthropomorphic bodily actions—such as urination—to Satan.

Hadith:
According to Sahih Bukhari 2:21:245, Muhammad reportedly said:

“Satan urinates in the ears of those who sleep through prayer.”

Impact:
This narration infantilizes the moral teaching about Satan’s influence by reducing it to grotesque physical imagery. It portrays Satan almost as a pestilent creature rather than a spiritual deceiver. Such depictions have no parallel in the Qur’an and instead inject superstition and myth into Islamic ethics, potentially undermining mature moral accountability.

20. Satan Sleeps in People’s Nostrils

Qur’an:
The Qur’an never suggests that Satan physically inhabits human bodies or cavities. He remains a spiritual enemy, whispering evil but not residing inside people.

Hadith:
Sahih Bukhari 4:54:516 states:

“When anyone of you wakes from sleep and performs ablution, he must clean his nose three times, for the devil spends the night in the interior of one’s nose.”

Impact:
While cleanliness and ritual purity are commendable practices, linking nose cleansing to expelling Satan conflates hygiene with myth. This reflects how hadith literature sometimes blends practical advice with unfounded supernatural claims—an approach absent from the Qur’an’s more rational moral framework.

21. Women Cannot Travel Alone Without a Mahram

Qur’an:
The Qur’an recognizes women as moral agents responsible for their own actions (33:35; 4:124) and places no explicit restriction on women traveling alone. There is no command requiring male guardianship (mahram) for travel.

Hadith:
In Sahih Bukhari 2:20:186, Muhammad reportedly said:

“A woman should not travel for more than three days except with a mahram (male guardian).”

Impact:
This hadith forms the basis for strict travel restrictions on women in countries like Saudi Arabia and under regimes such as the Taliban’s Afghanistan. It severely curtails female autonomy and enforces male guardianship over women’s movements—practices unsupported by Qur’anic text and values.

Conclusion: Revelation Undermined by Myth and Control

These examples illustrate a disturbing pattern: hadith narrations often substitute folklore for theology, superstition for scripture, and social control for spiritual liberation. The Qur’an’s depiction of Satan as a spiritual deceiver is transformed into a caricature with bodily functions and domiciles inside human orifices. Likewise, the Qur’an’s silence on women’s travel rights is overridden by hadith rules that impose patriarchal constraints.

As these traditions accumulate, the gap widens between the Qur’an’s original message and the orthodox Islamic law that governs millions.

Should these narrations, often contradictory to revelation and reason, be accepted as divine law?
Do they illuminate the Qur’an or obscure it?
And if they contradict the Qur’an, which must be rejected?

These are difficult but unavoidable questions every honest reader of Islam must confront.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Problematic Elevation of Hadith Over the Qur’an: A Critical Polemic Response to “Why Do Islamic Scholars Sometimes Prioritize Hadith Over Qur’anic Verses?” Introduction: The Qur’an or the Hadith — Which Truly Commands Authority? Islamic scholarship claims the Qur’an is the ultimate, unaltered word of God. Yet, the very same scholars often insist that hadith—the human-recorded sayings and actions of Muhammad—sometimes override or clarify the Qur’an itself. This contradictory stance raises serious questions about textual integrity, theological consistency, and the real source of Islamic law and morality. If the Qur’an is “the Book about which there is no doubt” (Qur’an 2:2), why do we find thousands of rulings and laws being sourced primarily from hadith, often at the expense of clear Qur’anic principles? This post critically examines the logic, consequences, and hidden assumptions behind this practice. 1. The Qur’an’s Primacy Is Undermined by Overreliance on Hadith While t...
Read more
The Line of Prophets – A Continuation of the Message Isa (Jesus) – The Honored Messiah and Servant of Allah In the Islamic tradition, few prophets occupy as revered and central a place as ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (Jesus, son of Mary) . He is one of the five Ulū al-ʿAzm — the elite messengers distinguished for their endurance and unwavering resolve — along with Nūḥ, Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, and Muḥammad (peace be upon them all). His life, miracles, and eschatological role are discussed across over ninety verses in fifteen different surahs of the Qur’an, and he is referred to by name twenty-five times. Islam presents ʿĪsā not as divine, nor as the Son of God, but as a messenger of Allah , a spirit from Him (rūḥ minhu) , and His word cast upon Mary (kalimatuhu alqāhā ilā Maryam) . He was sent specifically to Banī Isrāʾīl (the Children of Israel) to revive the message of pure tawḥīd (monotheism), to confirm the Torah, and to deliver the Injīl , a scripture filled with light and guidance. A Miraculo...
Read more
  Before Islam: Decoding the Earliest Sources on Muhammad’s Movement Islamic tradition paints a vivid picture: in 610 CE, Muhammad received divine revelations in a Meccan cave, birthing Islam—a fully formed monotheistic faith with scripture, rituals, and law. Yet, the earliest non-Muslim records—Syriac, Greek, and Armenian chronicles from the 7th century—tell a starkly different story. They mention no “Islam,” no “Qur’an,” and no prophet preaching a new creed. Instead, Muhammad’s followers appear as “Hagarenes,” “Ishmaelites,” or “Saracens”—vague monotheists or tribal raiders acting under divine sanction. This evidence challenges the claim of a coherent religion descending from heaven, suggesting a fluid insurgency later mythologized into divine revelation by Abbasid scholars. This post dives into these sources, their context, and their implications, testing Islam’s narrative against the Qur’an’s own standards—proof ( Surah 2:111 ) and consistency ( Surah 4:82 ). The Islamic Narrat...
Read more