Saturday, June 23, 2007
  Hadith Interpretation
One thing that has been bugging me of late is how people interpret hadith to mean something completely different than what they actually mean.

I talked about this a bit in regards to the famous hadith which, regarding prayer arrangements, says, "The better lines for the men are the front ones and the worse lines are the back ones; and the worse lines for the women are the front lines and the better ones are the front lines."

The clear implication is that men and women can pray in any line, and indeed were praying in any line (if not why would there be a hadith addressing the topic). Yet, this hadith is used as proof that it is haram (forbidden) for women to pray in the front rows and men to pray in the back rows; or conversely, that women must pray in the back rows.

As a general principle, in Islam when there are better or worse choices, the better choice may be ok, but the worse choices are still available to people. For instance, the Qur'an talks about women who are older not having to wear as modest a dress. It is better for them if they do, it says, but it is ok if they don't.

It would seem the same principle would apply to prayer rows mentioned in the above hadith.

Another hadith which has been interpreted oddly is the one which says that Paradise is at the feet of the mother. Many people have understood this to be praise of motherhood; that is, to mean that being a mother is exalted, and gets one paradise. But if you look at the hadith in its entirety, it's pretty obvious that it means that serving one's mother is a way into paradise.

Mu`wiyah Ibn Jahimah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that he once came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! I intend to go into Jihad. I have come to you seeking your good counsel." He (the Prophet) asked him: "Is your mother alive?" "Yes," he (Jahimah) replied. The Prophet then said: "Hold fast onto her as paradise lies near her foot." (An-Nasa'i)


Given that modern, conservative Muslims have turned motherhood into near sainthood and have used these kinds of hadiths almost like shackles to insist that motherhood is the highest aim of a woman, this kind of misinterpretation has severe repercussions to the life choices of Muslim women all over the world.

Contrast the claims that motherhood is the highest aspiration of the Muslim women to the classical position that carrying out the duties of motherhood is a right that cannot be taken away from women, but it is not a duty which they must carry out. Compare that to the Qur'anic verses which talk about sending your child to a wet nurse (a practice which the Prophet followed with his own son), vs the euphoria over the mother child bonding that we have today.

Now, I happen to be a big proponent of mother-child bonding, but I also recognize that it doesn't have the holy status that some Muslims would like to ascribe to it. The upshot of such ascription is that women's agency, their ability to choose career over intense involvement with family, are circumscribed.

Proper interpretation is sooo important!
 
Comments:
sis...the science of hadith explain how to determine the authenticity/context and interpretation of hadith, but I wanted to point out that hadith are interpreted according to what they meant in the Prophet sws's context, and we know that women prayed separately from men - they were separated by a curtain in the time of the Prophet sws, and the men did not see them.

We have to acknowledge the way the companions of the Prophet sws and his wives implemented the hadith..

Women are like diamonds, and they are beautiful and a treasure and I think due to American culture and other cultures out there, women have inferiority complexes.
 
Asalaamu Alaikum...

In many instances we may not be able to see or understand the logic of a particular hadith. Does this mean we should discard it, take no heed of it, or turn a blinds eye to it? Of course not, instead, we should abide by it and make dua that Allah S.W.A. increase us in wisdom to understand it. In this instance one area of logic would be that because a person prostrate several times during prayer it would not be compatible with modesty for women to be in front of men or even lead the prayer when men are in the ranks. Always know that there is great wisdom, rational, and benefit in hadith (Sahih) even if we cannot glimpse it as yet.
Asalaamu Alaikum.
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

My Photo
Name:
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Progressive Muslim, feminist, mom, writer, mystic, lover of the universe and Doug Schmidt, cellist, theologian and imam.


What I'm reading now



Cane River
An interesting exploration of the gradual whiting of a family through slavery to modern days.

To see an archive of all the books I've read (well the ones I've read and review since I started the blog) with comments, please click here

Causes Worth Supporting

This is just a short list -- a few of my favorites.

English Language Islamic Fiction. We need more of it. Lots more.
Pay a Teacher's Salary in Afghanistan. The Hunger site actually has a lot of worthwhile programs. You can find them all here .
Muslims for Progressive Values. My organization. We can always use donations, of time or money!
Human Rights Campaign for the glbt community
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
The ACLU I'm a card carrying member. Hope you'll become one too.
MoveOn.org. The organization that has done the most, as far as I can tell, to pull the countries progressive side together.
Network of Spiritual Progressives. Working to reclaim religion and morality for the religious left.

Blogs Worth Reading

Wanda Campbell also known as Nochipa A very gifted poet and a gentle, compassionate soul. Nochipa and I are on the same page on sooooo many things
Writeous Sister Aminah Hernandez, she's got some excellent latino pieces and always has good writing info on her blog.
Sister Scorpion aka Leila Montour - Leila is a fount of energy, quirky humor, and bad attitude. She's also a talented poet.
Muhajabah Very interesting commentary here. I don't always agree with her, but her pieces are always thought-provoking.
Georgie Dowdell Georgie is a great writer and a good friend.
Louise Marley Another great writer. I think Louise is one of the best sf writers exploring faith themes.
Ink in My Coffee Devon Ellington (who has numerous aliases) who is also the editor of Circadian Poems. A truly inspiring woman with a seemingly endless supply of energy.
Ethnically Incorrect With a name like that, isn't a given I'm going to enjoy this writer?
Freedom from the Mundane Colin Galbraith, another excellent writer, from Scotland.
The Scruffy Dog Review This is a new e-zine with an ecclectic mix of fiction, poetry, and non-fic, some really enjoyable pieces here.
Ramblings of a Suburban Soccer Mom Lara, another gentle soul, very thoughtful.
Circadian Poems A journal of poetry, new stuff up all the time.
Ye Olde Inkwell Michelle writes romance and is one of my writing buddies.
Muhammad Michael Knight The original punk Muslim writer. Like him or love him, Mike is always coming up with the unexpected.

Recent Posts
Archives

October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
July 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
February 2013
March 2013
April 2013
July 2013


Categories