I meant about you continuing to undertake your quest to understand "the context around majority of the hadith" which you state "is not known or either simply not there"...
Peace bro hypnotix-2000
But as long as the hadith itself is there within the framework of authenticity of narration (excluding what context it has) should mean that at least we can take the generality of what the hadith implies so long as it fits with other hadith that surround that matter.
That is why when a scholar provides a hadith as reference for the statement, it should be accompanied by an array of similar hadith to BUILD context where it is not plainly available.
We should give a slight preference to hadith being literal rather than allegorical because the language was for the simple Arabs and it is commentary, i.e. designed to explain things clearly to them about the matters in the Deen. It is not to say that hadith cannot be allegorical ... they can, but when context is not known, the hadith should not be merely rejected, but bounced against all known hadith and matters of similar or associated context.
Yes you are correct about how hadith and their application criteria (what most sectarians would call hadith-science) have been integrated in jurisprudence, but I am still in major disagreement with it. I am also skeptical about the whole motive behind hadith 'collection' and subjection (for lack of better words)...
I meant about you continuing to undertake your quest to understand "the context around majority of the hadith" which you state "is not known or either simply not there"...
Yes the underlying context of som ahadith is somewhat reconstructible by taking into account all the other ahadith about the same topic (not confined to the same book though, I have seeb certain instances where the context was not clear until I studied the ahadith on a topic that spanned different books from the Siha Sitta).
As far as the collection of ahadith is concerned, it did not start randomly either and there are a few select early threads that led to their widescale collection. There were groups of Ashaba involved in collecting hadith related material in all the previous generations before the work became more monumental starting from Muwatta by Imam Malik. This is not to say that they were free from discrepancy or confusion or conclusiveness.