I recently read an article which said that circumcision among muslims is not prescribed in the Quran. Is it true? Why do muslims have to circumcise?
Yes that is true Queer. There is no commandment in the Qur'an requiring Muslims to circumcice.
I believe this custom arises out of Hadith.
We had a discussion earlier about female circumcision and came to the conclusion that it was not sanctioned by Islam.
On male circumcision, I honestly am not sure. I'll wait for some others to respond than contribute. But you are correct about the Qur'an.
Achtung ;)
Achtung,
could u tell me what "hadith" and "sunnah" are too? I find these occuring frequently in many posts. Are these some kind of directives to all muslims from non-Quranic sources?
Queer:
Hadith are words and deeds attributed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as presented by historians. Hadith, translated into English means ‘utterances or narration’s’. They are based on verbal recollections passed down over several generations. Most were compiled well after the Prophet’s death. They are compiled in various collections, the following collections contain, what are viewed by many to be, * Sahih * or authentic Hadith:
- Collection of Imam Bukhari
- Collection of Imam Muslim
- Collection of Imam Abu Dawud
- Collection of Imam Malik
- Nahjul Balagha (for the Shiah)
Hadith and Sunnah, to the best of my understanding are used synonymously. The Hadith communicate the Sunnah. The Sunnah is one of the ways in which many Muslims live their lives, through the following of actions and deeds attributed to Prophet Muhammad (i.e. if a Hadith discusses an event, where the Prophet Muhammad gave charity to a orphan, than that would be communicated into the Sunnah, and those following the Sunnah would than also legitimize their own charity to orphan’s on the basis of the Prophet’s actions, they would live their lives according to the Prophet’s actions).
There was a complex science utilized in the collection of Hadith. Were thousands of Hadith were thrown out and labeled false and invalid. Imam Bukhari for example traveled extensively, dedicating his life to the collection of Hadith. He collected 600,000 Hadith, in the end he selected 9082, throwing the rest out, due to weakness. So within the Hadith literature there exist both weak and strong Hadith. The Hadith themselves, contain two parts:
- The * isnad * which is a list of transmitters, often pages long (i.e. for the sake of an example, try to think of a case where I told you something, you than told deepblue, deepblue than told Stud, Stud than told Muzna, and the list went on for pages, this is the * isnad *)
- The * matn * which is the main text. Its the actual story, the narration, words or deeds attributed to Prophet Muhammad or his companions, wives, etc.
Finally there are Hadith Qudsi.
"Hadith Qudsi are the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) as revealed to him by Allah. Hadith Qudsi (or Sacred Hadith) are so named because, unlike the majority of Hadith which are Prophetic Hadith, their authority (Sanad) is traced back not to the Prophet but to the Almighty. Among the many definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred Hadith is that of as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.) in his lexicon At-Tarifat where he says: “A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (PBUH). It is that which Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words. Thus Qur’an is superior to it because, besides being revealed, it is His [Gods] wording.”
The following website has more on Hadith:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/scienceofhadith/atit.html
A final note of caution. In the Qur’an it states:
"O Believers, obey Allah and His Apostle, and do not turn away from him When you hear him (speak). Do not be like those who say: ‘We hear,’ but give no heed to what they hear. (8:20-21)
“Allah has revealed the best Hadith (Quran)…” (39:23)
“Do you then wonder at this Hadith (Quran)?” (53:59)
“…what Hadith would they then believe in after this (Quran)?” (7:185)
So from this it is obvious that the best Hadith for Muslims is the Qur’an. The Qur’an comes first always before the Hadith. The Hadith are the secondary source for Muslims.
In my personal opinion, the Hadith or any writings about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which are in conflict with the Quran; or which blemish his character; or which censure the heroic lives of his faithful companions; or which contradict facts, are doubtful and therefore should be viewed with skepticism and cannot be relied upon. Such Hadith should neither be attributed, nor referred, to Prophet Muhammad or his companions.
Achtung 