Re: Injunctions on length of pants
^ ammarr, you should also know that the laws of Islam, the rules, the recommendations, etc are all based upon some reason or the other. When even in the PRophet's lifetime, the Prophet allowed for questions, and tried his best to explain the practical purposes of the laws and decisions he made, then why should we, at this point in time, clam up and believe everything we're told?
Plus, you have to keep in mind that the hadith were written down some centuries after the prophet died, and many were fabricated by variuos leaders and for various political reasons. If the shia and sunni scholars can't agree on one set of authentic hadith, then there is room for debate.
Plus, you might have a statement, but you may need the proper context to understand it ... which may not have been accurately recorded in the hadith, or it might have been deemed common knowledge at the time, and somehow historians have come up with different explanations for one thing.
There is really only one constant document and that is the Quran. The hadith should be looked at and examined, but keeping in mind historical context is very important when analyzing them.