An Open Letter to Traditional Muslim Reformists
by Farouk A. Peru
No, this isn’t your usual article about picking a side with or against terrorists. We’ve got enough of those. Nor do I wish to pen yet another article on western world versus eastern world. This is much deeper than that. It’s penned specifically for Muslims of the world who are already denouncing violence, who are already against oppression, murder, hate, and everything else that normal humans find repulsive. It’s for those who want to make a change, and are willing to make real sacrifices to achieve it.
Most of you are going to have a tough time reading what I write, but please give yourself the respect you deserve in at least reading something you may disagree with to the end before making your decision.
It’s time for hadith to go.
All of it.
Save nothing.
Remove them all.
I am well aware of your tendencies. Sunni , Shia, Ahmedi, Sufi’s all of you have your hadith. You think you need them, and that without them your Deen (loosely translated as religion, but really should be interpreted more as the system of life) is incomplete without them.
You are wrong.
Completely and utterly.
I’m not saying so.
Allah said so 1400 years ago.
The prophet and those around him listened, but those who followed didn’t, and this is why we are in the mess we are in today. You can’t blame the West, you can’t blame America, or Israel, or anyone else. They didn’t put you in the position you are in. God did. And He didn’t do it because he didn’t like us, we have done it with our own actions (or inactions) over centuries now.
For those Muslims who are wondering how can I propose such an action, I do so based on the following. Quran, after all, is supposed to be THE FINAL BOOK of Islam.
The Quran:
• Disapproves all hadiths apart from the Quran (39:18-23, 52:34, 4:87, 18:6, 77:50, 53:59);
• Predicts that Muslim polytheists would call their forged teachings hadith (7:185, 12:111; 31:6; 33:38; 35:43; 45:6; 52:34; 77:50);
• Distances itself from all man-made hadiths being needed or truthful (12:111);
• Instructs to keep distance from hadith pushers who would mock the Quranic messages and import corruption to Islam (6:68, 4:140);
• Predicts and warns about Imams of Hadith and hadithists, who would invest their time in unfounded hadiths and thus would import corruption in Islam, making mockery of the Quran (31:6);
• Challenges the idea that it needs hadith as a supplement (45:6-9, 26:222);
• Declares that minds polluted with hadiths would hardly understand the Quran (56:79-82);
• Discourages listening to hadiths (33:53) and criticizes their sharing, reporting and spreading (66:3); and
• Warns that hadiths would degrade the Muslims and split them up into sects (23:44-54, 34:19, 68:35-44, 7:182-194).
Think those through. Isn’t this EXACTLY the condition the Islamic World as a whole is finding itself in today?
God predicted and told us 1400+ years ago that people would spend their time stuck in hadiths. We have an ummah that is obsessed with hadith stories on how to cut your nails, how to wipe yourself after going to the bathroom, what to say when GOING to the bathroom, and then what to say when LEAVING the bathroom. This list goes on and on, and all of you can no doubt fill up this article with them.
Allah discourages the listening to hadiths and criticizes sharing them in 33:53 and 66:3, yet this is ALL we do. Muslims have put themselves into this plight.
God warns us that hadith will split us into sects, and indeed, there are thousands of sects spread around the world. This is all we have, to go along with disasters such Sunni’s killing Shia’s, while at the same time Sunni’s and Shia’s together killing and declaring Ahmedi’s non-muslims. We’ve even stooped so low in our Un-Quranic and Un-Islamic stance that Pakistan has a law declaring who is Muslim and who is not!
Hadith has caused us to stray so far from the straight path that in light of the worldwide violence, muslims are posting hadith as proof of what Allah has told us instead of Qu’ran!
We cannot continue down this path. As long as you hold onto man-made hadith, God will punish us ALL. This is the law of the Quran, and God’s law will never fail. While the rest of the world has moved on in science, technology, math, education, and human rights, we’ve let our uneducated mullahs drown us in the middle ages. We have no human rights, no science, no true education, and no dignity. Dignity is not forcing your women to cover their heads, dignity is respecting and protecting everyone, even if you don’t agree with them.
The root of all of this is the man-made hadith, each sect holding onto their hadiths, believing theirs are right, and everyone else is wrong. Each sect, rejoicing in what they have. Sound familiar? Let me remind you where you may have heard this before:
30:31-32
“Turn to Him alone then, and be mindful of Him, and establish the Divine System and be not of those who ascribe ‘partners’ to Him,
Those who split up their religion into sects with each sect delighting in whatever beliefs they have.”
Every sect, in the eyes of the Qu’ran, has abandoned it, instead using their hadith books as their religious guides. Each sect likes to happily push out their hadith as to what the prophet would predict would happen in the future. Yet, the one prediction that is guaranteed by Allah SWT nobody bothers to post.
25:30 The messenger said, “My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran.
Yes, I know it will be tough to do. Most of you have spent your life devoted in this way, and for many of you this will be an impossible task. This is why I prefaced this article as being for those who are actual reformist and are willing to sacrifice. The rest of you can stop reading now and go back to your weekly scheduled mullah programming.
The Quran instructs us to follow Quran ALONE. No other sources of religious law are accepted. And we are warned we will be the MINORITY:
6:114-116:
Say, “Shall I seek for Judge and Ruler someone other than God? He is the One Who has revealed this Book, well expounded in detail for you.” Those whom We have given the Book know that this is revealed in truth from your Lord. Be not among those who argue for the sake of argument.
Perfected is the Word of your Lord in truth and justice. None can change His Words. He is the Profound Hearer, the Knower.
Now if you pay heed to, or get intimidated by majority of those who live on earth, they will lead you astray from God’s way. Most of the people follow nothing but conjecture and they only live by guesswork.
If we scrap the man-made hadith, and all turn to the Quran, we can find common ground. We can sort out our sectarian differences, and peacefully co-exist. We can also all be sure and safe that when the day comes, we can safely say to Allah we followed HIS BOOK, not the man-made books our previous generations believed in, since only one book was promised by Allah to be safeguarded.
We can learn that there is no compulsion in religion (2:256), and let others do as they choose. We can learn that there are multiple paths to God, not just ours. We can learn that the ultimate service to God is service to humanity, not to ourselves. We can go back to understanding that God tells us what the most everlasting actions are,such as:
18:46 Wealth and children are the joys of the life of this world. But good deeds that fulfill the needs of others, their fruit endures forever. Such actions are of far greater merit in the Sight of your Lord, and the best foundation of hope.
And 19:76 God increases in guidance, those who seek it and seek to live upright. The lasting good deeds that fulfill the needs of others, are eternally rewarded by your Lord, and are best for eventual returns and better for resort.
We can finally go back to actions to benefit humanity and ourselves at the same time.
If we do not pay heed to Allah, He will continue to punish us for openly straying outside his guidance. How many of you were aware of these verses before seeing them here? How many of you question the translations? More than would care to admit. That’s great, just remember, you should have been questioning hadith all along too, and you didn’t. So start now.
17:36 Do not reach conclusions about that of which you have no knowledge. Surely, the hearing, the sight and the faculty of reasoning – all of them – will be questioned.
32:9 He shapes him in accordance with what he is meant to be, and breathes into him of His Energy. And thus (O Mankind) He gives you the faculties of hearing, sight, reasoning and feelings. Yet, how seldom are you grateful by making the best use of your perceptual and conceptual faculties!
[Af’idah = Minds = Intellect = Faculty of reasoning including feelings]
Oppression, Blasphemy Laws, Death by Stoning, Temporary Marriage, Mindless rituals that distract you from doing good for humanity, all of these are from hadith, and NONE are from Quran. Of course, another hint from God that if they contain contradictions, they are NOT from Him can be found in 4:82.
We are a lost Ummah. But we have the beacon of light to reach for. Let’s reach it before it is too late.
45:11 This is a beacon. And for those who reject the revelations of their Lord, is a painful retribution.
Thank you, Jazak Allah,
A fellow Muslim.
An Open Letter to Muslim Reformists