In a recent debate with Sunnis on Discord, some individuals cited a scholarly paper to claim proof of hadith manuscripts from the first century Hijri. In their typical fashion, rather than sending a link to the article, they only sent a screenshot of the article's first page, underlining a single sentence: “The date of this … Continue reading Sunni Apologist Hadith Fragment (AP 259) Dishonesty
Lessons in Epistemology from the Story of Joseph: Truth, Deception, and Divine Knowledge
The Quran presents the account of Joseph not merely as a tale of betrayal and redemption but as a sophisticated study in how humans come to know truth amid deception, doubt, and shifting appearances. How can the same shirt serve as both fabricated evidence of death and authentic proof of life? Why do dreams that … Continue reading Lessons in Epistemology from the Story of Joseph: Truth, Deception, and Divine Knowledge
The Hawk & The Dove (Quran & Gospel)
The opening verse of Sura 53, "The Stars" (Al-Najm) states: [53:1] As the stars fell away. وَٱلنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ 1wal-najmiوَٱلنَّجْمِBy the star2idhāإِذَاwhen3hawāهَوَىٰit fell down / fell away Dr. Rashad Khalifa provides the following footnote for this verse: *53:1-18 Muhammad was summoned to the highest universe to receive this Quran into his heart. The stars fell away … Continue reading The Hawk & The Dove (Quran & Gospel)
Possible Origins of the word Ḥawāriyūn (Disciples)
The Quran refers to the disciples of Jesus with the term ḥawāriyūn (ٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَ), which appears five times across four verses: 3:52:12l-ḥawāriyūnaٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَthe disciples5:111:4l-ḥawāriyīnaٱلْحَوَارِيِّـۧنَthe disciples5:112:3l-ḥawāriyūnaٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَthe disciples,61:14:12lil'ḥawāriyyīnaلِلْحَوَارِيِّـۧنَto the disciples,61:14:18l-ḥawāriyūnaٱلْحَوَارِيُّونَthe disciples, The term is derived from the root "ḥ-w-r" ( ح و ر ), and one of the meanings of this root is to wash or, more specifically, whiten … Continue reading Possible Origins of the word Ḥawāriyūn (Disciples)
Remembering What We Already Know
Socrates, as recorded by Plato, often began with a simple question that exposed a deeper problem. One of those questions was: What is courage? At first, the answers seem obvious. Courage is standing firm in battle. Courage is refusing to run from danger. These examples sound convincing enough. But Socrates was never satisfied with examples. … Continue reading Remembering What We Already Know
Sunni Punishment for Abandoning Salat (Quran vs. Hadith)
In Sunni Islam, apostasy is punishable by death. This ruling is drawn directly from hadith literature, such as the report in Sunan al-Nasa’i: Ibn 'Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever changes his religion, kill him.'" أَخْبَرَنَا عِمْرَانُ بْنُ مُوسَى، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَارِثِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ … Continue reading Sunni Punishment for Abandoning Salat (Quran vs. Hadith)
A Gettier Problem in Hadith Justification
Some truths in Submission (Islam) are so foundational that they require no debate. Two such truths are the obligation to give Zakat and to perform Salat — both core pillars of faith, emphasized clearly and repeatedly in the Quran. For most believers, these are established facts. Yet a curious shift happens when a Hadith is … Continue reading A Gettier Problem in Hadith Justification
Mass Hadith Forgery: The Foundations of Sunni Islam
The foundations of Sunni Islam were built upon a sea of forged traditions. By the mid-9th century CE, the compilers of the Kutub al-Sittah (Six Books) sifted through millions of reports attributed to the Prophet. What they found was damning: nearly ninety-nine percent of these reports were rejected as fabrications, exposing a religious culture flooded … Continue reading Mass Hadith Forgery: The Foundations of Sunni Islam
Companion Hypocrisy and the Hadith & Sunnah House of Cards
For centuries, Hadith has been the bedrock of Sunni Islamic law and theology. But what happens when one of Sunni Islam’s most prominent voices admits that this foundation doesn’t stand up to scrutiny? In a recent interview on the Sképsislamica podcast, promoting his new book “Understanding Salafism,” Yasir Qadhi made a startling admission: “Nobody in the academy affirms … Continue reading Companion Hypocrisy and the Hadith & Sunnah House of Cards
Abu Bakr’s Stance on Hadith and the Problem with Anti-Quran-Alone Hadith Narration
A common maxim about the Hadith corpus is: for every Hadith, there is an equal and opposite Hadith. This reflects the reality that many individuals fabricated Hadith to support conflicting political or theological positions. The result is a vast, often contradictory body of literature—pro-Aisha Hadith, anti-Aisha Hadith; pro-Umayyad, anti-Umayyad; pro-Ali, anti-Ali—and this extends to core … Continue reading Abu Bakr’s Stance on Hadith and the Problem with Anti-Quran-Alone Hadith Narration
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