To fast forward to the list of Dark Hadith, skip the next four paragraphs.
Also, it is better to start with reading the many meaningful Good Hadith, to avoid dismissing the entire Hadith-as-literature corpus as useless.
Missing the Forest
Dark Matter has two components:
- a large share of Hadith that do not light up the Quranic LPs, even though they might be classified by Traditional Muslims as Sahih or mutawatir, based on verification of the isnad, or chains of transmission.
- most of the content of the Sirah books. They are even less reliable than the shaky sahih Hadith since they never went through isnad verification.
‘Dark’ is not always an assertion of the negative, but it always means unable to illuminate the Quranic LPs, similar to the role of dark matter in astrophysics. When Traditionalists dote on details of the Prophets’ life, unreliable as they may be, they lose sight of the Big Five problems. This resulted in enormous social evils like Slavery (until recently), Sectarianism, Patriarchy, and many more, all of which collectively result in the ultimate problems of Brain Drain and Poverty. In doting on details, they overlook the overarching moral trajectory of the Prophet ï·º, who was very progressive by the standards of his age.
An example of misplaced details. Traditionalists mirror the imagined appearance of the Prophet ﷺ – a bushy beard, a Kufi cap, a white robe (thawb), etc. But that image is invalid. Most likely, the Prophet ﷺ wore a knee-length sarong or lungi (not a long thawb), a green turban (not a white cap) and his hair was woven in two braids, as was the custom of his region and time, as noted by a conservative scholar, Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction (Brown, J.A.C., 37).
Hadiths: Messy Role Model
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5134
Did the Prophet at age 52 have sex with a 9-year old? Or did later generations fabricate it?
Note that this hadith in the Sahih Bukhari collection is super strong due and mutawatir, due to multiple isnad, according to the best of ulama. Invalidating this hadith will torpedo the entire isnad system of hadith verification, resulting in a dramatic collapse of the ecosystem of Traditional Islam.
https://sunnah.com/muslim:1422c
https://sunnah.com/abudawud:2121
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5068
Did the Prophet often have serial sex with all his wives in one night? Or did later generations fabricate it?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:268
Did the hypermasculine Prophet have the strength of 30 men, while bedding 9 or 11 parallel wives? Or did later generations fabricate it?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5069
Do the best of men have many wives? Or did later generations fabricate it?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2916
Did the Prophet die in debt?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/86/29
Can you cut off a thief’s hand, even if she sincerely repented, in contradiction to the Quran?
Hadiths: Slavery
https://sunnah.com/muslim:1668a
If you will die poor, must you retain some of your slaves as a bequest, even if you desire to free them all?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/51/26
Is gifting your slave sometimes better than freeing him/her?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/44/6
If you are poor, is it better to sell your slave than free him/her?
https://sunnah.com/urn/1268350
Is it permitted to sell your slave woman after she gives birth to your child?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/64/377
That the best of the sahaba had casual sex with slaves is unremarkable.Was this normal?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/64/182
Can the details of casual sex with slaves be discussed without shame?
https://sunnah.com/muslim/16/159
Hadiths: Status of Women
https://sunnah.com/muslim/49/6
Are the majority of the inhabitants of Hell women. Or did later generations fabricate it?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/92/50
Can a woman lead a nation?
https://sunnah.com/muslim/44/102
Do far more men attain perfection than women?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/6/9
Are women less intelligent than men, perhaps because they menstruate?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5215
Do you need to bathe between multiple sex partners on the same night?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/67/127
Are women who do not sleep with their husbands cursed by the angels?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/67/32
Do women harbor evil?
https://sunnah.com/muslim/49/9
Will women bring harm to men?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/67/119
Is a woman crooked like a rib?
https://sunnah.com/muslim/4/299
Will the impurity of a passing woman invalidate a man’s prayer?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/52/25
Why did it took more than a month to falsify the accusation of adultery against Aisha?
(a large section of this wordy hadith is deleted here for brevity but can be found in the link above)
https://sunnah.com/muslim/17/33
Can you convert an adult male from non-mahram to mahram if you breastfeed him?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/67/163
If polygyny hurts women’s feelings, should I permit it for my daughter?
https://sunnah.com/muslim:1688a
Should women who are formerly-noble and who steal have their hand cutoff, even for the first offense?
Hadiths: Science Contradicted
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/59/126
Are flies disease vectors?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/76/91
Are dates an antidote to poison?
https://sunnah.com/abudawud/1/66
Is water pure even when polluted?
https://sunnah.com/muslim/43/194
Why do babies cry?
https://sunnah.com/muslim/52/10
What is the correct sequence of evolution?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/59/70
Do seasons occur due to the earth’s orbital axis?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/76/33
Is honey an effective cure for diarrhea?
https://sunnah.com/muslim/43/186
Does yield management of trees requires skills beyond religious advice?
Hadiths: Abrogation
https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1944
Did a goat eat a portion of the Quran, or did later generations fabricate rulings?
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4545
Did the Prophet negate God/Allah’s command to not conceal your thoughts?
Whatever is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to God and, whether you reveal or conceal your thoughts, God will call you to account for them. He will forgive whoever He will and punish whoever He will: He has power over all things.
Should women get a year of maintenance support upon divorce?
https://sunnah.com/abudawud:2315
https://sunnah.com/abudawud:2817
Why did God/Allah change his guidance on what is halal?
Today all good things have been made lawful for you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful for you as your food is lawful for them.
https://sunnah.com/abudawud/14
Was waterless fasting originally meant to last 25 hours, as is the fast of Yom Kippur?
https://sunnah.com/abudawud:2315
Is waterless fasting required only when it does not entail hardship?
Fast for a specific number of days, but if one of you is ill, or on a journey, on other days later. For those who can fast only with extreme difficulty, there is a way to compensate – feed a needy person. But if anyone does good of his own accord, it is better for him, and fasting is better for you, if only you knew.
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4506
Why did God/Allah raise the bar on who should fast?
It was in the month of Ramadan that the Quran was revealed as guidance for mankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong. So any one of you who is present that month should fast, and anyone who is ill or on a journey should make up for the lost days by fasting on other days later. God wants ease for you, not hardship. He wants you to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him for having guided you, so that you may be thankful.