Are there any hadiths that contradict each other?

- Some people say that some hadiths contradict each other. How true is it?

Dear Brother / Sister,

There is no real contradiction between sound and reliable hadiths. Therefore, we should know that when we see some hadiths that are thought to be contradictory, there is definitely an explanation of it and that it is not appropriate to reject them hastily.

The branch of science that explains the real state of the hadiths that seem to contradict each other and that tries to compromise them by eliminating contradiction is called “ta’wilu mukhtalifil-hadith”.

It is necessary to know this science in order to understand the hadiths correctly. For, if a single hadith is dealt with and if the other hadiths regarding the issue and their interpretations are not known, it will be inevitable to encounter misunderstandings not meant by the hadith and consequently wrong decrees.

The Prophet (pbuh) practiced and explained the verses of the Quran that were sent down during his prophethood of twenty-three years. His words and deeds differed in terms of various events, circumstances and addressees; and these differences were also seen in hadith books. The Quran was sent down gradually within a certain process; similarly, the Prophet followed this process with his words and deeds.

The Prophet (pbuh) acted differently according to space, time and environment and made a special judgment or recommendation according to the state of the person he addressed. When he addressed a community, he gave a message, taking the state of that community into consideration.

Hz. Muhammad (pbuh), who lived as a prophet, a teacher, a head of state, an army commander, and a conveyor of the message, used different expressions, gave orders, made judgments and recommendations considering the understanding and needs of his addressees.

All these issues necessitated his words and deeds to differ according to the state of his addressees, and this was seen in the hadiths, which are the carriers of his words and practices.

Many of the contradictions seen in the hadiths originate from the narrators narrating these hadiths because narrators are also human beings and they cannot be free of forgetting and making mistakes. For this reason, they may have heard the hadith incompletely and conveyed it incompletely and even added something to it.

In addition, many narrators reported the hadiths not with the words that they heard but with what they understood and with their own words. In that case, it is possible for the narrator to misunderstand the hadith or to understand it deficiently or to understand the purpose of the Prophet differently.

Islamic scholars used the following method to solve the problem that seems to be a contradiction between hadiths:

1. First they tried to combine the contradictory hadiths. If combination is possible, they decreed that both hadiths were sound.   

2. If it was not possible to combine those hadiths, they looked at the time when those hadiths were uttered. When the dates of utterance were determined, the practice of abrogation (naskh) was used. It was accepted that the hadith uttered at a later date abrogated the one with the earlier date; thus, the contradiction was eliminated.  

3. When the dates of the hadiths could not be determined, one of the hadiths was preferred after the chains of narrators and texts of the hadiths were examined. 

4. When it was not possible to make a preference between hadiths, a final decision was not made and they did not act based on either of the hadiths. 

We can give two different narrations reported from the Prophet (pbuh) as an example for the combination of hadiths due to contradiction. The two hadiths show two different statements and practices of the Prophet (pbuh) about drinking water. In a hadith, it is reported that the Prophet (pbuh) prohibited drinking water while standing (Musnad, 3/277), but in another hadith Abdullah b. Umar states that “the Prophet drank water while standing” (Bukhari, Ashriba, 16).

According to what is understood from the two hadiths, the Prophet (pbuh) preferred drinking water while sitting but he drank water while standing when it was necessary and did not regard it objectionable. Thus, it is understood that there is no contradiction between two hadiths.  

The contradiction between two hadiths that are different from each other about performing fasting during a journey was eliminated with the same method. When the Prophet was asked about performing fasting during a journey, he said, “Perform fasting if you wish” (Bukhari, Sawm, 33); in another hadith, he said, “Performing fasting for a traveler is like not performing fasting for a resident.” (Nasai, Siyam, 53)

The first one of those two hadiths, which seem to be contradictory, states that a person who is on a comfortable journey and who does not encounter any difficulties can fast if he wishes while the second one states that a person who is on a toilsome journey must not fast. The first hadith of the Prophet shows the practice of a permission of not fasting during a journey mentioned in the Quran.

The narrations above that seem contradictory and that are sound were uttered in different situations and are based on different reasons; there is no real contradiction between them.

References:

- İsmail L. Çakan, Hadislerde Görülen İhtilaflar ve Çözüm Yolları.
- Ibn Qutayba, Ta’wilu Mukhtaliful-Hadith.
- Tahawi, Ta’wilu Mushkilil-Athar.
- Ibnul-jawzi, at-Tahqiq fi Ahadithil-Khilaf.
- Imam Shafii, Ikhtilaful Hadith.

Questions on Islam