I've been lurking around here for a little while, but decided to start an account so I can start having some of my questions answered. I look forward to interacting with you all.

A little about me, I am a 25 year old American female, and I am not Muslim...at least, not right now. I was raised Christian and have no issues with my religion at this time, nor do I feel God pulling me away from there. I do, however, have a new found interest in Islam and have been committed to learning more about it in any way I can. This interest was triggered by my relationship - I entered into a relationship with a Muslim man about 1.5 years ago. Given the not-so-great reputation of Islam in the world, I get a lot of flack for this. He's a great man, but my family has a lot of issues with his religion. I've taken it upon myself to refute any "horrors" of Islam they hear about and know about.

Originally, I didn't know anything about Hadith - I didn't know it was considered part of Islam, I knew only about the Quran. My boyfriend had told me that Islam was about following the Quran and the Prophet's Sunnah, but I never realized that for the majority of the world, and unfortunately for him as well, the two are separate things. I had interpreted it to mean they followed the Quran which directs them in how to live like Muhammad - since Muhammad had lived following only the Quran, that is what they did. My interpretation was that the entire focus was to follow the Quran in order to be more like the Prophet - there was nothing else.

And when there was nothing else, Islam was wonderful. Refuting the horrible ideas the ignorant population has regarding Islam is so easy using only the Quran - I have successfully eased every fear brought up to me. But as I started to learn about a second portion, about Hadith, suddenly I couldn't defend the religion as easily - if at all. Islam with only the Quran is beautiful and logical and loving and understanding and understandable; with Hadith, it is a mess (it seems to me, anyway). So I started my research into Hadith - why Hadith? Where did it come from? Where does God/Allah tell us to follow it? Where does He give it indisputable authority? I was certain I would find all of these answers - after all, at that point it never occurred to me that there could be a division of belief on this topic. I thought I had simply missed something that was fact. To my surprise, I couldn't find answers to any of my questions, and even more to my surprise, I wasn't alone in that.

I will openly admit a bias at this point, because I am in love and I want to ease the fears of my family, and I have found nothing that says I can do that with Hadith as part of the picture. However, that has not clouded my judgement, my interpretations, or my logic. I still want to find the truth and at this point, I simply cannot believe that the truth is in Hadith.

I have been in a month-long debate with a guy over the necessity of Hadith (over 100 messages back and forth) and it is not going anywhere. He is certain he is correct, but nothing he has shown me convinces me he is. This is a large part of why I am finally starting an account here - I will likely need the assistance of those who have studied more than I have.

Not to sound like a "crazy" here, but I don't believe in one religion for everyone. Our God made us so vastly different, no part of me can believe that He truly expects us to all agree on something as significant as the details surrounding Him, especially when we have so many different accounts and possibilities. Of course I believe there is ultimately one Truth, but I don't necessarily believe that we have that Truth. I do believe that there is a "truth" for every person, and that every "truth" serves a purpose - whether it is to "test" how we treat those who differ, to challenge and help others grow in their beliefs, to aid our submission to Him, or to simply bring comfort to someone's life. This is also why I believe in the Quran, but I don't feel it necessary to convert (of course, that could change at any time). At this time, I am comfortable that God wants me here as a Christian.

If it weren't for the way Hadith seems to pull its followers away from God, instead of pulling them closer, I likely wouldn't object to it like I do (given my belief that opposing beliefs are all part of God's plan). But I can find nothing that tells me God wants anyone following Hadith, and instead have found He seems to want the opposite.

I hope this doesn't take away from my credibility or seem too crazy - I've long held these beliefs, but it's actually the first time I've expressed them to anyone.

Anyway, my apologies for the introductory novel. I look forward to our future discussions )

I stumbled onto this and my limited knowledge is unable to refute it. Can anyone help me?

"In the beginning, one of the rules followed by the Muslims in respect of the fasts of Ramadan was that even a short nap after iftaar (breaking of a fast) would nullify the permissibility of having sexual intercourse with one's wife. So, if someone would sleep for a short while after iftaar and wake up again, he would lose the opportunity of sleeping with his wife during the rest of the night, despite that the fast was over. This rule was prescribed by the Holy Prophet and was not contained in the Holy Qur'?n. But some Muslims broke the rule by sleeping with their wives after having a post-iftaar nap. Referring to these events, the Holy Qur'?n first admonishes those people who did not follow the rule. Then, by abrogating the same, allows the Muslims in future to sleep with their wives even when they had a nap after iftaar. In this context the Holy Qur'?n says

It is made lawful for you, in the nights of fasts, to have sex with your women. They are a cover for you, and you are a cover for them. All?h knew that you were betraying yourselves; so, He relented towards you and pardoned you. So, now you can have sexual intimacy with them, and seek what All?h has destined for you, and eat and drink until the white thread of the dawn becomes distinct from the black thread; then complete the fasts up to the night. (2187)

The following points with respect to this verse are worth consideration

(a) The verse confirms that having sex during the nights of Ramadaan was not lawful before.

(b) The people who had sex during the nights of Ramadaan before this verse was revealed are admonished by describing their act as "betraying themselves."

(c) The words, "so He relented towards you and pardoned you," indicate that their sexual act was a sin, because "relenting" and "pardoning" occur only after a person commits a sin.

(d) The words "so now you can have sexual intimacy with them" denote that it is only now that the sexual act during the nights of Ramadaan has been made lawful.

All these points confirm the fact that the earlier prohibition of having sexual intercourse during the nights of Ramadaan was validly made by a competent authority, and the Muslims were bound to abide by it.

But there is no verse in the Holy Qur'?n to convey this prohibition.. It was enforced only by the Holy Prophet. Still, the Holy Qur'?n not only confirms it, but also treats it as if it were in its own words. It is due to the fact that the Holy Prophet did not enforce this prohibition by his own will, it was rather based on a revelation of All?h Almighty which is not contained in the Holy Qur'?n.

Looked at from this angle, this verse on the one hand proves that there is a revelation which does not form part of the Holy Qur'?n, and on the other hand it reaffirms the status of the Holy Prophet as a law-giver, and that his injunctions, both orders and prohibitions, are binding on the Muslims."

I've been in an intense discussion with a "traditional Islamist" about the status of Hadith. I've put a significant amount of time into researching every angle I find or can think of, but given that my interest in Islam is fairly new, I'm still quite naive. I don't know enough to refute the interpretation of the verse above, so I'm hoping I can find some help here.

(excerpt taken from http//www.call-to-monotheism.com/refuting_the_argument_that_the_qur_an_was_the_only_revelation_that_the_prophet_received_from_allah_)