Hadiths Contradicting the Quran – No Way Around It

Quran says:

🟢 “There is no compulsion in religion.” (2:256)
Translation? No forcing people into Islam—faith must be voluntary.

Hadith says (Sahih Bukhari 6922):

🔴 “Whoever changes his religion, kill him.”
Translation? Leave Islam, and you die.

That’s a direct contradiction. There’s no “context” that magically makes these two statements agree. Either:

• The Quran is right, and the Hadith is false.

• The Hadith is right, which would mean the Quran is incomplete or misleading.

But both can’t be true at the same time.

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How Do Scholars Try to Explain This Away?

Since this is a major problem, Islamic scholars have come up with different workarounds. Let’s break down the excuses and why they don’t hold up.

1️⃣ “Context” Argument – Does 2:256 Only Apply to Non-Muslims?

🚨 Claim: Some scholars say that "no compulsion in religion" only applies to non-Muslims living under Islamic rule, meaning they can’t be forced to convert.

🤨 Problem:

• The verse doesn’t say, “Only applies to non-Muslims.” That’s just adding words to the Quran to force it to fit the Hadith.

• Even if it were true, it still wouldn’t solve the contradiction. If there's no compulsion in religion, why is a Muslim forced to stay in Islam under threat of death?

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2️⃣ “Political Treason” Argument – Does Apostasy = Rebellion?

🚨 Claim: The Hadith isn’t about just leaving Islam; it’s about betraying the Muslim community or waging war against Islam.

🤨 Problem:

• The Hadith doesn’t say that—it just says, "Whoever changes his religion, kill him." No mention of rebellion or war.

• If the Hadith meant “execute traitors,” why not just say that? The wording clearly applies to anyone who leaves Islam.

This is just damage control—changing the meaning after the fact to make it sound more reasonable.

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3️⃣ “Hadiths Must Align with the Quran” Argument – Then Why Accept This One?

🚨 Claim: Some scholars argue that if a Hadith contradicts the Quran, it must be rejected.

🤨 Problem:

• This rule isn’t consistently followed—Bukhari 6922 is still accepted as authentic (sahih) even though it contradicts 2:256.

• If this principle were actually applied, then this Hadith should be completely thrown out. But instead, many scholars bend over backward to keep it.

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4️⃣ Abrogation Argument – Did 2:256 Get Cancelled Out?

🚨 Claim: Some scholars say 2:256 was “abrogated” (canceled) by later verses or Hadiths.

🤨 Problem:

• There is zero evidence in the Quran that this verse was abrogated.

• This argument is purely assumption-based—people decide on their own that a verse doesn’t count anymore.

• If one Quranic verse can be “abrogated,” what’s stopping scholars from canceling any other verse they don’t like?

This is just rewriting the Quran to fit a later agenda.

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Sectarian Mess – No One Agrees on What to Do With This

Each sect handles this issue differently because there’s no clear solution:

Sect	What They Do About It
Sunnis	Try to "harmonize" the Hadith with the Quran, even if it means stretching interpretations.
Shias	Reject Sunni Hadiths that contradict the Quran but have their own set of Hadiths.
Quranists	Reject Hadiths completely and say only the Quran matters.
Salafis	Stick to Hadiths even if they contradict the Quran.
Sufis	Accept Hadiths selectively, usually based on ethical/spiritual meaning.

💡 The takeaway? If Hadiths were truly divine guidance, there wouldn’t be this much disagreement on what to do with them.

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Final Verdict – Can Hadiths Be Considered Divine Guidance?

Let’s be real—this is not a small issue. If something contradicts the Quran, it cannot logically be considered divine. But because Hadiths are so deeply embedded in Islamic tradition, most scholars refuse to reject them, even when they clearly don’t fit.

✅ Logically speaking, either:
1️⃣ The Hadith is wrong, and there is no punishment for apostasy.
2️⃣ The Quran is incomplete, and Hadiths were needed to “fix” it (which defeats the claim that the Quran is perfect).

🚨 Either way, Hadiths lose credibility. If they directly contradict the Quran, how can they be seen as divine guidance? Simple answer: they can’t.