Context and Applicability of Certain Hadiths in Contemporary Times

I genuinely want to grow closer to Islam, but I feel that I’ve been drifting away. Part of this is because there are aspects of the religion that I struggle to understand, and I’m hoping to gain clarification rather than dismiss them. One example I find particularly difficult is the permissibility of sexual relations with female captives from war, even in cases where consent is unclear and being able to sell them off unless they’re pregnant. Although slavery no longer exists today, I still struggle to morally and intellectually understand how this was permitted at the time. More broadly, there are many hadiths that seem to make sense within their historical context, such as: • Early marriage precedents, which were tied to puberty-based definitions of adulthood and shorter life expectancy in earlier societies: In earlier societies, puberty was linked to maturity because people entered adult roles early. Today, extended education keeps young people in structured, dependent environments for longer, and research shows that cognitive and emotional development continues well beyond puberty. As a result, puberty alone is no longer a reliable indicator of maturity or readiness for adult responsibilities. • Polygamy-related narrations, which appear to have functioned as social welfare mechanisms following war and large-scale male death, rather than as unrestricted male entitlement. This leads me to my main question: Are hadiths considered universally valid regardless of changes in time and context? I understand that the Qur’an is viewed as timeless, but I’m unsure whether the same standard applies to hadith in the same way. If all hadiths are still fully valid today, how are context-dependent narrations meant to be applied in a modern world where the original social, legal, and moral conditions no longer exist? And how can one make sense of them without ignoring the realities of today? What I find difficult to grasp is that many rulings and hadiths were tied to the way the Prophet ﷺ and his companions lived, yet we are no longer able to live in that same way. Societies have fundamentally changed, and many aspects of life, such as political systems, laws, and governance, are now beyond individual control. At the same time, I understand that hadiths related to acts of worship, moral conduct, and treating others with kindness and justice are timeless and remain fully valid. My struggle is specifically with hadiths whose rulings seem deeply tied to historical circumstances that no longer exist. Because of this, I find it difficult to understand how some hadiths can still be fully applicable today when the context that allowed certain rulings is no longer present. In those cases, I do not feel the original circumstances still apply, which makes it hard for me to see how such rulings could remain valid in the same sense. This difficulty has led to doubt, which is unsettling for me because it affects how confident I feel in my faith. That is not something I want. I’m asking this sincerely, as I want my understanding of Islam to be grounded in clarity and honesty.