Yeah sure for 5 centuries after Mohammah (pbuh) came to leave his legacy on earth, a period with Islam spreading far-and-wide and making a lot of enemies in the process, somehow the most early Muslims (especially ones that personally knew Muhammad (pbuh) didn't consider this verse as controversial or paid it much attention.

But now it's all of a sudden a very serious hadith that shows how gay Islam is, even though the punishment for it is being thrown of rooftops or being stoned. Nobody spoke up about it, not even the mortal enemies of the Prophet (pbuh) that went to war with them. Surely.

Surely in those times critics of Islam would have spoken about it? The people that knew the prophet personally, neighbouring countries/tribes? The hadith was definitely passed on.

>>519482240
It is about explaining the Qur'an and going through rigorous testing before being taken for granted. So if it doesn't explain the Qur'an, or doesn't pass the test for trustworthiness (which is much more than just coming from "reliable" sources), then it can be discarded.

The reason they are kept is intellectual honesty, that's why even fake or weak hadith are preserved.