All of the various Islamic Sciences and our very understanding of Islam itself rely on revelation. The broad ḥadith corpus, along with the Qur'ān, are the two main sources of that revelation from Allāh (Exalted is He). Understanding the importance and role of reports from the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), the great scholars of our intellectual tradition not only strove to collect said reports but also to investigate the authenticity of any given ḥadīth. They understood the importance, power, and dangers associated with claiming that the Prophet said or did any particular thing. Therefore, they built out a sophisticated edifice and critical apparatus with many subfields that we now refer to as, Ḥadith Studies.
This course introduces the student to the basic technical terms and categorizations associated with Ḥadith Studies. Beyond that the student will be introduced to the core questions investigated in the field, as well as the critical method employed by ḥadīth scholars in testing a given report’s authenticity. Finally, the course aims to highlight the importance and place of Ḥadith Studies in the greater framework of the Islamic Studies Curriculum.
- Teacher: Shaykh Mohammed Tayssir Safi
- Understand and conceptualize core technical terms in Ḥadīth Studies,
- Have a firm grasp of the scope of Ḥadīth Studies and the basic critical tools used when investigating a report’s authenticity
- Have an overall understanding of what various subfields a scholar of ḥadīth must navigate and be trained in.
