Easy Quran Reading With Baghdadi Primer Audio
Nicandro Aaronson
Ulum al-Hadith is a vast ocean of a science. It requires extensive reading and study over many, many years. Here is a suggested curriculum for aspiring students of hadith, consisting of a combination of Arabic and English works. It is based on my own experiences and advice from consulting with scholars, as well as the wonderful Multaqa Ahl al-Hadith forum. This is the sort of guide I wish I had when I began studying. One may not necessarily study all the works in each level but extensive study is absolutely required to attain mastery. Note that each level is predicated on studying parrallel levels in other sciences (especially fiqh and usul al-fiqh).
Commence by studying the sahih works of al-Bukhari and Muslim with care and attention. Al-Ansari and al-Sakhawi both state (perhaps from their teacher Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani) that al-Bukhari takes precedence due to the extreme care he took in extrapolating rulings, which is the greatest objective in studying hadiths, and its superiority over other collections in soundness. Al-Sakhawi added that al-Bukhari should be studied first unless called to Sahih Muslim by necessity, such as its narrator being the only one who has it and one fears his dying, as the narrators of Sahih al-Bukhari are many.
Ibn al-Salah concludes that every time one passes a problematic name or difficult word, one must research it and study it. One should follow the path of the early masters, who would memorise hadith with chains little by little, as few as two a day, reviewed day and night, in order to have complete mastery in the end.
Thereafter, one should study the comprehensive collections which gather together hadiths from a number of books, as well as the takhrij references that trace the paths of hadiths in a specific book.
devoting a period each day for their study so that one can complete reading them in a year. One should aim at a minimum to do this over four years, during high school or university, so that one graduates having read them several times. Thereafter, one should read the works which strove to include only sahih narrations:
After Nuzhat al-Nazr or whilst studying the Muqadimah of Ibn al-Salah one should begin to extensively read the following takhrij works in order to see how the theory of mustalah is practically applied:
At this stage one should analyse chains of transmission independently. It is crucial to remember that each chain needs to be analysed individually and in context, understanding the methodology of the early hadith masters. One should be very careful in grading hadith and should strive to understand rather than innovate. If one begins this stage as early as possible, after Muqaddimat Ibn al-Salah or whilst studying takhrij works such as Talkhis al-Habir, one will reap immense benefits later on. The following books should be referred to often:
At this stage one will have reached a high degree of mastery and proficiency in hadith. One should then embark upon research projects in service of the Sunnah. One must know the rank of the critics as one knows the status of the critiqued, especially when verdicts differ, in order to give preponderance to one view over an other:
1. The Mutashaddidun are the critics with strict verdicts of disparagement. However, if they appraise a narrator, his standing is respected. Examples follow with the hadith scholar who deemed them so in brackets:
I spoke to an aalim that came here (Australia) from Egypt who is a direct student of Abu Ishaq al Huwayni, Ahmad Shahaata and others and has memorised the sahihayn as well as a number of other texts through out his specialisation in hadith and he said that the last scholar that could be awarded the title Haafidh was Shawkani after which none have existed.
During Ottoman times, for whatever reason, hadith scholarship in particular, and other disciplines in general, failed to live up to the dynamic standards of the so-called classical era. One struggles to find figures of the same repute as those in the Mamluk, Seljuq, and Ayyubid periods, which I view as the last great ages of Islamic scholarship. I have a feeling that the loss of Persia to the Safavids is hugely underestimated in its impact on Islamic scholarship, but have yet to read a definitive thesis on the matter.
That being said, one is astonished by the depth and breadth of learning demonstrated by al-Kattani and al-Ghumari, in particular, from among scholars of the last century or so. It is clear that they had understanding and access to a huge amount of texts which would be impressive in one today even with computers, let alone in their pre-digital age!
Salam Shaykh,
Is there any way you could do the same for Tafseer and ulum al quran together, as this curriculum has ulum al hadeeth as well as collections. Your ulum al quran curriculum didnt include tafseer so i was wonderring about your suggestions pertaining to that. Also, what are your suggestions for arabic language, both rules (Nahw sarf Balaghah) and adab?
Sorry to bother
JazakaLLAH
Oh ma sha ALLAH. Make dua i get to actually make the most of your posts by following up with the studying. By the way, where and what exactly did you study. you seem to have a good grasp of many different sciences
Barak ALLAH Feek
I would say that you do need a teacher to take you through to at least the intermediate stage, but there are audio classes available. This discipline can get quite technical and one needs a certain degree of intelligence. Where are you? I might know somebody near you who can help in sha Allah.
Yes definitely. About uloom al hadeeth and the dars nizami, How can one make the most of it and reap the benefits of the hadeeth collections in dawrah. Bear in mind that al hidayah is covered, and the takhreej nasb al rayah, as well as fathul qadeer could be quite beneficial before delving into the six books etc. How can a student make the most, in terms of your curriculum.
As I come from the background of hanafi Fiqh and Studied (Alhamdulillah) further in Hadith after the final year, I found the statement to be misunderstood. The reason is that the shuroohaat have a historical context which was the onslaught of the Ahl-hadith group. Despite that you will find works (maybe less than Arab scholars but slowly on the increase) in the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the URDU language, who discusse the purpose of the compilers of Hadith. Yes there is a alternative pedagogy to Hadith available, but if the need to defend remains then it will continue.
Also, Shaykh Mufti Khalid Sayfullah , head of IFA reasons why Hanfafi Usool has been shadowed, he says it was due to the fact that it was incorporated into the field of Usool Al-fiqh. Whereas the Shafi school had separated the science of hadith from the usool.
That does not, however, detract from the aspects of those works which are beneficial. One should know how to benefit from each work, as well as knowing what the limitations are. Objectivity will raise your academic level far above those who are partizan to a madhab or geographical region.
Salam
I had a question. How would you suggest your curriculum be altered for a nizami student, before And while the dawrah year, wherein all six are covered? How would sarh maani of Tahawi be introduced? As that is also taught.
Wa alaykum salam. The goals of the Nizami curriculum are different, and I personally feel that a single year for covering the Six is simply insufficient for mastery of their contents and their underlying methodologies. In any case, I would suggest beginning incrementally and persisting till the end, however long that may take. On average, I would imagine the above should take at least several years for the most adept and possibly even a dozen for some.
Umdat al-Ahkam alone would put you at a higher level than many. However, try to have high aspirations. Aim high, and if you get close then alhamdu lillah. Study of Islam is a lifetime endeavour. You may be young now, but a bit every day goes a long way over the years. Try to keep a low profile till you hit 40. That will allow you to develop and mature out of the public eye so that when you do emerge, you will emerge ripe in sha Allah.
Both commentaries that you mentioned are good. Our shaykh, Akram al-Nadwi, has been working on a commentary too which focuses on the ulum al-hadith rather than the typical sectarianism of Indian commentators. He has been working on it for more than ten years and will publish it soon in sha Allah. It should be an excellent commentary. He is by far the most impressive of my teachers in hadith. Try to read as many commentaries as possible.
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