An Introduction to the Science of Hadith: Bayquni's Hadith Terminology

Level: Two

Instructors: Shaykh Mohammad Tayssir Safi

Course Overview

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.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Understand and conceptualize core technical terms in Ḥadīth Studies,

2. Have a firm grasp of the scope of Ḥadīth Studies and the basic critical tools used when investigating a report’s authenticity

3. Have an overall understanding of what various subfields a scholar of ḥadīth must navigate and be trained in.

Course Outline

Lesson 1a: A Brief History

Lesson 1b: Hadith Studies & Its Disciplines

Lesson 2a: Primary Terminology & Initial Categorizations

Lesson 2b: Categorizing Reports Based Upon the Source

Lesson 3a: A Brief Epistemological Overview

Lesson 3b: Categorizing Hadith Based Upon their Number

Lesson 4a: Degrees of Probability

Lesson 4b: The Conditions of Authenticity

Lesson 5a: Contiguity and Omission

Lesson 5b: Hidden Breaks

Lesson 6a: Uprightness & Precision

Lesson 6b: Narrator Criticism

Lesson 7a: General Judgements Require Further Consideration

Lesson 7b: Corroboration & Degrees of Probability

Lesson 8a: Hidden Effects

Lesson 8b: Anomalies

Lesson 9a: Forgeries

Lesson 9b: Miscellaneous

About the Instructors

Mohammed Tayssir Safi is a doctoral candidate at Ibn Haldun University. At the university’s Islamic Studies department, he specializes in Ḥadīth Studies, with a particular focus on the epistemological framework used in the technical study of ḥadīth. In parallel with his academic studies at the university, Mohammed has been a long-time student of the Islamic Sciences in traditional educational circles. To that end, he has spent years studying in Damascus (Syria), Cairo (Egypt), Tarim (Yemen), and most recently, Istanbul (Turkey). He is also a graduate of Sultan Ahmet Madrasa’s “IKAN,” program, which focuses on Islamic theology (Kalām). Mohammed holds a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in applied linguistics (Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language), as well as a certificate in Manuscript Editing from Istanbul’s main Islamic Research institution, ISAM.

Mohammed currently teaches courses in Islamic Theology (Kalām) and Ḥadīth Studies for SeekersGuidance and resides with his family in Istanbul