The Science of the Narrators of Hadith (1)

Course Name: The Science of the Narrators of Hadith (1)

Course Teacher: Shaikh Ahrar Mohammed Shareef (Phd Research Scholar, and Lecturer of Hadith and its Sciences at the College of Hadith and Islamic Studies, Islamic University of Madinah)

Course Book: Ruwat al-Hadith (The Narrators of Hadith), by: Shaikh Professor Dr. Awwad bin Humaid ar-Ruwaithi (Previous Head of the Department of Hadith Sciences, College of Hadith and Islamic Studies, Islamic University of Madinah)

Start date: June 24, 2025

End date: July 31, 2025

Workload: 6 weeks teaching with 5 hours classroom contact per week, for a total of 30 hours

Schedule: Every Tuesday and Thursday, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM ET

Location: Oxford College - Mississauga Campus (1300 Central Pkwy. W., 4th Floor, Mississauga, ON., L5C 4G8)

Method of Assessment: One x 2-hour end-of-course exam (100%)

Prerequisites: None

General Description of the Course: The course consists of: introductory precepts regarding Ilm ar-Rijal (the science of the narrators of Hadith) along with a discussion on its emergence and progression, a study of the most famous books authored in it and their methodologies, terminologies of the scholars of Hadith specific to the narrators, highlighting the efforts of the scholars and their service to this science, and practical methods of benefitting from the most important books collecting the narrators of Hadith.

Main Objective of the Course: Familiarization with Ilm ar-Rijal (the science of the narrators of Hadith), the methodologies that the scholars of Hadith followed whilst authoring in it, and ways of utilizing the most important books in this science along with practical application.

Learning Outcomes of the Course: Upon successful completion of this course a student will be able to:

1- Clarify the role of the Isnad (chain of narration) in preserving the religion of Islam and answer the doubts spread regarding it.

2- Illustrate the role of the Sahabah in conveying the Sunnah to the Muslims after them.

3- Explain the terminologies of the scholars of Hadith pertaining to the narrators of Hadith.

4- Highlight the efforts of the scholars of Hadith in Ilm ar-Rijal (the science of the narrators of Hadith).

5- Compare between the methodologies of the scholars of Hadith in authoring books compiling the narrators of Hadith.

6- Extract the biographies of the narrators of Hadith from the books authored in this science.

7- Differentiate between the narrators who have similar names and ascriptions by returning to the specialized books in this regard.

8- Assort the different types of books based on their subject matter.

Scope and Syllabus: Topics covered on the syllabus may include, but are not limited to:

Firstly: Introductory precepts regarding Ilm ar-Rijal (the science of the narrators of Hadith):

1- al-Isnad (the chain of narration):

a. Its definition.

b. Its importance and it being specific to the Muslim nation.

c. Advent of usage of the Isnad and inquiry regarding it, and identification of the Fitnah (trial and tribulation) that has been mentioned in the statement of Mohammed bin Sirin (d. 110H): "When the Fitnah occurred, they said: name us your men."

d. Doubts of the orientalists about the emergence of the Isnad and their refutation.

2- Ilm ar-Ruwat (the science of the narrators):

a. Its meaning.

b. Its origin and emergence, and the reasons that prompted its appearance.

c. Its importance.

d. Its progressive stages.

e. Efforts of the scholars of Hadith in servicing it.

f. Appearance of authorship in it and its succession until the composition of encyclopedias.

Secondly: Books authored in Ilm ar-Rijal (the science of the narrators of Hadith) according to their chronological order:

1- Books authored in Marifah as-Sahabah (acquaintance with the Sahabah):

a. Introductory precepts: definition of a Sahabi, benefit of acquaintance with the Sahabah and its importance, methods of establishing as-Suhbah (one to be a Sahabi of the Prophet ﷺ), number of Sahabah, ranks of the Sahabah in terms of narration of Hadith and varying opinions of the scholars of Hadith in specifying these ranks, trustworthiness of the Sahabah and their status in the religion of Islam, distinguishing attributes of the Sahabah in precisely preserving Ahadith that are not found in those after them along with examples, the position of Ahle-Hadith (Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamah) regarding the Sahabah, the position of some of the groups of deviance and misguidance regarding trustworthiness of the Sahabah, the Sahabah who have narrated the most number of Ahadith and gave the most Fatawa, the best of the Sahabah and first of them to accept Islam, the last of the Sahabah to pass away, the Abadilah Sahabah (those who names are Abdullah), and defense of Abu Hurairah from the doubts spread regarding him narrating the most number of Ahadith.

b. Most famous books authored in Marifah as-Sahabah and a study of two books: "al-Istiaab" of Ibn Abdul-Barr and "al-Isabah" of Ibn Hajar in light of: the complete name of the book, a brief biography of its author, its subject matter, its academic rank, its methodology, its sources, its contents, its distinguishing characteristics, and a comparison between both books.

2- Books authored in Marifah at-Tabieen (acquaintance with the Tabieen):

a. Introductory precepts: definition of a Tabi'i, importance of acquaintance with the Tabieen, ranks of the Tabieen in terms of narration of Hadith, the Mukhadram Tabieen along with examples, al-Fuqaha as-Sabah (the seven jurists of Madinah), and the best of the Tabieen.

b. Most famous books authored in Marifah at-Tabieen.

3- Books authored in Marifah Tabaqat al-Muhaddithin (acquaintance with the ranks of the scholars of Hadith in terms of narration of Hadith):

a. Introductory precepts: definition of a Tabaqah linguistically and technically, the foundation of the discipline of at-Tabaqat and its emergence, its importance and benefit, that which is required knowledge in this discipline, and terminologies of the scholars of Hadith in this discipline and their methodologies in dividing the narrators into various Tabaqat.

b. Most famous books authored in at-Tabaqat and a study of two books: "at-Tabaqat al-Kubra" of Ibn Saad and "at-Tabaqat" of Kalifah bin Khayyat in light of: the complete name of the book, a brief biography of its author, its subject matter, its academic rank, its methodology, its sources, its distinguishing characteristics, and criticized matters in the book "at-Tabaqat" of Ibn Saad.

4- Books authored in al-Jarh wat-Tadil (the discipline of criticizing and praising the narrators of Hadith):

a. Introductory precepts: meaning of al-Jarh wat-Tadil, its ruling, its emergence, its importance and benefit, and various types of books of al-Jarh wat-Tadil:

1) Books specific to ath-Thiqat (acceptable narrators).

2) Books specific to ad-Duafa (weak narrators).

3) Books combining between ath-Thiqat and ad-Duafa.

b. Most famous books authored in at-Tabaqat and a study of the following books: "al-Tarikh al-Kabir" of al-Bukhari, "al-Jarh wat-Tadil" of Ibn Abi Hatim, "ath-Thiqat" of Ibn Hibban, and "al-Kamil" of Ibn Adi in light of: the complete name of the book, a brief biography of its author, its subject matter, its academic rank, its methodology, its sources, and its distinguishing characteristics.

5- Books authored in Tawarikh al-Buldan (narrators of Hadith in specific regions):

a. Introductory precepts: its meaning, its sources, its importance and benefit, emergence of authorship in it, and the regions whose narrators the scholars of Hadith authored books in.

b. Most famous books authored in it and a study of two books: "Tarikh Baghdad" of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi and "Tarikh Dimashq" of Ibn Asakir in light of: the complete name of the book, a brief biography of its author, its subject matter, its academic rank, its methodology, its sources, and its distinguishing characteristics.

6- Books authored in Marifah al-Asma wa Tamyizuha wa Dabtuha (acquaintance with the names and ascriptions of the narrators of Hadith, differentiating between them, and correctly vowelizing them):

a. Introductory precepts: efforts of the scholars of Hadith in servicing it, emergence of authorship in it, and its importance and benefit.

b. Various types of books of authored in it:

1) Books in al-Kuna (teknonyms of the narrators): definition of al-Kunyah, categories of the Kuna along with examples, its benefit, methodologies of the scholars of Hadith in authorship in it, its sources, the most famous books authored in it and a study of the book: "al-Kuna wal-Asma" of ad-Dulabi in light of: the complete name of the book, a brief biography of its author, its subject matter, its academic rank, its methodology, its sources, and its distinguishing characteristics.

2) Books in al-Alqab (nicknames of the narrators): definition of al-Laqab, its ruling, its importance, the most famous books authored in it and a study of the book: "Nuzhah al-Albab" of Ibn Hajar in light of: the complete name of the book, a brief biography of its author, its subject matter, its academic rank, its methodology, its sources, and its distinguishing characteristics.

3) Books in al-Ansab (ascriptions of the narrators): its meaning, its importance, the most famous books authored in it and a study of the book: "al-Ansab" of as-Samani in light of: the complete name of the book, a brief biography of its author, its subject matter, its academic rank, its methodology, its sources, and its distinguishing characteristics.

Course Fee: $200 CAD