Course Outline
Level 1: Introduction to Ḥadīth Studies
Definition of Ḥadīth, Sunnah, Khabar, Athar
Importance of Ḥadīth in Islam
Relationship between Qur’an and Ḥadīth
Preservation of Sunnah in early generations
Level 2: History of Ḥadīth Compilation
Oral transmission in the era of Ṣaḥābah and Tābi‘īn
Early written collections (Ṣaḥīfah Hammām ibn Munabbih, etc.)
Development of Musannaf, Muṣannad, Jāmi‘, Sunan
Major compilations (Ṣaḥīḥayn, Kutub al-Sittah, etc.)
Level 3: Types of Ḥadīth
Based on authenticity: Ṣaḥīḥ, Ḥasan, Ḍa‘īf, Mawḍū‘
Based on continuity of chain: Musnad, Mursal, Mu‘allaq, Mu‘ḍal, Munqaṭi‘
Based on number of narrators: Mutawātir, Aḥād, Mashhūr, Gharīb, ‘Azīz
Based on content: Marfū‘, Mawqūf, Maqtū‘
Level 4: Science of Isnād (Chain of Transmission)
Importance of Isnād in Islam
Rules of evaluating narrators (‘Ilm al-Rijāl)
Jarḥ wa Ta‘dīl (Criticism and Validation of narrators)
Famous books on Rijāl (Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, al-Jarḥ wa al-Ta‘dīl, etc.)
Level 5: Science of Matn (Textual Criticism)
Criteria for authenticity of Matn
Shādh (anomalous) and Munkar (rejected) reports
Matn consistency with Qur’an and established Sunnah
Indicators of fabricated Ḥadīth
Level 6: Usūl al-Ḥadīth (Principles of Ḥadīth Studies)
Definition and scope of Mustalaḥ al-Ḥadīth
Major classical works (Muqaddimah Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, Nukhbat al-Fikar, etc.)
Later contributions (Tadrīb al-Rāwī, Qawā‘id al-Taḥdīth, etc.)
Comparison of different schools of ḥadīth methodology
Level 7: Major Ḥadīth Collections & Scholars
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī – methodology and features
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim – methodology and features
Sunan Abī Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasā’ī, Ibn Mājah
Musnad Aḥmad and other important compilations
Level 8: Fabricated Ḥadīth and their Detection
Causes of fabrication (political, sectarian, etc.)
Signs of fabricated ḥadīth
Works on Mawḍū‘āt (Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Suyūṭī, etc.)
Contemporary challenges of weak ḥadīth circulation
Level 9: Application of Ḥadīth in Fiqh & Tafsīr
Role of Ḥadīth in deriving rulings
Usūl al-Fiqh and Ḥadīth connection
Differences of jurists due to ḥadīth interpretation
Use of Ḥadīth in tafsīr (tafsīr bi’l-ma’thūr)
Level 10: Modern Ḥadīth Studies
Orientalist approaches to Ḥadīth
Contemporary Muslim scholarship on Ḥadīth
Digital databases of Ḥadīth (Maktaba Shamila, Sunnah.com, etc.)
Importance of applying Hadith knowledge in modern contexts
Level 11: Practical Training
How to verify a Ḥadīth (step-by-step)
Use of classical and modern ḥadīth resources
Analysis of selected narrations as case studies
Writing short research assignments on ḥadīth authenticity
Level 12: Conclusion & Research Work
Summary of Ḥadīth sciences
Importance of balance in using ḥadīth in daily life
Guidelines for further studies in advanced ḥadīth sciences
Final assessment / research presentation
