Advanced Islamic Law & Islamic Theology

Course Code

Core or Elective

Course Name

Course Description

ARAB531

Core

Advanced Arabic Rhetoric: Talkhīṣ al-miftāḥ and Mukhtaṣar al-Maʿānī I

Mukhtaṣar al-Maʿānī is Saʿd al-Dīn al-Taftāzānī’s (d. 792/1390) commentary on Khaṭīb al-Qazwīnī’s (d. 739/1338) Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ, which in turn is a study on the third section of Abū Ya'qūb al-Sakkākī’s (d. 626/1229) Miftāh al-'Ulūm covering maʿānī (the study of how variations in syntax affect meaning), bayān (the study of figurative language), and badīʿ (the study of other stylistic devices), the three sub-disciplines of 'ilm al-balāghah (Arabic rhetoric). Using Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ and Mukhtaṣar al-Maʿānī, the course will teach these three disciplines with the aim of giving students a strong grounding in Arabic rhetoric, so that they have a deeper appreciation of the Noble Qurʾān and the Arabic language. al-Talkhīs and Mukhtaṣar al-Maʿānī have traditionally been the final works taught on Arabic language and rhetoric in traditional institutions of Islamic higher learning, since students who master these works will be able to do independent research in classical works on Arabic language.

ARAB532

Core

Advanced Arabic Rhetoric: Talkhīṣ al-miftāḥ and Mukhtaṣar al-Maʿānī II

Mukhtaṣar al-Maʿānī is Saʿd al-Dīn al-Taftāzānī’s (d. 792/1390) commentary on Khaṭīb al-Qazwīnī’s (d. 739/1338) Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ, which in turn is a study on the third section of Abū Ya'qūb al-Sakkākī’s (d. 626/1229) Miftāh al-'Ulūm covering maʿānī (the study of how variations in syntax affect meaning), bayān (the study of figurative language), and badīʿ (the study of other stylistic devices), the three sub-disciplines of 'ilm al-balāghah (Arabic rhetoric). Using Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ and Mukhtaṣar al-Maʿānī, the course will teach these three disciplines with the aim of giving students a strong grounding in Arabic rhetoric, so that they have a deeper appreciation of the Noble Qurʾān and the Arabic language. al-Talkhīs and Mukhtaṣar al-Maʿānī have traditionally been the final works taught on Arabic language and rhetoric in traditional institutions of Islamic higher learning, since students who master these works will be able to do independent research in classical works on Arabic language.

Course Code

Core or Elective

Course Name

Course Description

HAD541

Core

Introduction to Hadith Source Criticism: Grading Reports in Ibn Mājah’s Sunan

This course introduces students to the critical analysis of hadith reporters and chains through an elaborate study of the zawā'id reports of Ibn Mājah’s Sunan, i.e. the reports unique to Ibn Mājah’s Sunan and not found in any of the other six canonical hadith collections, the Ṣaḥīḥs of al-Bukhārī and Muslim and the Sunan works of al-Nasāʾī, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Tirmidhī. While students will analyze both the hadith texts and chains, particular focus is placed on the critical analysis of hadith narrators and the evaluation of their narrations. Thus, students will be introduced to a practical study of ʿilm al-rijāl (the science of narrative biographies) through the study of a canonical hadith text.

HAD542

Core

Hadith Chain Analysis: A Sanad Reading of Sunan al-Nasāʾī

This course consists of a thorough study of select portions of the Sunan of Imam Abū 'Abd al-Raḥmān al-Nasāʾī (d. 302/915), a work known for its special attention given to the discovery of hidden elements in hadith chains. Through the study of these chapters, students will be introduced to the sciences of hadith sourcing and comparative chain analysis ('ilm al-takhrīj wa dirāsat al-asānīd). While seeking to understand and appreciate the complexity of chain mapping, the jurisprudential aspects of the hadith texts will also be analyzed in light of the positions and arguments of the eminent masters of the field.

HAD551

Core

Readings in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim I

This course explores the Ṣaḥīḥ work of Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Qushayrī (d. 261/875), focusing first on the discussions of historical methodology in the book’s prolegomena (muqaddamah), and then on the rich theological, legal, ethical, spiritual, eschatological, and historical issues derived from the hadith content. Students will also seek to appreciate the author’s unique skill in the arrangement of the hadith and in the presentation of the chains of transmitters.

HAD552

Core

Readings in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim II

This course explores the Ṣaḥīḥ work of Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Qushayrī (d. 261/875), focusing first on the discussions of historical methodology in the book’s prolegomena (muqaddamah), and then on the rich theological, legal, ethical, spiritual, eschatological, and historical issues derived from the hadith content. Students will also seek to appreciate the author’s unique skill in the arrangement of the hadith and in the presentation of the chains of transmitters.

HAD553

Core

Readings in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim III

This course explores the Ṣaḥīḥ work of Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Qushayrī (d. 261/875), focusing first on the discussions of historical methodology in the book’s prolegomena (muqaddamah), and then on the rich theological, legal, ethical, spiritual, eschatological, and historical issues derived from the hadith content. Students will also seek to appreciate the author’s unique skill in the arrangement of the hadith and in the presentation of the chains of transmitters.

HAD554

Core

Readings in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim IV

This course explores the Ṣaḥīḥ work of Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Qushayrī (d. 261/875), focusing first on the discussions of historical methodology in the book’s prolegomena (muqaddamah), and then on the rich theological, legal, ethical, spiritual, eschatological, and historical issues derived from the hadith content. Students will also seek to appreciate the author’s unique skill in the arrangement of the hadith and in the presentation of the chains of transmitters.

HAD561

Core

Readings in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī I

al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ of Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870) is undoubtedly the most celebrated and authenticated of the primary hadith collections. This course will study the work with a dual focus on the hadith content as well as the author’s unique interpretive reasoning provided in the rich chapter headings (tarājim al-abwāb). Lectures on the text will be complemented with independent guided readings of the work’s various commentaries.

HAD562

Core

Readings in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī II

al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ of Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870) is undoubtedly the most celebrated and authenticated of the primary hadith collections. This course will study the work with a dual focus on the hadith content as well as the author’s unique interpretive reasoning provided in the rich chapter headings (tarājim al-abwāb). Lectures on the text will be complemented with independent guided readings of the work’s various commentaries.

HAD563

Core

Readings in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī III

al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ of Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870) is undoubtedly the most celebrated and authenticated of the primary hadith collections. This course will study the work with a dual focus on the hadith content as well as the author’s unique interpretive reasoning provided in the rich chapter headings (tarājim al-abwāb). Lectures on the text will be complemented with independent guided readings of the work’s various commentaries.

HAD564

Core

Readings in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī IV

al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ of Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870) is undoubtedly the most celebrated and authenticated of the primary hadith collections. This course will study the work with a dual focus on the hadith content as well as the author’s unique interpretive reasoning provided in the rich chapter headings (tarājim al-abwāb). Lectures on the text will be complemented with independent guided readings of the work’s various commentaries.

HAD571

Elective

Advanced Hadith Methodology: al-Suyūṭī's Tadrīb al-Rāwī I

This course explores advanced issues of hadith criticism and methodology through a critical reading of Imam Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī's (d. 911 AH/1505 CE) Tadrīb al-Rāwī, an exhaustive commentary on Imam Yaḥyā al-Nawawī's (676 AH/1277 CE) al-Taqrīb and one of the largest classical works in hadith methodology and nomenclature. Students will also write a paper to demonstrate their proficiency in advanced discussions of hadith critical theory.

HAD572

Elective

Advanced Hadith Methodology: al-Suyūṭī's Tadrīb al-Rāwī II

This course explores advanced issues of hadith criticism and methodology through a critical reading of Imam Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī's (d. 911 AH/1505 CE) Tadrīb al-Rāwī, an exhaustive commentary on Imam Yaḥyā al-Nawawī's (676 AH/1277 CE) al-Taqrīb and one of the largest classical works in hadith methodology and nomenclature. Students will also write a paper to demonstrate their proficiency in advanced discussions of hadith critical theory.

Course Code

Core or Elective

Course Name

Course Description

Tafsīr al-Nasafī I

This course will focus on Madārik al-Tanzīl wa Ḥaqāʾiq al-Taʾwīl known as Tafsīr al-Nasafī of the Central Asian Ḥanafī jurist and exegete Abū l-Barakāt ˁAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad al-Nasafī (d.710/1320). The work not only summarizes the grammatical, lexical, and rhetorical discussions of previous exegeses such as those of al-Zamakhsharī (d.538/1144) and al-Bayḍāwī (d. ca. 685/1286) but also interprets the legal and theological aspects of the Qurˀān through the lens of Ḥanafī jurisprudence and Māturīdī school of dialectic theology.

QUR502

Elective

Tafsīr al-Nasafī II

This course will focus on Madārik al-Tanzīl wa Ḥaqāʾiq al-Taʾwīl known as Tafsīr al-Nasafī of the Central Asian Ḥanafī jurist and exegete Abū l-Barakāt ˁAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad al-Nasafī (d.710/1320). The work not only summarizes the grammatical, lexical, and rhetorical discussions of previous exegeses such as those of al-Zamakhsharī (d.538/1144) and al-Bayḍāwī (d. ca. 685/1286) but also interprets the legal and theological aspects of the Qurˀān through the lens of Ḥanafī jurisprudence and Māturīdī school of dialectic theology.

Course Code

Core or Elective

Course Name

Course Description

THEO531

Core

Comparative Dialectic Theology: Abū Muʿīn al-Nasafī’s Tabṣirat al-Adillah I

The course consists of an intensive study of Abū Muʿīn Maymūn b. Muḥammad al-Nasafī’s (d. 508/1115) Tabṣirat al-Adillah fī Uṣūl al-Dīn, one of the most important works of the Māturīdī school of Islamic theology reflecting the understanding of the scholars of Samarqand. Nasafī discusses in detail issues on which Islamic theological schools and Muslim sects differ, presenting and evaluating the evidence for the positions of each group. Nasafī also strives to show that Māturīdī theology is firmly grounded in the theological thought of Abū Ḥanīfah (d. 150/767). The objective of the course is to give the students a deeper understanding of the Māturīdī school in particular and Islamic comparative theology in general.

THEO532

Core

Comparative Dialectic Theology: Abū Muʿīn al-Nasafī’s Tabṣirat al-Adillah II

The course consists of an intensive study of Abū Muʿīn Maymūn b. Muḥammad al-Nasafī’s (d. 508/1115) Tabṣirat al-Adillah fī Uṣūl al-Dīn, one of the most important works of the Māturīdī school of Islamic theology reflecting the understanding of the scholars of Samarqand. Nasafī discusses in detail issues on which Islamic theological schools and Muslim sects differ, presenting and evaluating the evidence for the positions of each group. Nasafī also strives to show that Māturīdī theology is firmly grounded in the theological thought of Abū Ḥanīfah (d. 150/767). The objective of the course is to give the students a deeper understanding of the Māturīdī school in particular and Islamic comparative theology in general.

THEO599

Core

Thesis Research and Methodology

This course is a requirement for completion of a thesis in the advanced program. The student will choose a thesis adviser based upon the subject of interest, who will advise the student on research and writing methodology and monitor the progress of the thesis. Students are expected to submit each chapter of the thesis as it is completed to the adviser, who will comment on the work and suggest improvements where appropriate. Once the thesis is completed the approval of the adviser and one other faculty are required for the final submission.