Advanced Islamic Law & Islamic Theology

Course Code

Core or Elective

Course Name

Course Description

ARAB101

Core

Arabic Syntactic Compendia: Iẓhār al-Asrār

Iẓhār al-Asrār of Imam Muḥammad b. Bīr 'Alī al-Birkiwī (d. 981/1573) has remained one of the most taught compendia of Arabic syntax over the centuries. It is distinguished by its causal approach to Arabic syntax, which is not presented in the usual order of noun, verb, and particle, but rather in the order of syntactic governors, governed words, and types of government. This teaches the student to analyze the Arabic language in terms of cause and effect, which is the objective of the course. The course begins with a study of al-'Awāmil, which is al-Birkiwī’s own summary of al-Iẓhār.

ARAB102

Core

Introduction to Advanced Arabic Syntax: Ibn Hishām’s Sharḥ Qaṭr al-Nadā wa Ball al-Ṣadā I

Ibn Hishām (d. 761/1360) wrote Sharḥ Qaṭr al-Nadā as a commentary on his own work, Qaṭr al-Nadā. Although the content of Sharḥ Qaṭr al-Nadā is very similar to the content of his other famous work on grammar, Sharḥ Shudhūr al-Dhahab, the structure is clearer and provides more lucid explanations of syntax concepts. The novel structure by which he organized his work laid the foundation for similar works after him, and is still used today. Lastly, students will apply the rules learned in Sharḥ Qaṭr al-Nadā by studying the famous anthology of Arabic literature Nafḥat al-‘Arab once a week.This is a two-semester course which will continue into ARAB 201.

ARAB111

Core

Advanced Arabic Morphology: Taṣrīf al-ʿIzzī

This course consists of an intensive study of Taṣrīf al-ˁIzzī, one of the most well-known and widely studied classical texts of Arabic morphology, written by ˁAbd al-Wahhāb b. Ibrāhīm al-Zanjānī (d.655/1257).

ARAB151

Core

Arabic Lab 1st Year - Level 1

This course aims to develop elementary communication skills in Arabic. By the end of the one-year course, a student should be able to engage in simple conversations about familiar topics (speaking and listening comprehension), and read and write simple sentences about familiar topics (reading comprehension and basic writing skills).

ARAB152

Core

Arabic Lab 1st Year - Level 2

This course aims to develop elementary communication skills in Arabic. By the end of the one-year course, a student should be able to engage in simple conversations about familiar topics (speaking and listening comprehension), and read and write simple sentences about familiar topics (reading comprehension and basic writing skills).

ARAB201

Core

Introduction to Advanced Arabic Syntax: Ibn Hishām’s Sharḥ Qaṭr al-Nadā wa Ball al-Ṣadā II

Ibn Hishām (d. 761/1360) wrote Sharḥ Qaṭr al-Nadā as a commentary on his own work, Qaṭr al-Nadā. Although the content of Sharḥ Qaṭr al-Nadā is very similar to the content of his other famous work on grammar, Sharḥ Shudhūr al-Dhahab, the structure is clearer and provides more lucid explanations of syntax concepts. The novel structure by which he organized his work laid the foundation for similar works after him, and is still used today. Lastly, students will apply the rules learned in Sharḥ Qaṭr al-Nadā by studying the famous anthology of Arabic literature Nafḥat al-‘Arab once a week.This is a two-semester course which will continue into ARAB 201.

ARAB202

Core

Sharh ibn 'Aqil

ARAB211

Core

Introduction to Arabic Rhetoric: al-Balāghah al-Wāḍiḥah I

This course surveys the vast field of Arabic rhetoric. Contemporary authors ʿAlī al-Jārim and Muṣṭafā Amīn present rhetorical concepts within each of the three branches of Arabic rhetoric, al-maʿānī, al-bayān, and al-badīʿ, in a methodical and coherent way. Each chapter begins with examples of rhetorical concepts followed by a detailed explanation (al-baḥth) and rules (al-qawāʾid). Thereafter, the text gives an opportunity to practice each concept through an array of different exercises utilizing poetry from different genres as well Qurʾānic verses and hadith.

ARAB212

Core

Introduction to Arabic Rhetoric al-Balāghah al-Wāḍiḥah II

This course surveys the vast field of Arabic rhetoric. Contemporary authors ʿAlī al-Jārim and Muṣṭafā Amīn present rhetorical concepts within each of the three branches of Arabic rhetoric, al-maʿānī, al-bayān, and al-badīʿ, in a methodical and coherent way. Each chapter begins with examples of rhetorical concepts followed by a detailed explanation (al-baḥth) and rules (al-qawāʾid). Thereafter, the text gives an opportunity to practice each concept through an array of different exercises utilizing poetry from different genres as well Qurʾānic verses and hadith.

ARAB221

Elective

Advanced Arabic Syntax: Jāmiʿ al-Durūs al-ʿArabiyyah I

This course consists of a study of the advanced Arabic syntax text Jāmi' al-Durūs al-'Arabiyyah of Muṣṭafā Ghalāyīnī. The text is an exhaustive and systematic study of the detailed rules of Arabic grammar and provides, beyond intermediate level, insight into the exceptions to common grammar rules as well as the divergent opinions of the early Arabic grammarians. Students memorize not only the grammar rules in this course, but also apply the rules through extensive exercises utilizing Qurʾānic verses, hadith, and Arabic poetry.

ARAB222

Elective

Advanced Arabic Syntax: Jāmiʿ al-Durūs al-ʿArabiyyah II

This course consists of a study of the advanced Arabic syntax text Jāmiʿal-Durūs al-ʿArabiyyah of Muṣṭafā Ghalāyīnī. The text is an exhaustive and systematic study of the detailed rules of Arabic grammar and provides, beyond intermediate level, insight into the exceptions to common grammar rules as well as the divergent opinions of the early Arabic grammarians. Students memorize not only the grammar rules in this course, but also apply the rules through extensive exercises utilizing Qurʾānic verses, hadith, and Arabic poetry.

ARAB251

Core

Arabic Lab 2nd Year - Level 3

This course aims to develop intermediate communication skills in Arabic. Each class students are encouraged to discuss and review in Arabic what they study in other classes. By the end of the one-year course, a student should be able to engage in conversations at the intermediate level, especially about familiar topics (speaking and listening comprehension), and read and write complex sentences, especially about familiar topics (reading comprehension and basic writing skills).

ARAB252

Core

Arabic Lab 2nd Year - Level 4

This course aims to develop intermediate communication skills in Arabic. Each class students are encouraged to discuss and review in Arabic what they study in other classes. By the end of the one-year course, a student should be able to engage in conversations at the intermediate level, especially about familiar topics (speaking and listening comprehension), and read and write complex sentences, especially about familiar topics (reading comprehension and basic writing skills).

ARAB298

Elective

Topics in Arabic

A culmination of various texts taught at the 200-level

ARAB301

Core

Selections from Arabic Literature: Mukhtārāt min Adab al-ʿArab I

This course aims to expand students’ understanding of classical Arabic literature and vocabulary, through the study of a selection of writings from various genres and eras of Arabic literature. Students are exposed to a wide range of rhetorical styles and expressions found in hadith texts, historical and prosopographical dictionaries, classical poetry, and modern prose. Through this course, students will be equipped to read, analyze, and translate both classical and contemporary texts.

ARAB302

Core

Selections from Arabic Literature: Mukhtārāt min Adab al-ʿArab II

This course aims to expand students’ understanding of classical Arabic literature and vocabulary, through the study of a selection of writings from various genres and eras of Arabic literature. Students are exposed to a wide range of rhetorical styles and expressions found in hadith texts, historical and prosopographical dictionaries, classical poetry, and modern prose. Through this course, students will be equipped to read, analyze, and translate both classical and contemporary texts.

ARAB351

Core

Arabic Lab 3rd Year - Level 5

This course aims to develop advanced communication skills in Arabic. Each class students discuss and review in Arabic what they study in other classes. By the end of the one-year course, a student should be able to engage in sophisticated conversations, especially about familiar topics, and develop advanced competence in reading and writing, especially about familiar topics.

ARAB352

Core

Arabic Lab 3rd Year - Level 6

This course aims to develop advanced communication skills in Arabic. Each class students discuss and review in Arabic what they study in other classes. By the end of the one-year course, a student should be able to engage in sophisticated conversations, especially about familiar topics, and develop advanced competence in reading and writing, especially about familiar topics.

ARAB451

Core

Arabic Lab 4th Year - Level 7

This course aims to develop very advanced communication skills in Arabic. Each class students discuss and review in Arabic what they study in other classes. Students will also give Arabic oral presentations about selected topics. By the end of the one-year course, a student should be able to engage in sophisticated conversations, and develop advanced competence in reading and writing.

ARAB452

Core

Arabic Lab 4th Year - Level 8

This course aims to develop very advanced communication skills in Arabic. Each class students discuss and review in Arabic what they study in other classes. Students will also give Arabic oral presentations about selected topics. By the end of the one-year course, a student should be able to engage in sophisticated conversations, and develop advanced competence in reading and writing.

ARAB511

Core

Classical Arabic Linguistics: Mullah Jāmīʿs al-Fawā'id al-Ḍiyā'iyyah

al-Fawāʾid al-Ḍiyāʾiyyah of Nūr al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Jāmī (d. 898/1492) has been considered the best commentary of al-Kāfiyah, Ibn al-Ḥājib’s (d. 646/1249) influential compendium of Arabic syntax. In traditional madrasas it is usually taught as the final work of Arabic syntax and is distinguished by Jāmī’s systematic integration of ʿlm al-waḍʿ (Arabic semantics) into Arabic syntax. The course begins with a study of an independent treatise in ʿilm al-waḍʿ to facilitate understanding Jāmī’s sophisticated approach.

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 ma'ānī (the study of how variations in syntax affect meaning), bayān (the study of figurative language), and badī' (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 Qur'ān 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.

ARAB551

Core

Advanced Arabic Lab I

This course surveys Arabic literature from Pre-Islamic to modern times, covering different genres of poetry and prose. The aim is to familiarize students with the characteristics of the Arabic literature of each period and area, and to enable the students to be at ease discussing them orally and in writing.

ARAB552

Core

Advanced Arabic Lab II

This course surveys Arabic literature from Pre-Islamic to modern times, covering different genres of poetry and prose. The aim is to familiarize students with the characteristics of the Arabic literature of each period and area, and to enable the students to be at ease discussing them orally and in writing.

Course Code

Core or Elective

Department

Course Name

Course Description

HAD101

Core

Hadith

Ethics in the Prophetic Tradition: al-Nawawī’s Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn I

As a study of Imam Abū Zakariyyā al-Nawawī’s renowned hadith collection on virtues Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, the course consists of reading and translating the narrations of the work alongside a brief commentary provided by the instructor. Through this course students are expected not only to understand and memorize hadith of everyday importance, but also to use the prophetic traditions to strengthen their Arabic vocabulary and grammar.

HAD102

Core

Hadith

Ethics in the Prophetic Tradition: al-Nawawī’s Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn II

As a study of Imam Abū Zakariyyā al-Nawawī’s renowned hadith collection on virtues Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, the course consists of reading and translating the narrations of the work alongside a brief commentary provided by the instructor. Through this course students are expected not only to understand and memorize hadith of everyday importance, but also to use the Prophetic traditions to strengthen their Arabic vocabulary and grammar.

HAD301

Core

Hadith

Introduction to the Hadith Sciences and Hadith Literature

This course is an introductory study of the terminology and critical methodology of the hadith sciences as well as a general survery of hadith literature. The course introduces students to foundational hadith nomenclature (muṣtalaḥ) and critical concepts of the hadith sciences through ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Dihlawī’s (d. 1052/1642) Muqaddamah fī Uṣūl al-Ḥadīth, followed by the analysis and memorization of al-Manẓūmah al-Bayqūniyyah, a 34-line concise poem on hadith terminology. Supplemental lectures and readings on the history of hadith compilation, famous figures and key literature, Western criticism and Muslim responses, the authority of hadith, etc... will enrich the student's understanding of the hadith's historical, epistemological, and legal significance.

HAD302

Core

Hadith

Introduction to Critical Hadith Methodology:
Nuẓhat al-Naẓar and al-Rafʿ wa al-Takmīl

This course critically analyzes the intermediate-level hadith sciences text Nuẓhat al-Naẓar of Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1449), expanding the study of the hadith sciences beyond terminology and into subfields such as narrator criticism (jarḥ wa taʿdīl), prosopography (rijāl), and the ethics of hadith reception and transmission. Students will be expected to analyze the text critically using glosses and commentaries written by the author’s own students Qāsim b. Quṭlūbghā (d. 879/1474) and al-Kamāl Ibn Abī Sharīf (d. 906/1501). ʿAbd al-Ḥayy al-Laknawī's (d. 1305/1886) work on narrator criticism (al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl) entitled al-Rafʿ wa al-Takmīl is thereafter studied with the critical notes of ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghuddah. Students will additionally be taught to explore and access various genres of hadith works, especially the glossaries, indexes, dictionaries, and catalogs unique to the field as an introduction into takhrīj al-ḥadīth wa dirāsat al-asānīd.

HAD401

Core

Hadith

Reading the Hadith: al-Tibrīzī’s Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ I

The course consists of an extensive study of the six-thousand plus hadith narrations (mutūn) found in al-Khaṭīb al-Tibrīzī’s (d. 737/1108) hadith super-collection Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ. The course provides a thorough and critical analysis of the theological, legal, and ethical rules derived from its narrations as well as their historical authenticity. Through the study of a work that collects hadith of not only the six canonical Ṣaḥīḥ works but also those of Imams Mālik, Aḥmad, al-Dārimī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Dāraquṭnī, and Razīn, students are given a thorough exposure to the Islamic understanding (al-mafhūm al-Islāmī) found in hadith literature. Students are expected to engage with not only the hadith texts but the valuable gloss of Aḥmad ʿAlī al-Sahāranpūrī (d. 1297/1880) and commentaries such as those of Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1014/1605)and ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Dihlawī (d. 1052/1642).

HAD402

Core

Hadith

Reading the Hadith: al-Tibrīzī’s Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ II

The course consists of an extensive study of the six-thousand plus hadith narrations (mutūn) found in al-Khaṭīb al-Tibrīzī’s (d. 737/1108) hadith super-collection Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ. The course provides a thorough and critical analysis of the theological, legal, and ethical rules derived from its narrations as well as their historical authenticity. Through the study of a work that collects hadith of not only the six canonical Ṣaḥīḥ works but also those of Imams Mālik, Aḥmad, al-Dārimī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Dāraquṭnī, and Razīn, students are given a thorough exposure to the Islamic understanding (al-mafhūm al-Islāmī) found in hadith literature. Students are expected to engage with not only the hadith texts but the valuable gloss of Aḥmad ʿAlī al-Sahāranpūrī (d. 1297/1880) and commentaries such as those of Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1014/1605)and ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Dihlawī (d. 1052/1642).

HAD403

Core

Hadith

Reading the Hadith: al-Tibrīzī’s Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ III

The course consists of an extensive study of the six-thousand plus hadith narrations (mutūn) found in al-Khaṭīb al-Tibrīzī’s (d. 737/1108) hadith super-collection Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ. The course provides a thorough and critical analysis of the theological, legal, and ethical rules derived from its narrations as well as their historical authenticity. Through the study of a work that collects hadith of not only the six canonical Ṣaḥīḥ works but also those of Imams Mālik, Aḥmad, al-Dārimī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Dāraquṭnī, and Razīn, students are given a thorough exposure to the Islamic understanding (al-mafhūm al-Islāmī) found in hadith literature. Students are expected to engage with not only the hadith texts but the valuable gloss of Aḥmad ʿAlī al-Sahāranpūrī (d. 1297/1880) and commentaries such as those of Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1014/1605)and ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Dihlawī (d. 1052/1642).

HAD404

Core

Hadith

Reading the Hadith: al-Tibrīzī’s Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ IV

The course consists of an extensive study of the six-thousand plus hadith narrations (mutūn) found in al-Khaṭīb al-Tibrīzī’s (d. 737/1108) hadith super-collection Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ. The course provides a thorough and critical analysis of the theological, legal, and ethical rules derived from its narrations as well as their historical authenticity. Through the study of a work that collects hadith of not only the six canonical Ṣaḥīḥ works but also those of Imams Mālik, Aḥmad, al-Dārimī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Dāraquṭnī, and Razīn, students are given a thorough exposure to the Islamic understanding (al-mafhūm al-Islāmī) found in hadith literature. Students are expected to engage with not only the hadith texts but the valuable gloss of Aḥmad ʿAlī al-Sahāranpūrī (d. 1297/1880) and commentaries such as those of Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1014/1605)and ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Dihlawī (d. 1052/1642).

HAD501

Core

Hadith

Studies in Early Legal Hadith Discourse: Abū Ḥanīfah and Mālik I

This course is an intensive analysis of the earliest legal arguments from hadith, in particular those employed by the preeminent jurists of the first and second centuries: Imams Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, Abū Yūsuf, and Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī. Particular emphasis is devoted to legal arguments found in the transmissions of Mālik’s al-Muwaṭṭā through Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan and Yaḥyā b. Yahyā al-Laythī, but readings in Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan’s Kitāb al-Ḥujjah, Abū Ḥanīfah’s Kitāb al-Āthār, and al-Khawārizimī’s Jāmi' Masānīd al-Imām al-Aʿẓam are also included. Considerable attention will be given to understanding the different approaches of the Ahl al-Ra'y (jurists) and Ahl al-Ḥadīth (hadith transmitters) as well as those between the early (Ḥanafī and Mālikī) and later (Shāfi'ī and Ḥanbalī) juridical schools.

HAD502

Core

Hadith

Studies in Early Legal Hadith Discourse: Abū Ḥanīfah and Mālik II

This course is an intensive analysis of the earliest legal arguments from hadith, in particular those employed by the preeminent jurists of the first and second centuries: Imams Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, Abū Yūsuf, and Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī. Particular emphasis is devoted to legal arguments found in the transmissions of Mālik’s al-Muwaṭṭā through Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan and Yaḥyā b. Yahyā al-Laythī, but readings in Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan’s Kitāb al-Ḥujjah, Abū Ḥanīfah’s Kitāb al-Āthār, and al-Khawārizimī’s Jāmi' Masānīd al-Imām al-Aʿẓam are also included. Considerable attention will be given to understanding the different approaches of the Ahl al-Ra'y (jurists) and Ahl al-Ḥadīth (hadith transmitters) as well as those between the early (Ḥanafī and Mālikī) and later (Shāfi'ī and Ḥanbalī) juridical schools.

HAD511

Core

Hadith

Ḥanafīs and Textual Authority: Reading al-Ṭaḥāwī’s Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār I

The bifurcation of the juridical schools along the lines of Ahl al-Ḥadīth (hadith transmitters) and Ahl al-Raʾy (jurists) was largely a consequence of claims from the former that the latter’s overuse of legal reasoning (raʾy) resulted in a neglect of clear and established hadith evidence. Imam Abū Ja'far al-Ṭaḥāwī addresses this claim in a monumental hadith collection, Sharḥ Ma'ānī al-Āthār, that serves as one of the earliest expansive hadith-based defense of the positions of Imam Abū Ḥanīfah and his followers. A thorough reading of the work will introduce students not only to the specific textual proofs of the Ḥanafī school but also the wide range of juristic reasoning and principles (uṣūl) employed therein.

HAD512

Core

Hadith

Ḥanafīs and Textual Authority: Reading al-Ṭaḥāwī’s Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār II

The bifurcation of the juridical schools along the lines of Ahl al-Ḥadīth (hadith transmitters) and Ahl al-Raʾy (jurists) was largely a consequence of claims from the former that the latter’s overuse of legal reasoning (raʾy) resulted in a neglect of clear and established hadith evidence. Imam Abū Ja'far al-Ṭaḥāwī addresses this claim in a monumental hadith collection, Sharḥ Ma'ānī al-Āthār, that serves as one of the earliest expansive hadith-based defense of the positions of Imam Abū Ḥanīfah and his followers. A thorough reading of the work will introduce students not only to the specific textual proofs of the Ḥanafī school but also the wide range of juristic reasoning and principles (uṣūl) employed therein.

HAD521

Core

Hadith

A Study of Legal Traditions: Sunan Abī Dāwūd I

The sunan genre of hadith literature primarily focuses on the evidence early Muslim jurists used in their arguments. This course examines the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī (d. 204/819) from both a jurisprudential and a critical historical perspective, explaining the use of each hadith in support of a variety of legal positions as well as exploring the grading of the hadith by the author and other classical hadith scholars.

HAD522

Core

Hadith

A Study of Legal Traditions: Sunan Abī Dāwūd II

The sunan genre of hadith literature primarily focuses on the evidence early Muslim jurists used in their arguments. This course examines the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī (d. 204/819) from both a jurisprudential and a critical historical perspective, explaining the use of each hadith in support of a variety of legal positions as well as exploring the grading of the hadith by the author and other classical hadith scholars.

HAD531

Core

Hadith

A Study of Legal Traditions: Sunan al-Tirmidhī I

The sunan genre of hadith literature primarily focuses on the evidence early Muslim jurists used in their arguments. This course examines the Sunan of Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī (d. 279/892) from both a jurisprudential and a critical historical perspective, explaining the use of each hadith in support of a variety of legal positions but also exploring the grading of the hadith by the author and other classical hadith scholars.

HAD532

Core

Hadith

A Study of Legal Traditions: Sunan al-Tirmidhī II

The sunan genre of hadith literature primarily focuses on the evidence early Muslim jurists used in their arguments. This course examines the Sunan of Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī (d. 279/892) from both a jurisprudential and a critical historical perspective, explaining the use of each hadith in support of a variety of legal positions but also exploring the grading of the hadith by the author and other classical hadith scholars.

HAD541

Core

Hadith

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

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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

Hadith

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.