At the heart of Darul Qasim College’s academic mission lies a foundational conviction that revelation is neither fragmented nor in conflict with itself or with the world it addresses. Darul Qasim’s intellectual orientation is aligned with a longstanding project of synthesis, a project championed by towering scholars such as Imam Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī, Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī, and Muḥammad Qāsim al-Nānūtawī. This endeavor undertakes the formidable task of demonstrating the coherence and harmony of divine revelation in all its expressions, both in its internal structures and in its engagement with empirical knowledge, rational inquiry, and the civilizational order to which it gave rise.
A central axis of this project is the restoration and defense of the Hadith tradition, particularly its function within the divinely anchored order established by the best of generations (khayr al-qurūn). This order was not an abstraction, but an historical and normative system that gave life to the ethical, legal, and spiritual ideals embedded in revelation. To defend Islam today is to defend not merely the texts, but the interpretive system that gave them vitality: the legal theory, ethical orientation, spiritual tradition, and political order developed by the scholars of the past.
In this regard, the Hanafi school of law and theology deserves special emphasis. The school’s distinctive contribution lies in its integrated method of exegesis and Hadith criticism, which resists fragmentary literalism in favor of a cohesive hermeneutic grounded in uṣūl al-fiqh and ʿilm al-kalām. The Hanafi approach offers not only a juridical method, but a vision of how revelation functions in the life of society. Its nuanced reception of khabar al-wāḥid traditions, its rationally guided engagement with textual reports, and its insistence on coherence with Qurʾānic principles and the objectives of Sharīʿah all serve this higher aim.
As such, a historical survey of the major figures who contributed to the Hanafi Hadith project, the likes of al-Ṭaḥāwī, al-Jaṣṣāṣ, al-Bazdawī, Ibn al-Humām, al-Kashmīrī, and so on, is indispensable. Their work demonstrates the subtle harmonization of kalām, fiqh, and hadith. Their legacy reminds us that Islamic scholarship was never the product of isolated disciplines but of an integrated epistemology.
Darul Qasim College students are to be formed in this integrative vision. They must learn to appreciate every school and every scholar within their own context and methodology. They must also be trained to distinguish between the methodological precision of the early generations (mutaqaddimīn) and the encyclopedic, and often more accommodating, methods of the later generations (mutaʾakhkhirīn).
The Darul Qasim Takhaṣṣuṣ (Specialization) in Hadith Studies program is a critical component to the “synthesis project” of the Islamic intellectual legacy. This is a project which aims to restore not only the texts, but the conditions of their flourishing, to restore not merely ideas, but the systems and structures that made those ideas livable. Additionally, as the cornerstone of Islamic intellectual heritage, the Hadith tradition demands a rigorous scholarly response to its misinterpretation and marginalization in contemporary discourse. The modern trend of reframing hadiths through foreign epistemic frameworks has weakened confidence in the very sources of Islamic thought.
Recognizing the gravity of this crisis, towering intellectuals of the last century, such as Imam Muḥammad Zāhid al-Kawtharī, Mawlānā Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī al-Nadwī, and Mawlānā Muḥammad Yūsuf al-Binnūrī, highlighted the urgent need for advanced, discipline-specific training in the Islamic sciences. Mawlānā al-Binnūrī was particularly vocal in advocating for formal specialization (takhaṣṣuṣ) in fields such as ʿulūm al-Qurʾān, ʿulūm al-ḥadīth, al-fiqh wa uṣūl al-fiqh wa-l-qaḍāʾ wa-l-iftā, al-kalām wa-l-maʿqūl wa-l-falsafah, and al-daʿwah wa-l-irshād.
In the preface to the program handbook for the first formal takhaṣṣuṣ fī ʿulūm al-ḥadīth program in the Indian Subcontinent published in 1387 AH/1968 AD, Mawlānā al-Binnūrī argued that the breadth and complexity of the Islamic sciences had oustripped the capacities of a generalist curriculum. Despite the acute scarcity of qualified instructors, whose presence he likened to red sulphur (kibrīt aḥmar), he maintained that, “in light of scholarly and religious needs, contemporary circumstances, and the demands of both disposition and duty”, the establishment of a specialization program in ʿulūm al-ḥadīth had become an imperative.
At Darul Qasim College, we similarly recognize the rarity of the requisite skills and capacities, both pedagogical and scholarly, required to support such advanced instruction. The resources demanded by these programs, whether financial or educational, are considerable, and the institutional burden of sustaining qualified faculty, producing curricular materials, and mentoring students through rigorous intellectual formation is not trivial. Nevertheless, the need for such specialization far outweighs the obstacles. The fragmentation of religious knowledge, the growing complexity of contemporary ethical and legal questions, and the increasing demands placed upon religious leadership make it imperative that institutions commit themselves to cultivating scholars with deep, discipline-specific training that is rooted in tradition yet responsive to the present.
In this spirit, Darul Qasim’s Specialization in Hadith Studies (Takhaṣṣuṣ fī ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth) program aspires to carry forward the vision articulated by figures like Mawlānā al-Binnūrī and adapt it to the particular challenges and opportunities of our time. It is designed to produce scholars who are trained in classical methodologies and combine technical mastery of hadith transmission and authentication with the intellectual clarity needed to engage critically with modern academic and ideological challenges and contribute meaningfully to contemporary discourse. May Allah grant us sincerity and enable us to serve His Messenger’s tradition with integrity and insight.
Bilal Ali
Program Chair, Takhaṣṣuṣ in Hadith Studies Program
Department of Hadith Studies, Darul Qasim College
