Bukhari & Tirmidhi

Course Description

The study of Sahih al-Bukhari will highlight the brilliant method used by Bukhari in extracting the narrations of his collection and understanding Islamic law and theology. In the process, chains of transmission (isnads) for the same hadith texts from other collections will be analysed so as to show why Bukhari only chose the chains that he did, and why he left the others, in line with his remarkably consistent and thorough methodology. Moreover, the criticisms of masters like Daraqutni against some of the narrations included by Bukhari will be fully discussed.

The study of Sunan al-Tirmidhi lessons will further expand upon hidden defects of hadith by analysing the works of Daraqutni and others. Furthermore, Tirmidhi manages to bring together an incredible wealth of information about how the Companions, students of the Companions (taba’un) and the early generations of scholars derived law from hadith, or differed with some hadith or reconciled between certain hadith. In this way, the student is empowered with similar tools of analysis as those early generations when engaging with the hadith canon.

Learning Outcomes:

• Upon successful completion of this module students should be able to:
• Analyse and critically evaluate hadith commentaries
• Relate the level of authenticity of a hadith to its social, theological and spiritual application
• Demonstrate in-depth understanding of the criteria for hadith preference in legal applications
• Investigate the primary source of hadith material in the analysis of religious issues
• Understand how these same narrations can be understood and applied in our time to modern questions that the community faces.

Note:  This course is designed for students at an intermediate level of understanding in Arabic grammar, morphology, and rhetoric. Students at this proficiency level will derive the maximum benefit from the course discussions. This is an ongoing course which accepts enrolments on a yearly basis.