Hadith
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Memories of My Mentor: Mawlānā Dr. ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm al-Nuʿmāni Chishtī
In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Mercy-Giving. Upon the passing of my mentor and intellectual guide, Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Chishtī Ṣāḥib (al-Nuʿmānī), who his students affectionally call Ustādh Jī or just Haḍrat Chishtī Ṣāḥib, I find myself struggling to find the right way of expressing my grief and loss. It is, no… Continue reading
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The Attribution of Prophetic Events to the Day of ʿĀshūrā
[I found this somewhat unfinished research on my computer. Seeing as today is the 10th of Muḥarram, or ʿĀshūrā, I thought it would be useful to students of knowledge to post whatever research I had gathered to date on the authenticity of the attribution of certain prophetic events to this day. Interestingly enough, the 10th… Continue reading
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A Suggested Curriculum of Study for the Hanafi Student of Hadith
In our shaykh Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm al-Nuʿmānī’s invaluable foreword to Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī’s Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ – modestly entitled al-Biḍāʿat al-Muzjāt li man Yuṭāliʿu al-Mirqāt (Scanty Merchandise for the One who Studies the Mirqāt) – the erudite hadith scholar Imam ʿAbd al-Bārī ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Anṣārī al-Laknawī is quoted from a passage of his prolegomena to his al-Taʿlīq al-Mukhtār ʿalā Kitāb al-Āthār. In… Continue reading
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On the Validity of Backbiting in Hadith Criticism
Question: When we talk about a specific narrator being ʿādil (upright), isn’t it backbiting to label someone a liar or a sinner? How is this justified? Answer: In the name of Allah, the All Merciful, the Most Mercy-giving. The act of backbiting (ghībah) as it applies to speaking unfavorably of a person who is not present is… Continue reading
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The Solitary Report (Khabr Wāḥid) in the Ḥanafī Madhhab: Selection from an Unpublished Article
The khabar wāḥid (sometimes translated as a “solitary report”), as defined by the Ḥanafī jurists, refers to a narration that is transmitted by any number of narrators that does not reach the level of mashhūr or mutawātir. (Bazdawī 112) It may be narrated by one, two, or any other varying number of narrators at every… Continue reading
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Commentary on the Hadith of Shaytan and Eating with the Left Hand
أخبرنا مالك أخبرنا ابن شهاب عن أبي بكر بن عبيد الله عن عبد الله بن عمر أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال : إذا أكل أحدكم فليأكل بيمينه وليشرب بيمينه فإن الشيطان يأكل بشماله ويشرب بشماله قال محمد : وبه نأخذ . لا ينبغي أن يأكل بشماله ولا يشرب بشماله إلا من… Continue reading
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The Hadith of Abu Hurayrah Delivering a Lecture Before the Jumu’ah Khutbah
Question: I was discussing with a friend the idea of giving a speech before the Arabic khutbah and he mentioned that Abu Hurayrah used to give a speech in Masjid Nabawi before the actual khutbah. Do you know where he got this from and where I can find this hadith? Continue reading
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Reading List of Recommended English Books on the Prophetic Biography
The list of available works on the Sīrah, or prophetic biography, is almost too long to mention. I have, therefore, confined this list to English works and, then, to works that are the most useful for students of my Sirah courses (HST101: Prophetic Biography – The Makkan Era and HST102: Prophetic Biography – The Madinan… Continue reading
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Review of Some Commentaries on Imam Tirmidhi’s al-Shama’il al-Muhammadiyyah
By the infinite mercy of Allah, I have been blessed to be able to teach the Shama’il Muhammadiyyah of Imam Tirmidhi twice in the last year and have begun to teach it again this year to students of the Dawrat al-Hadith. In the beginning of the year, students were very adamant on finding a commentary of the Shama’il that… Continue reading
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A Reading List of English Books in Hadith Studies
Over the past few years, a significant number of friends and students have requested a list of suggested book readings for my various classes on Hadith Studies. Others over the past few years have asked my opinion about certain works or whether they are appropriate for the level of the enquirer. Recently, I was reminded… Continue reading
Bilal Ali 