Have you ever been told that there are no truly authentic hadiths, and that the entire science of hadith methodology should be disregarded? Those studying Islam at universities are often taught this by Western academics. Indeed, there are also groups of "Quran-only" Muslims who believe that hadith science is inherently flawed, and that hadiths are not needed to understand the Qur'an. How do we understand and respond to such claims?
The importance of hadith has been a self-evident religious fact ever since the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, all the way down to recent times. Objections against the reliability of hadith literature were first raised by orientalists and then taken forward and promoted by modernist Muslims to an unprecedented degree. There are now few Muslims who haven’t heard of some objection or another against hadith, with "Quran-only" approaches becoming more and more common. Because of the prevalence of doubt on this topic, learning about hadith and its disciplines is a communal obligation (fard kifaya) in our times.
Allah says in the Qur'an "Nor does he (the Messenger of Allah) say (aught) of (his own) desire. It is no less than revelation (wahi) sent down to him" (al-Najm, 3-4). The statements and actions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, were thus meticulously preserved and passed on to those not present. "We have without doubt, sent down the Message; and we will assuredly guard it" (al-Hijr, 9), and the promise here refers to the preservation of both the Qur'an and the Sunna.
Early Muslim scholars thus took to carefully examining and analyzing every utterance that came down to them, utterances attributed to the blessed Prophet, his companions, or other early Muslims. The science of hadith is not only unprecedented but also unmatched until today as a rational framework for the analysis of historical reports. Hadith and Its Disciplines will explore the reliability of hadith and their fundamental role in the Sacred Law. You will gain insight into the mistakes of orientalist criticism of hadiths, the errors of "Qur'an-only" claims, and the problems with the methodologies of some recent scholars of hadiths. This course is a comprehensive answer to every single objection to following hadith that is raised in our times, something that—to our knowledge—has not been done in the English language in such a comprehensive manner to date.
By understanding the inherent faults in an Orientalist study of Islam, you will learn the difference between studying Islam in a Western university and studying Islam with a classically trained Muslim scholar. Course content will touch upon the problems with learning Islam from orientalists, whether through books or in universities, including creating skepticism with all claims to religious authority, making knowledge an object in itself, and creating a confused line between “objectivity” and what is simply lack of faith. All of these lead one to have an orientatlist mindset that blocks one from seeing that their religion is actually true.
The course will begin with the story of hadith, including its transmission and formal documentation. Lessons will then explore both classical and modern hadith criticism, both orientalist and modernist. The course will end with a survey of hadith literature.
By the end of the course, you will have conviction in the need to follow hadith and use the course material to answer objections against doing so. You will have a firm belief in the fact that hadiths have been reliably preserved and develop a deep admiration for the genius of the scholars of hadith in developing unique and rigorous methods for preserving hadiths as well as other books of Islamic literature. This will all lead to a longing to learn more about the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and a newfound conviction in Islam.