Interest Poll: Upcoming Hadith, Usul & Fiqh Classes
I wanted to make a poll to gauge the possible interest in a few classes that I plan to launch in mid-September:
1. Fiqh (Pre-Hidayah): Multaqa al-Abhur
This will be a complete study of Multaqa al-Abhur, a later Hanafi work that is a very useful summary of the earlier mutun of the school and its main tarjihat and major internal differences. The class seeks to give lower-intermediate students a good grasp of the school's furu' with focus on the legal reasonings behind them, rooting important differences in the overarching principles underpinning each chapter (dhawabit), as well as in broader qawa'id fiqhiyyah and usul al-fiqh. This will serve as a stepping stone to a course on the Hidayah following the completion of the Multaqa.
This will be a total of 3-4 hours of class weekly, spread over two sessions.
2. Usul al-Fiqh: Taqrib al-Wusul
A course on Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi's (d. 741) excellent work Taqrib al-Wusul, along with its later Hanafi rendition by al-Ardhurrumi (d. 1202). The course will focus on the rational underpinnings of legal theory and emphasize:
-Explaining the concepts themselves and developing a clear conception of each topic explored. For example, before explaining any differences on the 'amm: what is an 'amm? Is it a kulli, a kull, or a kulliyyah? How does this affect our idea of naskh?
-The common reasonings that underly differences of opinion in usul as well as the overarching principles that even differing scholars share.
-Application of usul in practical case studies.
This course will serve as a beneficial stepping stone to more advanced works like the Manar, Minhaj al-Wusul, or Mukhtasar ibn al-Hajib.
This class will be one session per week for 1-1.5 hours.
3. Hadith (pre-Muwatta'): Taqrib al-Asanid
This will be a class on Al-Iraqi's (d. 806) very unique work Taqrib al-Asanid, a work that he dedicated to his son, Wali al-Din (d. 826). This work contains 416 ahadith that revolve around only 16 chains of narration (4 from the Muwatta and 12 from Ahmad's Musnad) that Al-Iraqi chose for his work, which helps a student begin their study of hadith with easier isnads that introduce them to narrators and allows for easier memorization and comprehension of chains of narrations. Given that the ahadith are generally on legal topics, it serves as an excellent introduction to fiqh and practical Hadith sciences at the same time. It is an excellent precursor to the Muwatta, which will be, in sha Allah, the next step after this course is completed.
The class will focus on explaining the chains of narration, dissecting the text, applying usul al-fiqh, and using it as an opportunity to explore how Hadith commentary works. The class will draw on Tarh al-Tathrib, the amazing commentary of both Iraqis (father and son) on the work; it is a Hadith commentary as unique and comprehensive as it is underappreciated. It is the ideal training ground for further studies in Hadith commentary.
This will be one session a week for 1-1.5 hours.
Timings will be finalized closer to the launch date. Each class will cost 25$ USD per month with a discount for anyone joining multiple courses. Two courses will be a total monthly fee of 45$, and all three will be a total of 60$.
The envisaged timeframe for completing each course is 12 months, in sha Allah.