Terms and Concepts

Epistemology:
Ology meaning study. Epistemology is the study of knowledge about somethings existence,
its methods, validity and scope and the distinction between justified belief and opinion

Ontology:
The study of existence. Questions like if something is real or not? Regarding the existence of
angels.

Polemics
the practice of emerging in controversial debate. In the polemical approach there is a strong
verbal or written attack on someone or something, just for the sake of refuting it.

Mutawattir:
Continuous. Mutawatir in words, mutawatir in meaning.

Sira:
To go, to travel, way of acting, conduct, life. Sirrah is a genre of narrational writing
concerned with various facets of the life context and status of prophet(pbuh) in relation to
his community

Hadith:
Report, account, or narrative. A report describing the words, actions, or habits of Prophet
Muhammad Pbuh

Matn :
the content of the hadith by which its meaning is established

Isnad :
Isnad is the chain of narrators who have transmitted a hadith or sunna of the prophert
(pbuh), his companions or latter authorities. Its reliability determines the validity of a hadith

Sahifa:
Some companions of the prophet knew how to read and write and tried to record the
memorable statements or actions of the prophet. Due to the unavailability of paper, they
recorded these statements on small notebooks called Sahifas, comprised of papyrus, tanned
animal skins and palm fronds. These Sahifas were not public documents, instead they were
private notes of individual companions.
Musannaf :
The first organized works of Islamic scholarships comprising of topically organized book is
called a Musannaf. Arranged into different chapters dealing with different legal or ritual
questions. Musannafs were topical records of pious Muslims, in effort to respond to
questions about faith and practice.

Musnad :
The hadith collection which were organized according to Isnad. All the hadith narrated from
a certain companion would fall into 1 chapter, then all those transmitted from another into
the next chapter etc.

Sahih :
Hadith collections with highest and rigorous standards of autheniticy of isnads
A hadith reported by a reporter who is honest and of good memory power, without any
break in the chain of narrators and without any (shudh) meaning rareness and without any
illah meaning defect.

Hasan
A hadith whose authenticity is not as well established as that of a sahih hadith, but sufficient
for use as religious evidence
A Hasan hadith is transmitted through an unbroken chain of narrators all of whom are of
sound character but weak memory. This ḥadīth should not clash with a more reliable report
and must not suffer from any other hidden defect.

Daif:
A weak hadith. Due to a discontinuity in the chain of narrator or because of severe criticism
of a particular narrator.

Mawdu:
A hadith which determined to be fabricated and cannot be attributed to its origin. It
contradicts established norms of the Prophet’s saying or its reporters include liars.

Mashhur:
A hadith which is not mutawatir but its narrators are not less than 3 in any generation.
A hadith which is reported by more than 2 narrator in a given time period. And every one of
them is widley known, whether if not it has an authentic origin
→ Its standard of authenticity is lower than that of Mutwatir. Ahad for the first couple of
generation and then became mutawatir
Shariah:
A path or an approach to a watering place. In technical sense, it denotes the law laid by God.
Shariah is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition

Islamic religious law that governs not only religious rituals, but aspects of day to day life in
Islam.

Fiqh
Fiqh is understanding Gods law.

Usul al-Fiqh :
Refers to roots of understanding. It covers categories of laws (obligatory, recommended,
permitted, disliked and forbidden); sources of Islamic law: Quran, sunnah, consensus. Rules
for extrapolating norms from sources and theory of ijtihad- exercise for independent
judgments

Ibadat:
Acts of worship, namely purity, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimage

Muamlaat:
Interpersonal acts including family laws, mercantile laws, criminal laws etc.

Mufti:
An expert who can give legal rulings or fatwas

Qadi:
Qadi is a judge who deals with family laws, charitable trusts and civil disputes. Qadi is
appointed by political authority

Fatwa:
A legal ruling on issues pertaining to the Islamic law. It is issued by a mufti or a qualified
jurist.

Hukm:
A law or ruling of shariah. It refers to Islamic commandment derived and understood from
religious jurisprudence sources

Halal:
Any object or act that is permissible to use or engage in according to the Islamic law. it
covers and designates food and drinks as well as matters of daily life
Haram:
Meaning forbidden. It refers to either something sacred to which access is forbidden to the
people who are not in a state of purity or to an evil thus sinful action that is forbidden to be
done

Fardh
A religious duty commanded by Allah. It is obligatory and one who obeys such command or
duty receives ajr or sawab each time for each one.

Mandub:
Duties or actions that are recommended but not obligatory. Fulfillment of which is rewarded
,but not fulfilling doesnot attach a punishment with it.

Mubah:
Actions which are neither forbidden nor recommended ad so, religiously neutral

Makruh:
An act that is disliked. A person who abstains from such actions is rewarded.

Haram:
If you commit that action, one is punished

Ijtihad :
Independent reasoning or thorough exertion of a jurist’s mental faculty in finding a solution
to a legal question
In general usage, the Arabic word ijtihād means utmost effort, physical or mental, expended in a
particular activity. Over the course of Islamic history, understandings of and attitudes toward ijtihād
have undergone several changes.

Qiyas :
A process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the hadith are compared with the
Quran, in order to apply a known injunction to a new circumstance and create a new
injunction. Rulings of Quran and sunnah are used as a means to solve a new problem.
the process of analogical reasoning in which the teachings of the Quran are compared and
contrasted with those of the Hadith. Through this process, the ruling of the Sunnah and the
Qur'an may be used as a means to solve or provide a response to a new problem that may
arise.
Ijma:
3rd source of Islamic jurisprudence. Consensus or agreement of Muslim scholars and jurists
of a given region. It is an Arabic term referring ideally to the consensus of the ummah (the
community of Muslims, or followers of Islam). The hadith of Muhammad (pbuh) which
states that "My community will never agree upon an error" is often cited as support for the
validity of ijmā.

Ithna Ashari/Imami/Twelvers
Largest denomination of Shia in Islam. They believe in Quran and message of the prophet
(pbuh) attested in hadith and on hadith taught by their 12 infallible Imams. They believe
that the 12 Imam are spiritual and political successors to the Prophet.

Ismaili:
Imamate begins from Hassan. Jaffar was 5th Imam. Ismail, eldest son of Jaffar did not die.
Ismail was the 6th Imam and his son Muhammad was the 7th. Imamate is continued.

Zaydis:
Zaydis trace their origin to Zayd, the son of fourth Twelver . they acknowledge first 4 twelver
imams but do not consider them infalliable. Don’t await a Mahdi. Closer to sunnism.
Recognize caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar(RA)legal system ressembles the 4 sunni llaw
schools

hudud:
Meaning limits or restriction
Hudud punishment s are those fixed in the Quran and hadith for crimes considered to be
against the rights of God. The six crimes for which punishments are fixed are theft
(amputation of the hand), illicit sexual relations (death by stoning or one hundred lashes),
making unproven accusations of illicit sex (eighty lashes), drinking intoxicants (eighty
lashes), apostasy (death or banishment), and highway robbery (death). Strict requirements for
evidence (including eyewitnesses) have severely limited the application of hudud penalties

Tazir:
Refers to the punishments for offenses at the true discretion of the judge (Qadi) or ruler of
state. For offenses do not specify in Quran or Hadith
Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas:
A legal textbook based on tradition. In dealing with a topic, he cites the precedent set by the
Prophet followed by reports about the opinions and acts of the Companions and later
Medinan worthies. He then discusses them in the light of the legal tradition of Madina and
his own reasoning. Credited with his use of the principle of Istislah.
The Muwaṭṭaʾis the first written collection of hadith comprising the subjects of Muslim law, compiled
and edited by the Imam, Malik ibn Anas. Malik's best-known work, Al-Muwatta was the first legal
work to incorporate and join hadith and fiqh together.:

Musnad of Ahmad Khan

Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan

He was an Indian Muslim pragmatist, Islamic reformist, and philosopher of nineteenth
century British India. Sir Syed began promoting Western–style scientific education by
founding modern schools and journals and organising Muslim entrepreneurs. His
avocation of Islam's rationalist (Mu’tazila) tradition, and at broader, radical
reinterpretation of the Quran to make it compatible with science and modernity,
continues to influence the global Islamic reformation.

Sahih of Bukhari
Sahih Bukhari formed a Sunan. It was considered the most authentic book with traditions having
strong isnads. It was the 1st wave of sahih movement. It covers a full range of legal and ritual
traditions

Imam Shafi

Often referred to as 'Shaykh al-Islām' was one of the four great Imams of which a legacy on juridical
matters and teaching eventually led to the Shafi'i school of fiqh (or Madh'hab) named after him.
With this systematization of shari'a he provided a legacy of unity for all Muslims and forestalled the
development of independent, regionally based legal systems. The four Sunni legals schools or
madhhabs- keep their traditions within the framework that Shafi'i established. Al-Shāfi‘ī gives his
name to one of these legal schools Shafi'i fiqh - the Shafi'i school

Produced a strict hierarchy of authorities:

Quran, sunnah, Ijma and Qiyas

Tried to prove conflicting hadith by giving the context of each

Sahih of Muslims
Imam Muslim born Nishapur (in modern Iran, died 261 AH) . Sahih Muslim is one of the (six major
ahadith) of the hadith in Sunni Islam. It is the second most authentic hadith collection after Sahih al-
Bukhari, and is highly acclaimed by Sunni Muslims as well as Zaidi Shia Muslims. It was collected by
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, also known as Imam Muslim. Sahih translates as authentic or correct. Out of
300,000 hadith which he evaluated, approximately 4,000 were extracted for inclusion into his
collection based on stringent acceptance criteria. Each report in his collection was checked and the
veracity of the chain of reporters was painstakingly established. Sunni Muslims consider it the
second most authentic hadith collection, after Sahih al-Bukhari. Sahih Muslim is divided into 43
books, containing a total of 7190 narrations. However, it is important to realize that Muslim ibn al-
Hajjaj never claimed to collect all authentic traditions as his goal was to collect only traditions that all
Muslims should agree on about accuracy. According to Munthiri, there are a total of 2,200 hadiths
(without repetition) in Sahih Muslim. According to Muhammad Amin, there are 1,400 authentic
hadiths that are reported in other books, mainly the six major hadith collections.

Much more raw collection fewer chapters than Bukhari, lacks commentaries of companions and
successes. More narrations

Sunnah:

Maghazi:
Maghazi means military expeditions, and it is a type of writing tradition which was adopted
in the very early biographies of the Prophet, written around 60-70AH. these biographies
were centered around military leadership and battles fought by Prophet and his followers
and also included some non-military elements such as the Prophet's life in the city of
Madina. An example of Maghazi is Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi (Book of History and
Campaigns) by Al-Waqidi.

Ilm al-rijal :
classification of narrators according to their levels of reliability and trustworthiness

Jarh wa al-tadil:
impugnment and validation
Grounds on which narrators could be rendered unreliable
 Reputation of telling lies
 Negligence or making mistakes
 Indulgence of wahm or imagination
 Sinful conduct
 Obscurity and lack of personal identification
 Involvement in political/sectarian disputes

Khabar ul-wahid/ahad:
Hadith Reported by only a small group of people (less than 3 or 4 in any given generation)

Sunan:
Fourth & last stage: ‘the Golden Age’ of hadith literature
Rigorous standards and processes of authentication
Extensive voyages
Compilation of six canonical collections

Imam (Shiism)

Ghayba
Hidden Imam, awaiting an Mahdi in shiism

Anachronism
Anachronism is understanding what is appropriate or fitting according to the time it is in
Application of hudood is still acceptable in today’s world but application of it in the same
way as it was done in old times is not okay for today’s world
You can’t cut someone’s hand for stealing and stuff

reification
Reification means taking an abstract thing too literally
For example, saying that the bridge to Jannat will be thinner than hair and sharper than a
knife, if people take that literally and start using scientific arguments on it its reification

Ibn Ishaq
 In hadith studies, ibn Isḥaq's hadith is generally thought to be "good" (ḥasan) (assuming an
accurate and trustworthy isnad, or chain of transmission) and himself having a reputation of
being "sincere" or "trustworthy”. However, a general analysis of his isnads has given him the
negative distinction of being a mudallis, meaning one who did not name his teacher,
claiming instead to narrate directly from his teacher’s teacher. Because of his tadlīs, many
[29]

scholars including Muhammad al-Bukhari hardly ever used his narrations in their sahih
books. According to al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, all scholars of ahadith except one no longer rely
[30]

on any of his narrations, although truth is not foreign to him. Others, like Ahmad ibn
[31]

Hanbal, rejected his narrations on all matters related to fiqh. Al-Dhahabī concluded that
[3]

despite his good qualities any narration solely transmitted through him should probably be
considered munkar
 In Arabesque, he entails the lineage of biblical Prophets. But his book was viewed as
irrelevant due to its heavy reliance on Hewish and Christian sources.
 Ibn Hashem did not discard but criticized on t [11:48 am, 11/11/2022] +92 337 3117755:
Reification means taking an abstract thing too literally
 [11:49 am, 11/11/2022] +92 337 3117755: For example saying that the bridge to jannat will
be thinner than hair and sharper than a knife, if people take that literally and start using
scientific arguments on it its reificationhem