Muntasir Zaman

16 Nov 2017

The Life and Works of Hāfiẓ al-Zayla‘ī, Author of Nasb al-Rāyah

By Muntasir Zaman

16 Nov 2017

9 Min read

16November

The Life and Works of Hāfiẓ al-Zayla‘ī, Author of Nasb al-Rāyah By Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwāmah Translated by Muntasir Zaman Name and lineage He is the Imām, prolific Hadith memorizer, and authority, Jamāl al-Dīn Abū Muhammad ‘Abd Allāh ibn Yūsuf ibn Yūnus Ibn Muhammad al-Zayla‘ī[1] al-Hanafī, one of the leading Hadīth experts of the 8th century, which brimmed with experts of Hadīth who revived the...

9 Nov 2017

Distinctive Traits of the Islamic System of Inheritance

By Muntasir Zaman

9 Nov 2017

6 Min read

09November

Distinctive Traits of the Islamic System of Inheritance By Mufti Taqi Uthmani Translated by Muntasir Zaman Islamic law has put in place a fair and wise system of inheritance. The Qur’an and Sunnah have meticulously elucidated the subject without leaving it to human reasoning, which is unable to fully grasp the profound wisdom only encompassed by Allah Most High. We, therefore, find that the...

27 Apr 2017

Book Review: Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī’s al-Madkhal ilā ‘Ilm al-Sunan

By Muntasir Zaman

27 Apr 2017

9 Min read

27April

Book Review: Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī’s al-Madkhal ilā ‘Ilm al-Sunan By Muntasir Zaman [Al-Madkhal ilā ‘Ilm al-Sunan, by Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī, 2016, 1st ed. Muhammad ‘Awwāmah, pp.969 + 94, vol.2, $35 (hardback), ISBN 978-9933-503-59-8] Covering nearly one-hundred topics, it is no wonder the disciplines of Hadīth are one of the few sciences that are ‘ripe’ (nadaj) and ‘roasted’ (ihtaraq), that is...

23 Jan 2017

The Life and Thought of Imām Zāhid al-Kawtharī

By Muntasir Zaman

23 Jan 2017

26 Min read

23January

The Life and Thought of Imām Zāhid al-Kawtharī  By Muntasir Zaman  “What cosmic soul is imprisoned in that human body?” mused the learned Abū Zahrah (d. 1974) in utter admiration—indeed, “it is the soul of al-Kawtharī!” he proclaimed. [1] In recent memory, relatively few scholars have managed to synthesize expertise in, not merely acquaintance with, the vast majority of Islamic sciences. Shaykh...

25 Dec 2016

Book Review: The Reports of Abū Mikhnaf in al-Tabarī’s History: The Era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs

By Muntasir Zaman

25 Dec 2016

14 Min read

25December

Book Review: The Reports of Abū Mikhnaf in al-Tabarī’s History: The Era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, a Critical Appraisal Reviewed by Muntasir Zaman [Marwiyyāt Abī Mikhnaf fī Tārīkh al-Tabarī: ‘Asr al-Khilāfah: al-Dirāsah Naqdiyyah, by Yahyā ibn Ibrāhīm al-Yahyā, Riyadh: Dār al-‘Asimah, 2011, 528 pp., $9.50 (hardback), ISBN 978-603-8057-11-7] Introduction The rapid expansion of Islam’s borders...

4 Sep 2016

The Science of al-Jarh wa al-Ta‘dīl: Separating Wheat from Chaff

By Muntasir Zaman

4 Sep 2016

21 Min read

04September

The Science of al-Jarh wa al-Ta‘dīl: Separating Wheat from Chaff By Muntasir Zaman “And true virtue is what critics cannot help but acknowledge” goes the popular adage.[1] A case in point is where the renowned Orientalist Aloys Sprenger (d. 1893 CE) humbles his pen to write, “There is no nation, nor has there been any which like them [Muslims] has during twelve centuries recorded the life of...

13 Aug 2016

The Isnād System: An Unbroken Link to The Prophet

By Muntasir Zaman

13 Aug 2016

15 Min read

13August

Pause for a moment, and ask yourself: what are the greatest accomplishments of the Muslim civilization? At first thought, a number of things will probably come to mind, ranging from mathematics to medicine to architecture—perhaps even coffee.[1] But unfortunately we tend to overlook one of the greatest accomplishments, if not the greatest: the isnād system. That a person, till this day, can...

28 Apr 2016

Sixty Years in The Making: A Closer Look at Shaykh ‘Awwāmah’s Edition of Tadrīb al-Rāwī fī Sharh Taqrīb al-Nawāwī

By Muntasir Zaman

28 Apr 2016

29 Min read

28April

Sixty Years in The Making: A Closer Look at Shaykh ‘Awwāmah’s Edition of Tadrīb al-Rāwī fī Sharh Taqrīb al-Nawāwī By Muntasir Zaman When an expert assures you that he invested sixty years of experience in a given project, it should come as no surprise that such a work deserves undivided attention. That is the case with the latest edition of Imām Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūtī’s (d. 911 AH) magnum opus...

21 Feb 2016

A Student’s Guide to Essential Works on Qur’ānic Exegesis

By Muntasir Zaman

21 Feb 2016

11 Min read

21February

A Student’s Guide to Essential Works on Qur’ānic Exegesis By Mawlānā Yūsuf al-Bannūrī  Translator’s Preface Before you is an excerpt from “Yatīmat al-Bayān,” a forward by the critical hadith scholar Mawlānā Yūsuf al-Bannūrī (d. 1397 AH) to “Mushkilāt al-Qur’ān” which is a compilation of exegetical notes by ‘Allāmah Anwar Shāh al-Kashmīrī (d. 1352 AH). In this excerpt, Mawlānā Yūsuf al-Bannūrī...

23 Dec 2015

Insights on the Usage of Computer Programs to Locate and Grade Hadīth

By Muntasir Zaman

23 Dec 2015

5 Min read

23December

Insights on the Usage of Computer Programs to Locate and Grade Hadīth By Muftī ‘Abd al-Mālik al-Kumillā’ī [Translator’s Preface: The following is an excerpt from Muftī ‘Abd al-Mālik’s book “al-Madkhal ilā ‘Ulūm al-Hadīth al-Sharīf”[1] on the use of computer programs to locate and grade hadīths. In this excerpt, Muftī ‘Abd al-Malik, seeing the abuse of these programs, sets out to clarify several...