Umdat al-Ahkaam
Course Type: Hadith (Ahkaam)
Umdat al-Ahkam min Kalam Khayr al-Anaam (AS)
The Reliance of Rulings (al-Hafidh Abdul-Ghani al-Maqdisi)
This is the basic primer in the field of Hadith covering areas of Ahkaam (rulings). It is a compilation of 422 of the most authentic Hadith that can be found in the books, Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim; the two most authentic sources in Islam after the Quran.
The book comprises 20 chapters, which have been arranged in a method conventionally used by Fuqaha (Muslim Jurists). This has been done in order to facilitate the extraction of juristic rulings directly from their authentic source for the ease of students of knowledge. The book covers common areas of Fiqh (jurisprudence) in chapters that deal with matters such as the five pillars of Islam, marriage, buying, oaths, clothing, food, and Jihad.
The text is as popular today as it ever ha been and is taught and memorised widely by those desiring a firm grounding in this field. Due to its continued importance there have been over 20 works dedicated to its explanation one of which extends over 11 volumes.
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By the end of the course, a student will be able to find the following benefits:
- Learn the most important and authentic Hadith related to a Muslim’s life
- Study terminology used by the Fuqaha (Muslim Jurists) in deriving rulings
- Become familiar with the companions of the Prophet who narrated most often
- Expand your receptive vocabulary by learning commonly used Arabic words
- Learn how scholars would compile and organise chapters of their books
- Learn how scholars analyse, recognize and extract vital rulings from Hadith
Students must be able to:
- read Arabic with vowels
- dedicate 3 hours per week
- use PDF and Word files
- attend weekly class for 1:15
- Arabic text of Umdat with full tashkeel (Arabic Vowels) in PDF & WORD
- Complete English translation of Arabic text.
- Full written commentary in Arabic
- Detailed biography of al-Hafidh Abdul Ghani and his works
- Supplementary materials related to the Science
- Bi-weekly progress-check worksheets
As this course is being taught part-time, it will require a minimum 3 modules to cover the contents of the text. For student flexibility, the modules have been divided in to 3 twelve-week terms that are taught at different times throughout the year. If you are interested in studying this course and would like to know course dates, please register your interest by filling out the form at admissions.
This is an Ijazah course and students who attend and understand the principles covered in the text will be honored with a written Ijazah going back to Imam Abdul Ghani al-Maqdisi al-Hanbali. For more detailed information please see FAQs
Hadith Studies Umdat al-Ahkaam
Brief Biography
al-Imam al-Hafidh Abu Muhammad Abdul-Ghani ibn Abdul-Wahid al-Maqdisi al-Hanbali (RA) was born in the year 541 AH in the village of Jummail, in Palestine. While still in his infancy, his family migrated to Damascus where he began to seek knowledge alongside his cousin the famous Hanbali jurist Ibn Qudamah. He studied at the hands of renowned scholars in Damascus; many of them were from his own extended family. He was the first person to establish a school on the Qasyoon Mountain in Damascus and this area soon became synonymous with the pious, so much so that it was given the name Salihiya or ‘area of piety’, a name still used for this area till today.
He traveled thoroughly throughout the Muslim World and visited Alexandria, Isfahan, Jerusalem, Ba’albak, Cairo, Hamazan and Baghdad studying the Sacred Sciences with many scholars including the Imam of Tasawwuf Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (RA).
Due to his faithful resolve to speak the truth in the face of falsehood he faced many difficulties and made many enemies, some of whom later took up influential positions of power. These and other extremist elements persecuted him to the extent that he was expelled from many cities and on the 23rd of Rabi al-Awwal 600 AH while in the company of his family passed in to the Mercy of Allah, leaving behind three sons all of whom were scholars.
Some of the most famous teachers that he studied with were:
Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani
Shaykh Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi
Shaykh Hibatullah ibn al-Hasan al-Daqaq
Shaykh Abu Musa al-Madaini
Shaykh Abul Fath al-Kharqi
Shaykh Abul Fadl al-Tusi
Some of his most famous works are:
Manaqib al-Sahabah
al-Kamal fi Asma al-Rijal
al-Misbah fi Oyoun al-Hadith al-Sihah
Mihnah al-Imam Ahmad
al-Nasiha fi Adi’yah al-Sahiha
Arguably the most indispensable collection of Hadith related to the Prophet’s (salalahu alayhi wa salam) blessed biography. It was compiled by the eminent Muhaddith, Imam al-Tirmidhi less than 3 centuries after the passing away of the Prophet Mohammed (salalahu alayhi wa salam).
This is the fundamental primer in the Science of Mustalah al-Hadith (Hadith Classification) having been authored by arguably the foremost authority in Mustalah al-Hadith, the illustrious al-Hafidh Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaani (RA)
The Muwatta of Imam Malik is a collection of over 1900 Prophetic sayings (ahadith) as well as the legal standpoints of his companions (Sahabah), their students (Tabi'een) and practices of the Madinan People.