Etiquettes of the Student of Hadith Dr.

Nur al-Din `Itr

Translated by Ali Godil These etiquettes are applicable to any student of the Islamic sciences and demonstrate the proper methodology of acquiring knowledge. They are especially relevant to the student of hadith due to the significance of the Prophetic traditions. 1 Sincerity Towards Allah This is the first trait a student must adopt when embarking upon the study of hadith. He should busy himself with accumulating knowledge solely for the sake of Allah, most Exalted, and in order to attain the immense reward He has prepared. In a mass-transmitted tradition, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, states: May Allah brighten the face of a man who heard my sayings and conveyed them to others!1 Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah be please with him, stated: I am not aware of any deed that is superior to the study of hadith for a person whom Allah has intended to undertake that task. The student of the Islamic sciences in general, and particularly the student of hadith, should beware of using his study as a means of achieving any worldly aims. It has been authentically related in a tradition on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stated regarding the first person to be judged on the Day of Judgment: and a man who sought knowledge and taught it to others and recited and studied the Quran. He will be brought forth before Allah, who will reacquaint him with the blessings He bestowed upon him, which the man will acknowledge. Allah will say to him: What did you regarding them? He will reply: I sought knowledge and taught it to others, and I studied and recited the Quran for Your sake. Allah will reply: You have lied. Rather, you sought knowledge in order to be regarded as a scholar, and you studied and recited the Quran in order to be regarded as an expert in the Quran, and you have been regarded as such. It will then be ordered for this man to be dragged upon his face into the Hellfire.2
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Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, ibn Majah

Another narration states: Whoever sought knowledge in order to achieve a worldly aim, while he should have done so for the sake of Allah, will not smell the scent of Paradise on the Day of Judgment.3 Hammad ibn Salamah, may Allah pleased with him, stated: The one who studies hadith for other than Allahs sake is deceived. Ibn al-Salah said: One of the most effective methods of rectifying ones intention in seeking knowledge is that which we narrated from Abu `Amr Isma`il ibn Nujayd, that he asked Abu Ja`far Ahmad ibn Hamdan (and both of them were righteous servants of Allah): What should my intention be when I record hadiths? He replied: Do you [scholars of hadith] not report that the mercy of Allah descends when the righteous are mentioned? He said: Yes. He then said: Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is at the forefront of all the righteous. He should ask Allah, Most Exalted, to make his study easy for him, to support him, to grant him success, and to guide him. He also should adopt lofty morals and pleasant manners. As Abu `Asim al-Nabil said: The one who seeks knowledge of hadith has indeed sought the loftiest of the affairs of this religion, so it behooves him to be amongst the best of people in his conduct. 2 Diligence in Learning from the Scholars The student of hadith must be serious and diligent in acquiring knowledge from scholars who are known for their immense knowledge, as well as their religiosity and righteousness, even if he has to venture outside his own academic institution. In the past, students of the Islamic sciences would traverse large distances in order to benefit from various scholars in spite of the ruggedness of the terrain and the difficulty of the mode of transport. So much emphasis was placed on this, that it was said regarding a student of hadith that did not travel for the sake of knowledge: One does not get the impression that he is characterized by maturity of intellect.
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Muslim Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, ibn Majah

3 Acting Upon His Knowledge The Quran struck a most unflattering parable regarding the one who does not act according to his knowledge, and made him a means of admonition for eternity. Allah, Most Exalted, states: The similitude of those who are entrusted with the Tawrah, yet apply it not, is that of a donkey carrying tomes.4 Waki` ibn al-Jarrah, the teacher of Imam al-Shafi`i, stated, If you wish to memorize hadith, then act upon it. 4 Respect and Reverence for His Teachers A student must respect his shaykhs and teachers, as well as anyone from whom he acquires knowledge, for this is part and parcel of maintaining reverence for the hadith and Islamic knowledge. He must be mindful of his teacher in his presence and his absence, and he should not seek out his mistakes. All of the above should be done solely for the sake of Allah. He should not allow shyness to prevent him from asking questions and gaining knowledge. Mujahid said: The one who is too shy or too arrogant to ask questions will not learn anything. He should do so even if someone who is his junior possesses information that he does not have. Waki` ibn al Jarrah stated: A scholar of hadith does not truly attain nobility until he records hadith from his seniors, his peers, and his juniors. 5 Sharing Information With His Fellow Students This is amongst the earliest benefits one gains from the study of hadith and the Islamic sciences in general. The scholars have mentioned that the person who withholds knowledge from his brethren in order to be the sole possessor of that information is unworthy of benefitting anyone. Malik, may Allah be please with him, said: Sharing knowledge with others is amongst the blessings of hadith. 6 Adhering to a Sound, Methodical Approach in the Study of Hadith Doing so is of the utmost important for the student of hadith. Students of the Islamic sciences often seek my assistance in this regard, so I have summarized the general guidelines of this method as it applies to studying the source texts of hadith in the following manner:
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Quran (62:5)

The most important books of hadith transmission are those that were authored in the era of the compilation of hadith, the primary sources. The Muwatta of Imam Malik is at the top of the list, because it is the easiest to study, due to its brevity, the shortness of its chains of narrations, and expert selection of hadiths, as well as the sahih collections of Bukhari and Muslim. The student should then devote his attention the sunan compilations of Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasai, and ibn Majah, deciphering difficult passages as well as gaining an understanding of the underlying meanings behind the hadiths. He should then move on to the musnads of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Ya`la al-Musali. It was said about his musnad: The musnad collections are like rivers, but Musnad Abu Yala is like the sea. The student should then move on to the comprehensive compilations that gather all of the hadiths of numerous different collections, as well as the references of takhrij, that were written for cross-referencing and verifying the hadiths of a particular text. He should also devote his attention to commentaries of hadith collections, the most important of which are Hafiz ibn Hajars Fath al-Bari and Imam al-Nawawis al-Minhaj. Also of importance is ibn al-Athirs al-Nihayah fi Gharib al-Hadith. This lexicon fully clarifies the vocabulary of the hadith and the prophetic language, to the extent that it can be considered a succinct commentary of all the prophetic traditions. Most importantly, a student should be eager to study and research any hadith that he is not familiar with, any difficult proper names or vocabulary, as well as any issue related to the Islamic sciences he comes across, committing all of this to memory. By doing so, he will accumulate a great deal of knowledge with relative ease. 7 Paying Attention to the Science of Hadith Methodology This is indispensible for the student of hadith, regardless of how many narrations he has memorized, because he will not benefit from them without it. This is due the fact that the science of hadith methodology clarifies the fundamental principles of hadith, its particulars, and explains the nomenclature of the scholars of hadith as well as their intents and aims. A scholar of hadith who is not firmly grounded in this science will be will be lacking in his knowledge and will be deprived from deriving full benefit from the hadith literature.5
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Itr, Nur Al-Din. "Adab Talib Al-Hadith." Manhaj Al-Naqd Fi `Ulum Al-Hadith. 3rd ed. Damascus: Dar AlFikr, 1997. 189-93. Print.