Research Proposal Proposed research topic Methodology of Hadith commentary: Syarh Muslim by al-Nawawi a case study Reason for

undertaking the research The aim of this study is to give an expository account, comprehensive and detailed, of the traditionalist (Hadith) ideas and teachings of Imam al-Nawawi. It attempts to survey certain major patterns of hadith exegesis as revealed in the works of Imam al-Nawawis Syarh Shahih Muslim. It deals with the Islamic ideas and teachings of al-Nawawi, an Arabic traditionalist of the 7th Century who wrote on hadith doctrine and lived in Nawa on the west coast of Damascus. Syarh Muslim by al-Nawawi has been specially acclaimed as the greatest hadith works and has become the most lasting contribution of him in the realms of Islamic intellectual and religious tradition, and in the development of science of hadith. The work generally recognized as his masterpiece and is certainly one of the greatest achievements of alNawawi to formulate the method of hadith commentary that will be used by later generation. The methodological principles he established were continued in a long tradition of hadith comparative learning and writing by Muslims. Thus the study aims at presenting the work, and further examines the relevancy of his methodology in interpreting hadith to contemporary needs of such study and strategies to develop new tools for reading the Islamic holy texts. Reference to previous research As far as is known, in terms of a comprehensive exposition and commentary (tafsir) of alNawawis traditional ideas and teachings as revealed in the texts of his voluminous works and verses, this study represents the first undertaking of such a task. Although parts of this Arabic traditionals ideas and teachings have been commented upon by several Western and Muslim scholars in various ways and different contexts, their comments have been selective, brief and extremely limited in scope. This deficiency warrants a critical study of al-Nawawis Syarh Muslim, the aim of this dissertation. It will touch the whole mass of hadith materials found in his work, a critical process to set about the task of clarification and of placing him in his rightful position among the great classical traditionalist of Muslim tradition. Method of gathering data The method by which I propose to pursue this subject is twofold. In the first instance, the usual methods of commentary will be applied. The basis from which al-Nawawis

exegetic work is deduced will be his major exegesis Al-Minhaj fi Syarh Shahih Muslim al-Hajjaj and selections from his other works on the hadith texts. My method of commentary, in which explanation of the traditionals ideas and teachings are largely guided by comparisons with similar ideas and teachings found in the writings of other hadith exegesis is a method that is generally employed in such expositions. I am also introducing, as part of my methodology, a general descriptive and phenomenological method, which requires that the researcher led the phenomena speak for themselves rather than force them into any predetermined ideational framework, let the eidetic vision of essence order the data for the understanding and be collaborated by them. By this method of approach it becomes possible to discover the conceptual system of alNawawis traditionalism not merely as its component parts but as a whole. Selection of the main ideas which run through his work and analysis of their underlying concepts and relations with one another become a matter of prime importance in such a study as this. Data analysis Since the study is descriptive in nature, the method used to interpret the qualitative data is content analysis. It applied to analysis of the written text or visual contents of a document. With respect to this, content analysis is intended at making inferences by systematically and objectively identifying specified characteristic within text. Research questions To address the problems specifically, this research explore the following questions: 1. What are the methods that al-Nawawi used to write al-Minhaj? 2. What influence did classical scholars have on the ideals reflected in the Kitab? 3. What are the factors that shaped his ideas of hadith and their impact on both alNawawi and his period? 4. How can current study of hadith benefited from his work on hadith commentary? 5. What new and original contribution is his work going to make to the fields of hadith exegesis?

Organization of the study This study will consist of five chapters. Chapter one is an introduction with a brief discussion on the early historical development of hadith commentary until the time of alNawawi. Chapter two consists of a detailed biography of Imam al-Nawawi, followed by a brief exposition of his major contributions in the various fields of knowledge, particularly those of Islamic hadith.

Chapter three examines the structure and content of al-Minhaj. The analysis will provide some insight on the general contents of the text together with a survey of the linguistic, literary, historical and doctrinal aspects of his work. This will help in offering a clear presentation of the style of his thought, which is reflected in the al-Minhaj. Critical evaluations of al-Nawawis ideas are taken up in chapter four. In this chapter the emphasis is placed on his methodology of interpreting the hadith. It will deals with his major work of hadith, al-Minhaj, with a full commentary of the text which will involve extensive textual analysis, detail exposition of the explicit as well as implicit ideas that are couched therein. Chapter five will analyze the al-Minhaj as a systematic development in the science of hadith. Certain selected subjects it covers from the science of hadith, such as the problems of some hidden defects in isnad, the system of evaluating transmitters, controversy over individual isnads, and controversy over Muslims isnads will be examined in this chapter. The second aspect of the al-Minhaj, that is textual criticism of it, will be focused on in chapter six. This chapter will discuss the classical use of textual criticism in hadith studies and his application of it, controversy over textual variants, problems of conflicting texts and the status of weak and forged texts. Finally the outcome of the study, together with some useful suggestions for further research, will be made in the conclusion.

Proposed table of contents Introduction Part one: Al-Nawawi: a brief account of his life and works 1.1 Summation of al-Nawawis life 1.2 Al-Nawawis early life and education 1.3 The political and religious situation in his time 1.4 Al-Nawawi and the cultural life of his time 1.5 His devotion for the quest of hadith Part two: A review of al-Nawawis works 2.1 History and classification of the work of al-Nawawi 2.2 List of al-Nawawis works 2.3 Tentative chronology of al-Nawawis work 2.4 An overview of al-Nawawis works in hadith 2.5 Contribution in systematizing the study of hadith 2.6 His influence in the Islamic world Part three: Introduction to al-Nawawis major works: Kitab al-Minhaj

3.1 The purpose of writing al-Minhaj 3.2 Structure and sources of the al-Minhaj 3.3 Main themes in the al-Minhaj 3.4 Methods of reference 3.5 Working methods 3.6 The sources used by al-Nawawi Part four: Analysis of the al-Minhaj 4.1 Notes on the text of al-Minhaj 4.2 The subject-matters 4.3 The method, approach and style 4.4 The necessity for contextual study 4.5 The method of criticism 4.6 The method of comparison Conclusion

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