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Presented at the 2-day International Conference on Muhammad Asad organized by the Institute of Objective Studies Delhi India May 28, 2022 by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard). Zoom ID = 869 3812 5234 ID=021395
REVIVAL OF AN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION
- I congratulate IOS for reviving a very important discipline in Islamic sciences by holding conferences at which these men are studied in order to appreciate their intellectual contributions. We had symposiums on Prof Hamidullah and Prof Fuat Sezgin in addition to many others national and international. We look forward to more such conferences and to the publication of the proceedings that will be a welcome addition to the legacy of our scholars.
- These conferences on these pioneers enable us to understand their writings in a deeper way. The science of men has two aspects; al jarh & ta’adill (علم الجرح والتعديل). There must be praise and evaluation for a balanced view. Our past conferences have been more praise than evaluation and my hope is that as we progress we will have a more balanced approach.
ASSESSING THE IMPACT FACTOR
- These conferences also enable us to evaluate the impact of these scholars on the intellectual legacy among Muslims and non-Muslims. We may need to develop a special Islamic Impact Factor (IF) based on the extent to which these early scholars were quoted by later writers and their influence on later generations. We may also develop another impact factor based on their social impact on the movements of tajdid and islah in various parts of the Muslim world.
UNIQUENESS OF THE SCIENCE OF MEN
- The science of men is unique for our ummat and civilization and we should be proud of it. Modern science for example lacks this science and suffers from ethical violations in scientific publications such as plagiarism and data manipulation. Articles that bypass the peer review system are retracted after the fraud is discovered. The reason is that the reviewers look at the text of the research and do not look at the character and trustworthiness of the researcher as a person. They also do not know how to look since morality was marginalized in modern science.
QUR’ANIC BASIS FOR THE SCIENCE OF MEN
- The Qur’an arges us to check the character of the reporter
- الجحجرات ٦{يَا
أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَنْ
تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ
رابط المادة: http://iswy.co/e2808t - رابط المادة: http://iswy.co/e2808t
THE SCIENCE OF MEN AS BIOGRAPHICAL EVALUATION
- The Science of men is a biographical evaluation of narrators. The science of narrators establishes the credibility of narrators. Ali Ibn Almadani said that knowing the narrators is half of knowledge. The science of men arose after the first generation. There was no need to check the companions were trustworthy as described in surat al taywbah: 100
- وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ (التوبة ١٠٠)
- Science of men started in earnest after the generation of the companions during the period of turmoil when there was fear that hadith could be distorted. Pioneers of the science of men arose among the followers (tabiuun) one of them being Malik Ibn Anas
METHODOLOGY OF THE SCIENCE OF MEN
- The narrator is evaluated on the basis of moral uprightness (‘adaalat) which comprises the consciousness of Allah (taqwa), social respectability (muruah), and precision (dhabt) of memorization and writing. Terminology was developed to grade narrators positively such as thiqah, mutqin, thabt, saduuq, or negatively such as layyin al hadith, laysa bi qawi, dhaif al hadith, kadhaab, etc.
- Many books were written in ancient times and were used immediately for purposes of checking the authenticity of hadith.
- We need to write books on scholars of our times but will have to be careful to navigate political and sectarian sensitivities. In most cases, posthumous writing is the safest because the whole profile of the scholar is available. The posthumous publication also avoids personal, political, and sectarian sensitivities. The technology of searching old documents can enable us to revise old books. Unlike ancient times it will not be one scholar but a group of scholars researching and presenting papers at conferences that can be published as proceedings.
BOOKS OF THE SCIENCE OF MEN - 1: Aldhahabi d. 784H/1348G
- سير اعلام النبلاء للحافظ أبو عبد الله شمس الدين الذهبي
- covers the period from the sahaba to the era of the author
- the names were grouped in 35+ levels covering 6860 names
BOOKS OF THE SCIENCE OF MEN - 2: Al’Asqalani d. 852H/1449G
- الإصابة في تمييز الصحابة الحافظ أحمد بن علي بن محمد الكناني العسقلاني، أبو الفضل، شهاب الدين، ابن حجر العسقلاني
BOOKS OF THE SCIENCE OF MEN - 3: Al Maqdasi d. 541H/1146G
- الكمال في أسماء الرجال للحافظ عبد الغني المقدسي