The isnād is the link connecting us back to our beloved Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him). It is unique to this Ummah and is the backbone of grading Ahadith. The scholars of hadith have all penned down their chains to the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) for every narration in their books, yet the narrators in those chains are in the thousands! Whilst studying all of their lives may be difficult, there are certain famous narrators whose names you will find again and again in the books of hadith. By zooming in on these narrators and their famous teachers and students, you will be familiar with 80 percent of the narrations he comes across, as many of them will go through these narrators.

This course provides a detailed explanation of how the Isnād developed from the Prophetic era through the generations of the Ṣaḥābah, their successors, and subsequent scholars, culminating in the major ḥadīth compilations. Students will study the various methods employed in identifying and learning the most prominent narrators, with practical application of the Madār method.
The course also examines the principal compilers of the early generations and the most significant teachers of the six Imāms. By the end of the course, students will be well-acquainted with the leading narrators whose transmissions form the core of the six canonical collections, and they will gain a deeper understanding of the natural progression of ḥadīth transmission. This foundation prepares students for advanced modules in al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl and al-ʿIlal.
Students will also be required to commit to memory a selection of hadiths along with their respective chains of transmission, employing the previously described method for ease in memorization. This practice serves as an initial engagement with the classical tradition of hadith preservation in its most authentic and unadulterated form.