بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده
Ālimah Siddiqa al-Fārsiyyah
Student, Takhassus Fi 'l-Hadith
Checked and Approved:
Mufti Ismail Moosa
www.ulumalhadith.com
Title: Naṣāʾiḥ Manhajiyyah li Ṭālib ʿIlm as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah
Genre: Ḥadīth
Language: Arabic
Publisher: Dār aṣ-Ṣumayʿī (Ed. 2011)
Author: Shaykh Ḥātim al-ʿAwnī
Pages: 156
Overview
Naṣāʾiḥ Manhajiyyah is a short treatise penned by Shaykh Ḥātim ibn ʿĀrif ibn Nāṣir al-ʿAwnī (b. 1965 CE) (ḥafiẓahullāh). It contains important advice on the etiquettes of seeking knowledge, what distinguishes a student of ḥadīth from others, and the lofty rank and virtues of the knowledge of ḥadīth. Thereafter, he discusses many factors that aid in the memorization of ḥadīth, before concluding with a discussion on the methodology a student must adopt when reading and studying the books of ḥadīth and muṣṭalaḥ.
The eminence of the science of ḥadīth
Shaykh Ḥātim discusses why the science of ḥadīth holds a high rank, and why those that engage in this science, are engaging in the most important one. There is no doubt that the most significant and noble science is the science of the Qurʾān, and what it entails from pondering upon its verses and understanding their meanings. This is because the objective for one is to act upon the commandments of the Qurʾān, which cannot be done except after understanding the meanings and implications of its verses. However, one cannot fully understand the meanings of the Qurʾānic verses without understanding ḥadīth and the sunnah of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam). The sunnah is a visual and practical commentary of the Qurʾān. Since understanding the Qurʾān is contingent upon understanding the sunnah, it becomes clear that the science of ḥadīth is the most important sub-science of the Qurʾān, or the most important science. Hence, we find more than one scholar, one of them being Makḥūl ash-Shāmī saying, “The Qurʾān is needier of the Sunnah than the Sunnah is for the Qurʾān.”
Factors that aid in the memorization of ḥadīth
Shaykh Ḥātim then discusses ten factors that aid a student of ḥadīth in memorising ḥadīth. They are as follows:
1. Having the correct intention
Imām Khaṭīb has mentioned the report of Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍī Allāhu ʿanh) who said, “A man can memorise in accordance to [what] his intention [is].”
2. Abstaining from prohibitions
ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd said, “I reckon that a man forgets knowledge due to a sin that he commits.” Also, a man asked Imām Mālik (raḥimahullāh), “Is there anything that would help [in strengthening one’s] memory?” to which Imām Mālik replied, “If there is anything that is helpful in strengthening one’s memory, then it is leaving sins.” Shaykh Ḥātim then mentioned the well-known verses of poetry, often times attributed to Imām Shāfiʿī (raḥimahullāh):
I complained to Wakīʿ about my poor memory:
“Give up your sins!” was his advice to me;
“For knowledge is a light from Divinity,
and the Light of God is veiled by iniquity.”
3. Acting upon the ḥadīth one is memorising
Imām Suyān ath-Thawrī said, “Knowledge knocks on the door of action. If it answers [it remains]. Otherwise, it departs.” Furthermore, a group of the pious predecessors, including Imām Shaʿbī and Imām Wakīʿ have said, “We would take assistance upon memorising ḥadīth by acting upon it.” The reason why acting upon a ḥadīth assists it remembering it is evident. When one practices upon a ḥadīth, the theoretical knowledge becomes a physical one that is perceived by the senses, and things perceived by the senses are remembered better than what is mere knowledge.
4. Utilising appropriate times for memorising
This is something that can be different person to person in accordance to their circumstances. However, scholars that have experience in this matter say that the best time to memorise is the end portion of the night i.e. the early hours of the morning, with the condition that one has fulfilled their need for sleeping in the early hours of the night.
Ibn al-Mundhir said to his son Nuʿmān, “O my son, I would like for you to study literature at night, for the heart is distracted during the day, and alert during the night; so, when you learn something during this period, it remains secure.” Imām Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (d. 463 AH) comments on this statement saying, “They have chosen the [early part of the] night for studying because one’s heart is unpreoccupied; thus, things are memorised more easily. Therefore, when Ḥammād ibn Zayd was asked regarding what is the most helpful in aiding memorization, he replied, “having few worries” and the night is the most suitable time for that.”
Ismaʿīl ibn Abī Uways said, “When you intend to memorise something, first, sleep. Thereafter, wake up, turn on the light, and repeat it. Indeed, you will never forget it, In shā Allāh.”
5. Taking advantage of youth
The statement of Imām Ḥasan al-Baṣrī is well-known that he said, “Seeking knowledge [of ḥadīth] at a young age is like carving into stone.” Some have added to this, “…and seeking knowledge at old age is like carving into water.”
ʿAlqamah ibn Qays an-Nakhaʿī (d. 62 AH) said regarding memorizing during a young age, “What I have memorised during my youth, it is as if I am looking at it on a paper.”
6. Selecting an appropriate place for memorising
One should select such a place for memorizing ḥadīth that is a calm and comfortable place to stay. It should not have distractions and be far from loud noises. Instead of sitting in a garden (where one easily gets distracted), or in markets and public places where people frequently pass by, it is better to choose a quiet room in one’s home.
7. Reading what one is memorising out loud
There is wisdom in this that the father of Zubayr ibn Bakkār al-Qurashī has mentioned when he saw his son memorising quietly. He said, “Your method of memorising is making your eyesight bring the knowledge into your heart (which is insufficient). If you want to truly memorise, read what you are intending to memorise out loud, for not only your eyesight will bring the knowledge into your heart, rather, your ears will also aid in bringing it into your heart.” Shaykh Ḥātim comments, “The most one engages their sense with the thing they wish to memorise, the easier and faster it will be.”
8. Strengthening memorisation by repetition
Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (raḥimahullāh) says regarding this, “The way to strengthen one’s memory of something is through repetition, and people differ in its methods. Some can memorise with little repetition whilst others cannot memorise unless they repeat it excessively.” It Is said regarding Abū Isḥāq ash-Shirāzī (d. 476 AH) that he would repeat his lesson one hundred times, and Ilkiyā al-Harrāsī would repeat it seventy times.
Ḥasan ibn Abī Bakr an-Naysāpūrī relates, “Once, a jurist kept repeating his lesson in his home. An old woman (who kept hearing this) eventually said, ‘By Allah, even I have memorised it by now!’ to which the jurist told her to repeat it to him, and she did. After a while, the jurist asked the old lady to repeat the lesson to him, but she said that she no longer remembers it. Hearing this he said, ‘This is why I repeat it excessively; so that what has afflicted you does not afflict me.”
9. Retaining the knowledge by refreshing what was memorised
A student of ḥadīth should set up a timetable and allocate a day or two for repeating and refreshing the knowledge of what he has memorised at the end of every week and every month. Similarly, he should allocate a week or two to revise what he has memorised in a whole year.
10. Mudhākarah (discussing knowledge)
Mudhākarah is a term used by the ḥadīth scholars to refer to the discussions on different topics of knowledge by groups of students. Through such discussions, one learns subtle points from others, asks questions and discusses topics that one may have little understanding of. It aids one in remembering the knowledge by involving many senses and creating a memorable experience.
Concluding words
Naṣāʾiḥ Manhajiyyah is a short but comprehensive read that can be very helpful for students of ḥadīth. Shaykh Ḥātim has mentioned the most important and relevant points that a student of ḥadīth should remember in his or her journey of learning. It includes just the right amount of motivation, advice, and practical steps towards better learning and memorising knowledge. It is a perfect ‘instruction manual’ that one can refer to more than once to figure out how one should go about seeking knowledge and retaining it.
May Allāh Taʿālā have mercy on them all.
The PDF can be accessed here.