Mutun Talib al-Ilm - al-Mustawa al-Khamis - 1
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- Dr. ʿAbd al-Muḥsin ibn Muḥammad al-Qāsim
Mutun Talib al-Ilm - al-Mustawa al-Khamis - 1 (Texts for the Student of Knowledge – Level Five – 1) is a critical edition of the legal hadith compendium Bulugh al-Maram min Adillat al-Ahkam by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852 AH / 1449 CE), prepared and edited by Dr. Abd al-Muhsin al-Qasim, Imam and Khatib of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina .
Background and Structure
The book forms part of the broader educational curriculum Mutun Talib al-Ilm, designed to provide students of Islamic knowledge with a structured progression of foundational texts across multiple Islamic disciplines . The curriculum comprises twenty-two texts organized into six progressive tiers . Because of the substantial length of the works in the fifth and sixth levels, each text was issued in an independent volume; this volume constitutes the first part of Level Five and is dedicated exclusively to Bulugh al-Maram . The remaining texts of Level Five are Musa al-Hajjawi's (d. 968 AH) Zad al-Mustaqni' in Hanbali jurisprudence and Ibn Malik's (d. 672 AH) al-Khulasah fi al-Nahw (Alfiyyat Ibn Malik) in Arabic grammar .
Editorial Method
The edition of Bulugh al-Maram in this volume was verified against primary manuscript copies, notably including a manuscript read directly before Ibn Hajar and bearing an authorization (ijazah) in his own handwriting . Across the first five levels of the project, texts were established using 160 manuscripts selected from over 500 copies gathered from various libraries and collections worldwide .
The editor fully vocalized the text with diacritics (tashkil) and applied punctuation marks in alignment with the intended meanings . To facilitate memorization for students, this edition was stripped of marginal textual variants and extensive apparatus notes, which were reserved for a separate scholarly edition .
Pedagogical Guidance
The volume includes an introductory guide outlining systematic methods for memorization and retention:
- Memorization schedule: Students of hadith texts are advised to memorize three hadiths daily through consistent repetition—reciting the passage twenty times from memory after the Dawn (Fajr) prayer, repeating it twenty times after the Afternoon (Asr) or Sunset (Maghrib) prayer, reviewing it twenty times the following morning before starting new material, and reciting from the beginning of the text up to the current lesson .
- Review system: A structured regimen entails reviewing two pages daily by reciting them twenty times from memory, checking previous material, and dedicating one day per week entirely to consolidation .
- Suggested study material: The editor recommends Minhat al-Allam by Abd Allah al-Fawzan as the commentary to accompany the study of Bulugh al-Maram .
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