The Hanbali School

Just starting out? As promised, step by step. This time: the science of hadith.

The Hanbali madhhab has always been bound up with ʿulum al-hadith, because its very foundation is the narrations of Imam Ahmad. Whoever gives themselves to the madhhab needs not only to learn this science, but to excel in it. Yet few Hanbali works exist in the field, perhaps because the Shafiʿi school dominated it for so long.


So the beginner's text comes from that school: al-Tadhkirah of Siraj al-Din Ibn al-Mulaqqin, the shaykh of Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalani. He wrote it as a guide for the beginner, a summary of his larger al-Muqniʿ, and more advanced students use it for revision. It moves from sahih, hasan and daʿif, through connected and broken chains, to the manners of the muhaddith and the student, the link with usul al-fiqh, and knowledge of the narrators.


Shaykh Yusuf's Concise Commentary is the first English explanation of the Tadhkirah, and the lessons follow it.


They are taught by Amat al-Rahman Asma al-Mekawy al-Hanbaliyyah, a muʿid of the Madrasah and the first woman to teach here. She has studied for many years under scholars in Egypt, above all Shaykh Yusuf b. Sadiq, in whose lessons she has sat since his time at Madrasah Shaykh al-ʿAmud.


Follow us and tap the bell on our profile to turn on notifications, so you know the moment registration opens.
#hadith #ulumalhadith #hanbali #beginnerstudent #studentofknowledge

1 week ago | [YT] | 14

The Hanbali School

In New York? You can still join.

Our in-person class on Ibn Qudamah’s Lum’ah al-I’tiqad has already started, but you haven’t missed your chance. Walk in at any lesson and you will still come away with a lot.

This is learning the traditional way: sitting in front of a teacher with the text open, going through it line by line.

Saturdays after Dhuhr
Islamic Center of Staten Island, 365 Veterans Rd W, NY 10309
Taught in English by Abu Hidaya Abdurrahman Aziz al-Hanbali

Come once. If it’s for you, stay and become a serious student.

Who is the teacher? almadrasahalhanbaliyyah.com

1 week ago | [YT] | 9

The Hanbali School

Just starting out? This is where it begins.

We promised to share more to help beginning students grow, step by step. The first step is knowing what you believe about Allah, and why.

For centuries, Hanbali students have begun with Lumʿah al-Iʿtiqād by Imam Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi, the author of al-Mughni. It is short and clear, and written so that anyone can learn the Hanbali creed. About half of it is devoted to Allah, His Names and Attributes, and His Speech, the Qur’an; the rest covers the Companions, leadership, and holding to the Sunnah.

Short enough to finish. Deep enough to return to for the rest of your life.

This November we study it live, in English, with Abu Yahya Naveed Raza al-Hanbali.

📅 Thursdays, 9 PM UK time, from 5 November 2026
💷 £10 per month

Enrol: almadrasahalhanbaliyyah.com/product/lumah-al-itiqa…

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 17

The Hanbali School

Four months until Ramadan, and our Winter Intensive before it, from 6 to 16 January.

Those who enter these seasons with a habit of seeking knowledge enter them differently from those who arrive with good intentions alone. A fixed lesson each week, a teacher you learn from, a text you work through: that is how consistency is built.

It also changes what you take from the Intensive. Many follow it online, and the more grounding you bring, the more you will benefit from what is taught.

To make that first step easier, the Madrasah is waiving the one-time sign-up fee for its live courses. This applies to enrolments until 31 October 2026. The monthly contribution and prerequisites unchanged.

If the fee was what held you back, consider this our way of helping you build a stronger connection with the Madrasah, and above all with the Shaykh. Choose a course, look at its schedule, and make room for it in your week.

Just starting out? Keep an eye on our posts. In the coming days we will share more to help beginning students grow, step by step.

Explore the live courses: almadrasahalhanbaliyyah.com/courses/?cat%5B%5D=liv…

May Allah grant us beneficial knowledge and consistency in seeking it.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 6

The Hanbali School

In New York? You can still join.

Our in-person class on Ibn Qudamah’s Lum’ah al-I’tiqad has already started, but you haven’t missed your chance. Walk in at any lesson and you will still come away with a lot.

This is learning the traditional way: sitting in front of a teacher with the text open, going through it line by line.

Saturdays after Dhuhr
Al Noorani Islamic Center of Staten Island, 625 South Ave, NY 10303
Taught in English by Abu Hidaya Abdurrahman Aziz al-Hanbali

Come once. If it’s for you, stay and become a student of Ilm.

Who is the teacher? almadrasahalhanbaliyyah.com

2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 16

The Hanbali School

What would ten days with nothing but the books do for your learning?

No notifications. No rushing between commitments. Just you, the texts, and a teacher, the way students have studied for centuries.

This January, we return to Cairo for our Fourth Winter Intensive. 🇪🇬

📅 6 to 16 January 2027
📍 West Cairo, Egypt
👳 Studying under Shaykh Yusuf ibn Sadiq

A typical day:
📖 Six hours of lessons
📚 Two hours of guided reading
🍽️ Shared meals, all included

And beyond the classroom, guided tours and ziyārāt to the places that shaped the tradition. 🕌

£549 excluding flights, with an instalment option if you'd like to spread the cost.

Ready to experience it for yourself?
👉 almadrasahalhanbaliyyah.com/intensives/fourth-wint…

💬 Have you been to a previous intensive? Tell us your favourite moment below.
💬 Thinking about coming? Ask us anything in the comments.

#Hanbali #IslamicStudies #Cairo #StudentOfKnowledge #WinterIntensive

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 18

The Hanbali School

A Treatise on Hanbali Tasawwuf with Shaykh Yusuf ibn Sadiq al-Hanbali 📖

Many people assume Tasawwuf (the science of Ihsan) stands apart from the Hanbali madhhab, but historical reality paints a very different picture.

In this foundational session hosted by ‪@DarAlFutuhaat‬ , Shaykh Yusuf ibn Sadiq al-Hanbali introduces his treatise on Hanbali Tasawwuf, laying out essential principles:

• The Balance: Uniting the outward Sacred Law (fiqh al-dhawahir) with the inward spiritual courtesies (adab al-batin), weighing spiritual states against the balance of the Shari'ah rather than unsubstantiated claims.
• Scholarly Continuity: The historical transmission (isnad) and affiliations of prominent Hanbali authorities—including Ibn Balban, Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudamah, and Ibn Taymiyyah—with the Qadiri way and the legacy of Sidi Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani.
• Adherence over Pretension: Why authentic spiritual pathfinding (suluk) among the Hanbalis is rooted in rigorous verification (tahqiq) and Sunnah, far removed from exaggeration or delusion.

An invaluable talk for anyone studying with us here at The Hanbali School.

🔗 Watch the full session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyNL7...

You can purchase the publications and treatises here:
🛒 Buy here: almadrasahalhanbaliyyah.com/product/a-treatise-on-…

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 6

The Hanbali School

Only 48 hours remain to get these two books at their special offer prices:

*Marginalia on al-Tawfiq al-Jali* — £9.99
*A Treatise on Hanbali Tasawwuf* — £11.99

Order both books through this link. They will be added to your order automatically:

almadrasahalhanbaliyyah.com/checkout-link/?product…

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 20

The Hanbali School

The Purpose and Limits of Naẓar

Studying naẓar, the discipline of rational investigation, is permissible within the Hanbali tradition when pursued with the right purpose and humility.
It is not a path of speculation but a means of structure, not a rival to revelation but a tool to preserve clarity within it.
Used properly, naẓar strengthens reasoning, guards against confusion, and refines the intellect.
Used arrogantly, it leads to the very diseases the Hanbalis warned against: pride, disputation, and detachment from revelation.
The aim is not to produce eloquent debaters but disciplined thinkers, scholars who reason with humility, guided by revelation and grounded in adab.

The journey then turns toward a deeper theme: understanding the relationship between ʿaql (reason) and naql (revelation), a relationship in which reason, when purified, becomes a faithful companion.

11 months ago | [YT] | 13

The Hanbali School

Naẓar as Protocol and Etiquette

Naẓar can be understood as a kind of intellectual protocol.
Just as Islamic manners (ādāb) regulate physical and social behavior, naẓar regulates thought, defining how to think, ask, and respond within scholarly discourse.
Without such internal etiquette, knowledge becomes chaos.


Learning naẓar is therefore not merely about reasoning; it is about discipline.
For this reason, every student of knowledge is encouraged to study Ādāb al-ʿĀlim wa al-Mutaʿallim (“The Manners of the Scholar and the Student”).


This classical text teaches the ethics of both learning and teaching: how a scholar conducts himself while teaching, how a student listens, when to speak, and when to remain silent.


Those who internalize these manners gain the ability to discern genuine scholarship from arrogance, and to distinguish ʿilm from mere display.

11 months ago | [YT] | 11