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20260412890The PhD in the Qur'an and Sunnah Sciences is a postgraduate program at Level 8 of the National Qualifications Framework, through a coursework-and-thesis, full-time mode. It prepares specialized researchers in the sciences of the Qur'an, its exegesis, and hadith, its narrators and hidden defects ('ilal), capable of producing original scholarship, editing classical manuscripts, and responding to objections raised against the two revealed sources. It comprises 39 credit hours (12 compulsory + 3 elective + 24 thesis), delivered at the main campus in Jeddah for both sections.
Leadership and distinction in preparing specialized researchers in the Qur'an and Sunnah sciences and in producing original Qur'anic and hadith knowledge, in service of the two revealed sources, attaining a distinguished standing among comparable programs locally and regionally.
To graduate distinguished researchers in the Qur'an and Sunnah sciences capable of producing original Qur'anic and hadith knowledge and of serving the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace be upon him); possessing the highest competencies in research, manuscript editing (tahqiq), and derivation (istinbat); defending the two revealed sources and responding to objections raised against them.
| Course Code | Course | Credits | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| ILS 714 | The General Foundations for Analyzing the Qur'anic Text | 3 | – |
| Description | This course is concerned with the advanced foundational-applied study of the scholarly principles and methodological rules by which the Qur'anic text is analyzed. It addresses the rules and foundations of exegesis derived from the heritage of the exegetes, with an in-depth study of the rules of weighing (tarjīḥ) between exegetical opinions and the criteria of disagreement therein. The course surveys, through analytical study, the principles of deriving rulings from the Noble Qur'an and the rules of the signification of expressions (the literal and the figurative, the general and the specific, the unrestricted and the restricted, the explicit and the understood, the plain text and the apparent meaning) and their effect on understanding the Qur'anic text. The course analyzes the principles of linguistic exegesis and the role of Qur'anic context (verbal, thematic, temporal, and spatial context) in determining meaning, in addition to the principles of exegesis by the Qur'an, by the Sunnah, and by the statements of the Companions and the Successors, and the study of the rules of reconciliation (jamʿ) and weighing (tarjīḥ) between differing exegetical opinions. The course conducts applied studies on models from the verses of legal rulings, narratives, and promise and threat, contributing to graduating specialized researchers capable of employing scholarly principles in analyzing the Qur'anic text according to a rigorous scholarly method that combines theoretical grounding with applied practice. | ||
| ILS 716 | Discussing Doubts Raised Against the Qur'an and the Sunnah | 2 | ILS 713 |
| Description | This course is concerned with the advanced critical-analytical study of discussing the doubts raised concerning the Noble Qur'an and the Prophetic Sunnah. It addresses the well-grounded scholarly refutation of the claims of sufficiency of the Qur'an alone, the doubts concerning the orthography of the muṣḥaf, and the claims that the Sunnah is not established in terms of transmission and that God Almighty did not undertake its preservation. The course surveys, through in-depth study, the refutation of the claims that the Sunnah is a doctrinal and political product, that its Hadiths contradict practical reality, the claim that the Sunnah was not codified until after two hundred years, the claims of the Qur'anists, the claim of the Hadith scholars' negligence in critiquing the text (matn), and the doubt concerning narrating Hadith by meaning. The course also studies the doubts concerning the transmitters and imams of Hadith (such as Abū Hurayra, Muʿāwiya, al-Zuhrī, and al-Bukhārī), in addition to the general doubts concerning solitary reports (akhbār al-āḥād) and the probity of the Companions, and the specific doubts concerning particular Hadiths, contributing to graduating specialized researchers capable of refuting doubts and defending the two Revelations through a rigorous scholarly method. | ||
| ILS 799 | THESIS | 24 | Pass all courses اجتياز جميع المقررات |
| Description | A juristic or uṣūlī dissertation in which the student, under the guidance and supervision of his professor, applies what he has learned of the methods, etiquette, and controls of scholarly research in specialized juristic studies, with the aim of producing an original scholarly thesis that treats a specific juristic or uṣūlī question in accordance with the approved academic standards, and contributes to enriching juristic knowledge and addressing problems in the field of Islamic law. | ||
| ILS 711 | Research Seminar in the Qur'an and the Sunnah | 3 | – |
| Description | This course is an advanced research seminar that qualifies doctoral students in the Qur'an and the Sunnah to master the rules and foundations of scholarly research and their specialized applications in the field of the Qur'anic and Hadith sciences, in accordance with academic quality standards. The course addresses advanced methodological rules for writing peer-reviewed scholarly research in Qur'anic and Hadith studies, the methodologies of editing heritage manuscripts, and the study of the research methods of the scholars of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. It trains doctoral students to critique and evaluate contemporary research in the sciences of the Qur'an and the Sunnah according to a disciplined scholarly research method, and equips them with the skills of preparing scholarly reports and discussing academic theses through constructive critical discussion. The course also fosters the spirit of collaborative research work and commitment to the ethics of scholarly research and scholarly integrity in the service of the two Revelations, contributing to graduating researchers capable of producing original knowledge in the sciences of the Qur'an and the Sunnah in accordance with the Vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030. | ||
| ILS 712 | Hidden Defects of Hadith (ʿIlal al-Ḥadīth) | 3 | – |
| Description | his course is concerned with the advanced critical-analytical study of the science of the hidden defects of Hadith (ʿilal al-ḥadīth). It addresses the knowledge of the defect (ʿilla), its types, the causes of its occurrence, and the methods of the critics in detecting it. The course surveys, through in-depth study, the major works in the science of ʿilal (ʿIlal al-Tirmidhī, ʿIlal Ibn Abī Ḥātim, ʿIlal al-Dāraquṭnī), with a comparative analysis of the authors' methodologies therein. The course conducts an applied critical study of Hadiths that scholars declared defective in their books, explaining the type of defect present in them and how it was detected, in addition to the detailed critical study of the aspects of the Hadith in terms of its chain (isnād) and text (matn) and the application of the rules and methods of the commentators and critics of Hadith. The course trains doctoral students to exercise the faculty of precise critique of Hadiths, contributing to graduating researchers specialized in the science of ʿilal who are capable of applying the critical method of the Hadith scholars to defective Hadiths according to a rigorous scholarly method. | ||
| ILS 713 | Qur'anic Exegesis and the Sciences of the Qur'an | 3 | – |
| Description | This course is concerned with the advanced critical-analytical study of the sciences of the Noble Qur'an and exegesis (tafsīr). It addresses the major topics in the sciences of the Qur'an (the revelation of the Qur'an, its collection and codification; the Meccan and the Medinan; the occasions of revelation; the abrogating and the abrogated; the clear and the ambiguous; the seven modes and the ten readings; the styles of the Qur'an in exposition; the inimitability of the Qur'an; and the orthography and vocalization of the muṣḥaf). The course surveys, through in-depth study, the emergence and development of the science of exegesis, and the sources and types of exegesis (exegesis by transmitted reports, exegesis by reasoned opinion, Sufi exegesis, and rationalist exegesis), with a comparative analysis of the methodologies of the major exegetes, ancient and modern (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Qurṭubī, al-Rāzī, al-Zamakhsharī, Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Saʿdī, al-Shinqīṭī). The course analyzes the most prominent works of exegesis, their methodologies, and the standards of critique within them, in addition to studying contemporary exegetical trends, contributing to graduating specialized researchers capable of employing the sciences of the Qur'an in understanding Qur'anic texts and evaluating the methodologies of the exegetes according to a rigorous scholarly method. | ||
| ILS 715 | The Science of Hadith Transmitters (ʿIlm al-Rijāl) | 3 | – |
| Description | This course is concerned with the comprehensive advanced study of the science of Hadith transmitters (ʿilm al-rijāl). It addresses the study of the history of this science's emergence and development, its most important rules and criteria, and the technical terms of the imams within it. The course surveys, through in-depth study, the major works on Hadith transmitters (al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr of al-Bukhārī, al-Jarḥ wa-l-Taʿdīl of Ibn Abī Ḥātim, al-Thiqāt of Ibn Ḥibbān, Tahdhīb al-Kamāl of al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb and Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb of Ibn Ḥajar) and their differing methodologies. The course analyzes the methodologies of the critic-imams who spoke on the transmitters of Prophetic Hadith, their ranks, generations, and their approach to critiquing transmitters, together with an applied critical study of the biographical notices of certain disputed transmitters, explaining the reasons for the critics' disagreement over them, and judging certain chains of transmission as connected or interrupted, contributing to graduating specialized researchers capable of preparing scholarly biographical notices and judging chains of transmission according to the critical method of the Hadith scholars. | ||
| ILS 717 | Thematic Studies in the Qur'an and the Sunnah | 2 | – |
| Description | This course is concerned with the advanced analytical study of thematic exegesis (al-tafsīr al-mawḍūʿī) and thematic Hadith (al-ḥadīth al-mawḍūʿī) and their importance. It addresses the emergence of authorship in these two noble sciences and the most prominent contemporary thematic studies written on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The course surveys, through in-depth study, the methodologies followed in the sources of thematic exegesis and thematic Hadith, with a comparison between their two methods and the criteria of each. The course also addresses the higher objectives (maqāṣid) of the Noble Qur'an and the objectives of the Prophetic Sunnah, and conducts an applied study in thematic exegesis and thematic Hadith on selected models, with a focus on the fields of thematic research related to contemporary novel issues (nawāzil) and developments, contributing to graduating specialized researchers capable of employing thematic studies in addressing the contemporary issues of society according to a rigorous scholarly method that combines legal grounding (taʾṣīl sharʿī) with thematic treatment. | ||
Last Modified Date: 13/07/2026 - 6:22 PM Saudi Arabia Time
