The Department of Qur’anic Sciences at Ibn Rushd College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Baghdad, held a doctoral thesis defense on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, titled “Abridgement in Modern Commentaries: A Critical Study.” The research was conducted by Ghufran Riyad Khalil, specializing in Qur’anic Sciences. The discussion committee was chaired by Professor Dr. Muhammad Safa Jasim, with Associate Professor Dr. Mayas Diyaa Baqir as Supervisor and Member, and included a distinguished panel of faculty members from the college, along with Associate Professor Dr. Asif Dhamam Salem as an External Member from Al-Imam Al-Azam University College.
Research Objectives
The study aimed to:
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Highlight the advantages of abridgement in modern hadith commentaries.
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Identify and critique the most significant drawbacks associated with such abridgements.
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Clarify the distinctions between abridging a hadith, summarizing a work, and condensing commentaries.
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Examine the methods, types, and forms of abridgement employed in modern hadith commentaries.
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Emphasize the hadith craftsmanship, both in terms of chain (isnad) and text (matn), that characterizes these abridged commentaries.
Key Findings
The research concluded several significant points:
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Abridgement is a distinctive feature of the Arabic language, setting it apart from other languages.
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It serves as a methodological tool employed by authors to streamline their works or commentaries, aiming to facilitate understanding and engage readers without causing fatigue or deviating from the original subject matter.
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Scholars have utilized abridgement as a method in authorship and classification across various Islamic sciences, particularly in hadith studies.
