Classical Arabic scholarship can feel intimidating even for students who have studied Arabic for years. A student may know grammar, recognize vocabulary, and read standard prose, yet still find the language of classical scholarly texts dense, compressed, and difficult to navigate.

This course is designed to help bridge that gap.

Students will be introduced to the linguistic and intellectual habits needed to begin reading technical classical texts with greater clarity and confidence. Through close reading, discussion, and guided analysis, the course will explore how scholars wrote, how commentarial literature is structured, and how readers can begin to unpack terse and layered scholarly language.

The course will focus on selections from Hashiyat al-Shanawani on the Mukhtasar of Ibn Abi Jamra of Sahih al-Bukhari, using the text as an entry point into the wider world of matn, sharh, and hashiya literature. Students will learn not only what the text says, but also how to approach classical texts more intelligently as readers.