Book Review: Hadith Course by Sameh Strauch

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem

The book I have for y’all today is one of my favorites, as far as books that help new converts really learn the faith go.

Hadith Course is another International Islamic Publishing House one written by Sameh Strauch who is, himself, a convert who studied at Madinah Islamic University.

The book is specifically designed to help English-speakers better understand some of the hadith and traditions of our Prophet (pbuh).

It consists of 50 selected hadiths. For each one it begins with the original Arabic text, and follows with a section for important Arabic-English vocabulary from the hadith. Of course after that comes a full English translation with a short summary, and each section finishes with a short list of the relevance and benefits of this hadith.

All of the hadiths are sourced from the most reputable sources (such as Bukhari and Muslim), so there is no need to worry about authenticity issues.

Like I said, I really love this one as a resource for new converts, as it is specifically tailored to help English speakers gain a deeper understanding of one of the most important components of our tradition, the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh).

I really appreciate the detail it goes into in order to help the reader really understand the hadith. By including the vocabulary sections it is helping not only with understanding but with actually learning some of the Arabic as well. And the explanation of the relevance and benefits at the end is a great means to help the reader actually apply the wisdom to his/her life here in the 21^st century.

Plus, if you happen to be married to a native Arabic speaker, it can be a fun couples’ bonding type read! My husband and I read one hadith together, and it helps me to improve my Arabic and him his English, plus we always learn something!

If anyone out there has read it I would love to hear what you think, and maybe your favorite hadith from the book? If not go get a copy and have a look through!