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EH

Emad Hamdeh

عماد حمدة

United States · Scholar of Arabic and Islamic studies; Associate Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Emad Hamdeh is Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the Humanities and Communication department of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach). The Centre for Islamic Knowledge lists his degrees as an MA in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations from Hartford Seminary and an MPhil and PhD in Theology from the University of Exeter. A 2014 conference abstract lists him at Montclair State University, so he has changed institutions; no birth date or place, and no appointment dates, were found in the pages this archive checked, so none are given.

His research is on Salafi thought, Islamic jurisprudence and hadith studies. His main academic work is on Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albānī and on the disputes between Salafi and traditionalist scholars over authority in Islamic law. His book Salafism and Traditionalism: Scholarly Authority in Modern Islam (Cambridge University Press, 2021) is built on that research, and two of his journal articles on al-Albānī (2016 and 2017) are linked from this archive under al-Albānī as writing about him. He has also written the Oxford Bibliographies entry on al-Albānī and the entry on his legal thought in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law, and edited a special issue on Salafism.

His first book, The Necessity of Hadith in Islam (International Islamic Publishing House, 2011), argues that the Sunna is required to understand the Qur’an. He has since written papers for the Yaqeen Institute on hadith, the madhhabs and the mawālī (freed slaves and non-Arabs) in Islamic scholarship, and academic pieces on the “Qur’an-only” movement and on how the internet has challenged the authority of the ʿulamāʾ (“Shaykh Google”).

Most of his academic articles are paywalled. This archive links to the free Yaqeen papers, to the open-access copy of his 2019 paper on hadith, and to the publisher pages for the rest.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Biography sources: cikedu.org · embryriddle.academia.edu · yaqeeninstitute.org · commons.erau.edu · cambridge.org · naaims.org

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Archived 23 October 2026 · Sources: the Wikipedia article of each author and the biographies on this site. Whole network

Works

Books 2

BOOK 2011 · English · International Islamic Publishing House
The Necessity of Hadith in Islam

On why the Sunna is needed to understand the Qur'an; 225 pages.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: dakwahbookstore.com

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. The Necessity of Hadith in Islam. 2011. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-the-necessity-of-hadith-in-islam

No free copy online
BOOK 2021 · English · Cambridge University Press
Salafism and Traditionalism: Scholarly Authority in Modern Islam

The main academic study of how Salafis and traditionalists dispute scholarly authority in modern Islamic law, centred on al-Albānī and his critics.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: cambridge.org

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Salafism and Traditionalism: Scholarly Authority in Modern Islam. 2021. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-salafism-and-traditionalism

No free copy online

Articles & essays 5

ARTICLE 2014 · English · Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān
Al-Ḥawāriyyūn: The Disciples of Jesus

An entry on the disciples of Jesus in the Qur'an.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Al-Ḥawāriyyūn: The Disciples of Jesus. 2014. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-al-hawariyyun-disciples-of-jesus

No free copy online
ARTICLE 2019 · English · Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies
Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī

A bibliographic entry on al-Albānī.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī. 2019. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-oxford-bibliographies-albani

No free copy online
REVIEW 2022 · English · Die Welt des Islams 62
Review of Salafism and Traditionalism Joas Wagemakers

A review of his Cambridge book.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: doi.org

Cite

Wagemakers, Joas. Review of Salafism and Traditionalism. 2022. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-about-wagemakers-review-of-salafism-and-traditionalism

No free copy online
REVIEW English · American Journal of Islam and Society
Review of Salafism and Traditionalism Reviewer not recorded

A review of his Cambridge book in AJIS.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: AJIS

Cite

recorded, Reviewer not. Review of Salafism and Traditionalism. AJIS, https://ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/3116. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-about-ajis-review-of-salafism-and-traditionalism

Papers 14

PAPER 2016 · English · The Muslim World 106, no. 3, pp. 411–432
The Formative Years of an Iconoclastic Salafi Scholar

On al-Albānī's early life, his strained relations with his father and the Albanian community in Syria, and his turn to hadith.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: embryriddle.academia.edu

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. The Formative Years of an Iconoclastic Salafi Scholar. 2016. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-the-formative-years-of-an-iconoclastic-salafi-scholar

No free copy online
PAPER 2017 · English · Islamic Law and Society 24, no. 3, pp. 211–253
Qur'an and Sunna or the Madhhabs? A Salafi Polemic against Islamic Legal Tradition

On al-Albānī's polemic against adhering to the madhhabs. Free copy at https://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2603&context=publication

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: embryriddle.academia.edu

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Qur'an and Sunna or the Madhhabs? A Salafi Polemic against Islamic Legal Tradition. 2017. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-quran-and-sunna-or-the-madhhabs

No free copy online
PAPER 2019 · English · Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
Are Hadith Necessary? An Examination of the Authority of Hadith in Islam

A paper arguing that the Qur'an itself affirms the Prophet's authority as teacher and legislator.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: Yaqeen Institute

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Are Hadith Necessary? An Examination of the Authority of Hadith in Islam. 2019. Yaqeen Institute, https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/are-hadith-necessary. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-are-hadith-necessary

PAPER 2019 · English · Yaqeen Institute
Are Hadith Necessary? An Examination of the Authority of Hadith in Islam

Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Yaqeen Institute

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Are Hadith Necessary? An Examination of the Authority of Hadith in Islam. 2019. Yaqeen Institute, https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/are-hadith-necessary. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#yq-are-hadith-necessary

PAPER 2020 · English · Yaqeen Institute
What is a Madhhab? Exploring the Role of Islamic Schools of Law

Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Yaqeen Institute

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. What is a Madhhab? Exploring the Role of Islamic Schools of Law. 2020. Yaqeen Institute, https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/what-is-a-madhhab-exploring-the-role-of-islamic-schools-of-law. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#yq-what-is-a-madhhab-exploring-the-role-of-islamic-schools

PAPER 2020 · English · Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
What Is a Madhhab? Exploring the Role of Islamic Schools of Law

Argues that the four Sunni schools are interpretive methodologies rooted in scripture, not sects.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: Yaqeen Institute

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. What Is a Madhhab? Exploring the Role of Islamic Schools of Law. 2020. Yaqeen Institute, https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/what-is-a-madhhab-exploring-the-role-of-islamic-schools-of-law. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-what-is-a-madhhab

PAPER 2021 · English · Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
Mawālī: How Freed Slaves and Non-Arabs Contributed to Islamic Scholarship

On the role of the mawālī in early Islamic scholarship and the ethic of judging scholars by piety and knowledge.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: Yaqeen Institute

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Mawālī: How Freed Slaves and Non-Arabs Contributed to Islamic Scholarship. 2021. Yaqeen Institute, https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/mawali-how-freed-slaves-and-non-arabs-contributed-to-islamic-scholarship. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-mawali-freed-slaves-and-non-arabs

PAPER 2021 · English · Yaqeen Institute
Mawālī: How Freed Slaves and Non-Arabs Contributed to Islamic Scholarship

Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Yaqeen Institute

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Mawālī: How Freed Slaves and Non-Arabs Contributed to Islamic Scholarship. 2021. Yaqeen Institute, https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/mawali-how-freed-slaves-and-non-arabs-contributed-to-islamic-scholarship. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#yq-mawali-how-freed-slaves-and-non-arabs-contributed-to-islamic

PAPER 2022 · English · Context: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
Shaykh Google as Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿAṣr: The Internet, Traditional ʿUlamā' and Self-Learning

On how the internet is changing religious authority. Listed in a Bosnian-language version, "Šejh Google kao hafiz el-Asr".

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: embryriddle.academia.edu

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Shaykh Google as Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿAṣr: The Internet, Traditional ʿUlamā' and Self-Learning. 2022. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-shaykh-google-as-hafiz-al-asr

No free copy online
PAPER 2023 · English · Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies
Prophetic Hadith and the Qur'ān Only Movement: The Response of Muslim Scholars

On how Muslim scholars have answered the Qur'an-only movement.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: embryriddle.academia.edu

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Prophetic Hadith and the Qur'ān Only Movement: The Response of Muslim Scholars. 2023. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-prophetic-hadith-and-the-quran-only-movement

No free copy online
CHAPTER English · The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Reform
In Search of Authenticity: Modern Approaches toward Hadith

A chapter on how modern reformers approach hadith.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: embryriddle.academia.edu

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. In Search of Authenticity: Modern Approaches toward Hadith. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-in-search-of-authenticity-oxford-handbook-of-islamic-reform

No free copy online
PAPER English · Not stated
Introduction to Special Issue on Salafism

His introduction to a special journal issue on Salafism.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: embryriddle.academia.edu

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Introduction to Special Issue on Salafism. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-introduction-to-the-special-issue-on-salafism

No free copy online
PAPER English · Not stated
The Role of the ʿUlamā' in the Thoughts of ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghudda

On the Syrian scholar who criticised al-Albānī.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: embryriddle.academia.edu

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. The Role of the ʿUlamā' in the Thoughts of ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghudda. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-the-role-of-the-ulama-in-abu-ghudda

No free copy online
PAPER English · American Journal of Islam and Society
The Walking Qur'an

A piece listed on his Academia.edu profile; details not verified.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: embryriddle.academia.edu

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. The Walking Qur'an. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-the-walking-quran

No free copy online

Videos 2

VIDEO 2015 · English · Dar ul-Tahqiq
Between Salafism and Traditionalism: The Case of Nasir al-Din al-Albani (lecture)

A page on Dar ul-Tahqiq about the same talk reported in AJIS 32, no. 2 (2015).

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: darultahqiq.com

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Between Salafism and Traditionalism: The Case of Nasir al-Din al-Albani (lecture). 2015. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-interview-darul-tahqiq-albani

No free copy online
VIDEO 2025 · English · YouTube (Emad Hamdeh)
Salafism: The Truths and Controversies You Need to Know (with Yasir Qadhi)

A conversation on Salafism with Yasir Qadhi on Hamdeh's own channel.

Archived 16 October 2026 · Source: YouTube (Emad Hamdeh)

Cite

Hamdeh, Emad. Salafism: The Truths and Controversies You Need to Know (with Yasir Qadhi). 2025. YouTube (Emad Hamdeh), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FuYNb9bTmY. Archived 16 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/emad-hamdeh/#emad-hamdeh-video-interview-with-yasir-qadhi