Lecture Transcription

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Taqrīr or Lecture report or Lecture transcription (Arabic: كتابة التقرير) is an educational method in seminaries. It consists in taking notes of the lectures and reporting (or transcribing) them in a methodic way, which sometimes comes with the reporter’s (or transcriber’s) own comments or research. Some people believe that, in addition to providing a record of the teacher’s material, lecture transcription helps the transcriber achieve a deeper understanding and scholarly accomplishment. According to al-Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin, al-Sayyid Muhammad Jawad al-'Amili the author of Miftah al-kirama, was the first scholar who transcribed the lectures of his teacher al-Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Bahr al-'Ulum.

The main principles of lecture transcription consist of pre-lecture study of the material, rewriting the notes, and editing the material.

The book Danish-i taqrir-niwisi: bi ḍamima-yi rawish-i hall-i mas'ala-yi fiqhi (Knowledge of lecture transcription: supplemented by the method of solving jurisprudential problems) provides a history and examples of lecture transcription and report.

The Notion

Taqrir or lecture transcription is taking notes of the teacher’s material and transcribing them in a methodic way, which sometimes comes with the transcriber’s own comments and research.[1] The result of taqrir is called "taqrirat", which is a general title of books that were written as lecture transcriptions since the late 12th/18th century.[2]

Seminary students often present their lecture transcriptions to the teacher, who writes his comment in the form of taqriz (endorsement or confirmation). The teacher’s confirmation renders the transcriptions valid.[3]

While the tradition of lecture transcription is common in advanced lectures on jurisprudence and it's principles, it can be found more or less in other fields such as logic, philosophy, Quranic exegesis, and mysticism as well.[4]

Difference between Taqrir and Amali (Dictations)

There are differences between Taqrir (lecture transcription) and Amali (dictation) as follows:

  • In Amali, the teacher dictates the material (from writing or from memory) to students, who write it down without adding anything to it or eliminating anything from it.[5] In taqrir, however, students can edit, or otherwise modify the material.[6]
  • Amali is the teacher’s contribution, which is why the book is attributed to him,[7] while in taqrir, the material comes from the teacher, although its elaboration and style of its presentation depend on the student’s taste, which is why it is attributed to the student.[8]

History

Ajwad al-Taqrirat, taqrirats on the principles of Muhammad Husayn Na'ini, written by al-Khoei.

In his al-Dhari'a ila tasanif al-Shi'a, Aqa Buzurg Tihrani believes that the first cases of taqrir or lecture transcription began in the late twelfth/eighteenth century.[9] In his A'yan al-Shi'a, al-Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin says that al-Sayyid Jawad al-'Amili, the author of Miftah al-kirama (d. 1228/1813), was the first lecture transcriber, who transcribed the lectures of his teacher al-Sayyid Mahdi Bahr al-'Ulum.[10] A researcher believes that lecture transcription began in the period of Muhammad Husayn al-Isfahani.[11]

Some people date taqrir back to the Prophet’s time[12] by citing a hadith according to which a person from Helpers was unable to memorize the Prophet’s words, and the Prophet (s) ordered him to write down his words.[13]

Lecture Transcription and Scholarly Accomplishment

There are views about lecture transcription:

  • Some scholars and teachers of jurisprudence and its principles, such as Ayatollah Burujirdi,[14] believe that the method of lecture transcription results in the student’s scholarly accomplishment and deeper understanding. He encouraged seminary students to transcribe the lectures they attended.[15] Reportedly, Mirza Shirazi cared about his students’ transcriptions of his lectures. He introduced the best transcription in the presence of his students.[16]

Methods of Lecture Report

commentary of Sayyid al-Sadr on Buhuth fi 'ilm al-usul, written by Hashemi Shahroudi.

Taqrir or lecture report was done in two ways: oral and written.

  • Oral lecture report: In this method, immediately after the lecture was finished, some senior students, with great memory, repeated the material to more novice students or those who did not properly understand the lecture. Allegedly, Muhammad Husayn Ashtiyani repeated al-Shaykh al-Ansari’s lectures to some of his students in this way.[18]
  • Written lecture report: (or transcription) This was done in the following manners:
  1. The transcriber writes down the teacher’s material word by word, and after the lecture, he makes minor editions in the notes.[19]
  2. The transcriber listens to the teacher’s material during the lecture and then writes a summary of the material.[20]
  3. The transcriber studies the material before the lecture, and during the lecture, he only takes notes of additional comments made by the teacher.[21]
  4. The teacher presents the core material, which the student later elaborates on.[22]
  5. The transcriber takes notes of the outlines during the lecture. Some elaborate upon those outlines, and some others rest content with those keynotes.[23]

Properties of an Acceptable Lecture Transcription

To write an acceptable lecture transcription, it is necessary to comply with the following instructions:

  • The transcriber should study the material before the lecture.[24]
  • During the lecture, the transcriber should take notes of the whole lecture or at least its main outlines.[25]
  • The transcriber should study the books cited or mentioned by the teacher.[26]
  • The transcriber should add citations to the teacher’s material. Sometimes, the teacher might cite the views of other scholars, Quranic verses, or hadiths without mentioning their sources. The transcriber should add the sources to improve his work.[27]
  • The transcriber should rewrite the material he wrote down in the lecture, and if necessary, he should make proper additions or eliminations, or restructure the material.[28]
  • The transcriber should articulate the material in a clear eloquent way. The wording should be such that it makes sense for a person who never attended those lectures.[29]

Examples of Lecture Transcriptions in Jurisprudence and Its Principles

al-Tanqih fi sharh al-'Urwa al-wuthqa, taqrirat of the fiqh course of Sayyid al-Khoei, written by Mirza 'Ali Gharawi.

Here are some of the well-known lecture transcriptions in Shiite jurisprudence:

  • Fiqh al-Shi'a, written by Muhammad Mahdi al-Musawi al-Khalkhali. This is also a transcription of the lectures of Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khu'i in seven volumes, which includes issues of ijtihad and taqlid, cleanliness, and impurity.[31]

Some of the well-known transcriptions of lectures on principles of jurisprudence:

  • Ajwad al-taqrirat, written by Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khu'i. This is a transcription of Muhammad Husayn Na'ini’s lectures on principles of jurisprudence in two volumes.[33] Al-Khu'i began writing this book in 1345/1926-7 when the last course of Mirza al-Naʾini’s lectures on principles of jurisprudence began in Najaf and finished it in 1352/1933 when the lecture ended.
  • Nihayat al-afkar, written by Muhammad Taqi al-Burujirdi. This is a full transcription of Aqa Diya' al-'Iraqi’s lectures on principles of jurisprudence in four volumes.[34]

Websites of Lecture Transcriptions

Here are some of the websites to which transcriptions of some seminary lectures have been uploaded:

  • Darsguftar website: The website includes audio files and written transcriptions of advanced lectures in seminaries of Qom and Mashhad. It includes links between the transcriptions and their audio files. Moreover, it offers packages and tools for pre-lecture studies.[36]
  • Madrisa-yi fiqahat website: The website presents transcriptions of seminary lectures with access to their sources in the e-library of Madrisa-yi Fiqahat. Moreover, it offers live streams of advanced lectures on jurisprudence and its principles in the seminaries of Qom, Mashhad, and Najaf.[37]
  • Portal of transcription of advanced lectures: The portal gives access to transcriptions of lectures by seminary teachers to promote the tradition of lecture transcription. This is an educational, research, and information portal, that collects, enriches, classifies, and evaluates material, and prepares the ground for internet dialogues about the lecture transcriptions written by students of advanced seminary lectures.[38]

Monograph

The book Danish-i taqrir-niwisi: bi damima-yi rawish-i hall-i mas'ala-yi fiqhi (Knowledge of lecture transcription: supplemented by the method of solving jurisprudential problems) is written by Muhammad Hasan Rabbani Birjandi, a faculty member of Akhund Khurasani Specialized Center. It was published in the summer of 2019 by Bayn al-Milal Publishing Company.[39]

Notes

  1. ↑ The first virtual course of correct transcription training (Persian)
  2. ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Al-Dharīʿa, vol. 4, p. 366.
  3. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 28.
  4. ↑ Amīn, A'yān al-Shī'a, vol. 6, p. 132, 238.
  5. ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharī'a, vol. 2, p. 305.
  6. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 13.
  7. ↑ Āqā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, al-Dharī'a, vol. 2, p. 308.
  8. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 13.
  9. ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 4, p. 366.
  10. ↑ Amīn, Aʿyān al-Shīʿa, vol. 5, p. 308.
  11. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 15.
  12. ↑ Shīrāzī, Ḍarūrat wa māhiyat shināsī-yi dars-i khārij wa taqrīrniwīsī-yi ān, p. 93.
  13. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Munyat al-murīd, p. 267-268.
  14. ↑ Memories of Ayatollah Montazeri from the era of Grand Ayatollah Burujirdi (Persian)
  15. ↑ Shīrāzī, Ḍarūrat wa māhiyat shināsī-yi dars-i khārij wa taqrīrniwīsī-yi ān, p. 104.
  16. ↑ Shīrāzī, Ḍarūrat wa māhiyat shināsī-yi dars-i khārij wa taqrīrniwīsī-yi ān, p. 104.
  17. ↑ Memories of Ayatollah Montazeri from the era of Grand Ayatollah Burujirdi (Persian)
  18. ↑ Yaʿqūbī and others, Taqrīrāt, p. 776.
  19. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 16.
  20. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 16.
  21. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 16.
  22. ↑ Shīrāzī, Ḍarūrat wa māhiyat shināsī-yi dars-i khārij wa taqrīrniwīsī-yi ān, p. 93.
  23. ↑ What are the best lecture transcription methods? (Persian)
  24. ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Kitāb al-hajj, vol. 1, p. 16.
  25. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 22.
  26. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p.23.
  27. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 24.
  28. ↑ Rabbānī, Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī, p. 23.
  29. ↑ The first virtual course of correct transcription training (Persian)
  30. ↑ Gharawī Tabrīzī, al-Tanqīḥ, vol. 1, p. 11.
  31. ↑ Khalkhālī, Fiqh al-Shīʿa, vol. 1, p. 7.
  32. ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, Nihāyat al-taqrīr fī mabāhith al-ṣalāt, vol. 1, p. 30.
  33. ↑ Khoeī, Ajwad al-taqrīrāt, vol. 1, p. 2.
  34. ↑ Burūjirdī, Nihāyat al-afkār, vol. 1, p. 3.
  35. ↑ Subḥānī, Tahdhīb al-ʾuṣūl, vol. 1, p. 4.
  36. ↑ The "Darsguftar" educational system was unveiled (Persian)
  37. ↑ Live streaming of Kharij lessons (Persian)
  38. ↑ Taqrirats of Kharij lessons of the seminary of Qom (Persian)
  39. ↑ The book "Danish-i taqrirniwisi" was published. (Persian)

References

  • Āqā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-shīʿa. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Amīn, al-Sayyid Muḥsin al-. Aʿyān al-Shīʿa. Edited by Ḥasan Amīn. Beirut: Dār al-Taʿāruf li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1403 AH.
  • Burūjirdī, Muḥammad Taqī. Nihāyat al-afkār. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1417 AH.
  • Fāḍil Lankarāni, Muḥammad. Nihāyat al-taqrīr fī mabāhith al-ṣalāt. 3rd Edition. Qom: Markaz-i Fiqh-i al-aʾimma al-Aṭhār, 1420 AH.
  • Gharawī Tabrīzī, Alī . Al-Tanqīḥ fī sharh-i ʿurwat al-wuthqā; taqrīrāt-i dars-i Aytullāh al-Khoeī. Qom: 1418 AH.
  • Jawādī Āmulī, ʿAbd Allāh. Kitāb al-hajj. Qom: [n.p], 1401 AH.
  • Khoeī, Abū l-Qāsim. Ajwad al-taqrīrāt. 2nd Edition. Qom: Kitābfurūshī-yi Muṣṭafawī, 1368 SH.
  • Rabbānī, Muḥammad Ḥasan. Dānish-i taqrīrniwīsī; bi ḍamīma-yi rawish-i ḥall-i masāʾil-i fiqhī. Tehran: Chāp wa Nashr-i Bayn al-Milal, 1398 Sh.
  • Shīrāzī, Sayyid Riḍā. Ḍarūrat wa māhiyat shināsī-yi dars-i khārij wa taqrīrniwīsī-yi ān. Miṣbāḥ al-fiqāha Journal, No 1. Spring and Summer 1397 SH.
  • Shahīd al-Thānī, Zayn al-Dīn b. ʿAlī. Munyat al-murīd fī adab al-mufīd wa l-mustafīd. Qom: Maktab al-Aʿlām al-Islāmī, 1415 AH.
  • Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. Tahdhīb al-uṣūl. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī Tābiʿat li Jamāʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1405 AH.
  • اولین دوره مجازی آموزش صحیح تقریر نویسی ـ جلسه اول The first virtual course of correct transcription training (Persian). Accessed: 2023/09/10.
  • خاطرات آیت الله منتظری از دوران آیت الله العظمی بروجردی / مرارت های طلبه ها Memories of Ayatollah Montazeri from the era of Grand Ayatollah Burujirdi (Persian). Accessed: 2023/09/10.
  • بهترین روش های تقریر نویسی کدامند؟ What are the best lecture transcription methods? (Persian). Accessed: 2023/09/10.
  • سامانه آموزشی «درس گفتار» رونمایی شد The "Darsguftar" educational system was unveiled (Persian). Accessed: 2023/09/10.
  • کتاب «دانش تقریرنویسی» منتشر شد The book "Danish-i taqrirniwisi" was published. (Persian). Accessed: 2023/09/10.
  • سامانه تقریرات دروس خارج Taqrirats of Kharij lessons of the seminary of Qom (Persian). Accessed: 2023/09/10.
  • پخش زنده دروس خارج Live streaming of Kharij lessons (Persian). Accessed: 2023/09/10.
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