Conclusions 195 second/eighth century, women continue to congregate to pursue religious learning. My own quest to understand modern manifestations of women’s hadith transmission brought me to the Madrasat al-Hadith al-Nuriyya in 2010. Even before visiting the school, I had heard about the feats of its graduates, a few of whom had memorized the Sahib of al-Bukhari as well as other well-known compilations. I was certain that I had happened upon a contemporary reincarnation of classical women’s hadith education, which might enlighten me further about my historical subject. My expectations were misplaced. The Madrasat al-Hadlth al-Nuriyya is, in some respects, the first of its kind. Indeed, this should not be surprising given the diverse iterations of women’s hadith participation across ten centuries. The only constant, perhaps, is the reference to the practice of leading early exemplars such as ‘A’isha bint Abi Bakr. A number of obvious differences between this twenty-first-century institution and its early and classical antecedents bring the historical rupture into sharper focus. First, this is an institution strictly and solely dedicated to female hadith education. The building itself contains classrooms, an assembly hall, a library and computer center, and a cafeteria. All teachers and students are women, though leading male scholars such as Nur al-Dln ‘Itr serve on its founding and advisory board. By contrast, the assemblies of a number of early and classical female scholars were coeducational and took place in diverse locales. The purposes of hadith study have likewise evolved. The teachers and students of hadith at the Madrasat al-Hadith al-Nuriyya are not charged with the accurate reproduction of texts such as al-Faraj ba 'd al-Shidda or Dhamm al-Muskir. Rather, there are two primary courses of study: ( 1 ) hadith sciences ( ‘ulum al-hadith wa-mustalahuhu) and (2) study and memorization of seven Qur’anic readings. The curricula require advanced proficiency in Arabic since students focus on close readings and discussions of a few widely circulated texts, among them al-NawawI’s (d. 676/1277) Riyad al-Salihin. Through such engagement, the institution aims to revive the centrality of hadith study as an integral aspect of the religious education of women. A third disjuncture is that perpetuating the isnad ‘ati is not a priority at this institution. At the Madrasat al-Hadlth al-Nuriyya, students are My remarks on this madrasa are based on my own visit to the institution in early 2010. During my visit, I obtained some of the material that is distributed to students about the curricula of the school. I have not conducted a detailed study of the institution (though it certainly merits such a study). Therefore, my observations here are tentative. 15