Yi-Chia Chang
Thesis title: The Tafsīr of Hūd b. Muḥakkim al-Hawwārī: Formation, Reception, and Ibaḍī Intellectual History in the Medieval Maghrib
PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
Year of study: 2
- Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
- School of Literatures, Languages, and Cultures
Contact details
- Email: Yi.Chia.Chang@ed.ac.uk
PhD supervisors:
Background
Yi-Chia Chang is a PhD student in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests range from Qurʾān and Tafsīr Studies, Ḥadith Studies, Ibāḍism (particularly in North Africa), and Khārijism. In his PhD thesis, he aims to explore the knowledge transmission and social context of medieval Ibadi Islam by analysing the formation and reception history of the earliest Ibaḍī Tafsīr produced by Hud b. Muhakkim al-Hawwari (d. third/ninth century CE).
Qualifications
PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK: 2025 - Present
MSc in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK: 2023 - 2024
BA in Arabic Language and Culture, National Chengchi University, Taiwan: 2019 - 2023
Research summary
- Islamic Intellectual & Social History
- Medieval Ibāḍism and Khārijism
- Qurʾān and Quʾānic Commentary (tafsīr)
- Ḥadīth Studies
- Islamic Theology and Law
- Arabic Philology & Manuscript Culture
Past research interests
Besides Ibāḍism, I am also interested in the Khārijīs and how they were perceived by different Muslim communities (and vice versa). My MSc dissertation and ongoing papers explore this question by analyzing antagonistic ḥadīth about the Kharijites through isnād-cum-matn analysis. This approach helps explain how these traditions contributed to the formation of the term Kharijites and what the label actually meant to mainstream Muslims. During my BA study, I am also interested in contemporary topics such as the formation of Taiwanese Muslim community and its status quo. I participated an ethnographical fieldwork project (2021-2023) in Longgang, Taoyuan to study how youth and third-generation Muslim immigrants in Taiwan perceive themselves within a "secular" society and how this alienation impacts on their piety and identity.Conference details
- "Framing ‘Rebellions’ in Ḥadīth Literature: Anti-Khārijī Ḥadīths as Mechanisms of Social Exclusion and Identity Negotiation", paper to be presented at The Social Dynamics of Communal Affiliation in Early Islam. Organised by Embodied Imamate (ERC Project), Universiteit Leiden. June 2026. (Funded by Embodied Imamate Project)
- "Crossing Communal Knowledge Boundaries: The Transmission and Reception of Yaḥyā b. Sallām al-Baṣrī’s Tafsīr in the Ibāḍī North Africa". Annual Conference of the British Association for Islamic Studies 2026. Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (the Aga Khan University) & The Institute for Ismaili Studies. May 2026. (Funded by BRAIS 2026: Student Bursaries and University of Edinburgh LLC PhD Conference Fund)
- "Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, Anti-Khariji Hadith Tradition, and Pro-Umayyad Discourse" ISIC 2025. National Chengchi University and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). November, 2025.
- "The Historicity of Anti-Kharijite Hadith Traditions: An Isnad-cum-matn Analysis." Sixth Islamic and Middle Eastern Graduate Conference. National Chengchi University. February 2025.
Book Chapter
Chang, Yi-Chia. "Chapter 5: al-Nasa'i's al-Mujtaba and Prayer in Islam." In Hadith and Islamic Culture: Topics, Redaction, and Interpretation, by I-Wen Su and Yi-Chia Chang. (forthcoming)