Road to Scholarship (Years 7-11)

The Arabic Language will be a key component of the course throughout the four years of the programme. As well as communicative Arabic using the al-Arabiya Lil-Nashi’in textbook, students will also study a Qur’anic Arabic programme to facilitate comprehension of the Book of Allah. This will include a detailed study of grammar and etymology and vocabulary acquisition with drills and worked Qur’anic examples. Students will be able to understand at least 80% of the Qur’an after successfully completing the programme.

Students will also study at Fiqh (Tahra, Salah, Saum, Zakat & Hajj) with the aid of study books specifically written for the particular age group – complete with explanatory notes, exercises, discussion points, problem solving with real life scenarios etc. ensuring the students are engaging and analysing the texts, making them relevant to their lives.

Year 3 & 4: Ascent to Felicity: Complete study of this primer text in Hanafi Fiqh supported by detailed additional notes as well as drills to solidify learning of the text.

Year 1: Aqida will be taught with the aid of study books specifically written for the particular age group – complete with explanatory notes, exercises, discussion points, problem solving with real life scenarios etc. ensuring the students are engaging and analysing the texts, making them relevant to their lives.

Year 3: Aqida Tahawiyya: A complete study of this renowned primer in Islamic beliefs complemented by commentary written specifically for our course and weekly drills to enhance comprehension of the text.

Lessons will be split between the practical reading of the Qur’an as well as foundational knowledge in all the rules of Tajwid. Students will study Tajwid Untangled in its entirety which involves a detailed study of Makharij and aspects of the sifat of Arabic letters, along with other foundational rules of this important science. This will be applied in practice by completing a reading of Juzz Amma.

Year 1 & 2: Tafsir of the oft-recited surahs of Juzz Amma (al-Duha to al-Nas) with the aid of study books specifically written for the particular age group based on the most authentic commentaries– complete with explanatory notes, exercises, discussion points, problem solving with real life scenarios etc. ensuring the students are engaging and analysing the texts, making them relevant to their lives.

Year 3: Imam Nawawi’s Forty Hadith is the most well known text book of its kind. Students will be study this text in its entirety using a commentary written specially for our course. It involves looking at a short biography of the narrator of each hadith and then a detailed analysis of the words of the Prophet and what they mean to a young modern Muslim. Utilising the many commentaries written by traditional scholars, we have produced a commentary for our course which is complemented by weekly drills to distill the meanings of each hadith for the student.

Year 1: A strong emphasis on ‘knowing the exemplar’ – the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) – through a study of sira based on The Life of Muhammad by Azzam & Gouverneur. This will allow students to know and hence emulate in detail the life and conduct of the Best of Creation, (Allah bless him and give him peace).

Year 2: A strong emphasis on ‘knowing the exemplar’ – the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) – through a study of shamail based on our own text written for teenagers. This will allow students to know and hence emulate in detail the life and conduct of the Best of Creation, (Allah bless him and give him peace).

Year 4: One of the most important areas of Fiqh which is neglected somewhat in some curriculums. Based on the classical text Hadiya al-Alaiyya, we will explore the many contemporary issues such as dress, gender interaction, interest, etc. Again this text will be adapted and provided in a format that is digestible to our age group.

Parts of the Bidayatul Hidaya of Imam Ghazali will be read to students and form the basis of classes on Tazkiya – purification of the soul. Students will experience the words of this great scholar known as the Proof of Islam and begin to understand the importance of embodying the knowledge that is acquired and how this is the essence of success in this life and the next.