Entry by ability, effort and etiquette · 4+ years · pass mark 70%
The Foundational Scholarship Class
A true scholar is like a grand tree; it takes decades to reach its height and bear fruit.
In every generation there are a few who will carry the lantern of the Islamic sciences forward. This class is where those sciences are opened up for them: aqidah with its proofs, fiqh with its principles, hadith with its methodology, and Arabic as the key to all. Classes are deliberately small.
The syllabus
Arabic
Hidayah al-Nahw through to the Kafiyah of Ibn al-Hajib, with constant study of Arabic literature — aimed at understanding Arabic texts and ultimately the Quran.
Creed
Aqidah Tahawiyyah, then Imam al-Sanusi’s Umm al-Barahin, then Jawharah al-Tawhid and Badayuni’s al-Mu’taqad — texts that prove our beliefs rather than assume them.
Fiqh
Nur al-Idah, the Mukhtasar of Quduri, then Sharh al-Wiqayah for the rational underpinnings of the Hanafi madhhab. Usul al-Shashi and Nur al-Anwar for how rulings are derived.
Hadith
The Arba‘in of Imam Nawawi, then Mishkat al-Masabih. Nukhbat al-Fikr and Nuzhat al-Nazar as the guide to how reports are assessed.
Logic
Imam Abhari’s Isaghuji and Khayrabadi’s Mirqat teach students how to reason and how to spot errors in thought.
Tafsir
Once Quranic vocabulary and parsing are secure, students begin with the Jalalayn and Imam Nasafi’s Madarik al-Tanzil.
Tasawwuf
The works of Imam al-Ghazali run alongside the whole course, so the flame of spirituality is never veiled by dry study.
Our graduates will not be scholars, shaykhs or muftis at eighteen. They will be something far more rare: students with a foundation and framework stronger than many who carry titles today.