TRADITIONAL SCHOLARSHIP, RIGHT HERE IN AMERICA.
WHAT IS THE TAKMIL PROGRAM?
The Takmīl Program is a rigorous seven-year ʿālimiyyah certification program for men and women that comprehensively imparts a well-designed syllabus, aiming to educate the next generation of scholars, lecturers, researchers, thinkers, and academics. Deep and profound, the program is rooted in tradition, immersing one into research, literature, and textual analysis that spans over 1400 years.
Aimed at aspiring scholars, the thoroughly engaging ʿālimiyyah program is focused on providing a high-quality educational atmosphere in which erudite ʿulamāʾ are trained.
Deep and profound, the program is rooted in tradition, immersing one into research, literature, and textual analysis that spans over 1400 years.
SOUND TRADITION
The institute’s instructors are connected back to Islām’s greatest scholars and have acquired traditional teaching licenses (ar. ijāzāt) in a vast array of subjects. They dedicated many years of their lives pursuing studies in the Arabic language and the sacred sciences locally, as well as abroad at eminent Dār al-ʿUlūms based on the South Asian pedagogical model and at renowned centers of learning in the Middle East. With their varying backgrounds, what each teacher contributes to the learning environment makes this program especially unique. This combination of talent cumulates, exposing the pursuant learner to studies that equal or surpass overseas opportunities.
HOW TO APPLY
The Takmil seven-year 'alimiyyah program begins with the the Tanwir Intensive 1-Year Arabic & Islamic Studies Immersion program.
TRANSFER STUDENTS
DarusSalam accepts transfer students who are in good standing with their current learning institution. Prospective transfer students must list all subjects and books covered in the application and complete and submit a Transfer & Release Form. Placement at DarusSalam Seminary is based on an assessment of the courses completed at all previous institutions. Transfer students will be subject to oral/written placement exams.
CURRICULUM - Years 2-5
Qurʾān Translation (ar. Tarjamat Maʿānī al-Qurʾān)
Text: Directly from the Muṣḥaf
Description: The meanings of the Holy Qurʾān are translated into English. In this year, one will study Qurʾān translation from Sūrah Yūsuf to Sūrat al-ʿAnkabūt. Studying this subject is a cornerstone feature of our ʿālimīyah program. In this year, one embarks on a lifechanging experience. One will traverse page-by-page, in fact, word-by-word through Allāh’s Divine Book as an enriching linguistic analysis is undertaken that brings one to understand the Revelation by knowing its language. At the end of this effort, one should be able to translate most of the verses into English.
Course Objectives:
• Expand one’s vocabulary, especially words in the Qurʾān that repeat frequently.
• Experience the wonder of Qurʾānic linguistics by experiencing the theoretical language disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology coming to life in Allāh’s Book.
• Know important Qurʾānic themes from these chapters.
Qurʾān Recitation (ar. ʿIlm al-Tajwīd)
Text: Shaykh Sulaymān b. Ḥusayn al-Jamzūrī’s Tuḥfat al-Aṭfāl wa al-Ghilmān fī Aḥkām Tartīl al-Qurʾān
Description: Recitation of the first fifteen sections according to Ḥafṣ.
Course Objectives:
• Study the theoretical principles of tajwīd.
• Apply the theoretical knowledge through application.
Prophetic Narrations (ar. Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā b. Sharaf al-Nawawī’s Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn
Description: A work that needs no introduction. Each narration related in Imām Nawawī’s Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn will be commentated on with a focus on its significance and application in our lives. Studying this text will expose one to a large assortment of mutūn that comprise the ḥadīth corpus.
Course Objectives:
• Learn practicable knowledge directly through the words of Allāh’s Messenger.
• Develop into a Muslim who is spiritually confident in the Prophet’s guidance.
• Imbibe the narrations and explanations to share them with others.
Islāmic Jurisprudence (ar. Ḥanafī Fiqh)
Text: Shaykh Abū al-Ikhlāṣ Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār al-Shurunbulālī’s Nūr al-Īḍāḥ wa Najāt al-Arwāḥ
Description: Shurunbulālī’s Nūr al-Īḍāḥ is often one of the first fiqh books formally studied. From Egypt’s Azhar University to the eminent Dār al-ʿUlūms of South Asia, this work has featured as a mainstay textbook. This primer focuses on the fiqh of worship, covering purification to the pilgrimage. The author lucidly presents rulings dealing with these chapters in concise and meaning filled passages. One will engage Ḥanafī Fiqh through this time-tested primer while building a foundation in the subject that he can build on through further study.
Course Objectives:
• Study fiqh at a rudimentary level.
• Begin negotiating Ḥanafī Fiqh texts in the subject’s lingo franca, i.e. Arabic.
• Bolster one’s vocabulary and understanding of nomenclature.
• Prepare to study intermediate jurisprudence from Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī.
Islāmic History (ar. al-Tārīkh al-Islāmī)
Text: Dr. Rāghib al-Sirjānī’s al-Mawsūʿat al-Muyassarah fī al-Tārīkh al-Islāmī (English translation)
Description: Islām’s history will be reviewed from the Prophet’s time through the Ottoman Empire until the eventual settling of Muslims as minorities in various countries around the world. Knowing history is imperative. Through this study, one will identify with a beautiful and rich history that begins with our beloved Prophet Muḥammad (upon him be peace). The cultures, civilizations, institutions, and peoples who lived before us are our roots. One will appreciate and understand from where he has come. With revisionist historical narratives being offered, one must know the reality of his past. By knowing this, one will be able to better shape the future.
Course Objectives:
• Study the history of Islām from early Islām until the modern era.
• Realize the impact that the Prophet’s teachings and guidance had on the world.
• Identify with Islām’s rich historical legacy by knowing one’s roots
Arabic Grammar (ar. ʿIlm al-Naḥw)
Text: Ibn Ajurrūm & Dr. Muḥī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd’s al-Tuḥfat al-Sanīyah bi Sharḥ al-Ajurrūmīyah, Various authors’ Qawāʿid al-Lughat al-ʿArabīyah fī al-Naḥw wa al-Ṣarf wa al-Balāghah
Description: The Arabic language’s most important rules of grammar are imparted through reading a time-tested primer. For centuries, countless students have benefited immensely from Ibn Ajurrūm’s Muqaddimah, which is a concise work that conveys the grammar one needs to read Arabic texts. Dr. Muḥī al-Dīn’s commentary provides additional details elucidating the rules. End-of-chapter exercises also give students an opportunity to review and assess their understanding of the material.
Then, one’s study of grammar continues by reading Qawāʿid al-Lughat al-ʿArabīyah. This work aims to augment a student’s grasp of crucial grammar rules by presenting what was not covered in previous works while solidifying his ability in the subject.
Course Objectives:
• Learn grammar focusing on what is necessary to read unmarked Arabic texts.
• Begin understanding how to parse Arabic sentences.
Arabic Literature (ar. al-Adab al-ʿArabī)
Text: Mawlanā ʿAbd al-Quddūs & Mawlanā Muḥammad Sājid al-Qāsimī’s al-Qirāʾat al-ʿArabīyah (3/4)
Description: In this work, one will study Arabic literature thereby building a solid foundation in the language.
Course Objectives:
• Apply one’s theoretical knowledge of grammar and morphology.
• Expand one’s vocabulary.
Urdu
Text: Mawlanā Hāshim Muḥammad’s First Steps to Understanding Urdu
Description: Learn the most important rules of the Urdu language while expanding one’s vocabulary.
Course Objectives:
• Learn the Urdu language’s rules.
• Begin building one’s ability to access the writings of ʿulamāʾ that have been penned in Urdu.
Qurʾānic Exegesis (ar. Tafsīr al-Qurʾān)
Text: Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī & Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī’s Tafsīr al-Jalālayn (2)
Description: Tafsīr al-Jalālayn is a mainstay textbook that has featured in many madrasah curriculums across the Muslim World for years. Through this work one will study the subject of Qurʾānic Exegesis in detail. In this year, the second half of Jalālayn is covered followed by the first half in the following year.
Course Objectives:
• Engage Allāh’s Book through the acclaimed commentary Tafsīr al-Jalālayn.
• Become proficient in researching the Qurʾān’s verses from the relied-upon works of tafsīr.
• Observe how the scholars expound on the Qurʾān’s verses.
Qurʾānic Linguistics & Grammar (ar. Lughat al-Qurʾān wa Naḥwuhu wa ʿIrābuhu)
Text: Select Readings
Description: This is a dynamic and hands-on class. Students will prepare exercises engaging passages of the Qurʾān while focusing on various aspects of its language.
Course Objectives:
• Practically engage the Qurʾān and its language.
• Proficiently parse Arabic sentences.
• Become able to explain Allāh’s Book from a linguistic perspective.
Islāmic Jurisprudence (ar. Ḥanafī Fiqh)
Text: Imām Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Qudūrī’s Mukhtaṣar (from Kitāb al-Zakāh to the end)
Description: Qudūrī’s concise passages have trained countless students who reached high ranks in scholarship. This book is a timeless treasure -a fiqh manual par excellence- that trains the reader to hone their skills at an intermediate level. In fact, in studies, the bridge between the introductory and advanced levels is often one of the hardest to cross. Moreover, certain sections, e.g. financial transactions, are some of the most complex and intricate. With each step taken through the work’s illuminated pages, one comes closer to making this important transition.
The author presents differing opinions between the Ḥanafī School’s leading authorities, such as Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf, and Imām Muḥammad. One will explore the causes of such differences in a select amount of cases; and in a general way, one will become acquainted with how internal differences in the Ḥanafī School are addressed.
Course Objectives:
• Review a significant amount of legal cases in the subject of fiqh.
• Develop the ability to proficiently read an intermediate level fiqh text with understanding.
Principle Evidence and Legal Theory (ar. Uṣūl al-Fiqh)
Text: Muftī ʿUbayd Allāh al-Sindī’s al-Mūjaz fī Uṣūl al-Fiqh
Description: This moderately sized work carries deep insight and profound knowledge. Lucid passages simplify the subject’s intricate principles allowing one to gain a solid grasp of the material that can be further developed in the forthcoming years.
The late Syrian ḥadīth master Shaykh ʿAbd al-Faṭṭāh Abū Ghuddah remarked regarding this priceless masterpiece:
“I found the writing to be beneficial, simple yet inclusive. The author extracted the subject’s core from Ḥanafī uṣul works and made it accessible for students. The book consists of concise and lucid passages. Every citation has been verified, and every point has been examined.”
The subject’s nomenclature and primary content will be elucidated through engaging lessons, comprehensively imparting this otherwise complex subject into the arsenal of the student. Each lesson will focus on laying a solid academic foundation in the science.
Course Objectives:
• Learn the subject’s main discourses.
• Develop a solid foundational understanding of key nomenclature.
• Prepare to face the upcoming challenge of reading Nasafī’s Manār al-Anwār.
Theology (ar. Uṣūl al-Dīn)
Text: Ismāʿīl b. Mūsā al-Ḥāmidī’s commentary on Aḥmad al-Dardīr’s al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṣughrā, Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī’s Ḍawʾ al-Maʿālī Sharḥ Badʾ al-Amālī
Description: Through studying Ḥāmidī’s commentary on Dardīr’s al-ʿAqīdat al-Ṣughrā, one’s linguistic ability is further enhanced. Moreover, this is an introductory text written in the classic interlineal format. Becoming accustomed to this manner of writing is imperative because many seminal works are written in this way. Hence, one gradually improves in textual negotiation skills while bolstering their understanding of the subject’s nomenclature.
Then, a study of Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī’s Ḍawʾ al-Maʿālī Sharḥ Badʾ al-Amālī is undertaken. One will review Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī’s work while focusing on researching the intricacies of the theological discussions that he discusses in detail.
Course Objectives:
• Develop a functional understanding of the subject’s main chapters and primary concepts.
• Gradually improve one’s skill of negotiating theology textbooks.
Rhetoric (ar. ʿIlm al-Balāghah)
Text: ʿAlī al-Jārim & Muṣṭafā Amīn’s al-Balāghah al-Wāḍiḥah
Description: The subject of rhetoric is introduced. This work is a well-structured textbook that imparts the discipline’s theoretical aspects along with comprising a munificent number of examples and end-of-chapter exercises. Accordingly, the reading focuses on equipping one with a functional understanding of the subject’s key terminology and concepts while solidifying that theoretical knowledge through samples from the foremost literary sources coupled with practical application.
Course Objectives:
• Learn the fundamentals of the science of rhetoric.
• Establish an understanding of the subject’s nomenclature.
• Bolster one’s understanding of Arabic’s eloquence through hands-on engagement.
Arabic Literature (ar. al-Adab al-ʿArabī)
Text: Mawlanā ʿAbd al-Quddūs & Mawlanā Muḥammad Sājid al-Qāsimī’s al-Qirāʾat al-ʿArabīyah (4)
Description: In this work, one will study Arabic literature thereby building a solid foundation in the language.
Course Objectives:
• Apply one’s theoretical knowledge of grammar and morphology.
• Expand one’s vocabulary.
Qurʾānic Exegesis (ar. Tafsīr al-Qurʾān)
Text: Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī & Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī’s Tafsīr al-Jalālayn (1)
Description: Continue in one’s study of Tafsīr al-Jalālayn.
Course Objectives:
• Engage Allāh’s Book through the acclaimed commentary Tafsīr al-Jalālayn.
• Become proficient in researching the Qurʾān’s verses from the relied-upon works of tafsīr.
• Observe how the scholars expound on the Qurʾān’s verses.
The Modes of Qurʾānic Recitation (ar. al-Qirāʾāt al-Qurʾānīyah)
Text: Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Qāsim b. Fīrru al-Shāṭibī’s Ḥirz al-Āmānī wa Wajh al-Tahānī fī Qirāʾāt al-Sabʿ, al-Qārī Salīm Gaibie’s Ghunyat al-Ṭalabah fī Taysīr al-Sabʿah
Description: Recitation of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah to Sūrat al-Nisāʾ: one and a half juzʾ will be read jamʿ ʿaṭfī and the rest jamʿ ḥarfī.
Course Objectives:
• Study the seven modes of recitation as related by Shāṭibī.
• Apply the theoretical study.
Studies in Ḥadīth Methodology (ar. ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī’s Nuzhat al-Naẓar Sharḥ Nukhbat al-Fikar
Description: The text is studied to lay a strong foundation through which one soundly understands the subject’s terminology and principles; most especially, after the effort of codification and crystallization that happened at the hands of the subject’s later-day authorities.
Course Objectives:
• Undergo a detailed study of ḥadīth methodology.
• Understand the subject through its codified principles.
Narrator Criticism (ar. ʿIlm al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl)
Text: Shaykh ʿAbd al-Laṭīf ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz’s Ḍawābiṭ al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl
Description: One will study the principles of narrator criticism. Along with gaining a strong understanding of the subject’s theoretical principles, one will know how to apply them through practical exercise.
Course Objectives:
• Study narrator criticism and understand it as a theoretical subject.
• Apply one’s theoretical knowledge.
Studies in Ḥadīth Methodology (ar. ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Shaykh ʿUmar ʿAbd al-Munʿim Salīm’s Taysīr Dirasāt al-Asānīd, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Muhdī ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Turuq al-Takhrīj
Description: In this study, one continues to build on the previous year. One’s ability to determine the authenticity of narrations based on the scholars’ statements of vindication/vilification will be applied through analysis and investigation that examines the quality of asānīd in extracts from the ḥadīth corpus. And one will couple this ability with tracing and referencing narrations back to their sources while cross-referencing isnād-related data. Along with gaining a strong understanding of the subject’s theoretical principles, one will know how to apply them through hands-on research.
Course Objectives:
• Study isnād criticism and understand it as a theoretical subject.
• Know how to trace narrations back to their sources.
• Apply one’s theoretical knowledge.
Islāmic Jurisprudence (ar. Ḥanafī Fiqh)
Text: Imām Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Abī Bakr al-Marghīnānī’s al-Hidāyah Sharḥ Bidāyat al-Mubtadiʾ (1)
Description: Marghīnānī’s acclaimed masterpiece in Ḥanafī Fiqh, al-Hidāyah Sharḥ Bidāyah al-Mubtadiʾ, will be perused. Hidāyah is based on Imām Qudūrī’s Mukhtaṣar and Imām Muḥammad’s al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr. In Hidāyah, the author relates differences of opinions from the School’s founders along with indicating to the relied-upon opinion in some instances. Accordingly, one will begin exploring cases of difference internal to the School and how those are dealt with by the researchers.
As well, the author systematically presents differences of opinion between the Ḥanafīs and the other Schools. Imām Shāfiʿī’s opinions are cited frequently, and the author will present Imām Mālik’s opinions too. These opinions are referenced along with their proofs. After citing the differing viewpoints, the author offers responses and counterarguments. Accordingly, this work trains one on how argumentation between jurists is approached and applied. The identification of ratio legum is addressed along with sourcing them to the primary evidence. Along with studying legal rulings in specific cases, this study equips one with insights into the intricate nature of the jurists’ efforts.
Course Objectives:
• Study “Hidāyah Awwal.”
• Analyze how differing opinions in fiqh are debated amongst scholars.
• Review the School’s ratio legum, how they are applied in specific cases, and the basis for them from the primary source evidence.
• Study variations in the School’s transmission and how those are reconciled by the scholars.
Principle Evidence and Legal Theory (ar. Uṣūl al-Fiqh)
Text: Imām Abū al-Barakāt ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad al-Nasafī’s Manār al-Anwār fī Uṣūl al-Fiqh along with Shaykh Aḥmad b. Abī Saʿīd Mullā Jīwan’s Nūr al-Anwār
Description: In Manār al-Anwār, Imām Nasafī abridged two seminal works: Imām Fakhr al-Islām al-Bazdawī’s Uṣūl and Shams al-Aʾimmah al-Sarakhsī’s Uṣūl. He summarized them, adding highly pertinent information, and generally followed the chapter sequencing found in Bazdawi’s work. Even with Manār’s brevity, the content contained therein fully represents the rich contributions from where Nasafī sourced the material. The result of his effort illuminated the subject for years to come. Countless erudite researchers wrote volumes explaining the treatise. The work is unsurpassed in the field. Ibn al-ʿAynī, remarked regarding it: “I have never seen anything like it in the subject of uṣūl al-fiqh.”
In studying this work, one will inherit the Ḥanafī School’s legal theory from its masters. With the myriad commentaries that elucidate Manār’s core, one will have ample opportunity to critically engage the various insights and observations documented from the scholars during the reading. Through reading Mullā Jīwan’s Nūr al-Anwār one will access Manār’s essential content in detail.
Course Objectives:
• Study uṣūl al-fiqh in detail.
• Understand the School’s evidences and principles.
Inheritance (ar. ʿIlm al-Mīrāth)
Text: Shaykh Sirāj al-Dīn Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Rashīd al-Sajāwandī’s al-Sirājī fī al-Mīrāth
Description: In this study, one will master the laws of inheritance and be able to solve most queries that arise regarding it. One will study the theoretical aspects of inheritance in detail along with solving practical inheritance problems under the supervision of a qualified teacher until he becomes proficient in both the theoretical aspects of the discipline as well as its application.
Course Objectives:
• Study the laws of inheritance.
• Make taṭbīq of the theory through solving various inheritance cases.
Theology (ar. Uṣūl al-Dīn)
Text: Dr. Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān al-Būṭī’s Kubrā al-Yaqīnīyāt al-Kawnīyah: Wujūd al-Khāliq wa Waẓīfat al-Makhlūq
Description: Dr. Būṭī’s well-known work, Kubrā al-Yaqīnīyāt al-Kawnīyah, will be studied. This work is an intermediate-level textbook in the subject of theology.
Course Objectives:
• Learn theology’s primary chapters in detail.
• Learn the theologians’ methods of argumentation and summoning proof along with how they have been applied to select philosophical dilemmas.
Theology (ar. Uṣūl al-Dīn)
Text: Shaykh Nūr al-Dīn Aḥmad b. Maḥmūd al-Ṣābūnī’s al-Kifāyah fī al-Hidāyah
Description: Ṣābūnī’s al-Kifāyah fī al-Hidāyah is an excellent exposition of the subject according to the Māturīdī Ṭarīqah. Through this study, one will engage theology at an intermediate level.
Course Objectives:
• Learn theology’s primary chapters in detail.
Logic (ar. ʿIlm al-Manṭiq)
Text: Shaykh Muḥammad Anwār al-Badakhshānī’s Tas-hīl al-Manṭiq, Imām Athīr al-Dīn al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Samarqandī al-Abharī’s Mughnī al-Ṭullāb
Description: Reading Tas-hīl al-Manṭiq equips one with a functional understanding of the science’s most important terms and concepts. Thereafter, one will embark on a study of the Isagoge relying extensively on Abharī’s commentary. This equips one with the ability to read in the subject via the classic interlineal format, which is essential for further study. Moreover, the combination of the two textbooks will equip one with a functional knowledge of logic and hone one’s ability to critically assess concepts and forward intelligible arguments.
Course Objectives:
• Lay the foundation for further inquiry into the subject.
• Hone one’s argumentation skills.
Qurʾān Exegesis (ar. Tafsīr)
Text: Qāḍī Nāṣir al-Dīn ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar al-Bayḍāwī’s Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl (the first 141 verses of the Qurʾān)
Description: In Tafsīr al-Bayḍāwī, the author abridged Rāghib Aṣbahānī’s Mufradāt, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, and Zamakhsharī’s al-Kashshāf; accordingly, the linguistic and rational aspects of Qurʾānic exegesis are emphasized in this study.
Course Objectives:
• Study advanced tafsīr.
• Prepare to endeavor to make Qurʾānic Studies a lifelong pursuit.
The Modes of Qurʾānic Recitation (ar. al-Qirāʾāt al-Qurʾānīyah)
Text: Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Qāsim b. Fīrru al-Shāṭibī’s Manẓūmat ʿAqīlat Atrāb al-Qaṣāʾid fī ʿIlm Rasm al-Maṣāḥif
Description: Recitation from Sūrat al-Māʾidah to Sūrat al-Nās by way of jamʿ ḥarfī.
Course Objectives:
• Study the intricacies of the subject along with application.
Prophetic Narrations: Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ
Text: Imām Walī al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Khaṭīb al-Tibrīzī’s Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ
Description: In the traditional Dars Niẓāmī curriculum, Tibrīzī’s Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ is a pivotal textbook that represents an important station on one’s ʿālimiyyah journey. In fact, this year is sometimes referred to as “Mishkāt” and students at this level are often called “Mishkāt students.” After four full years of intensive scholarly effort, one rolls up their sleeves to diligently engage their first major ḥadīth compilation.
Mishkāt is Tibrīzī’s abridgement of Imām Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥusayn b. Masʿūd al-Baghawī’s Maṣābīḥ al-Sunnah. Furthermore, Mishkāt has received a good amount of attention from the scholars. Many have written commentaries on it. Regarding Mishkāt and some of its commentaries, the great Turkish Ḥanafī jurist Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr Sājiqlī Zādah al-Marʿashlī said in his book Tartīb al-ʿUlūm: “It is necessary that every scholar make it his companion.”
Course Objectives:
• Undertake a scholarly study of Mishkāt; engage the Prophets’ narrations with the asset of having completed multiple years of advanced Islāmic Studies.
Islāmic Jurisprudence (ar. Ḥanafī Fiqh)
Text: Imām Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Abī Bakr al-Marghīnānī’s al-Hidāyah Sharḥ Bidāyat al-Mubtadiʾ (2)
Description: In this year, one continues in their study of Marghīnānī’s Hidāyah.
Course Objectives:
• Study “Hidāyah Thānī.”
Theology (ar. Uṣūl al-Dīn)
Text: Shaykh Najm al-Dīn ʿUmar b. Muḥammad al-Nasafī & Shaykh Saʿd al-Dīn al-Taftāzānī’s Sharḥ al-Aqāʿid al-Nasafīyah
Description: Nasafī’s ʿAqīdah is an important work in Islāmic theology. Some have mentioned that it relies on Abū Muʿin al-Nasafī’s Tabṣirat al-Adillah. Taftāzānī took Nasafī’s ʿAqīdah and penned a commentary on it. This work has thereafter been commentated on numerous times by many scholars and served as a textbook in many traditional curriculums.
Course Objectives:
• Learn theology’s primary chapters in detail.
• Become acquainted with the commentaries and marginalia that have been penned on the work as well as how to access them.
Advanced Arabic Literature (ar. al-Adab al-ʿArabī)
Text: Various authors’ al-Muntakhab min Adab al-ʿArab
Description: This is an extensive collection of excerpts from the leading Arabic litterateurs. One will read selections of this text, focusing on the beauty and eloquence of the language while being exposed to a multitude of style and diverse structure. Through this study one will appreciate Arabic’s belles-lettres.
Course Objectives:
• Become able to proficiently function in Arabic.
• Experience the beauty of classical Arabic through a variety of literary samples.
CURRICULUM - Years 6-7 (Dawrah)
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-Shaybānī’s Muwaṭṭaʾ, ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Turkmānī’s al-Madkhal ilā Uṣūl al-Ḥadīth ʿalā Manhaj al-Ḥanafīyah, Shaykh Niʿmatullah al-Aʿẓamī’s Madāris al-Ruwāt, Shaykh Muḥammad Zāhid al-Kawtharī’s Fiqh Ahl al-ʿIrāq wa Ḥadīthuhum
Description: The course begins with an in-depth study of ḥadīth legal theory through the lens of the Ḥanafī school of thought by reading ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Turkmānī’s al-Madkhal ilā Uṣūl al-Ḥadīth ʿalā Manhaj al-Ḥanafīyah. As well, one will undergo a practical study of ḥadīth chain criticism and narrators though Niʿmatullah al-Aʿẓamī’s Madāris al-Ruwāt. After perusing through the work, the study of ḥadīth literature begins.
One will be exposed to early legal ḥadīth literature through the lens of the great fiqh and ḥadīth masters: Imām Mālik, Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, and their student Imām Muḥammad. In this study, one will obtain the principles (ar. uṣūl) employed to derive legal rulings from the early ḥadīth literature, which includes marfūʿ (prophetic traditions), mawqūf (traditions from the companions), maqtūʿ (traditions from the first generation of scholars), and the differences between the Kūfan and Ḥijāzī schools.
Readings throughout the year will include: the Muwaṭṭaʾ (primarily) through the transmission of Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī and the transmission of Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā al-Laythī, Imām Muḥammad’s Kitāb al-Ḥujjah, and Kitāb al-Āthār of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah. The student will understand, through the course, the methodology of the early scholars in contrast to the literalist approach that developed later in a manner that will not only strengthen his confidence, but his ability to defend his Madhhab.
Course Objectives:
• Become acquainted with ḥadīth scholarship in the generations prior to the Sittah.
The Modes of Qurʾānic Recitation (ar. al-Qirāʾāt al-Qurʾānīyah)
Text: Imām Ibn al-Jazarī’s al-Durrat al-Maḍīyah fī Qirāʾāt al-Aʾimmah al-Thālath al-Marḍīyah, Imām Shāṭibī’s Nāẓimat al-Zuhr fī ʿIlm al-Fawāṣil
Description: Study the modes of Qurʾānic recitation at an advanced level.
Course Objectives:
• Study the remaining three modes of Qurʾānic recitation.
• Recite the entire Qurʾān cumulating in receiving a teaching license (ar. ijāzah) in the ten modes of recitation.
Islāmic Jurisprudence (ar. Ḥanafī Fiqh)
Text: Imām Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Abī Bakr al-Marghīnānī’s al-Hidāyah Sharḥ Bidāyah al-Mubtadiʾ (3/4)
Description: In this year, one continues in their study of Marghīnānī’s Hidāyah.
Course Objectives:
• Study “Hidāyah Thālith.”
• Study “Hidāyah Rābiʿ.”
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Nasāʾī’s Sunan
Description: This class will cover Imām Nasāʾī’s Sunan, one of the canonical collections of ḥadīth. Objectives of the course include gaining familiarity with the author's life and methodology, exposure to the science of ʿilal, applied narrator criticism, applied isnād analysis, and comparing al-Sunan al-Kubrā to al-Sunan al-Ṣughrā (al-Mujtabā).
Course Objectives:
• Understand Imām Nasāʾī’s method.
• Learn about identifying ʿilal in the ḥadīth corpus through studying both the theory and honing that knowledge through practical application.
• Benefit from Sunan al-Nasāʾī.
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Abū Jaʿfar al-Taḥāwī’s Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār
Description: Throughout history, the Ḥanafī school of thought has been bombarded with claims that the school’s foundation is predicated on reason (ar. raʾyy) as opposed to the Prophetic tradition (ar. ḥadīth). In his magnum opus, Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār, Imām Taḥāwī addresses these claims and shows the reader that the school not only adheres to the Prophetic tradition but does so in a manner that is in line with the Companions and the earliest generation of scholars. The student will be exposed not only to the specific textual evidence for the school but will examine the principles and legal reasoning (ar. uṣūl) employed therein; those that are in line with the ḥadīth scholars and those that are specific to the Ḥanafī school.
Course Objectives:
• Understand a significant amount of textual evidence in support of the Ḥanafī School.
• Become acquainted with the evidence along with how the Ḥanafī School’s principles operate when engaging it.
Studies in Ḥadīth Methodology (ar. ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Abū ʿAmr ʿUthmān b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ al-Shahrazūrī’s Maʿrifat Anwāʿ al-Ḥadīth
Description: Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ’s Muqaddimah is read. The benefits of reading this acclaimed work are many. It is a masterpiece reference that inspired generations of erudite scholars engaged in the field of ḥadīth studies. This work is read not only to acquaint one in the subject, but to train a researcher confident in their knowledge and skills who can expand the subject academically and defend it with intellectual precision. A solid background in the subject is required for both tasks, and this study provides the opportunity to solidify that.
Course Objectives:
• Become a confident researcher in the subject.
• Solidify one’s knowledge of ʿulūm al-ḥadīth.
Contemporary Islāmic Finance (ar. Fiqh al-Muʿāmalāt al-Mālīyah al-Muʿāṣirah)
Text: Muftī Muḥammad Taqī al-ʿUthmānī’s Fiqh al-Buyūʿ
Description: One will study a contemporary presentation of Islāmic commercial law. In transitioning from the agrarian economies of old through the industrial revolution and into the modern era, the economic and financial aspects of our lives became more sophisticated and complex. Today, how a Muslim does business in the modern marketplace requires a solid understanding of the rules and regulations established by the Sacred Law. Muftī Muḥammad Taqī al-ʿUthmānī’s Fiqh al-Buyūʿ is an excellent exposition on this topic. Therein, the author is diverse in his approach to the classical authors while applying their prophetically-inspired positions in the context of what is current in places where legal systems vary. He further shows how these positions apply in today’s economic sectors. Through a complete reading of this work, one will be comprehensively aware of Islāmic commercial law in the modern age.
Course Objectives:
• Peruse a modern take on Islāmic commercial law.
• Understand what is lawful or unlawful for a Muslim in the modern marketplace.
• Have a comprehensive understanding of the modern juristic discussions in commercial law by reviewing the broad range of topics that are covered in Fiqh al-Buyūʿ.
The Protocols and Etiquettes of Fatwā (ar. Uṣūl al-Iftāʾ)
Text: Muftī Muḥammad Taqī al-Uthmānī’s Uṣūl al-Iftāʾ wa Ādābuhu
Description: Muftī Muḥammad Taqī al-Uthmānī’s Uṣūl al-Iftāʾ wa Ādābuhu is a detailed work detailing the protocols and procedures for one who provides legal counsel to others in accordance with the relied-upon opinions of the Ḥanafī School. In the work, he provides foundational insight into the principles of this most important discipline.
Course Objectives:
• Learn the principles of iftāʾ according to the Ḥanafī school of thought.
• Appreciate the complexities and rigor of this field.
• Gain insightful information to become a balanced and precise researcher in the field of jurisprudence.
• Know the etiquettes required for answering people’s religious queries.
• Prepare to face the challenge of offering legal counsel to the community according to the Sacred Law.
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ, Shaykh Māhir Yāsīn al-Faḥl’s Ibrāz Sanʿat al-Ḥadīth fī Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī Wājib al-Waqt
Description: In this work, one observes a master deducing and inferring intricate rulings from textual evidence. One will systematically develop the academic acuity to appreciate how one evaluates and extrapolates inexplicit points in knowledge from the Prophet’s narrations. Imām Bukhārī will indicate to rulings for which he brings evidence to establish through his chapter headings, as is said: “fiqh al-Bukhārī fī tarājimihi.” Meaning: “Bukhārī’s understanding is found in his chapter headings.” Reviewing this dynamic is essential to the reading.
Course Objectives:
• Develop and hone one’s ability to find answers in the textual evidence that does not directly pertain to a question.
• Discuss points of interest in a vast array of subjects, from fiqh to tafsīr to history and beyond.
• Study the most authentic compilation of the Prophet’s narrations.
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Naysābūrī’s Ṣaḥīḥ, Dr. Walīd b. Ḥasan al-ʿĀnī’s Manhaj Dirāsat al-Asānīd wa al-Ḥukm ʿAlayhā
Description: The course begins with a brief overview of the history of ḥadīth literature study in the Indian subcontinent, extending back to the era of the Companions. Then, one will study Imām Muslim’s compendium. The student will peruse through what can be classified, historically, as the first work on ḥadīth nomenclature and methodology: Imām Muslim’s Muqaddimah. An extensive study of the historical relevance of the science will take place, along with understanding the author’s methodology in his work. The student will then explore the ḥadīth literature: extracting the theological, ethical, spiritual, and eschatological issues therein, while appreciating the author’s unique skill in arranging the narrations.
Course Objectives:
• Understand Imām Muslim’s method.
• Learn about ḥadīth sciences in early scholarship.
• Benefit from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Abū ʿĪsā Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī’s Jāmiʿ, Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī’s Sharḥ al-ʿIlal
Description: One studies Tirmidhī’s compilation focusing on acquiring a general exposure to the prophetic narrations while observing how the scholars understood them. Tirmidhī systematically presents various schools of thought related to the chapters and topics presented in the work. One will review the scholarly reasons for a significant amount of these differences. Additionally, Imām Tirmidhī’s ʿIlal will be reviewed along with the extensive commentary of Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī. This reading will further expose one to Tirmidhī’s thought pertaining to methodology.
Course Objectives:
• Learn primary source evidence along with the jurists’ schools of thought.
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Abū Dāwūd Sulaymān b. al-Ashʿath al-Sijīstānī’s Sunan, Risālah Abī Dāwūd ilā Ahl Makkah
Description: One embarks on a systematic study of this famous compilation focusing, in detail, on the body of ḥadīth evidence that comprises the Sacred Law. One will absorb the source evidence that substantiates the legal rulings while picking up on techniques unique to how the scholars elucidate the reports’ meanings and impart their interpretations.
Course Objectives:
• Become exposed to a significant amount of prophetic narrations that establish legal rulings.
• Observe how jurists deduce and infer rulings from textual evidence.
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Imām Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Yazīd Ibn Mājah al-Qazwīnī’s Sunan, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Rashīd al-Nuʿmānī’s Mā Tamassu al-Ḥājah li Man Yuṭāliʿu Sunan Ibn Mājah
Description: One will undertake an empirical study of select chapters and document the chains that contain weakness along with its causes. Throughout the study, one will log all the chains of transmission in which weakness is found along with the specifics of what causes weakness in them.
Course Objectives:
• Develop the ability to express weakness in narrations’ chains through written documentation.
Ḥadīth Studies (ar. Dawrat al-Ḥadīth)
Text: Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī’s al-Faḍl al-Mubīn fī al-Musalsal min Ḥadīth al-Nabī al-Amīn
Description: One will read Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī’s al-Faḍl al-Mubīn in order to acquire an uninterrupted chain of transmission (ar. sanad) in the musalsalāt traditions connecting one back through the scholars of Islām to the Prophet (sallāAllāhu ʿalayhie wa sallam).
Course Objectives:
• Inherit the legacy through a continuous chain of transmission.
• Maintain the tradition of gaining sanad in the musalsalāt literature.