Tafhim Weekend Islamic Studies

The importance of the prayer is well-known. Most injunctions were legislated by Revelation coming to the Prophet. However, to receive the five daily prayers, the Prophet had to perform his night journey. This shows the significance of the prayer. Through prayer, we communicate with our Lord daily. Every Muslim knows the centrality of prayer in one’s life. Yet not everyone knows how to perform it correctly.

In this course, one will review many legal rulings specific to the prayer. One will learn which acts are compulsory, which acts are recommended, what invalidates the prayer, etc. Points of contention and misunderstanding from within the community will also be addressed. For example, why do some Muslims pray differently? What accounts for these differences?

Learning the Fiqh of Ṣalāh is an opportunity to learn how to pray in detail. An increased understanding will give one better attention and devotion while performing this sacred ritual. The final objective of this course is to enable one to comply with the order of the Prophet: “Pray as you saw me pray.”

Time: 10:00am - 11:00am
Instructor: Mufti Noman Khan

Along with learning the legal rulings pertaining to how the prayer is performed, one will study the chapters of the Holy Qurʾān that are frequently recited in the prayer.

The prayer is at the core of our religious experience. It is a direct line of communication to God. Through prayer, the believers fulfill their needs, solve problems, and build a relationship with their Creator. The most effective way to improve one’s prayer and to transform it from a mundane ritual to a spiritually invigorating experience is to develop an understanding of the Qurʾān.

In a word-by-word fashion, this class will cover Sūrat al-Fātiḥah and the Qurʾān’s last ten chapters. One will go beyond translating the words by exploring the intricacies of the language and the deeper meanings that the scholars of tafsīr extrapolated. One will not only grasp the linguistic meanings but also begin to appreciate the literary beauty of the words of Allāh.

Time: 11:10am - 12:10pm
Instructor: Mufti Noman Khan

In this course, one will study some of the diseases of the heart along with their cures. This is a very important course. The Prophet (upon him be peace) said, “One who has even a mustard seed of pride in their heart will not enter Paradise.” Accordingly, the presence of spiritual illnesses inside one can be a reason for which they will be denied entry into Jannah. This is a very serious matter.

One will learn about pride, envy, hatred, jealousy, and other detrimental qualities and learn how to rid them from one’s soul. Moreover, one will learn how to replace these qualities with meritorious and praiseworthy traits that are pleasing to Allāh and in accordance with the Prophet’s Sunnah.

Time: 12:20pm - 1:20pm
Instructor: Mufti Noman Khan

One will study fiqh’s origins and its development. The formation of the schools of thought and the codification of fiqh will be discussed in detail. Upon concluding this course, one will have acquired a good understanding of how the four schools are inherited traditions representing more than a thousand years of scholarship.

Time: 10:00am - 11:00am
Instructor: Mawlana Farhan Shariff

Along with the Qurʾān, the ḥadīth corpus contains Islām’s teachings. All that one needs to traverse through this temporal existence into the perpetual abode of the Hereafter is located therein. Obeying the Messenger is obeying God because He ordered man to adhere to the Messenger’s teachings: “Whatever the Messenger prescribed, do it. And whatever he prohibited, avoid it.” (59:7)

Unfortunately, in today’s times, we find nonbelieving detractors who have ventured to contest the ḥadīth’s authoritativeness. Through spurious conjecture, orientalists and their unwitting ilk of Muslim “academics” have insinuated irrational notions tainting the hearts of some Muslims.

This course aims to clarify and establish the unquestionable authority of the Prophet’s Sunnah. Along with absolutely confirming the validity of relying on the ḥadīth corpus in nomistic application, one will come to realize that it conveys the most perfect guidance for all of mankind’s endeavors: legal, social, spiritual, etc. One will study the transmission and the preservation of ḥadīth. The course will also introduce one to the basics of ḥadīth nomenclature. Through this course, one will develop a broad understanding of the science and a deep appreciation for the work of traditional ḥadīth scholars.

Time: 11:10am - 12:10pm
Instructor: Mawlana Farhan Shariff

Studying ʿaqīdah is crucial. Knowing this subject is obligatory on every Muslim, so that one’s heart becomes illuminated by the beauty of Islām’s teachings. Imām Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī’s ʿAqīdah is studied throughout the entire Muslim World and it serves as this course’s main textbook. Insha’Allah, this class will be a beacon of certainty guiding one’s steps on an otherwise ambiguous path. Upon completing this course, one will be equipped with a luminous set of simple yet sound creedal principles through which they can understand and defend their faith. In this semester, the work’s first half is studied.

Time: 12:20pm - 1:20pm
Instructor: Mawlana Farhan Shariff