CURRICULUM
The Tanwir Intensive is designed not only to equip students with the tools necessary for understanding the language of the Qur'an, but to provide the fundamental knowledge which is required for understanding our faith with unshakable conviction.
Below are the courses covered in the Tanwir Intensive. This curriculum lays the foundation for the Takmil Institue of Higher Islamic Studies 7-year program for those who wish to further their Islamic studies.
Qurʾān Recitation (ar. Tajwīd)
Text: Murshid al-Qārī
Description: Qārī Saleem Gaibie’s Murshid al-Qārī is used to impart this subject. Both theoretical and practical aspects of tajwīd will be covered. The student will memorize and recite the 30th juzʾ with tajwīd to the teacher.
Course Objectives:
• Acquire an understanding of the subject’s primary rules.
• Apply the rules by reciting to a teacher.
• Recite the Qurʾān as the Prophet ﷺ recited it.
Prophetic Biography (ar. Sīrah)
Text: Prophet of Mercy
Description: Prophet of Mercy by Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī al-Nadwī covers the life of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, the historical backdrop preceding the nascent period of Islām, and the military expeditions and victories associated with it. What distinguishes this book from similar works on the topic is its breadth and careful attention to details, illustrated maps of events, carefully worded questions at the end of each chapter, and an exhaustive glossary of Arabic terms.
Course Objectives:
• Gain a strong understanding of the life of the Prophet ﷺ.
• Develop a deep bond with the Prophet ﷺ and inculcate the desire to emulate him.
• Extract lessons from the noble sīrah and apply them to modern contexts.
• Learn how to refute modern-day objections against the Prophet ﷺ.
Islāmic Jurisprudence (ar. Fiqh)
Text: Ascent to Felicity
Description: Abū al-Ikhlāṣ Ḥasan al-Shurunbulālī’s Ascent to Felicity is an excellent primer that is easily accessible to anyone with even a basic exposure to Islāmic legal works. The students will learn the chapters on purity (ar. ṭahārah) and prayer (ar. ṣalāh). Solutions to contemporary issues that we face in our daily lives will be explained in detail. Prior to reading the text, this course covers a detailed introduction to the principles of jurisprudence and its evolution prepared by a teacher.
Course Objectives:
• Learn the fundamental rulings pertaining to purity.
• Learn the fundamental rulings pertaining to prayer.
Islāmic Theology (ar. ʿAqīdah)
Text: al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwīyah
Description: Imām Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī’s text is succinct, listing only that which is necessary for a Muslim to know and believe. The work’s contents are derived from Islām’s primary sources: the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. In class, contemporary issues related to Islāmic theology and theology in general will be addressed.
Course Objectives:
• Learn the tenets of Islām in detail.
• Analyze heterodox sects and some of the refutations that scholars provided rebutting their arguments.
Spirituality (ar. Tazkiyah)
Text: Zād al-Ṭālibīn, Bidāyat al-Hidāyah
Description: The first textbook, Zād al-Ṭālibīn, is a ḥadīth compilation. It includes our beloved Prophet’s words and advices. The Messenger ﷺ provided us with the guidance that we need to find nearness to our Lord and determination in our dīn. By studying this work, one will be inspired to follow his way.
The second text, Bidāyat al-Hidāyah, is one of Imām al-Ghazālī’s final works. Thereby, this masterpiece embodies an erudite scholar’s lifetime of learning, experience, and spirituality. Within it, he elucidates how leading a life guided by the divine is achieved through God-consciousness (ar. taqwā), and he details the keys to success in one’s initial stages of learning. The instructor will expound on other deeper dimensions of self-reformation.
Course Objectives:
• Study an introduction on how to become a student of knowledge.
• Identify pitfalls experienced by one treading the path to knowledge.
• Learn how to develop taqwā.
• Start actualizing one’s knowledge through practice.
Arabic Syntax (ar. ʿIlm al-Naḥw)
Text: Arabic: A Step by Step Guide, Tas-hil al-Naḥw
Description: These textbooks have been selected to impart the crucial subject of Arabic Grammar. In this course, one will study the construction of phrases and sentences as well as the grammatical states of words. The subject expounds on how words are affected by other governing words, and what apparent changes are caused due to this.
Course Objectives:
• Learn how phrases and sentences are constructed.
• Understand how words relate to each other.
• Identify case endings.
• Begin negotiating texts.
Morphology (ar. ʿIlm al-Ṣarf)
Text: Arabic Morphology Made Easy
Description: This work lucidly conveys Arabic morphology, etymology, and verb conjugation. It makes an otherwise difficult subject easy. The instructor will provide exercise worksheets to supplement the texts.
Course Objectives:
• Learn how verbs conjugate.
• Learn how to apply morphology while negotiating Arabic texts.
Arabic Literature (ar. al-Adab al-ʿArabī)
Text: Qaṣaṣ al-Nabiyyīn (1-3)
Description: Qaṣaṣ al-Nabiyyīn is studied at institutes across the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The series is designed to progressively build a student’s understanding of Arabic. It presents stories of various prophets, edifying the reader with exemplary conduct and teachings. The classical Arabic studied in these works lays the foundation for one to access the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīth in their original language.
Course Objectives:
• Read basic Arabic literature.
• Practice negotiating Arabic texts.
• Compose sentences in Arabic.
• Begin translating from the Qurʾān.
Conversational Arabic (ar. Muḥādathah)
Text: al-ʿArabīyah bayna Yadayk, al-Qirāʾat al-ʿArabīyah
Description: These texts concentrate on developing articulacy in Arabic. The texts’ arrangement is practical. The lessons incorporate the Arabic that hones one’s conversational skills without detailing the language’s theoretical aspects. Accordingly, one will apply the language without requiring a significant background in sciences like Arabic Grammar and Morphology. A hardworking and diligent student will significantly improve their conversational abilities in Arabic.
Course Objectives:
• Experience communicating in Arabic.
• Develop and improve one’s ability to communicate in Arabic.