Years 3-5 - ʿĀlimiyyah

Course Title: THEO–311: Manṭiq I (Classical Logic)

Instructor: Shaykh Uwais Namazi

Text: Tashīl al-Manṭiq by Muḥammad Anwar al-Badakhshānī

Course Description: Classical logic offers a peek into the thought processes of classical scholars who conceived of and contributed to Islamic studies — an exposure to their ‘regime of thought’. It illuminates the internal logic with which the sciences and works therein were ordered and arranged. Without it, one is unable to fully grasp the queries scholars raised and the responses they provided, nor critically engage them. It is for this reason that Imām al-Ghazālī avowed, "Whoever is not proficient in logic is not dependable in the sciences." This class will help students build a familiarity with the methods and terms used in Islamic logic and understand the history and purpose of manṭiq. Students will also learn how to understand common fallacies made while debating and protect themselves from faulty thinking and incoherence.

Course Title: THEO–321: Kalām I (Dialectic Theology)

Instructor: Shaykh Uwais Namazi

Text: Al-Bidāyah min al-Kifāyah fī al-Hidāyah

Course Description: The class will cover the book Al-Bidāyah min al-Kifāyah fī al-Hidāyah by Nūr al-Dīn al-Ṣābūnī, a Māturīdi work on dialectic theology. The purpose of the class is to familiarize students with the concepts and language of kalām books, while also providing them with a broader perspective on theological debates in Islamic history.

Course Title: HDTH–301: Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ I

Instructor: Mufti Hussain Kamani

Text: Mishkāt al-Maṣābih

Course Description: Students will go through the first half of the hadith collection Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, which contains approximately 6,000 hadiths collected and organized by al-Khaṭīb al-Tabrīzī (740 AH) as a precursor to the Kutub Sittah which are studied in later years at the seminary. In this class, we will isolate the text of the narrations and focus on the words of the Prophet ﷺ. We will be engaging with the legal, spiritual, and practical perspectives of the hadith, analyzing the language, creating fluency in reading hadith, and appreciating the true vastness of hadith as a corpus. Approximately 200 short hadith will be assigned for memorization.

Course Title: HDTH-311: Muṣṭalaḥ al-Ḥadīth

Instructor: Shaykh AbdulNasir Jangda

Text: Nuzhat al-Naẓar fī Tawḍīḥ Nukhbat al-Fikr

Course Description: In this course, students will study the primary discourses surrounding the science of hadith: its history, authority, preservation, and criticisms. Students will study important hadith terminology through the text Nuzhat al-Naẓar fī Tawḍīḥ Nukhbat al-Fikr and are expected to read, translate, and understand key terminologies and concepts from the text.

Course Title: WRTG–301: Introduction to Writing & Research

Instructor: Ustadh Hamza Baig

Course Description: Basic research and writing skills will be taught through short practical assignments due weekly. Students will occasionally be expected to prepare passages of Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ or other texts. There will also be 2 to 3 writing assignments throughout the year. Students should expect to spend at least two hours per week on preparation and assignments.

Course Title: QUR–311: Tafsīr al-Jalālayn III

Instructor: Ustadha Fatima Lette

Text: Tafsīr al-Jalālayn (Juzʾ 1-10)

Course Description: Students will complete their study of Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, covering Juz 1–10 of the Quran. Tafsīr al-Jalālayn is known not only for its concise explanation of the Quran. In addition to reading and translating the text, we will also explore Imam al-Suyūṭi's methodology of understanding the Quran. We will delve into the linguistic beauty of the Quran and reflect on the Quran in light of contemporary realities.

Course Title: FIQH-301: Al-Mukhtār lil-Fatwā 

Instructor: Ustadha Samrina Qureshi & Shaykh AbdulNasir Jangda

Text: Al-Mukhtār lil-Fatwā

Course Description: Al-Mukhtār lil-Fatwā is a concise Ḥanafi fiqh manual considered to be a reliable source of Ḥanafi law, authored by Imām ʿAbdullāh bin Maḥmūd bin Mawdūd al-Mawṣilī al-Ḥanafī (599-683 AH). Much like Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī, it does not delve into many details on the reasoning behind the law. Students will cover the chapters on muʿāmalāt.

Course Title: FIQH–302: Sharḥ al-Wiqāyah

Instructor: Mufti Muntasir Zaman

Text: Sharḥ al-Wiqāyah

Course Description: Sharḥ al-Wiqāyah is an intermediate level Hanafi Fiqh text authored by ʿUbayd Allāh al-Maḥbūbī (d. 747 AH) as a commentary on his grandfather’s al-Wiqāya, a primer extracted from al-Hidāyah. The author adopts a rationalist approach in detailing Hanafi positive law, often delving into inter scholastic debates between Hanafis and occasionally citing other schools. Throughout the class, students will explore the reasoning behind the Ḥanafī legal rulings related to the chapters of worship.

Course Title: FIQH–321: Intro to Ḥanafī Uṣūl al-Fiqh

Instructor: Ustadha Samrina Qureshi & Shaykh AbdulNasir Jangda

Text: Mabādiʾ al-Uṣūl

Course Description: In this course, we study a short primer on Ḥanafī legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh) by Saʿīd Aḥmad Palanpuri. By studying legal theory, a student will learn how Ḥanafī jurists extrapolated law from the foundational sources and appreciate the language they employed in discussing and defending their positive law (furūʿ). It will not, as is widely held, enable one to deduce law directly from the foundational sources themselves. From this angle, it is descriptive, not prescriptive.

Course Title: TAZK–311: Working in the Community I

Instructor: Ustadha Fatima Lette

Course Description: Students will work towards the ideal of prophetic servant-leadership with a variety of in-house and guest instructors in a practical workshop format.

Course Title: ARAB–301: Intermediate Arabic II

Instructor: Ustadh Syed Omair

Text: Selected Naḥw and Ṣarf Texts

Course Description: Students will study naḥw and ṣarf at an intermediate level and develop their reading ability through a carefully selected reader comprising of selections from various ʿulūm (ḥadīth, fiqh, kalām, etc.) and different styles of writings (matn, sharḥ, ḥāshiyah, poetry, etc. )

Course Title: ARAB–321: Balāghah

Instructor: Ustadh Syed Omair

Text: Durūs al-Balāghah

Course Description: Speech is the means by which we understand the words of Allah, the words of the Prophet ﷺ, and the words of the illustrious scholars before us. Balāghah is the study of eloquent speech — understanding how meaning is conveyed with clear, effective, and beautiful language. The three sciences of balāghah (maʿānī, bayān, and badīʿ) are studied through this concise text that utilizes linguistic, poetic, and Quranic examplesز

Course Title: ARAB–331: Arabic Literature I (Anthology of Poetry and Prose)

Instructor: Shaykh Uwais Namazi

Texts: Various

Course Description: Students will read through a selection of poetry and prose, spanning from the pre-Islamic period till the current age.  The aim is to cover selections, in both poetry and prose, of some of the finest writers and poets of each generation.  This way students will be acquainted with key figures and individuals (whose works) make up the cannon of Arabic literature. Students will cover all genres of Arabic poetry, and most of prose.

Expectations: Each student will prepare a poem or passage of prose for class, in which they will discuss the author, as well as the literary merits (or lack thereof) in their assigned reading.  Assessment is based upon comprehension, classroom performance, and an end of year exam (oral or written, tentative). 

Frequency: 5 days a week, 18 weeks.