COURSES

Relevance of Content and Context: A Word From The iSyllabus Project Director

The Diploma course 

Our One year Islamic studies Diploma program is a comprehensive and contextually relevant course that equips students with the What and Why of Islam, Iman and Ihsan. Not only that, it also delves into relevant contemporary discussions around religion, law and society and since is launch in 2009, it has been attended by over 7,000 students from a multitude of countries. 

Given that the classical tradition is built of Orthodoxy (correct action) and Orthopraxy (correct belief), iSyllabus also offer two in-depth One year courses that cover seminal works in both areas, and provide a deep basis in the Sciences of Fiqh (Islamic law) and Aqidah (Creed).

Deep Fiqh and Deep Aqidah

Deep Aqidah is a comprehensive and detailed study of Fiqh al-Akbar through the two classical commentaries of Al-Qari and al-Mighnisawi, while remaining cognisant of modern challenges to traditional belief.  Deep Fiqh, on the other hand, is a study and commentary of the Hanafi Jurisprudence Manual ‘Ascent to Felicity’ covering the acts of worship and devotion, providing the rules of worship in the context of the modern world. 

The successful completion of these courses grants students a detailed yet relevant understanding of the Islamic tradition.

Prior to 2020, iSyllabus offered its acclaimed Intermediary and Advanced Islamic studies courses, both of which covered a host of modern and traditional modules designed to train a new generation of scholars. Since the first classes in 2009, hundreds of students have benefited from these in-depth programs, and they also inspired countless others Islamic studies institutes to follow a similar model of imparting religious teachings to serious students. 

One Year Diploma

The Diploma course serves as an excellent entry to a nuanced yet fulfilling experience of the Islamic sciences as they relate to both the individual and society in the 21st Century.

We fully integrated and refined the modules and material to cover core hermeneutical concepts in a graded manner. It incorporates life-hacks that make living one’s faith a fulfilling experience. The course both contextualises core texts and enhances the spiritual aspect of one’s religious observance.

One Year Diploma Overview

  • Seeking Purity
  • Setting the base for Worship
  • Perfecting the Prayer
  • Returning to the Homeland
  • Towards a Tranquil Soul 1
  • Towards a Tranquil Soul 2
  • Understanding the Quran
  • Understanding the Sunnah
  • Living the Law 1 – The Theory
  • Living the Law 2 – Case studies
  • Understanding Muslim Creed 1
  • Understanding Muslim Creed 2
  • Understanding the law and spirituality of income & charity
  • The Sacred Bond
  • The Tradition of scholars

Intermediary

The Intermediary course develops an understanding of the primary texts of the Quran and Sunnah covered in the Diploma course, exploring the context and history of the classical religious corpus of Islam. It incorporates detailed studies of religious text and the trends that led to their being set down in writing.

Why did Fiqh develop the way we know it today? What are the major trends in classical Islamic theology and what led to their genesis? How can the classical spiritual tradition of Islam help in creating healthier individuals and societies today?

The course covers six major areas of study—focusing on applied religious studies—that prioritise understanding context and universals.

Intermediary at a glance

Year 1&2: Applied Tafsir Studies

Year 1&2: Comparative fiqh & Textual hadith studies

Year 1:

  • Classical Islamic Laws of worship

Year 2:

  • Classical Islamic Laws of worship
  • Legal Maxims (al-Qawaid al-Fiqhiyyah)
  • Advanced Zakat case studies (Joint elective)
  •  

Year 1:

  • Commentary on the fiqh al-Akbar of Abu Hanifa
  • Homiletics and Da’wah

Year 2:

  • Commentary on the fiqh al-Akbar of Abu Hanifa
  • Sects and Divisions (Joint elective)

Year 1:

  • Shama’il of the Prophet [2]
  • Hikam of Ibn Ata’illah

Year 2:

  • Shama’il of the Prophet [3]
  • Hikam of Ibn Ata’illah

Year 1:

  • History of Hadith works and their authors
  • History of Fiqh and the schools of law

Year 2:

  • Analytical History of Islam (Joint elective)

Advanced

The Advanced course, as the two-year culmination to the full course, focuses on the relevance of the classical corpus of Islam to the challenges that Muslims face today. What can our intellectual tradition teach us in responding to the main ethical and religious questions we face?

To what degree are religions decisive and violent by nature? What is the ‘question of evil’ and what does Islamic theology say about it? Can we apply Islamic law in the West? Can an understanding of the breadth of scholarly opinion on contentious issues help provide solutions to the seemly intractable problems Muslims face? Does Islam have the requisite framework for navigating the problematics of gender that affect religious scriptures?

The vast majority of the content which I teach in the Advanced course—such as Polemics, Apologetics and the Philosophy of religion—is not covered in any Alimmiyah course. However, today it is an absolute necessity for advanced students of knowledge.

Advanced at a glance

Year 1:

  • Applied Tafsir Studies
  • Quranic Hermeneutical Axioms

Year 2:

  • Applied Tafsir Studies

Year 1:

  • Comparative fiqh & Textual hadith studies
  • Hadith terminology

Year 2:

  • Comparative fiqh & Textual hadith studies

Year 1:

  • Muslim Family Law
  • Principles of Jurisprudence
  • Caliphate and Authority
  • Advanced Zakat case studies (Joint elective)

Year 2:

  • Muslim Family Law
  • Principles of Jurisprudence
  • Inheritance law
  • Minority Fiqh (Fiqh al-Aqalliyat)

Year 1:

  • Religion, Religious Pluralism and the Concept of God
  • The Cosmological and Teleological Arguments
  • Apologetics: Religious Violence
  • Public Speaking
  • Sects and Divisions (Joint elective)

Year 2:

  • The Ontological argument and The question of Evil
  • Science and Religious experience
  • Apologetics: Gender
  • Formal logic (mantiq) and Logical fallacies

Year 1&2: Hikam of Ibn Ata’illah

Year 2: Analytical History of Islam (Joint elective)

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