This two-semester course offers a detailed explanation of the first 24 chapters of Imam Nawawi’s Gardens of the Righteous (Riyad al-Salihin). In this well-known classical work, Imam Nawawi gathers key Qur’anic verses and hadiths that define how to approach, adopt, and uphold the Prophetic example in everyday life. The students will learn how to make following the Prophetic sunnah a realistic goal, allowing the Sunnah to manifest in a meaningful, beautiful, and transformative way in their lives.
This important course seeks to provide guidance on one of the most critical topics of the times: raising mentally and spiritually healthy children. This course provides practical advice on how to raise upright children in the spirit of the Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah. Based on classical texts on Islamic parenting, the course contextualizes their wisdom in light of modern day circumstances and addresses the most pressing parenting questions, including how to raise children that are spiritual and love Allah and His Messenger, how to protect children from negative influences, how to discipline them, and how to deal with parenting issues specific to living in the West. This course is a must for all concerned Muslim parents.
This course is intended for all adult Muslims who want to ensure that their daily financial dealings are legitimate and pleasing to Allah Most High. This unique course is based on both classical and contemporary texts, such as Mufti Taqi Usmani’s Islamic Finance: An Introduction. Students will acquaint themselves with the basic principles of Islamic finance; several contemporary issues will be covered as well, such as investing in financial securities and Shariah-compliant financing.
“What would the Prophet do?” That is a question we often ask ourselves, but sometimes the answer is not clear to us. This course provides important and insightful glimpses into the Prophet’s inspirational personality and manners, empowering students to build their own Islamic conduct by attempting to emulate that of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The course is an explanation and contextualization of Shaykh `Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah’s influential and celebrated book Islamic Manners.
This course covers the fundamentals of the religion that all believers are obligated to know and practice: sound beliefs, valid purification and prayer, zakāt, fasting, and the key principles related to one's life and dealings. The course is based on Shaykh Faraz Rabbani’s The Absolute Essentials of Islam. The course covers the basics of the religion in an approachable and practical format, making it an ideal course for new Muslims and all those wishing to learn how to perfect their faith and religious practice.
In this course, students will learn about the limits of Allah related to everyday life, and will get answers to a variety of critical life questions on food, dress, gender interaction, work, earnings, relations, speech, and the avoidance of sin. Student will also gain an understanding and appreciation of the wisdom of the Shariah related to the halāl and harām, and the way of Prophetic excellence in everyday conduct.
This is the first course in the Islamic Law (Hanafī) for Seekers series. The students will gain a necessary and detailed understanding of Islamic Jurisprudence (fiqh) related to the acts of worship (i.e. prayer, zakāt, fasting, and the pilgrimage). The course is based on Imam al-Mawsulī’s great primer on Hanafī fiqh, al-Mukhtār, and its commentary, al-Ikhtiyār li-Ta’līl Masā’il al-Mukhtār. This expansive course will cover all the chapters on worship in al-Mukhtār.
This is the first course in the Islamic Law for Seekers (Shafi`i) series. The students will gain a detailed understanding of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) related to the acts of worship, i.e. prayer, zakat, fasting, and the pilgrimage. The course is an explanation of a famous classical didactic text (matn) in Shafi`i law by Qadi Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Asfahani (Abu Shuja). This course is well-suited for those who already know the absolute basics of Shafi`i fiqh, but who are ready to further their knowledge.
This is the second course of the Islamic Law for Seekers (Hanafī) series and covers the fiqh of commercial transactions. Entering into the realm of transactions (mu‛āmalāt), this course furthers one’s knowledge into the most important topics required for a Muslim to know after the fiqh of worship. Students will learn details of the required knowledge for commercial transactions, including sales, leasing, or hire..
This is the first of four courses that constitute a complete Tajwīd curriculum. Upon successful completion of the four-part series, students will be awarded the Jazarī Certificate of Proficiency in Qur’anic Recitation. . Those whom the instructor feels have demonstrated sufficient mastery of the science will receive the Jazarī Certificate for Instruction (Ijāzah) in Qur’anic Recitation. All students will learn the basics of Qur’anic recitation, including proper pronunciation of the Arabic letters, the special symbols which appear in the Arabic text, and the various rules associated with each of the letters.
This is the second of four courses that constitute a complete Tajwīd curriculum, the Jazari Certificate of Proficiency in Qur’anic Recitation. Students will learn more detailed rules of Tajwīd and by the end of the course should be able to recite correctly 24 sūras of 30th part of the Qur’an (al-Humaza to al-Takwīr). Students whom the instructor feels have demonstrated sufficient mastery after successful completion of the four part series will receive the Jazari Certificate for Instruction (Ijāzah) in Qur’anic Recitation.
This is the third of four courses that constitute a complete Tajwīd curriculum, the Jazari Certificate of Proficiency in Qur’anic Recitation. Students will learn more detailed rules of Tajwīd and by the end of the course should be able to recite correctly the 28th, 29th, and 30th Juz (sections) of the Qur’an (al-Mujadilah to Abasa). Students whom the instructor feels have demonstrated sufficient mastery after successful completion of the four part series will receive the Jazari Certificate for Instruction (Ijāzah) in Qur’anic Recitation.
This course aims to enhance one’s understanding of sound Islamic beliefs. This is done by presenting the underlying methodologies of mainstream Islamic beliefs and their bases, and by explaining the centrality of Allah’s transcendence in sound beliefs. One of the most important aspects of this course is its illustration of Islam’s traditional way of bringing the realities of faith to life. The course will cover one of the foremost texts (mutūn) in Islamic beliefs, Imam Ahmad al-Dardir’s al-Kharīdah al-Bahiyyah.
Based upon Book XXXV of Imam al-Ghazālī’s magnum opus “The Revival of the Religious Sciences” (Ihyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn), this course explains the reality of faith in Allah’s Unity (Tawhīd) and trust in His Providence (Tawakkul), and how to attain these vital states of the heart. This course, dealing with two essential aspects of faith, illustrates how religious knowledge and one’s state of being are both crucial to be able to attain true faith and trust in divine Providence.
Knowledge of the heart is the foundation of the Din (religion), therefore this course is a must for all Seekers of Guidance.‘The Wonders of the Heart‘ is the twenty-first book of the third quarter of the Ihya Ulum al-Din. This short course offers a detailed explanation of the text, and explores the meaning of soul (nafs), spirit (ruh), heart (qalb), and intellect (’aql). These important components as well as other including soldiers of the heart, overall attributes of the heart, the heart’s similitude and Satan’s mastery of the heart, leads one to become well acquainted with their own heart.
