Gateway to Sacred Knowledge
Module: The Living Legacy
Overview: This module will introduce students to the living tradition of sacred knowledge and scholarship in Islam. Students will be given an overview of the development, transmission, and preservation of the Islamic Tradition. The primary focus is to clearly map out the normative path to studying, practicing, and conveying the classical sciences of Islam through a study of student etiquettes and decorum, effective methods of study, as well as the teacher-student relationship.
Further, the module will delve into the features of orthodoxy in Islam, and the tools by which the novice can distinguish between valid and invalid interpretations of the sacred scripture
Module: Faith Foundations
Overview: A classical, methodical and pure articulation of essential and defining Islamic beliefs. It is by accepting this core set of beliefs that a person becomes a believer, and a systematic study of them is one of the keys to strengthening and consolidating one’s faith. Given that ours is an age of limitless information, constant exposure to novel ideas and relentless ideological attacks against religious belief, a codified, coherent and intelligent approach to studying doctrine is paramount.
Students will learn the pure creed of the early Muslims, how it defines the believer’s worldview, as well as a framework for understanding and articulating it in today’s world.
Module: The Foundational Five
Overview: A detailed examination of five prophetic statements that have been specifically selected for their universal relevance, timelessness and profundity of meaning. These narrations are amongst those that have been highlighted in the scholarly tradition as succinct expressions that encapsulate the foundational themes of the entire religion of Islam. Referred to in the scholarly literature as the Jawami’ al Kalim (The Comprehensive Words), this module will analyse these prophetic gems in light of their chains of transmission, the depth of their implication and their role as building blocks in the formation of the Muslim mind.
Module: Steps to Sacred Living – The Law of Purification, Prayer and Fasting
Overview: A study of the theory and practice of the essential injunctions of Islamic law pertaining to cardinal acts of Islamic Worship. This module will focus on giving students a firm foundation in the sacred rules of ritual Purity, Prayer, and Fasting. The principal aim of this module is to root the daily ritual practice of the students in sound knowledge and understanding, minimising ethical insecurities, and reducing the spiritual uneasiness induced by doubt and conjecture in the practice of religion.
Module: The Living Link – The Beauty and Ethics of the Prophet ﷺ
Overview: This module consists of a multi-dimensional study of the blessed personage of the Prophet Muhammad- peace and blessings be upon him-, intended to connect, revive and transform the lives of students by an acute knowledge of him. A deep relationship of love and reverence for the Prophet- peace and blessings be upon him- lies at the very heart of every personal and communal renaissance in the Muslim community. As such, an educational program that is not at its core Prophet-centric, is ultimately bereft of spiritual value and other-worldly benefit. Students will be introduced to the sublime outward and inward characteristics of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, as well as a study of his day-to-day etiquettes and mannerisms.