Foundation Course in Islamic Studies
KS Islamic Studies Summer Course is an intensive course seeking to educate and empower Muslims with the requisite knowledge to understand their religion in the light of a changing world. This curriculum strikes a balance between such traditional subjects as Fiqh, Tafsir and Seerah with a look at contemporary issues in Islam and Modernity and Islam in UK. Moreover, the Summer Program will also imbibe the students with the Tarbiyah (training) to make them better Muslims with daily Quran reading and classes such as Muslim Character.
The following is a brief description of the course content to be taught during the Summer Course.
Curriculum Overview
- Aqeedah
- Fiqh
- Usul al-Fiqh
- Ulum al-Quran
- Ulum al-Hadith
- Muslim Character
- Tajweed
- Seerah
- Islam in Britain
- Tazkiyah - Spiritual development
- Family Life
Course Descriptions
Tajweed
See Tajweed page
Tafseer
Tafseer is known as Qur'anic exegesis or commentary. The goal of this course is to provide students with an overview of how scholars have performed Qur’anic exegesis historically and the different methods applied to the process. Students will gain an understanding of the tools used in undergoing tafseer and gain an appreciation for the contextual importance for the application of tafseer in Islamic law. They will leave this class having gained a greater familiarity with and understanding of the Qur'an, making the words of Allah more meaningful to their daily lives.
Note: The summer program will also have a strong emphasis on daily Qur’an reading that will be supplemented through structured Qur’an reading sessions. The intention behind the daily Qur’an sessions is to reestablish the presence and permanence of the Qur’an in our daily lives.
Seerah
The Prophet (S) was the last messenger of God who came as a model and teacher to all of humankind. However, many Muslims forget that He (S) was also a man who lived in a particular place and time, and was part of a particular culture and spoke a particular language. The Seerah course invites students to ponder this relationship between the universal and the particular. They will see how the Prophet exemplified the universal values of Islam, while always remaining aware of the particular cultural values of his seventh century Arab society. Students will learn the story of the Prophet, but not simply as a story, rather, they will continuously be asking themselves, "How does his example help me to better live Islam in my own cultural context?"
Usul al-Fiqh
Usul al-fiqh is best summarized as the philosophy of Islamic law. Some say that all we have to do is read the Qur'an and the Hadith; however, anyone who has studied usul al-fiqh knows that answering this question is a lot more complicated. More generally, usul al-fiqh deals with the complex relationship between revelation and reason. This course will give an overview/ introduction to this fascinating subject.
Most importantly, students will grow to appreciate the real world context that Islamic jurisprudence takes place in, focusing on fiqh al-waqi’.
Fiqh
Here we will cover the topics of Salat and Tahaara (cleanliness) according to the Hanafi school of thought, but also touching upon the other Schools. Students gain enormous benefit from this session which helps them with their Salah.
Aqeedah
Aqeedah is the study of the basic creed of Muslims beginning with the nature of Allah, and His relationship to mankind. The class will focus on the classical understanding of Allah SWT in terms of His essence, His qualities and His attributes. Historical controversies and ideological movements will be discussed briefly, but will be covered more in-depth in the Islamic Intellectual History course. Students will formulate an understanding regarding Allah SWT and contrast different conceptions of Allah and their ontological ramifications.
Ulum al-Hadith
This course introduces students to the complex system by which Hadith are determined as authentic or heresy. The student will learn the history of Hadith collection, as well as the methods by which classical scholarship deemed the purity of Hadith, both in its narrative line (isnad) as well as its text (matn). Topics will include the study of the Hadith transmitters ('Ilm al-Rijal), as well as the various classification of Hadith in relation to the veracity of the line of transmitters.
Ulum al-Qur'an
Ulum ul-Quran is defined as the Science of the Qur'an The course will cover the process and logic behind gradual revelation, the process of compilation, the specifics of poetic style and language used, interpretive devices, and sources used to extract meaning from the Qur'an Students will learn to apply basic interpretive devices, such as asbab-al-nuzul and al-nasikh wa al-mansukh, to specific Qur'anic verses and appreciate both their explanatory power and limitations. This course will prepare students to understand material covered in the course on Tafsir.
Contemporary Issues
The purpose of the contemporary issues course is to raise discussion around topics that are of relevance to Muslims in Britain today. The teachers address these issues with students through open discourse between teachers and students through question and answer sessions that are directed towards further analyzing modern day problems such as tensions within communities, issues within the realm of Fiqh that are currently being debated in the broader community, among many other topics and concerns. Students are encouraged through this course, as is the theme in all KS courses, to think critically about the issues and look beyond the surface to begin addressing these concerns once they are back in their respective communities and later on in their lives. Hence, this course serves as a springboard for KS students to begin taking all of the traditional knowledge that they have gained a new understanding of through the lens of a critical thinker and apply it to the world around them and the issues they are, and will be, facing in it.
Diseases of the Heart - Tazkiyah - Spiritual development
Diseases of the Heart inhibit our soul and psyche from functioning at their most beneficial level. This course provides insight into diseases such as arrogance, anger, and envy. Being aware of how these diseases affect our soul can help people fight them and guard against reoccurrence and contraction of other diseases. This class emphasizes that the heart can be diseased in terms of perception, will, or affection, causing inabilities to see, know, and understand. Students will learn how to improve their moral character by nurturing a close and honest relationship with their Creator. They will also gain life-altering skills to become more emotionally intelligent and cognitively aware to identify and battle both their personal diseases and those that may spread throughout the community.