Scholar Of Islamic Sciences

  • Specialised Certification Program
  • Lessons: 2 Levels

Overview

Throughout Islamic history, the scholarly tradition has consistently risen to meet the intellectual and practical challenges of its time, offering not merely methods of navigation but comprehensive frameworks for cultivating a sound and forward-looking future despite prevailing constraints.

While one stream of scholarship emphasizes mastery and preservation of the classical tradition, the Mathabah Learning Centre seeks to develop scholars specializing in Qur’anic Tafsir and Islamic Law who are equipped to address contemporary issues and provide clear, principled guidance on the application of the dīn across diverse present and future contexts.

The Mathabah Learning Centre’s Islamic Scholarship Program is open to graduates of the Level program who aspire to study and contribute meaningfully to this centuries-old scholarly tradition.

Scholar of Qur’anic Tafsir Certification Program

Overview

This module provides advanced orientation to the discipline of tafsīr while strengthening the linguistic, legal, and methodological foundations required for higher-level research.

  • 1.Tafsīr Orientation
    A guided study of Sūrat Yāsīn and Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt to familiarize students with the classical exegetical style. This is followed by the study of Sūrat al-Raʿd (with focus on ʿaqīdah-related themes), and Sūrat Hūd (with emphasis on prophetic narratives), including comparative analysis with parallel Qur’anic passages and relevant Biblical accounts.
  • 2.Fiqh of Tafsīr
    Study of the legal verses (Āyāt al-Aḥkām) from Sūrat al-Baqarah.
  • 3.Introduction to Classical Tafāsīr
    Survey of major exegetical methodologies as represented in the works of leading mufassirūn, including Ibn Kathīr, Qurṭubī, Fakhr al-Rāzī, Ālūsī, and Abū Saʿūd.
  • 4.Principles of Tafsīr
    Study of the history, classifications, technical terminology, and governing principles of tafsīr.
  • 5.Principles of Fiqh (Uṣūl al-Fiqh)
    Foundational rules governing the derivation of legal rulings from the Qur’an.
  • 6.Advanced Arabic Grammar
    Comprehensive revision of intermediate grammatical principles alongside the introduction of advanced rules to enhance precision in Qur’anic analysis.
  • 7.Arabic Poetry
    Study of selected classical Arabic poetry to deepen linguistic sensitivity and stylistic awareness.
  • 8.Arabic Rhetoric (Balāghah)
    Advanced review of rhetorical principles to develop nuanced appreciation of Qur’anic eloquence.
  • 9.Translations:
    Students will translate selected exegetical passages from the works of Imām al-Qurṭubī, Imām Ibn Kathīr, Imām Fakhr al-Rāzī, and Imām al-Ālūsī. The assigned selections will be drawn from Sūrat al-Ḥadīd, Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah, and Sūrat al-Nisāʾ.

Overview

This module develops students’ comparative research and analytical capabilities within the tafsīr and fiqh traditions.

  • 1.Compilation and Comparative Analysis
    Students will compile and analyze exegetical discussions on selected sūrahs from designated classical tafsīrs. They will:
    • Identify and analyze differences among the interpretations.
    • Determine which interpretation is most appropriate for contemporary contexts, with justification.
    • Assess and document the sources and authenticity gradings of cited hadiths and āthār.
  • 2.Fiqh Analysis
    Students will research selected legal rulings from designated sūrahs and present the positions of the four major madhāhib. Evidence will be drawn from the relied-upon authoritative texts of each school.

Overview

This capstone module trains students in the professional preparation of publishable scholarly work.

Training Includes:

  • Manuscript development
  • Academic editing
  • Typesetting
  • Print preparation

Capstone Project Requirements:
Each student will be assigned a specific sūrah and will produce a publication-ready work that
includes:

  • An introduction and thematic synopsis of the sūrah
  • An original translation of the Arabic verses (use of existing translations is not permitted)
  • Verse-by-verse explanation grounded in classical tafsīr literature and supported by
    contemporary traditional scholarship
  • Relevant fiqh discussions derived from the verses
  • Key lessons and applied insights
  • Optional analytical perspectives where appropriate

All submissions must meet publishable academic standards. Upon successful completion and
approval of the final project, students will be awarded the certification of Scholar of Qur’anic Exegesis by the Institute.

Scholar of Islamic Legal Studies (Fiqh) Certification Program

This program has been designed to cultivate a new generation of scholars in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) who possess the methodological tools to understand how legal conclusions are derived from their primary sources, governing legal principles, and the socio-historical contexts in which they emerged. Through this training, graduates will be equipped to address contemporary issues with rigor and to provide contextually appropriate, principled guidance.

Overview

This module establishes students’ foundational mastery of legal theory and core juristic rulings within the classical tradition.

Subjects Covered:

  1. Uṣūl al-Fiqh
    A systematic study of the origins and development of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence and their application in deriving legal rulings.
  2. Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt
    A comprehensive study of the ritual dimensions of the dīn, including ṭahārah, ṣalāh,
    zakāh, ṣawm, ḥajj, and ʿumrah
  3. Fiqh al-Muʿāmalāt I
    A focused study of family-related rulings, including marriage, child nursing, and divorce.

Overview

This module advances students’ engagement with complex transactional and governance-related rulings.

  1. Fiqh al-Muʿāmalāt II
    Study of regulations pertaining to waqf, gifting, trusts, governance, jizya, and penal law.
  2. Fiqh al-Muʿāmalāt III
    Detailed analysis of rulings related to nafaqah, leasing, hunting, animal slaughter, vows,
    kaffārāt, beverages, istiḥsān, borrowing, and intersex (khunthā) rulings.

Subjects Covered:

Overview

This module trains students to apply juristic methodology to emerging and contemporary issues
across both devotional and transactional domains.

Subjects Covered:

3. Fiqh al-Nawāzil I (ʿIbādāt)

Ṭahārah: Contemporary rulings related to ritual purity, including dentures, prosthetics, cosmetics, and performing tayammum using modern surfaces (e.g., train walls).
Ṣalāh: Issues such as performing prayer on an aircraft, following an imām via live broadcast, and burial practices involving coffins.
Zakāh: Analysis of the niṣāb for gold and silver, zakāh on inventory prior to possession, zakāh on debts and payment plans, and the scope of fī sabīlillāh.
Ṣawm: Fasting regulations in regions with extended daylight hours.
Ḥajj: Contemporary questions including entry into Makkah without iḥrām for business purposes, sequencing of rites on the 10 th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah and performing ṭawāf al- ziyārah in a state of major ritual impurity.

4. Fiqh al-Nawāzil II (Muʿāmalāt and Social Issues)

  • Commercial and Financial Matters: Supplying human milk, drop-shipping, sale of debt,
    stock market participation, modern financing structures, and contemporary forms of
    gambling.
  • Ribā and Financial Contexts: Interest in Dār al-Ḥarb contexts; definitions of Dār al-
    Ḥarb, Dār al-Islām, and Dār al-Aman; rulings on bank profits, paper and digital currency,
    online commerce, profit-bearing loans, conventional bank loans, and insurance.
  • Family and Personal Law: Prenuptial agreements, civil marriages, interfaith marriage
    (Christians and Jews), marriage to Shīʿī and Aḥmadīs, IVF, and contraceptive use.
  • Medical Ethics: Blood transfusions, medicines containing alcohol, gender reassignment
    procedures, medical assistance in dying, and organ transplantation.
  • Interfaith and Social Questions: Praying for deceased non-Muslims and discussions
    surrounding religious pluralism.
  • Food and Slaughter Issues: Chemical transformation (istiḥālah), pre-slaughter
    stunning, mechanical poultry slaughter, and slaughter by Jews or Christians.
  • Civic Engagement: Muslim participation in politics, candidacy in elections, and
    participation in non-Muslim celebrations.

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be awarded the certification of Scholar of Islamic Legal Studies (Fiqh) by the Institute.

Scholar of Islamic Legal Opinion (Iftā Program)

The Iftā Program at Mathabah is a rigorous, innovative two-year course designed for graduates
of the Scholar of Islamic Legal Studies (Fiqh) Certification Program and qualified scholars
(ʿulamāʾ and ʿālimāt) from recognized Islamic institutions seeking advanced specialization in
fiqh and legal methodology. The curriculum provides comprehensive training in the research,
formulation, and issuance of Islamic legal verdicts (fatāwā).

Students engage a broad range of core subjects, including the principles of legal research and
fatwā issuance, juristic maxims (qawāʿid fiqhiyyah), the higher objectives of Islamic law
(maqāṣid al-sharīʿah), practicing Islam in Western minority contexts, the historical development
of the four madhāhib, contemporary fiqh issues (fiqh al-nawāzil), modern Islamic finance, family
counseling, and the sciences of ḥadīth as they relate to jurisprudence and iftā.

Under the guidance of qualified instructors and experienced muftīs, students study a curated
selection of advanced texts, including Rasm al-Muftī, al-Qawāʿid al-Fiqhiyyah, Maqāṣid al-
Sharīʿah, al-Muslim Muwāṭinan fī Urūbbā, al-Madāris al-Uṣūliyyah, al-Fatāwā wa Fiqh al-
Nawāzil, al-Iqtiṣād al-Islāmī, as well as classical iftā manuals and reference works.

As a central program requirement, each student must produce a minimum of 500 thoroughly
researched and properly referenced fatāwā, in addition to completing a supervised dissertation
addressing a significant contemporary issue. All research is conducted under the oversight of
the Mathabah Learning Centre Iftā Department.

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be awarded the certification of
Scholar of Islamic Legal Opinion (Muftī) by the Institute.

Course Overview

The Advanced Islamic Legal Studies (Iftā Program) is delivered over two academic years through structured live instruction and supervised research.

Subjects:

  • Introduction to Iftā
  • Requirements for
  • Mastery in Iftā
  • Principles of Islamic Legal Theory
  • Principles and
  • Methodology of Iftā
  • Islamic Family Law
  • Islamic Dietary Law
  • Fatwā Writing Practicum
  • Thesis Development and Writing

Class Format:

Live instruction twice weekly; each session is two hours in duration.

Subjects:

  • Objectives of Islamic Law (Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah)
  • Islamic Trade, Business, and Finance
  • The Four Schools of Islamic Law
  • Application of Fiqh in Western Minority Contexts (Fiqh al-Aqalliyyāt)
  • Politics and Citizenship
  • Advanced Fatwā Writing Practicum
  • Thesis Completion and Writing

Class Format:

Live instruction twice weekly; each session is two hours in duration.
Arabic

Register into Program

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Details :

  • Teacher: MLC Teachers
  • Course Book: MLC Books
  • Completion Certification

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