Who wrote this guide and why, how to read it, and how to help us improve it.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
“All praise is to Allah who has guided us to this, and had God not guided us we would never have been guided.” (7:43)
This website was created by students living in Qum who recognised the need to provide relevant and practical information for those who have responded to the call of Islam by undertaking the life of a seminary student. Many students face challenges arising from unfamiliarity with the language, people and culture, as well as from the limited information available on everyday life in Qum.
The guide aims to answer some of the most common questions asked by students, covering both academic matters and the practicalities of living in a new country. We endeavour to keep the information up to date; however, procedures and processes in Iran can change regularly, as can the prices of goods and services.
Where costs are provided, US Dollar equivalents may also be shown to give visitors a general indication of the cost of living. These figures should be treated as estimates only due to exchange-rate fluctuations and inflation.
Arabic and Farsi terms are used throughout the website. For simplicity and ease of reading, a single standard system of transliteration has not been strictly followed.
Help Us Improve
We humbly request that readers notify us of any errors, broken links or other issues by emailing info@sios.ac. In addition, if you have recommendations or information you feel would benefit future editions, please do let us know. You can also leave suggestions directly on any page of this site using the box at the foot of each chapter — approved contributions will appear there.
Finally, we sincerely thank all those involved in the production of this important work, and pray for their every success.